Second Chance at Love (The MacKenna Born & Bred Trilogy) Read online

  Book One of the MacKenna Born & Bred Trilogy

  by

  Tara Paradise

  *** This book contains content intended for mature readers and is recommended for ages 18+ ***

  Cover by Rachel Mizer (Shoutlines Design)

  Formatted by Tami Norman (Integrity Formatting)

  Copyright © 2013 Tara Parrotti

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, this book is not to be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission from the copyright owner and publisher of this book, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and for review purposes.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Excerpt from Forever In My Dreams (Book #2)

  To my two beautiful and amazing sons, Braden Matthew and Jordan Christopher.

  I never knew what it was to be truly blessed until you both came into my life. Always follow your dreams and be true to yourself and you will discover the many wonderful things that life has in store for you. I love you both with all my heart.

  To my wonderful husband, Matthew, who has always believed in me and supported me in all that I have chosen to do.

  Thank you for your patience and understanding during the writing of this book, and for the many times that you encouraged me to keep writing because you knew that it has always been my greatest dream. I am so lucky to have you in my life. I love you.

  “Alright, Mandy, you need to push. On three, okay? One, two, three, push!” The fatigued mother-to-be gripped her husband's hand, her knuckles whitening as her slender fingers closed around his and squeezed. She bore down hard. With each desperate push, her body seemed to be at its breaking point.

  Dr. Brooke Cates' patient had been in labor for nearly fourteen hours, which was normal for a first-time birth. Brooke had been kept up to date on her progress. When she'd finally moved into the transition phase, and her cervix had dilated to nine centimeters, with contractions coming less than a minute apart, Brooke had been paged to Labor & Delivery. It had taken her a mere two minutes to scrub in and high-tail it into her patient's room. As Mandy reached complete dilation and effacement, Brooke had given her the go-ahead to push.

  “Mandy, I know you're tired, and I know it's been a long labor, but you're almost there. Soon you'll meet your baby for the first time.” Brooke spoke to her in a soothing voice, fully aware that Mandy was completely exhausted by this time, and reminded her to focus on her breathing and relaxation techniques. “Mandy, I need for you to push again. You're doing great, almost there now,” Brooke continued.

  Mandy looked up at Scott. The pained look in her eyes was almost too much for him to bear. Patiently, he talked to his wife, ignoring the pain coursing through his hand as she dug long fingernails mercilessly into his skin.

  “Come on Mandy, baby, you can do it. You're the bravest woman I know.” He smiled at her then in the characteristically gentle way that he had while smoothing her pale blonde hair back from her face. “Just a few more pushes.” Mandy nodded, screaming out as the pain intensified.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned, doing her best to breathe the way she'd learned in her Lamaze classes. She was determined to do this. Mandy pushed once more, bearing down as hard as she could. The baby's head began to crown.

  “Okay, Mandy, I can see the baby's head. You need to push more gently now,” Brooke said.

  “I can't. I can't,” Mandy managed, her breathing labored. “I just need to get this baby out.”

  “Yes, you do, Mandy. But you need to push gently,” Brooke told her.

  Scott brought their joined hands up to his lips and gently kissed the top of hers. Mandy knew it was her husband's way of offering encouragement, which was just one of the many reasons why she loved him, even in light of her current predicament. She nodded, tiredly.

  She pushed again, as gently as she could manage, and gritted her teeth. When the baby's head began to emerge, Brooke nimbly cupped it to support it as it slid through the vaginal opening. With quick hands, Brooke suctioned out the baby's mouth and nose. Slowly and steadily, the baby turned as it came out. Brooke concentrated on its shoulders as they came next. Finally, with one last exhausted push from Mandy, Brooke caught the baby's tiny, slippery body as it plopped out.

  “It's a girl,” Brooke murmured, holding the tiny bundle in her hands.

  “A girl?” Mandy managed, half laughing, half crying. Scott kissed her tenderly as she lay her head back against the pillow for the first time throughout the entire ordeal. She was too weak to sit up any longer.

  Quickly and competently, Brooke handed the newborn over to the nurse. Laying her on her mother's abdomen, the nurse dried her off and lay a blanket over her to keep her warm, adding a cap to the baby's head for extra warmth.

  Pushing the blanket aside, Brooke clamped the umbilical cord in two places, and then instructed Scott where to cut between the clamps. The new papa did exactly as Brooke instructed, beaming proudly through the tears that welled up in his eyes.

  Brooke had the utmost confidence in her team. She hadn't been expecting any issues or complications to arise with the delivery, but she and her team had been ready to handle any type of emergency nonetheless. She was relieved that it hadn't come to that. Mother and baby were healthy and well, and that's all Brooke could have hoped for.

