A New Beginning (Second Chance #1) (18 page)

When they were all seated at the table Andrew looked around at everyone and smiled. “Before we start eating I’d like to ask everyone to do something. I’d like everyone to share something that they’re thankful for. I’ll start and we’ll go around the table. Is everyone game?” When everyone nodded their agreement Andrew continued. “I’m thankful for my family. Leslie and Karla are everything to me. If I lost my ability to practice medicine, I’d still have everything as long as I have them.”

Leslie and Karla both got up and hugged Andrew. When they sat back down Leslie looked at Karla and Andrew. “I’m thankful for friends and family to share the holidays with. Last year there was an emptiness in our house, yes Bob, Meghan and Harvey were here, but something was still missing. Now our house is full of friends and family. The person to thank for that is Karla. She’s the one that has brought us joy and happiness. She’s what was missing from our lives.”

Tears filled Karla’s eyes at Leslie’s words. She had to take a second to compose herself before she could speak. “I’m thankful to Detective Greeves for catching me stealing peanut butter.” Laughter surrounded her and she smiled before she continued. “If not for him catching me that day I wouldn’t be here today. I would honestly probably be dead by now. I was left with no food, no money and no one to turn too. So I’m thankful for Detective Greeves.”

They went around the table and everyone said what they’re thankful for. Even Harper chimed in with what she’s thankful for when she said “Mama” and made everyone laugh loudly. When everyone was finished Andrew carved the turkey and they started passing food around. When the plates were full they dug in. For the next hour they ate and talked and ate some more.

When everyone was finished eating they helped clear the table as Leslie pushed a tea cart loaded with the deserts, coffee and hot chocolate into the dining room. Conner’s eyes lit up when they landed on the apple pie Karla had made that morning. “Mrs. Peterson that is the best looking apple pie I’ve ever seen.”

Leslie laughed at the tone of his voice. “I’ve asked you to call me Leslie and thank you, but I didn’t make it. Karla did, she made all of them actually. All I did was talk her through it.”

“Wow Karla. That’s awesome. You did an excellent job.” Callie gushed from beside her

“You haven’t tasted them yet. After you do, let me know what you think.”

“I’m sure they’ll taste as good as they look.” Conner said with a smile. “You’re great at everything you do.”

“Well let’s stop talking about them and eat them already. There’s a slice of that pecan pie yelling my name.” Everyone burst out laughing at Rylee as Leslie passed her a slice of pecan pie.

A few minutes later everyone had their desert and were back in their seats at the table. Conner took a huge bite of his pie and moaned in delight. After he swallowed he looked at his mom and grinned “Mom, I love you and your apple pie is awesome, but Karla’s would beat it hands down in a pie baking competition.”

“My own son has turned against my pie.” Karen dabbed at fake tears as a smile formed on her face. “Well Karla they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Looks like you have that part covered.”

Karla choked on her pie at Karen’s words, but before she had a chance to say anything Conner responded to her comment. “Mom it isn’t like that between me and Karla. We’re friends, only friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be.”

Hurt stabbed Karla through the heart at Conner’s words. She had thought that someday they’d be more than friends. “Excuse me” she mumbled as she got up and left the table. She couldn’t believe he’d tell everyone that they’d never be more than friends. She walked out onto the screened in porch and looked at the sky.

“Karla, are you okay?” Rylee asked from behind her.

She wiped her tears before she turned around to face Rylee and Callie. “Yeah. I’m alright.”

“Are you sure? You looked pretty upset when you left the dining room. You still do.” Callie said as she walked over to the patio bar and sat down. “Want to come sit and talk about it?”

Karla sat and Rylee sat on her other side. “Conner and I talked earlier and decided it’d be best if we were just friends for now even though we both like each other. I thought it was just for now, until we’re both more confident and sure of ourselves. I guess I was wrong. He just told everyone that all we’d ever have is friendship.” She paused and wiped her tears again. “James from Algebra class asked me to go see a movie with him Tuesday and I turned him down because of Conner and how I feel about him, but according to him we’ll never be more than friends. When we go back to school on Monday I’m going to see if he still wants me to go with him. If so I’m going.”

