Second Chance Girl

For a second Ulrich mentally paused to appreciate the six or seven thousand miles between him and his grandmother. Because if she ever knew he’d thought of her as helpless or old, she would grab him by the ear and give him a stern talking-to. She wouldn’t care that he was thirty and the Duke of Somerbrooke.

Fortunately he didn’t plan to tell her. Instead he would confront the con artist and sever the contact. Then he would fly back to England and retreat to his beautiful if slightly needy home and brace himself for the Hollywood invasion.

Nothing about his mission was pleasant, but that didn’t matter. For over a millennia, his ancestors had been riding or sailing or, in his case, driving into battle. Not for glory or personal gain, but because it was expected. He had been raised to do the right thing—damn the inconvenience or short-term consequences. Or in this case, the thieving ways of the mysterious Violet Lund.

CHAPTER TWO

MATHIAS HELD THE form in position. Ronan focused intently as he heated the glass to a molten state. Timing was everything. The material had to be hot enough to shape, but not heated too much or it would become a blob and he would lose all the work he’d already done.

A sketch of the completed piece was pinned up on the wall of the brothers’ giant studio. The finished installation would be nearly thirty feet across and ten feet high. On the left was a perfect green dragon—on the right was an elegant white swan. In between the two were morphing shapes as one became the other.

Ronan had just started the piece. He had a year to complete it and then he would oversee the installation of it in an upscale hotel in Japan. While these days he mostly worked in the privacy of his studio at home, aided by assistants and interns, he often started a project at the studio they and their brother Nick shared. Mathias liked to think Ronan wanted the comradery and the shared energy, but maybe he was fooling himself. He and his brother had once been close. A few years ago, all that had changed.

Ronan pulled the glass out of the oven. Mathias stepped into place and held the form as Ronan spun the rod. Nick applied pressure with a sharp edge. The glass yielded.

The heat was intense, as was their concentration. Success or failure was measured in seconds as the material hardened in the breathable air. Ronan studied what they’d done, then returned the piece to the oven, only to pull it out again and watch it cool and harden.

The commission would be done in hundreds of sections all carefully joined together, like a giant glass puzzle. It would consume him for weeks at a time. Mathias had seen it happen before. The start was slow, then the project picked up momentum. Usually Mathias had been a part of that. This time, he was less sure.

In his head, Mathias understood why. Everything was different now. They were no longer two of the five Mitchell brothers. He dropped the form back into the bin and walked to his work area, then shook his head. Okay, that wasn’t true. They were still the Mitchell brothers, but he and Ronan, well, that was gone forever.

He studied his own morning’s work. Two serving bowls in a dozen shades of amber, moss green and yellow. Unlike Ronan’s creation, Mathias’s was practical rather than esoteric. He made light pendants and giant vessels that were used as bathroom sinks. He created vases and platters and dishes. The latter were done in various colors to reflect the seasons. White, blue and silver for winter, pale green, pink and peach for spring, red, orange and purple for summer and amber, moss green, chestnut and yellow for fall.

There had been a time when he, too, had created art, but he’d figured out this was his path. He liked what he did—he brought beauty to people’s everyday lives. If every now and then he yearned for something more, well, what was the point? Yes, he had some of their father’s talent, but Ronan and Nick were the artists. He was just a guy who worked with glass.

He studied the bowls, pleased with the outcome. Every year he tried to do something to challenge himself. For this year, he’d decided to add a shape to the serving pieces. The fall bowls had the outline of a leaf. Summer had been a strawberry and spring, a daisy. For winter, he would take on a snowflake—something he still had no idea how he was going to create. Every attempt had been a disaster, but that was half the fun.

His phone chirped. He glanced at the screen and saw he had a text from his mother.

“Incoming,” he said aloud, then glanced at his brothers to see if either of them had heard from her.

Nick reached for his phone while Ronan ignored him.

“Nothing,” Nick said. “Guess it’s your lucky day.”

“Sure it is,” Mathias grumbled as he read the short message.

I’m coming to see you.

An interesting statement that would have made him uncomfortable if his mother hadn’t been over four hundred miles away.

When?

What he expected was for her to say sometime next week or at the end of the month, when his brother Del was getting married.

