Second Chances (12 page)

She and Susan answered endless questions and ran the till until they were both ready to collapse. Thank heavens both Paul and Mark showed up to help. Sandra had also flitted in and out throughout the day, lending a helping hand when she could.

It was a smashing success.

Closing time came and went, but the store was too full to notice. By the time the store had emptied and they'd finished cleaning up the dinner hour had come and gone. Mark and Susan looked the way Karina felt—exhausted beyond belief.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but this is definitely a pizza day for me. How about you guys?"

Too tired to do anything but nod, adults and children agreed.

Susan turned to Mark. "Come and join us. You worked hard today. The kids are too tired to ruin the peace and quiet we all need."

Mark was too weary to argue.

Karina stayed behind to phone in the order. For all the bone-weary fatigue, she was smiling. They'd really done it! These last few weeks had given her many difficult moments, but those were over and gone. Even despite the ongoing nightmares, she was content with her move to a new life.

The day's sales were a good start toward paying the bills. More than that, the incredible community response showed how happy everyone was to have a local toy store back.

The only shadow marring the day was that Brian hadn't been able to come.

The flashing light on the answering machine gave testament to phone calls they'd missed. She hit the play button, with pen and paper in hand.

Brian's warm voice filled the store. "Karina. I can't make it to the store but I wish you every success on this day. Call if you get a chance."

Tired but happy, she immediately dialed his number.

"Hi Brian. I'm sorry I missed your call. I've just had a chance to check the answering machine."

"Are you still at the store?" he asked in amazement.

She did her best to stifle a yawn. "Yes. We couldn't even close the doors until an hour after closing. Then we still had to clean up. I'm about to pick up pizzas and head to Susan's. We had a phenomenal day."

"Excellent. You sound like it's almost time for bed. You've been through a lot getting to today."

"Definitely an early night for me," she agreed. "I wanted to tell you that both Susan and I would be at the lecture Thursday. Sandra might come as well."

"Good. I'll see you then. Get your pizzas and get some rest."

"I will." Karina smiled into the phone. "Thanks for calling, Brian. It meant a lot."

"I wanted you to know that I was thinking about you on your big day."

"Thank you." Karina grinned a she replaced the phone. Amazing how a few simple words could dispel the day's fatigue, at least for a few minutes.

***

By Thursday, Karina and Susan were finding their rhythm at the store. Business was steady, with lots of inventory going out of the door. They were going to have to do some reordering already.

Karina dressed with extra care for the evening. This was the first of the evening seminars and boy, had she come a long way. She hadn't seen Brian since the last kiss. Between getting the store ready and his schedule, they hadn't had time for more than phone calls. Which was okay. She didn't want to start a relationship in bed, either. Of course, with the heat that flared every time he touched her that temptation became harder and harder to resist. Tonight both terrified her and excited her. Could they now move forward? And if so—where would their journey take them?

The lecture hall was packed, as always. Mark was at the door handing out information sheets. Karina eagerly stepped forward to hug him before going to look for seating.

So busy chatting with her friends, Karina didn't notice Brian approaching. A gentle fingertip stroked her cheek as he walked past, bringing bright red to her cheeks. She stared straight ahead, trying to ignore the curious looks from those seated around her. The caress lingered in her mind for a long, long time.

At coffee break, they gathered in a corner, catching up on news.

"Good evening, ladies. How is everyone?" Brian asked as he approached.

Other people joined the group, leaving no opportunity for personal conversation. Yet threads of intimate energy continued to ebb and flow easily around them. Brian shifted closer to Karina and murmured in her ear. "How's the store doing? Any regrets?"

"Not a one." Karina beamed. "I was thinking just this afternoon about how far I've come since that first weekend. I wouldn't change that for anything."

"Good. That's the way it should be." He paused for a moment. "I was hoping you'd have time to have lunch at my place on Sunday. Come meet my daughter and perhaps after that we can carry this conversation further." With that, he walked out of the room.

The two other women immediately closed ranks around Karina. "What was that all about?" Susan whispered curiously.

Karina hugged her friend, almost bouncing with barely restrained excitement. "He's invited me to his place on Sunday. I'll get to meet his daughter."

"Then he's serious," Sandra announced. Both women nodded knowingly at Karina.

She stared at them in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"No one introduces a special friend to their children unless they're serious." Susan explained gleefully. She hooked her arm through Karina's.

Karina was hopeful but doubtful. "But don't forget, she doesn't live with him, so maybe the scenario is different in this case."

"But you know that she's still a big part of his life. He'll be watching to see what you're like with her."

"Oh great. More pressure."

"Only if you let it. All of our kids love you, so you needn't worry about that."

"They also run right over me."

"You'll learn."

Heading back to their seats for the rest of the evening, Sandra asked if there was anything new on Ian.

"Mark told me the police did confirm that Ian was responsible for the roses. He didn't sign the card, but the florist has his name from the credit card. That, in a way is scarier, because he didn't attempt to hide his tracks."

"Don't worry about him. It's been months now. He's probably gotten over it all."

"And then again, maybe he's just waiting until we all think he has," Karina added somberly.