“Good for you. If Conner feels that way then you need to move on from him.” Callie told her as she made a mental note to kick her brother’s butt.

“Karla I think you should do whatever makes you happy and if going to the movies with James is it then I say go for it. He’s a really cute guy and really sweet too.” Rylee told her.  “Now let’s go back in there and eat our pie.”

“I’m not really in a pie mood anymore. You two go back. I’ll be okay.”

“You sure?” Rylee asked. “We can go get our pie and sit in the kitchen together and eat it.”

“That sounds awesome. Thanks guys. You two are the best.”

“Back in a minute.” Callie said and they walked back into the dining room and were back in less than a minute carrying their pie and hot chocolate.

When they’d finished they started cleaning up the kitchen and by the time the others came in with their desert plates the dishwasher was running and the counters had been wiped down.

“Thanks girls. That saves me some work later. You three are awesome.” Leslie hugged them all and started washing the pots and pans that couldn’t go in the dishwasher.

“May I borrow Karla for a minute girls?” Karen asked as she walked up behind them.

“Sure mom.” Callie answered immediately.

Karla followed Karen onto the porch. “What’s up Mrs. Newberry?”

“I love my son to death, but he’s such a bonehead sometimes. Are you alright? I know how much you like him.”

“I’m fine Mrs. Newberry. Yes I like him, a lot actually, but apparently I like him more than he likes me.”

“That’s the thing honey, he likes you a lot too. I thought he was going to punch Kevin for talking to you the first time you were at the house. I’ve never seen him react like that before.”

“Don’t worry about it Mrs. Newberry. I was invited to the movies by a boy in class and I think I’m going to accept the invitation. Conner’s right. Trying to be more than friends won’t be good for our group.”

“Okay honey. I hope you have fun and I hope Conner pulls his head out of his butt soon.”

“Thanks Mrs. Newberry.” Karla hugged her then walked back to her friends and finished cleaning the kitchen.

The rest of the long weekend passed quickly. Karla Skyped with Manuel and Kiara for almost two hours Friday morning and she’d decided she was going to ask Andrew and Leslie if they could go to Puerto Rico to visit them over Christmas break. She hoped they’d say yes. After dinner on Sunday night she knew it was time to approach them. She walked into the kitchen where they were sitting at the bar. “Leslie, Andrew, I have a question.”

“Sure honey. What do you need?” Leslie answered and looked up from the webpage she was working on.

“Well…ummm…I was kind of wondering if we could, maybe, go visit Manuel and Kiara while I was out on Christmas break.”

Leslie smiled and Andrew chuckled softly. Karla looked at them, confused by their reactions. “Andrew and I were just discussing that before dinner. He’s going to take some time off after Christmas. He was just looking at hotels online when you walked in.”

“Really? Can I look too?”

“Sure.” Andrew slid over to the empty stool and let Karla slide in between him and Leslie. “I found this one that I really like. It’s a two bedroom suite and it’s close to the beach. It’s in Ceiba so it’s close to Manuel and Kiara and you’d get to spend as much time with them as possible.”

“It looks perfect. When were you thinking we could go?”

“We were thinking we could fly out of Nashville on December 26
th
and come back on January 3
rd
. You don’t go back to school until January 5
th
so that’ll give you plenty of time to rest before then.”

“That’d be perfect. I’d have a full week with them. We could walk on the beach and just hang out. I’ll finally get to meet them, face to face. I need to go Google the area and see what all there is to do there.”

Andrew laughed out loud at her enthusiasm. “There’s plenty of time for that. What you need to do now is get in touch with Manuel and Kiara and make sure they will be able to visit with you during that time.”

“Going to go do that right now.” She bounced down from her stool and hugged both of them before she ran upstairs to email Manuel.

