Keep reading for a sneak peek at Second Chances, book 2 in the Girls’ Night Out series.
“Fog rolls in every morning, shrouding the lower fields in its misty cloak, concealing my precious fields from sight. Though I know they are there, it’s disorienting to experience them without the use of my eyes. I wake and walk the fields, each step muffled by the mud and the damp. I am guided only by the paths that I know by heart, the paths that lead me home. In the quiet of the fog, it is easy to forget that there is a world outside of my own breath. The farm sleeps, waiting for spring.”
Olivia Stone prided herself on being organized and efficient. Damn that man and his way with words. It was galling that she’d gotten lost in Farmer Theo’s posts again. Would he be there this weekend? At this rate, she’d never find out because she’d never be ready to leave. Olivia pulled her gaze from the blog of her favorite organic farm and checked the clock.
Ten minutes had passed as she lost herself in the farmer’s descriptions. Only seventeen more to go. In just seventeen measly minutes, Olivia could leave work behind for a Girls’ Night Out retreat. Four days of good wine, good food, and good company. Since her friend, Dani, had begun the tradition last summer, the four women from that infamous first Girls’ Night Out had become fast friends. Monthly GNO’s cemented fast friendships.
Soon, she would be on the road to the Capay Valley, girlfriends in tow, on their largest adventure to date. Olivia had planned the whole weekend around A Taste of Capay, a food and wine festival being hosted at the farm that supplied her home delivery organic produce. Tickets were purchased, a B&B was booked, and the car was packed.
Olivia’s nerves tingled down her arms. She hoped that her friends would have a good time. She also hoped they wouldn’t be too upset that she had an ulterior motive. She hadn’t told a soul what she’d done. It was too precious a dream to be shared. She couldn’t explain why entering this little contest was so vitally important to her, but it was. She knew her preserves and chutneys would stand up to competition. The nerves came from embarking on a new adventure. Olivia didn’t do “adventure.” It was a definite step outside her controlled comfort zone.
With six minutes left before she could leave, Olivia forced her normally regimented thoughts back to the task at hand, quickly finishing the prep work she needed to do on the brief in front of her. Her job at the law offices of Daly, Robertson, & White was a good one. As the most senior paralegal, her accuracy and efficiency made her sought after and respected. That respect had translated into a generous salary bonus this month that would go to the last payment on her brother’s college debt.
She opened her bank app on her phone to take care of that transfer and fired off a quick email to her mother to confirm that they were out from under that particular burden. Money had always been tight, and being able to support her family with her skills was a point of pride. Clicking send on that last payment opened a whole new world. For the first time in her adult life, she was financially responsible solely for herself. What on earth would she do now?
If only she liked being a paralegal, everything would be perfect. As a valued member of the team, she liked knowing that the work she was doing was appreciated, but it didn’t make her happy. She was good at what she did, and excelled in her day-to-day responsibilities, but she often wondered, “Is this it?” Now that her major financial obligation was gone, that question suddenly seemed answerable.
She felt like a round peg in a square hole. She fit in just fine, but there was space in the corners of her life that felt empty. Maybe now she’d have time to fill in those gaps. Olivia automatically straightened her desk with military precision before rising, determined not to let anything weigh her down on a weekend like this.
She smiled at the clock. Right on time. A phrase that never failed to give her pleasure. She gathered the file, her phone, and her purse and headed for the door. She would not miss this place at all over the weekend. She asked one of the receptionists to deliver the brief to an associate who was out taking a deposition, before turning quickly for the elevators.
Too quickly, as luck would have it, and she literally bumped into one of the partners. Luckily, there was no coffee or cream pie involved. Michael Robertson was brilliant, attractive, and the youngest partner the firm had ever had. It didn’t hurt that his father was the Robertson who had founded the firm, but Michael had earned his own way to a coveted top spot at the firm with an excellent record behind his name. What a shame that there were no sparks there.
Olivia stepped back and collected herself. Most of the other women in the office mooned over him, but Olivia felt little more than a brotherly affection. She had joined the firm about 6 months before he graduated from law school, and they helped each other through the early days.
“Where are you off to in such a rush, Olivia? Lunch date?” he teased, knowing full well that she rarely left the office for lunch, preferring her own gourmet creations. After suffering through take out pizza and Chinese on a regular basis during those early days working long hours together, she’d put her foot down and begun stocking the freezer. Better food and her ruthless organization led to more productive evenings, higher profile cases and, eventually, his partnership. Maybe that’s why he felt like a little brother. She fed him and nagged him, and in return he was a smart ass, just like her real brother. Having been essentially a second parent since the age of twelve had cemented that impulse in her psyche.