  Swaddling the newborn, the nurse lay her at her mother's breast. Mandy stared down at the tiny bundle as she held her close, allowing the love she felt at that moment to consume her. When Mandy watched her husband lean over to nuzzle his cheek against their daughter's fuzzy head, a myriad of emotions washed over her. She glanced up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

  The look they shared was magical, Brooke thought. She couldn't resist the urge, and smiled to herself. And that is why she became an OB in the first place. Nothing she could have chosen to do for a living could have been more gratifying than this. She shook her head on that thought, as if to reaffirm it. Nope, absolutely nothing.

  The intense heat burned her lungs as she kicked up dust behind her. Ahead, there was only white sand, as far as the eye could see. She breathed in the salt air, and pushed on. Freedom, she thought. There was nothing like the h
igh she got from racing across the beach, hearing the waves crash to the shore and feeling the wind in her face.

  She loved to run. It was one of two things she enjoyed most, the other being horseback riding, and she reveled in the time she dedicated to it each evening to release all of her pent-up energy. And, of course, it was her means of staying fit. Brooke, at 5'6'' and 120 pounds, was lean and toned. The great body she had was the result of hours of hard work and exercise each week. Three mornings each week she worked out at the gym and in the evenings she ran. She had to. She loved food, and well, having a love affair with food meant that you had to be realistic. In order to maintain an ideal weight, she needed to burn those calories. Besides, exercise was good cardio, and that was paramount.

  By the time Brooke had finished entering her notes into her laptop and made her final rounds of the day, it had been nearly 6:00. The half hour drive home, even with Adele belting out her latest tune on the disc player about the fire that was starting in her heart, did little to relax her. She was tense and restless, and was counting on her run to loosen her up and to balance her mood. She'd already run the two-mile stretch of beach and was working her way back. She was thankful that there was only one other house on this particular stretch of beach, and its inhabitants were in residence for only short periods of time throughout the year, and had just recently vacated. It gave her the privacy she craved.

  By the time she reached the stretch of sand that was hers, she'd slowed to a jog. Stopping now, she placed moist hands on her thighs, bent her knees, and leaned forward slightly, waiting for her breathing to regulate again. Some of the tension had eased and she felt exhilarated. Oh yeah, it was exactly what she'd needed.

  The sun had just started to go down over the horizon, and Brooke figured she'd have just enough time to work in her nightly swim before it disappeared completely. She pulled the clip out of her hair, her long dark tresses tumbling down haphazardly. Stripping to her skin, she made her way toward the surf. Deciding on just taking the plunge rather than easing into it, she dove right in, disappearing beneath the calm waves.

  The water felt cool and refreshing on her naked skin, and was a nice contrast to the hot and sticky feel of just minutes before. When she broke the surface, she kicked her legs out and positioned herself on her back. She lazily did the backstroke, using the up-and-down freestyle kick and windmill stroke to propel herself through the water. She'd recently reached her goal of six laps, and was determined that she would make it through at least that many during this swim workout.

  When she swam approximately fifty meters, she took ten breaths, making sure to count her exhalations, and then turned her body in the opposite direction and continued the stroke, repeating the process every fifty meters. Her movements were strong and steady as she glided through the water. After swimming five full laps she began to tire, but managed to complete the sixth and final lap of her workout. Her goal was to build up to eight laps, and at this rate it wouldn't take her long at all.

  Swimming was ideal in the swimming pool, and she could use the one at the fitness center, but swimming in the ocean appealed to her so much more. There was so much more....space. She stilled, bringing her arms to her sides and then fanning them outward, skimming the water gently, while floating on her back. She'd just take a couple of minutes to get her wind back before she swam back to shore.

  Her mind wandered as she focused on the faint spots of light twinkling in the already darkening sky. She felt completely relaxed.

  She loved this place, and she knew she was so fortunate to have ended up in California. She completed medical school at UCLA, and then did her internship and residency there. After her residency, she was offered a position in Obstetrics. She was thrilled. It meant that she would be working with some of the best medical professionals in the country, and since it was a teaching hospital, she would have the opportunity to pass on her knowledge and skills to the future doctors who would walk through those doors, the same doors she'd walked through nearly a decade before, ready to soak up everything she possibly could and to someday save lives. So far, nothing about her decision to stay on at UCLA had been a disappointment.

  Brooke was thankful for her many blessings. She had a career she loved, great friends. Especially Ashley, who had befriended her not long after she'd moved to Los Angeles. Ashley was the truest friend she had ever had, and it was one of those friendships that Brooke knew would last a lifetime. She had her pretty little house here on the beach. She loved waking up every morning to the sound and the smell of the ocean. And sitting on her patio in the evenings, watching the sun slowly disappear into the deep blue. It was beautiful and peaceful. It had become home.

  She hadn't actually been home in over a year. Montana seemed so distant to her now, but each time she'd gone back, she felt the same love and appreciation for the beauty of it that she'd felt while growing up there.