Andrew shifted back to the bar stool beside Leslie and put his arm around her. “I think we made her happy.” Leslie said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“I know we did.” He responded. “This will be our first family vacation. Ready to make some memories?”

“I’ve been ready”

****

The next morning when Karla awoke there was an email from Manuel that said he’d make sure he and Kiara had clear schedules for that week and that he and Kiara were super excited about meeting her in person. When she went downstairs Leslie was sitting at the bar drinking coffee and searching flights online.

“Manuel emailed me back and told me that he’d make sure he and Kiara have clear schedules for that week,” she told Leslie as she poured herself a bowl of Cheerios and sliced up a banana in them. “Found any flights?”

“Found one that’s perfect. It leaves Nashville at seven-thirty in the morning and is non-stop to San Juan arriving at approximately one forty-nine their time. That’s just a little over five hours. Andrew asked me to go ahead and book the flight when you had your answer from Manuel so I’m going to do that now.” She hit a few keys on her laptop, typed in her credit card information and hit send. “That’s done. Now all we need to do is get you a photo ID and go shopping.”

Karla laughed at Leslie’s expression when she mentioned shopping. “Think my student ID will work? It has my picture, name and birthday on it.”

“I’ll find out. If not I’ll pick you up early from school one day next week and we’ll get you one. You need one anyway.”

“Awesome.” She said before she took her last bite of cereal, rinsed her bowl and spoon, and put them in the dishwasher. When she was done she ran upstairs, brushed her teeth and hair, grabbed her backpack, jacket and cell phone, and headed back downstairs. “Bye Leslie. I’ll see you this afternoon.” She called into the kitchen before she walked out the door and headed to the bus stop. She hadn’t seen Conner since Thursday and she was a little nervous about seeing him now, but he was one of her best friends and she didn’t want to lose that.

When the bus stopped in front of her she took a deep breath and got on. Conner and Callie were in their seats and she took her normal seat beside Conner. “Good morning. How was your weekend?” Callie asked her.

“I have some awesome news, but I’m going to wait until Rylee is here before I share it. What about you two?”

“Our weekend was pretty boring except for when Dylan dared Kevin to ride his skateboard off the roof of the garage. He was doing well until he hit the trashcan. He broke his left arm and is in a cast for the next eight weeks. Good thing he’s not a starter on the basketball team.” Conner laughed at the expression on Callie’s face. Before anyone could say anything else the bus stopped and Rylee got on. When she sat down Callie looked at Karla. “Now will you share your awesome news?”

“Okay. The day after Christmas Andrew, Leslie and I are leaving for a week. We’re going to Puerto Rico to visit Manuel and Kiara.” Karla’s smile lit up her face when she told them.

“That is awesome Karla. I’m going to miss you like crazy, but I’m so glad you’re finally going to get to meet them.” Rylee told her.

“Me too Karla. I’m happy for you. When will you be back?”

“January 3
rd
. I wanted as much time as possible with them.”

“I know you’ll have a blast and take lots of pictures for us to see when you get back.” Callie said as the bus pulled in front of the school and stopped.

When they got off the bus Karla immediately saw James talking with a group of his friends in front of the school. “I’ll see you all in class.” She told her friends as she walked away.

Conner’s mouth dropped open in shock when she walked up to James and smiled at him. “What’s going on here? Why is she talking to James?” He asked Rylee and Callie.

“Well you big dope, when you announced to the entire table at dinner Thursday that the only thing you and Karla would ever be is friends she decided to accept James’ movie invitation.” Callie told him and walked into the building.

“You pushed her away Conner. She likes you, but you made it very clear that all she can hope for is friendship so she’s moving on. Come on. Let’s get to class.” Rylee grabbed his arm and led him into the building. When they got to the doors he looked back at Karla and James, they were talking and laughing together. He shook his head and walked inside, walked away from the only girl he’d ever felt this way about.