“No, actually, a vacation. I’m taking a half day today and a full day Friday and Monday. I cleared it with Janice.” She hated the defensive tone that crept into her voice. She took a deep breath to pull in some calming oxygen.
“I’m sure you did.” Michael laughed at her discomfort. “Have a wonderful time. I can think of no one more deserving of a vacation than you, Ms. Stone.”
“Thank you, Mr. Robertson, sir.” She bobbed a sarcastic curtsy and used the ultra formal language they often fell into as subtle mockery.
She hustled out the door before anything else could delay her. Why did she feel guilty and defensive about taking her vacation days? It wasn’t like the place was going to fall down without her there to prop up the walls. It was frowned upon for the younger associates to take much time off in their quest for billable hours and a corner office, but that certainly didn’t extend to the pool of assistants. She wouldn’t call herself a workaholic, but her standard setting was full speed ahead. Her work ethic had been shaped by circumstance and solidified by success. She hadn’t wanted to sacrifice billable hours while she’d been helping to shoulder the family debts.
No, she wouldn’t hide from herself behind work excuses. The sad fact was she didn’t have much in her life outside of work that she deemed important enough to take time off for. Now that her obligations were lightening, she felt a little more open to new experiences. Her girlfriends and her passion for cooking had given her the push she’d needed. Footloose and fancy free was her motto for the weekend.
Shaking off the guilt, Olivia climbed into her car, and double checked that she had her purse, wallet, phone, and packed baggage. She checked each item off on the sticky note list on her dashboard and pulled cautiously into traffic to pick up Dani and Stella. Jamie was sadly out of town, again, working with another high profile client. This was the third GNO she’d miss, but she promised that she’d be there for the next month’s excursion, largely because she was in charge of planning it. It was amazing that her brown bag habit had miraculously brought these three amazing people into her life.
She and Dani had bonded over leftovers during her friend’s brief stint helping straighten out the accounting department at Daly, Robertson, & White. They often eschewed the invitations to grab fast food, more than content with the delicious dishes they each created from leftovers at home. Swapped recipes led to shared stories, and a fast but firm friendship developed.
Through Dani’s loss of her aunt and subsequent life changes, Stella and Jamie had been drawn into Olivia’s circle of friends. Where a year ago she’d been alone and isolated, she now had a set of friends she could count on. Their laughter and love brightened her life. She was very blessed indeed.
Now that the day of departure had arrived, she couldn’t contain her giddiness. She hadn’t let herself believe that the trip was really happening until she’d left the office. Her grin split her face as she headed across town to pick up Dani and Stella.
Her friends had been particularly stressed lately. Between Dani with the Sunshine Café extending hours, Stella with her renovation plan for her yoga studio, and Jamie with her sudden fame after appearing on Ellen, all of her friends could use a little break. Olivia was the only one just plugging along, not tackling any new big challenges. That would change tomorrow.
As Olivia pulled up to Dani’s apartment building, Dani and Stella emerged, suitcases in tow. She had warned them that they’d be tromping around a farm and some vineyards. She hoped they’d packed appropriately. Her own packing list swirled through her mind, taunting her to go check her bags one more time to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Feeling her shoulders tighten, she consciously reminded herself that she’d packed her own bags and checked them twice already. Everything she’d need was in there. Furthermore, her friends were grown women, completely capable of packing for themselves.
Time to let the details slide and enjoy the weekend. She ordered her compulsive side to shut it down. Though her organization and love of efficiency made her a valued asset to the firm, they could be a real pain in the ass in her personal life. Take this weekend for example; at one point she had itemized a fifteen point itinerary, with bullet points and sub-bullet points for alternate plans. The thought of handing such a document to free-spirit Stella had made her laugh so hard that she’d scrapped the idea altogether. She was flying free this weekend, and trying to keep her anxiety under control without any lists so she could enjoy it. She had come so far, with Stella’s yoga instruction and deep breathing and Jamie’s coaching and connection, that she was confident she could handle this weekend without panicking.
Plans and lists had served her well growing up when she’d needed to help take care of her family, and she’d carried that coping mechanism into adulthood. A well thought out plan was Olivia’s best defense against the stress and anxiety that often plagued her, but she didn’t want to have to rely on them all the time. She felt like a fraud, hiding her anxiety so potential dates wouldn’t get scared off. So far, she hadn’t met a man who could see her need to try and control her environment and realize that she wasn’t trying to control him. Why was it so hard to see? Maybe no one had been worth the effort of letting down her walls.
Pushing aside the melancholy thoughts as her girlfriends climbed into the car, she turned to them and deliberately smiled brightly.
“Road trip! Let’s go!”
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