Second Chances Read Online Free Page A

and took another swig of his scotch.
     
    “Yeah, I thought she was really going to get what’s coming to her,” a distinctly male voice to his right commented.
     
    “I beg your pardon?”  Gavin said, confused.
     
    “Oh, sorry.  I’ve been watching her,” he said gesturing to the woman at the table.  “There has been a regular parade of men through here over the last few hours.”
     
    “Oh, yes.  That,” Gavin said, returning his attention to his drink.
     
    “I mean, she looks perfectly innocent, right?  Well, looks can be deceiving I guess.”  The guy dipped another soggy fry in ketchup and stuffed it into his mouth.
     
    Moments before, Gavin also might have thought the worst of her, but there was something sweet about her, something that made him want to step in and protect her.  He sighed.  He had been far too long without the comforts of a woman.
     
     
    Her third date saved her.  Hannah sighed.  He had smoky gray eyes and dark brown hair.  He looked at her with concern that made her stomach kind of twist about.  It wasn’t attraction exactly, but she knew this guy was different.  This was someone she could talk to.
     
    “Thank you,” she began breathlessly.  Cocking her head to the side, she studied him.  He seemed ill at ease.  Could he really be just as nervous as she was, a real person, just like her?  “I was going to head to the ladies’ room, but I can wait.”  She slid back into the booth and gestured for him to sit opposite her.
     
    Her third date wasn’t bad looking.  He had boyish good looks, and perceptive eyes.  Hannah could feel them boring into her, studying her every move.  “I know what you’re thinking,” she began quietly.  His eyebrows quirked and he opened his mouth, but she shook her head and continued.  “I really am a nice girl,” she said with a shrug.  “I have just had a terrible run of bad luck.”
    “Tell me about it,” he said seriously, staring at her as though to memorize everything about her.  Sensing her hesitation, he added, “Call me Rick.”
     
    Tilting her head to one side, she nodded.  “Okay…Rick.”  She sighed.  “Can I first begin by saying that I am not trying to rouse your sympathy?  Please understand that like everyone else, my wounds are mostly self-inflicted.”  His eyebrows knit together and he began to protest.
     
    “No, really.  It’s true.”  Hannah smiled shyly.  “I chose Brett, my almost ex-husband.  I loved him and trusted him and believed him.  I let him handle our finances and I blindly went to work and deposited my check and concentrated on keeping up our apartment and raising the girls.”  She swallowed hard to control her emotions.  “And I believed him when he said that he was working late, unfortunately he was working late on a stripper.  They are currently living together, by the way.  And I even went away for the weekend with my folks over Labor Day, unwittingly allowing him to labor over emptying our apartment and accounts.” 
     
    “Oh, Hannah,” he murmured and tried to reach across the table to comfort her.
     
    She stiffened immediately and sniffled.  “I don’t want your sympathy, Rick.  I don’t want anyone’s sympathy.  I’ve been as strong and resourceful as I could possibly be to hold it together for this long.  Brett doesn’t give me any child support or alimony.  I am over-educated and underemployed.”  Her chin dropped and her eyes no longer met his.  “All I need is a leg up, not a hand out.  I need a place to stay while I pull it together.  I keep a nice house, cook amazing meals, and can carry on intelligent conversation…when I get to speak with adults, that is.”  Her eyes were shining now; sparkling with intensity as she gave the pitch she had practiced.  “It doesn’t have to be a lifelong commitment.  It could be on a month to month basis, or a trial period.”
     
    Rick began sinking in his seat.  He had a sense about