In about ten minutes. I’m in town.

Mathias swore. His first thought was “Why me?” followed by “Hell, no” followed by “Run!” Instead of following his instincts, he reminded himself that he loved his mother, even if he found her difficult, and that not dealing with her wasn’t an option.

Great, he texted back, telling himself it wasn’t an actual lie. More of a hedge.

“What?” Nick demanded.

“She’s on her way.”

His brother relaxed. “That gives us about eight hours. Why is she coming here?”

“I have no idea.” He swung his attention to Ronan. “She’s ten minutes away.”

Mathias watched the play of emotion on Ronan’s face. They were easy to read. Shock, annoyance, the need to disappear. Not all that different from his own reaction.

Five years ago he would have said the similarity was because they were twins. Fraternal, but still. They shared a bond that time and space couldn’t break. Only they’d discovered they weren’t twins at all—they never had been. It had all been a lie and nothing had been the same since they’d had that particular truth thrust upon them.

Ronan set the still cooling glass on the heatproof bench, grabbed his keys and bolted.

“We’re not going to see him for three days,” Nick grumbled. “He’s got to face her sooner or later.”

“You’re telling the wrong guy.”

Mathias walked to the entrance to the studio and waited. Ronan was already backing out of the parking space. He turned right on the street and headed for the hills. Or in his case, the mountains. Nick was right—they wouldn’t see him for days.

The October afternoon was warm and clear. Rain rarely came to the desert and this wasn’t the season. From now through the holidays there wouldn’t even be a cloud in the sky. Come spring, the weather got a little iffy, but not often and not for long.

Happily Inc sat in the middle of the California desert, with Arizona to the east and Mexico to the south. An underground aquifer provided more than enough water for residents and visitors alike. There were mountains for those who preferred that topography, as well as an odd convergence of energy that made Happily Inc a special and magical place for those who believed in that kind of thing. More significant to daily life was the fact that the town was a destination wedding location with most of the local businesses focused on all things nuptial and tourist. The only large-scale exceptions were the sleep center north of town and Carol’s animal preserve to the southwest.

An unfamiliar car pulled into the parking lot and took Ronan’s spot. It was a nondescript sedan, a rental. His mother was behind the wheel and his father was nowhere to be seen. Unless Ceallach was hiding in the back seat, maybe this visit wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

“Hey, Mom,” he said as Elaine Mitchell got out of the car and hugged him.

“What an adorable little town. And so easy to navigate. I wasn’t sure I could find my way from the airport, but it all went just fine.” She turned back to the car. “Come on, sweetie.”

Mathias had a second of panic, thinking his joke about his father hiding had tempted the fates just a little too much, only instead of the family patriarch stepping out onto the pavement, a brown-and-white beagle jumped down and immediately raced over to him, her ears flapping and her long tail wagging happily.

“Hey, Sophie,” he said as he crouched down to greet the dog.

She ran in circles around him before jumping up to put her paws on his shoulders and thoroughly kiss his face. He laughed, then stood to get out of the wet zone.

Nick stepped out of the studio. He looked at Mathias, who shook his head. His brother relaxed as he approached their mother.

“Mom,” he said warmly. “You’re a surprise.” He bent over to greet Sophie.

“I know. I should have called, but I didn’t.”

Mathias had the uncomfortable thought that she’d deliberately not given them much warning because she’d known they would scatter if given the chance. Which sure didn’t say much about them as sons.

The problem wasn’t her, he thought grimly. It was their father. The man they wouldn’t have to ask about because Elaine would happily tell them everything and more.

The three of them walked into the studio, Sophie bringing up the rear. At the last second, Mathias thought about all the tools, glass and ovens in the room and grabbed Sophie’s trailing leash. Elaine glanced around, as if looking for someone, then her happy smile faded a little.

Mathias silently called Ronan five kinds of bastard for hurting the woman who had always loved him. But his brother wouldn’t see it that way and no one had been able to get through to him, despite how they’d all tried.

“This is nice,” she said with false enthusiasm. “Big and open. You all work here?”

Nick and Mathias exchanged a glance, as if hoping the other would speak first.