  She missed her family. Her parents and her younger sister were the one constant in her life. They were selfless and loving and giving, and Brooke had always been able to count on them. Leaving them had been the hardest part of moving away to New England fresh out of high school, young, in love, and eager to begin her life. The life she was convinced was going to be wonderful and perfect in every way. And it was, until her fairytale came to a heartbreakingly abrupt end. When she thought of that time in her life, and of Logan, her heart still ached. Ached because of the heartbreak, but also for what she had lost, and for what might have been. So she ran away to the west coast to pursue her dream of attending medical school the day after graduating from Harvard, ran as far and as fast as she could, and hadn't looked back.

  Her parents had both grown up in Montana, and she knew they would never want to be any place else. Brooke understood that. She and her sister, Karissa, were born and raised in Angel Ridge, so they were connected also. Karissa had left only to go away to college in Great Falls. She had still been close enough to make it home frequently, on holiday breaks, summers, and occasional weekends. And on the day she graduated with her Bachelor's degree, she moved back home. Like her parents, Montana was where her sister's heart was. But for Brooke, losing a piece of her own heart made it hard to go back, particularly when a certain tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome cowboy once again called Angel Ridge his home.

  A wave slammed into her, rocking her on top of the water, and brought her back to reality. Where did that come from? she wondered. The water had been so calm just minutes before. When Brooke focused, she could see that the sun had disappeared completely. The moon offered the only light there was. She'd drifted for a while, losing herself in thoughts of the past. But some things were better left there, Brooke knew. Because she didn't want him there, she pushed all thoughts of Logan out of her mind and began the short swim back, her movements sure and steady as she made her way to shore.

  The warm water of the shower felt wonderful on her skin. Water sluiced down her body as she rinsed the conditioner from her long mass of hair. It helped to relax her muscles, which were a bit stiff despite her workout, she realized. After thoroughly washing and rinsing herself, Brooke turned off the water with one flick of her wrist and grabbed a towel from a nearby basket, bundling her hair into it. Grabbing another, she began to pat herself dry. When she was finished, she dropped the towel into a nearby hamper. She lotioned herself and pulled on shorts and a tank top. Pulling her hair from the towel that rested on top of her head, she patted it dry and tossed that one into the hamper, as well. She combed out her long, dark mane as she padded downstairs to the kitchen.

  She was starving. She'd barely managed to choke down a salad for lunch, and that had been at about 2:00. It was now 9:30, and she realized that she was both tired and hungry. Usually, the former won that battle. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before rechecking her locks and turning off the lights. She headed back upstairs to her bedroom, deciding to watch television in bed until she fell asleep. Tomorrow was Saturday, and she had rounds in the morning. Saturdays were norm
ally short days, maybe three or four hours between rounds and her notes.

  She crawled into her big, soft bed and snuggled deep beneath the covers. Clicking on the television, she settled on an old episode of Friends. She'd been a total Friends junkie when she was a teen. It was one of her favorite episodes, and she laughed like it was the first time she'd seen it. It was more like her tenth. Brooke yawned and settled into her pillows. She tried to fight the exhaustion, telling herself she would only close her tired eyes for a minute. In the end, sleep took over.

  The unrelenting ring of her cell phone woke Brooke from a sound sleep. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was 10:23. She could only have slept for about half an hour. One of my patients? she wondered, as she reached for the phone. When she looked down at the screen and saw that it was her parents calling, she picked up right away. It was odd that they would call so late. They were normally in bed for the night long before now.

  “Hello?” she said into the phone, and was greeted not by her father's usual cheerful, booming voice, but by a voice that was tired and weary. She knew instantly that something was wrong.

  “Cancer?” Ashley repeated, the worry in her voice evident as she stood across from Brooke in her enormous kitchen. Ashley thought of Raelyn, Brooke's wonderfully amazing mother, and couldn't imagine something so horrible happening to her. She hoped that everything would turn out alright.

  “Ovarian,” Brooke said. “She's having a complete hysterectomy.”

  “Oh, honey, I'm so sorry.” Ashley wrapped her up in a fierce hug and held on for a minute.

  Ashley had that tough, don't-mess-with-me attitude that some people, those who didn't really know her, might mistake for bitchiness. Which was likely one of the reasons why she had more male friends than female. The other being that women tended to be intimidated by Ashley, not only because of her demeanor, but because of the fact that she was drop dead gorgeous. With her long blonde hair, blue eyes, beautiful face and gorgeous body, Ashley exuded sex appeal. She didn't have to work at it, it just sort of came naturally. And she was well aware of it. She was comfortable in her own skin, and had no issue with nudity or sex. If she was attracted to a man, then that was enough for her. Love and sex didn't have to go hand-in-hand as far as Ashley was concerned. It was ideal, of course, but rarely existed in her world. But Brooke wasn't put off by it in the least. She knew that anyone would be lucky to have Ash for a friend. She was honest, sincere and loyal, and would do anything for you and anything to protect you.