Second Chances (26 page)

“Oh, Gavin,” she said seriously, “I’m so sorry.”

“That was the last fight I had with my father.  I was home from college in between semesters.  He was called away on business.  He told me we’d finish this discussion when he returned…only his plane crashed.  He never came back.  And…I…”  His voice trailed off.

Hannah helped him finish.  “So you took over out of guilt because this is what your father wanted?”

He nodded and leaned forward.  Because they were in such tight quarters on the boat, his head was practically in her lap.  Hannah reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.  He relaxed some at her nurturing touch.  She pulled his head close and pressed the side of her face against his.  Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine what his life had been like…all of it.  And in her mind, she was lucky he had turned out as well as he had.  He could have been bitter, filled with hatred, angry at the world.  Instead, he was a wonderful, kind, endearing man who was a bit uptight.  And she could fix that.

“Will you do something for me?”  Gavin asked, leaning back and taking both of her hands in his.  There was a sparkle in his eyes and Hannah would have agreed to anything to simply keep him looking like that.  She nodded happily.  “Will you and the girls go away with me this weekend?  Will you let me have my dream for just a weekend?” 

She tilted her head to the side.  She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she was willing to go along for the ride.  “Absolutely,” Hannah said with far more confidence than she felt.  Quite honestly, she wasn’t sure what she’d just agreed to or where she was going, but she had taken a leap of faith before…when she placed the ad and moved in with Gavin.  Look how well that had turned out.  So…they were living his dream for the weekend…whatever that meant.

It ended up being a shortened week.  Gavin announced that they would be leaving for their destination after dinner Wednesday.  He explained that it would be a long drive.  At first Hannah thought to suggest they should fly, but then she remembered that Gavin had issues with flying and closed her mouth just as quickly.

“Hannah, did you have something you wanted to ask?”  Gavin paused in the middle of his sentence.

“I just was going to ask what I should pack.”  She bit the side of her cheek to cover up the little white lie.  How she hated upsetting Gavin.

“Pack light.  Pack for all the varying temperatures of summer.  And we’ll be getting some provisions last minute.”  He looked so pleased with himself.  He had that sparkle in his eyes again, the one that she saw a few nights before when they were talking outside on the sailboat.

He had taken them sailing the next evening.  They sailed into the sunset on Lake Norman.  And as the sun finally came down and the girls started to get tired, Gavin sent them below deck to rest in the queen berth underneath them.  With the hatch open there was plenty of air circulating.  He had looked so alive then.  And if Hannah found him attractive before, this Gavin, Gavin on water, was positively yummy.

“Is it a surprise?”  She asked before heading upstairs to pack.  “Or can you tell me where we’re going to go?”

He hesitated.  In truth, this was one of the biggest choices he had ever made.  He was letting her in, into his dreams, further into his heart.  And if he told her where they were going and she rejected his plan, he’d be crushed.  If he told her and she came up with a bunch of excuses for why they couldn’t go, couldn’t do what he wanted…if he found out yet again that he couldn’t have his dream even temporarily…his fists clenched involuntarily just thinking about it.

Gavin simply shook his head.

“A surprise it is then,” she murmured before leaving the study.

The drive was long.  Gavin didn’t lie.  At the same time, it really didn’t matter since neither of them was driving.  When Hannah exited the house with the girls in tow she discovered that there was a car and driver outside waiting for them who loaded their luggage and had them on the road in minutes.

The girls were sitting and chatting excitedly about where they were going and what they were going to do. They knew that something pretty special was going on because they didn’t have to go to school the next two days.  They were experiencing the magic of the long weekend.  Hannah hadn’t been out of an office for that long, so she felt that same electric charge in the air that she recognized was the excitement of taking a vacation.  For the first time in forever, she was taking a vacation.  Her last vacation was nearly a year ago to the beach with the girls and that hadn’t been the restful family time she had envisioned.  No, that weekend was spent struggling to reach Brett to no avail.  It was spent discovering that her bank card was declined every time she tried to use it.  It was spent reinforcing her belief that the secret emergency credit card was a fantastic idea.  If she hadn’t had it, she would have been beyond screwed.

Without realizing, Hannah had tensed up at the memory.  Gavin sensed it and reached over to grab her leg.  “We’re going to have fun.  I promise.  You are in good hands.” And he released her leg, leaned back, and closed his eyes. 