“Ronan has his own studio at his place,” Mathias finally said. “He works there a lot.”

“I see. And the gallery is close?”

“Across the parking lot. You should meet Atsuko before you go. She’s the one selling our work.”

“I will next time. I’m on my way back to the airport to catch a flight.”

Before Mathias could ask why she’d bothered to come by, she continued, “Your father and I are heading out on tour. He’s going to be lecturing and giving demonstrations. It’s all very exciting to see him get the attention he deserves.”

Mathias did his best not to roll his eyes. The last thing Ceallach Mitchell was lacking was attention. In his universe, he was the sun and everyone else revolved around his greatness and light.

“We’ll be gone about a month and then come back here in time for Del and Maya’s wedding.”

“That’s great, Mom,” Nick said. “So, ah, why did you stop by?”

Elaine turned to Mathias as if it was obvious. “Someone has to look after Sophie while we’re gone.”

Mathias dropped the leash he was holding. The dog immediately took off exploring. “No. No way. I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. She’s adorable and you love her.”

Love was strong. He liked the dog...from a distance. It wasn’t that she was a bad dog—not exactly. It was more that she had an adventurous spirit and only listened when it suited her purposes. If there was trouble within a five-mile radius, Sophie found it, rolled in it, then brought it home as a prize.

His mother’s gaze sharpened. “Nick can’t take her. He and Pallas are newly in love and Sophie would only get in the way.”

Nick’s expression turned smug. “That’s true.”

“You have that big house,” his mother went on. “With a yard. Sophie will be fine with you and it’s only for a month. Besides, taking care of her would be good for—”

The sound of glass shattering cut through the afternoon. They all turned to stare as Sophie yelped and raced away from the rack filled with finished plates, bowls and glasses. Mathias hadn’t seen what had happened but he would guess Sophie’s ever-wagging tail had been the culprit.

Elaine hurried toward her dog. Mathias swore and followed. They had to keep Sophie away from the glass so she didn’t hurt herself. But as they approached, the happy beagle decided this was some kind of glorious game and darted away.

“I’ve got her,” Nick called as he lunged.

Sophie sidestepped, whacked one of the two bowls Mathias had completed that morning with her tail and then took off for the other side of the room. Mathias managed to get close enough to stomp on her leash, which brought her to a quick stop. He grabbed her in his arms and hauled her up to safety. Sophie relaxed and gave him a doggie kiss on the chin.

Elaine smiled. “See. You’re going to do great with her.”

Not exactly the words he would have used. Still, he was smart enough to know when he’d been bested. He could yell and complain and generally make a fool of himself but at the end of the day, Elaine was his mother, he loved her and there was no way he could tell her no. Which meant today, it sucked to be him.

* * *

MONDAY NIGHTS WERE tournament nights at The Boardroom Pub. With weddings running the local economy, Happily Inc worked on weekends. Monday was the town’s traditional party night, such as it was, and many of the residents made it a point to get out for a little fun before the next batch of wedding folk blew into town.

The Boardroom, a pub devoted to every board game known to man, celebrated Mondays with different challenges. There had been a Monopoly Junior competition over the summer. Hungry, Hungry Hippo night, along with board-based trivia games, checkers, chess. If there was a board used at any point in the game, it could be found in The Boardroom.

Carol liked Monday nights. In the past, she’d enjoyed the chance to hang out with her friends and have fun. Lately, she was just as interested in the big crowd that showed up for the tournaments. Ever since she’d come up with the idea of buying a herd for her lonely giraffe, she’d been in fund-raising mode. There were donation cans all over town and on Monday nights, a percentage of the proceeds at The Boardroom went to the “buy Millie a herd” cause.

As she wove between the tables, she called out to people she knew. Once she reached the bar, she shook the giraffe-print-covered can and was delighted to feel the weight of it. Yes, the money was flowing slowly, but at least it was flowing. Buying giraffes wasn’t cheap, nor was the very tricky transportation to get them to the animal preserve. There would be the costs of additional housing, not to mention feeding. Millie’s favorite marionberry leaf-eater treats were pricey.

Still, progress was being made and that was what mattered. Carol needed her favorite girl to be happy.

