Second Chance with Love Read Online Free Page B

would go to her house.
    “Mel, please, you don't have to, just let me rest and I'll be fine, okay?” Hilda's mind was still frazzled from shock, she still needed time to recover.
    A silence injected from the other end of the call. Hilda’s pulse began to thump.
    Then Melanie asked, “Are you sure?”
    “Hmm-hmm.”
    “Okay then. I'll be around to check on you tomorrow,” promised Melanie.
    “Thanks for checking on me, Mel. You're the best a friend I could ask for,” Hilda's words were true and from her heart.
     
     
     
    I can see you as a woman, flowing red hair warmed by the sun, held in the strong arms of a good man. Both of you together in the grace of God. You will find love, have patience. Let love warm your heart. Sometimes the heart turns cold when you've suffered. Don't dwell in suffering. If love lets you down, give love a second chance.
    There is a saying that wherever you go, there you are, and if you love someone, wherever you are they will be there.
    She looked up and Nathan lingered by the table. He took a seat and smiled at her. Hilda did not know what would come of the risk she took with him, but she had to find out.

Chapter 1
     
     
    Nathan Hawks shifted uncomfortably, head tilted backwards. His throbbing skull made the slightest sound into a lethal grenade. While the taxi sped to Birmingham International airport, he cradled a cellphone. Saying farewell to Tuscaloosa wasn't easy, even for the two week business trip in Guatemala that he volunteered for. His parents, friends, work, and church were there. During his stint in the military, whenever he returned to Alabama he found it difficult to adjust to civilian life
    Still, he cradled his phone, his hand covering his face, and he closed his eyes. Though it seemed the dry heat had got to him, what really frustrated him were the effects of not having slept all night. Kiera had given him a lecture about his emotional absence in their relationship. He needed to talk to a friend.
    "What's up, bud?"
    Nathan felt another jab in his temple as his friend spoke to him. Scott Russell, always a source of support for Nathan. In just six years, Scott managed to start his own Christian record label, Sermon, which already showed great promise. He'd married Melanie Stobbs. At first they seemed like an unlikely pair, her being bubbly and talkative, he being cool and reserved. But their relationship worked and they had a child on the way. In six years Scott had made something of his life.
    Scott's success in life often led Nathan to wonder what direction his life was heading in.
    Nathan removed his shades and smoothed his hand over his thick, dark hair. He listened to his friend talk about Melanie, fussing over the minuscule details involving the decoration of the baby room. Pulling on his hair, feeling the ruffled mess it had become, a sense of comfort blanketed him as he decided it was too long now.
    "How's Kiera?"
    The question jolted Nathan. After hearing how well everything was going for Scott and Mel, he had reservations about unloading his problems on his friend.
    "All's good on our end." In some respects this was true. Things were good for her, but were they good for him?
    "Nate, are you pulling on your hair?"
    Nathan released his hair, Scott knew him too well. "In not so many words, she decided, we should go our separate ways."
    Scott sighed. “Long distant relationships were hard enough in the military. I thank God every day that Mel stuck with me, seems you're still having trouble.”
    "You are so lucky that the first Christian girl you dated stuck it out when you were serving away from home." Nathan stared out the window.
    "You can't give up, I'm sure you'll find someone."
    An image of that someone flashed in his mind and brought a thunderous throb to his head. Long red hair, slender. How did his mind go wandering from Kiera who had brunette hair, to the hair his first love? It had been five years.
    "Everything was going so well, you know?" Nathan