It took a moment.  Hannah could feel where he had touched her leg long after his hand had moved.  She stared at the spot.  Then she looked over at him looking completely relaxed and at ease.  It brought a smile to her face.  She was getting out of town.  She didn’t have to worry about money.  She didn’t have to worry if she and the girls would be safe or what they would come home to.  In just a few months her divorce would be final, the year long wait would be over.  And the child support should be in place and enforced by then.  Thank goodness Gavin was a man she could trust.  He was a man she could love.  She inhaled sharply at that thought and glanced at Gavin to see if he noticed.  Confident he was resting, she leaned back.  The head rest hit her all wrong because of her diminutive size.  Slowly, casually almost, she laid her head on his shoulder.  Seconds later she closed her eyes and slept.  And that is why she missed seeing Gavin’s smile.

When she woke up, Hannah saw palm trees.  The sun was rising slowly over the water.  And although it took her a moment, she suddenly realized that she was in The Keys.  The thought warmed her through and through.  The beach for her had always been therapy.  It was always her thinking spot in Wilmington.  It was the one place she could always go to be alone and return home feeling better.

“So, I told you we were going to live my dream this weekend, right?”  Gavin began tentatively.

“Yes,” Hannah said staring out the window.  “You sure do know how to dream.”

“Don’t you want to know what we’re doing?”  Gavin was nervous.  What if a weekend of sailing was too much for her? 
For the girls?  Then he smiled.  This was Hannah he was talking about.  She could do anything.

“I figured you’d get around to telling me eventually.  And maybe you wanted it to be a surprise.”  She leaned back and sighed in contentment.  “All I know is that I love sunshine, sand, and blue water.  This is heaven to me.”

Feeling better instantly, Gavin reached over and laced his fingers through hers.  He studied her hands.  They were soft and smooth, carefully maintained.  And it was obvious that they were completely unaccustomed to the kind of work he’d be expecting from them this weekend.  Luckily, he packed gloves.  Smiling, he opened the back pack on the floor in between his legs.

“So, Hannah, this is something of a working vacation.”  He pulled out a length of rope.  “And the work starts now.  I’m going to need your help.  I’m going to need your contribution.  We’re going to have to be a team.  And I’m the captain.”

Hannah saluted.  “Aye aye, captain.”  She took the piece of rope he passed her.  “And what will I be doing with this?”

“Until we get to the boat, we’re going to practice knots.”  Gavin beamed.

For him, this was something incredibly special.  Not only did he have someone in his life that was encouraging him to follow his passions, to be his own man, but he was able to share it with her.  This was his dream.  More than the sailing even, he had always wanted someone to share his life with, someone to be his partner.  And in Hannah, he had that.  She just didn’t know it yet.  He could never let her go.  She didn’t know that yet either.  But he didn’t need to rush things.  They had all the time in the world.  Gavin was more than patient to let these feelings develop over time.  Oh, but this weekend…should help.

They parked in a gravel lot.  Everyone eagerly stepped out of the vehicle.  Hannah took the girls over to the rest rooms while Gavin began to unload and talk to the driver.  By the time she reached his side again, he had everything loaded in a cart that was overflowing.

“Is this everything?” She asked smiling.

“No, we still need to pick up a few items…food…water…that kind of thing.”  He motioned for her to follow him down the dock to the boat he had secured.

They stopped in front of a large sailboat that had a ‘For Sale’ sign on it.  That was the first time Hannah had cause to pause.  Gavin noticed right away and urged her on.  “Come on, Hannah!  We can’t miss the tide.” 

“I don’t know what that means.”  She mumbled.

:Gavin
laughed.  “May you not have to find out.”  He lifted the girls onto the boat and instructed them to sit out of the way and showed them right where that was.  “Hannah, I need you down in the cabin so that I can pass you our supplies.  Then I’ll show you how to secure the cabin before we set sail.”

If Hannah felt nervous, she didn’t show it.  She faced this like she did everything else, shoulders back, head high, ready to take on anything she had to.  She climbed onto the deck and barely had time to appreciate the shiny teak all over, before Gavin had urged her below deck.  Instantly, she was glad he had.  It was beautiful.  There were forward and aft cabins, each with their own head, the galley was in the center with the dining area and salon.  She couldn’t even imagine how much this would sell for; it was amazing.  The counters were granite.  The stove was a three burner gas stove.  The oven was large enough to actually be functional.  There was a marine fridge.  It was more than she could ever have dreamed of.

The boat was loaded.  Life jackets were worn by all.  And soon enough the inboard motor was running and they were leaving the slip, heading to the open water. 

The girls were busy exploring down below after being instructed not to take anything out of the cabinets. 

“Why not?”  Zoe asked.  “We’ll be careful.  We won’t break anything.”

Gavin laughed.  “I don’t want anything to break you, silly.”  Zoe and Rory exchanged quizzical looks.  “If we suddenly hit rough water, anything that is out and loose can fly around and hurt someone.  That’s why we put everything away.”