After confirming the full can, she looked at the chalkboard to find out the challenge of the week, then grinned.

“You look happy,” her friend Pallas said as she approached. They hugged.

“I love Clue.”

Pallas, a hazel-eyed brunette with an easy smile, groaned. “Let me guess. You can always figure out who did it and where. I never can. There’s too much to keep track of.”

“That’s why you take notes.”

“It’s not a game if you’re taking notes. Want to sit with us tonight?”

“Sure.”

They made their way to a table. Seconds before they arrived, Carol remembered that Pallas would most likely be sitting with her fiancé. Nick was a great guy—Carol liked him a lot. The problem was his brother. Because Carol wasn’t sure she wanted to spend the evening sitting next to the ever dreamy Mathias.

Not that he would notice her, she reminded herself. She wasn’t glamorous or special—in the animal kingdom, she was the female who would be overlooked by the alpha male. While she teased Mathias about his love of bridesmaids, the truth was his type was more specific than simply anyone who was in a wedding. He gravitated toward the most beautiful, most feminine, most alluring of the single women in town to attend a wedding.

In a word or two—not her.

She and Pallas took seats across from each other, then glanced at the menu. On tournament nights there were special drinks in honor of the game du jour, along with easy-to-eat food. Carol generally stuck with herbal iced tea rather than one of the cocktails. She had to be up early to feed her animals.

Pallas was facing the door. When Carol saw her friend’s face light up with happiness, she sighed. “Let me guess. Chris Pine just walked in?”

“Better.” Pallas rose. “Nick’s here.”

The engaged couple embraced. Nick’s kiss lingered a second more than was polite, then he grinned at Carol. “How’s it going? Did you hear about Mathias?”

He seemed too happy for whatever it was to be bad, she told herself as she shook her head. “I’ve been out on the savanna all day. What happened?”

Pallas rolled her eyes. “Ignore him. He’s being mean.”

“I’m not,” Nick protested as he sat next to her. “But I will admit, better him than me.” Nick’s grin returned. “Our mom stopped by with Sophie.”

Carol tried to figure out what was funny. While she’d heard about Elaine Mitchell, she’d never met her and she had no idea who Sophie was. There was no sister, so a cousin maybe? A chill raced through her as she considered the possibility of an ex-girlfriend delivered to Mathias. For reasons she couldn’t explain the thought of that was incredibly unsettling.

Pallas put her hand over Nick’s. “She has no idea who Sophie is, sweetie, so she’s not going to get the joke.”

“Sophie’s a beagle. She’s Mom’s dog. My parents are going to be traveling for a month, so Mom brought Sophie to stay with Mathias.” Nick snickered. “I’m in love, so I was spared.”

A dog? Wasn’t that nice? Carol liked dogs. “Why is this so funny?”

“You haven’t met Sophie,” Nick told her. “She’s sweet and friendly as could be, but don’t let those big eyes fool you. Sophie’s also a terror. She’s an escape artist, a food hound and all-around troublemaker. Mathias doesn’t have a chance. The dog was in our studio for maybe ten minutes and she broke a dozen of his pieces. That was without trying. Imagine what she can do if she makes an effort.”

Carol winced. “Is she okay? Did she get any glass in her paw?”

“She’s fine. She’s lucky that way. Nothing bad ever happens to her. Everyone else gets sucked into the vortex, but Sophie emerges unscathed.”

“He’s exaggerating,” Pallas said. “I’ve only seen pictures, but she looks adorable. Mathias will be fine.”

Nick snorted. “Tell him that,” he said, jerking his head toward the door.

Carol turned and saw Mathias, a small beagle at his side and a fluffy dog bed under his arm. Sophie’s eyes were bright, her tail wagging. She was every inch a happy dog.

“Oh, yeah, she’s the devil,” Carol murmured. “We should run while we can.”

“You mock me but you’ll see.” Nick’s tone was warning.

As Mathias and Sophie approached, Carol noticed the dog wearing a red service-animal vest. Her lips began to twitch.

Mathias reached the table and dropped the dog bed on the floor. “Don’t say a word,” he growled. “You have no idea what I’ve been through in the past few hours.”