The Relationship Ownership seminar started again, keeping them all engrossed with Brian's message. Accepting ownership of one's issues in a relationship was something everyone could relate to.

And gave Karina lots to think about.

"Glad to see you ladies here tonight." Brian walked up behind Karina, slipping his arm around her waist.

She smiled up at him, enjoying the naturalness of the moment. "The lecture was excellent. Lots to think about."

He grinned. "This one always pushes buttons for people."

"I'd forgotten how busy you always are with these affairs. I'm glad we caught up with you tonight."

"Me too," he murmured quietly. "I'm just sorry you're leaving so soon."

"I'm opening the store in the morning. But I'll see you on Sunday."

"Counting on it." He dropped a kiss on her cheek, smiled at the others and walked back to the crowd waiting for him.

On the way home, the discussion returned to parenting and blended families.

"The issue seems even bigger when there are twins in the picture. Most men are just fine with one child, but a pair of rambunctious boys? Not a chance," Sandra said.

"But the twins are terrific. Any man would be happy to have them as part of his family." Karina replied, feeling a stab of loyalty toward the kids.

Sandra looked over at her and smiled. "The boys are still no angels. They're mine and I love them dearly, however, I know what they're like. Look at you. You're always ready to take on the world. Your heart's just a big marshmallow. Look at the dog that the boys convinced you to keep. Your cats are still walking around with their noses out of joint."

Karina smiled sheepishly at the reminder.

"Brian would be very lucky to have you. You'd be loyal forever and probably give him a half a dozen children in the process."

Karina chuckled. "Half-a-dozen kids? Maybe if we agreed on that number. "

The next morning Karina awoke out of sorts for the first time since moving to Victoria. She hated waking up after her nightmares. This time had been the worst. Many mornings she enjoyed the walk to the store, but not today. She was too tired. A shower and coffee hadn't improved her mood any, either. She hoped spending time in the store would do that.

The first to arrive, she unlocked the door and headed into the dark interior. She didn't notice the letters inside the drop-off box until the lights were on. She tossed the bundle on the desk as she headed straight for the coffee maker.

Susan came in a few minutes later. "Good morning. Did you have a good night?"

Karina smiled at her bubbly friend, feeling better already. Susan invariably managed to kick Karina back on track. "It was okay," she shrugged, "but somehow I still woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"I forgot to tell you last night but I need to help out at the school this afternoon, just for an hour or two. Is that all right? I'll call Sandra in a bit and see if she could help if you're swamped. She's working today and she has another girl that comes in on Fridays."

"I'll be fine. Fridays can be busy but I should be okay. Especially if it's just for a couple of hours."

"What's in the mail? Anything interesting?" Susan sorted through the stack Karina had tossed onto the desk.

Karina shrugged dismissively. "I don't know. I haven't looked."

"Hmmm." The odd tone in Susan's voice brought Karina over to her side.

"What did you find?" She reached out a hand for it.

"I'm not so sure you should see this." Susan turned slightly away, holding the envelope close.

"Why? Susan, what is it?" Something wasn't right. Karina could feel it in her belly. Susan held an ordinary manila business envelope with Karina's name written in bold black lettering on the front. Chills rippled down her spine.

"This was tucked inside a handful of other envelopes."

"Give me the letter." Not giving Susan a chance to refuse, Karina reached over and snatched it out of Susan's hands. She opened it, pulling out a single sheet of unlined paper. One line of text was scribbled in the center of the page.

Now I know where
you
are, too.

"Oh, God. This is from Ian. There's no way it isn't." She checked the back of the page, finding it blank. There was still something in the envelope, though. Pictures.

Of her and Brian at the seminar. Of her and Brian kissing in the parking lot. Here.

Oh, God.

She held them up. "He's been stalking me." A wave of panic bubbled up inside of her chest.

"Okay, so that's a little creepy."

"A little?" Karina cried. "It's a
lot
creepy."

"He saw us at that first seminar that he so nicely disrupted. He might have seen us at the lecture last night if he'd gone looking, too."

"Somehow he found out about you moving here."

"Opening day!" They both cried out as the answer instantly became clear.

"We advertised everywhere. Newspapers, the store website, even the posters had our pictures and our names on them."

"Not to mention listing the store's address," Karina added holding up the envelope. "He probably came by, made sure it was me, then came back with this."

"But why? And what do we do about it?"

"First things first, let's open the store. Afterwards, I'm going to call Brian and Mark. And the police."

She came back a few minutes later.

"Mark isn't answering his cell phone, so I left a message. Brian's line is busy. I'll try again in a few minutes." She blew the steam away from the hot cup of coffee clutched in her cold hands. Inside, tension wove itself into a tighter and tighter knot.

By noon, Karina still hadn't managed to get in touch with either Mark or Brian. Susan had left for the school. Sandra had stopped in several times to check on her, but business had been slow each time. With all the customers and friends coming in and out Karina should have felt better or at least been too busy to worry. However, it didn't work that way. And neither did her level of uneasiness change.

She tried Brian for what felt like the seventy-fourth time.

"Hello."

She almost dropped the phone in relief.

"Brian, this is Karina. I've been trying to reach you all day."