Carol glanced from him to Sophie and back. “Do you need her for emotional support?” she asked sweetly. “Does she help with flashbacks or is her job more to keep the sexy bridesmaids at bay?”

“Very funny.” He collapsed in his chair. “I couldn’t leave her home alone. Everything is new to her. Mom told me she’s a certified service dog, so I put her in her vest and brought her.”

“That’s so nice,” Pallas told him. She turned to Nick. “See, it’s going fine.”

Nick chuckled. “Uh-huh. Tell her the rest.”

Mathias expression tightened. “It’s been five hours. There’s no way I can keep her for a month. She has more equipment than an NFL team. Leashes and collars, beds, toys, the service vest. My mom gave me a notebook of instructions. There are twenty-six pages. Twenty-six!” He cleared his throat, then lowered his voice. “She has canned food, dry food, treats, flea medicine.”

“Poop bags?” Carol asked, trying not to laugh. “You know dogs poop, right? Usually on a walk. You’re going to need the bags so you can pick it up and carry it with you until you get home and throw it in the trash. Oh, and make sure you tie the bag really tight when you’re done because of, you know, the smell.”

Mathias stared at her. “Stop it.”

Nick shook his head. “Bro, she’s not lying about the poop. We all do it.”

“Thank you for sharing.” Mathias flagged a server. “I’d like a beer, please, and if you could hurry, that would be great.”

They all placed their drink orders, then Pallas smiled at Mathias. “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure Sophie’s a good little girl. You’ll like having her around.”

“You might learn something from her,” Carol added. “Dogs are loyal, committed companions. Of course that might make you too uncomfortable.”

“You think this is funny.”

“I know this is funny,” she told him. “Come on. She’s a dog. People have had dogs as pets for tens of thousands of years. You can suck it up for a month.”

Mathias didn’t look convinced.

Their drinks were delivered and the game began. On tournament night, everyone played until there was a winner at each table, then those winners would play until only one was left standing.

As they rolled dice and moved from room to room, discarding suspects and weapons, eliminated players stopped by to say hello and sneak Sophie bits of bacon and burger. Sophie took each treat gently, offering a thank-you lick when she’d swallowed the bite.

Mathias was overreacting. Sophie was obviously well trained and used to being around people. He and Nick were making her into something that she wasn’t, which was just like a man. A month with a lovely little dog was exactly what Mathias needed.

CHAPTER THREE

MATHIAS HAD GONE out of his way to make the rules clear to Sophie. She was a visiting pet—she was responsible for listening to him and doing as he said. As such, she would sleep in the living room and not in his bedroom. Only when it was time to go to bed, he realized that the living room was kind of a big, dark place and a long way from his room. As a way to show his willingness to compromise, he put her bed in the hallway, outside his bedroom door. Then he told her good-night and closed the door.

All went well for eight or ten seconds, then Sophie began to cry. At first the sounds were soft little yips of loneliness but they soon morphed into full-throated howls of pain and suffering, punctuated by whines of agony.

Mathias covered his head with a pillow, but that didn’t help. He told himself she would get over it and fall asleep. A full fifteen minutes later, he had to admit Sophie had some lungs on her. He crossed to the door and jerked it open. The sounds ceased as she wagged her tail at him, as if saying, “Hi. I knew you were in there. Can I come in?”

“No,” he said firmly. “Be quiet. Go to sleep.”

The tail wag slowed.

He closed the door again and didn’t make it back to the bed before the cries started up.

Ten minutes later he carried her bed into his room and dropped it in a corner. “Just for tonight,” he told her as sternly as he could. “I’m sure you miss your mom. I get that. But you have to learn to be independent, okay?”

Sophie sat in her bed, her tail wagging.

“Good night.”

He turned out the light.

One second turned into ten. Sophie was silent. He relaxed and closed his eyes, only to hear something scrambling onto the bench at the foot of his king-size mattress. That noise was immediately followed by Sophie scratching at the blanket before turning around and around and around, then flopping down halfway up and more on his side than her own. Before he could decide what he was supposed to do now, she sighed and began to snore.

Mathias stared at the ceiling and told himself it was only for a month. He could endure this. It wasn’t as if it was going to get worse.