Second Chance Reunion. Merrillee Whren

because they’d wanted different things. They still didn’t suit each other. Nothing had changed.

      Even if she hadn’t gone down the path to her own destruction, they wouldn’t have been compatible. Too bad they hadn’t recognized that before they’d ventured into a marriage that had lasted barely over a year.

      Her misguided thoughts about Ian were just another example of her bad judgment. She was a terrible judge of men, first Ian and then Jesse, the irresponsible man who had fathered her children. Kara and Spencer were the only two good things that man had ever produced. Ian was a much better person than Jesse, but still the wrong man for her. If she were smart, she would forget men altogether. She had to concentrate on getting her kids back even if dealing with Ian was part of that.

      While dozens of thoughts tumbled through Annie’s head, she continued to wander down the pathway that took her back to the assisted-living facility. A short distance away, she spotted three white-haired ladies sitting in the shade of a big oak tree popping with the new leaves of spring. Cora was still there. Annie quickened her pace.

      “Hi, Cora.” Annie waved.

      Cora smiled, her wrinkled face beaming. “What a surprise. You’re back so soon.”

      “Yeah. Ian had a meeting, so I decided to visit with y’all for a while.”

      Cora pointed to an empty chair in their circle. “Come join us, and let me introduce you to Ruby and Liz.”

      Annie sat on the nearby chair. “Nice to meet you ladies.”

      “Did you have a lovely walk with Mr. Ian?”

      Annie forced a smile rather than the frown that nearly puckered her eyebrows. Why did they have to ask about Ian? “He showed me most of the campus until Melody whisked him away.”

      “I keep waiting for Ms. Melody and Mr. Ian to become an item, but there aren’t any sparks there. What do you think?” Cora peered at her friends.

      Liz nodded. “I think you’re right. No sparks.”

      “Yep. Not a one.” Ruby bobbed her head in unison with Liz.

      Annie wasn’t sure whether to be happy that these ladies saw nothing happening between Ian and his coworker or jealous that the ladies wished something was happening. She shouldn’t be happy or jealous, but she couldn’t ignore the sparks that flitted through her mind when Ian was around. They were hard to ignore even if they were one-sided.

      “Maybe that poor girl still needs time to get over the death of her fiancé.” Ruby’s statement brought Annie back to the ladies’ conversation.

      “Such a tragedy.” Cora shook her head as she looked at Annie. “He was in Afghanistan delivering aid with a Christian group and was killed days before they were scheduled to come home.”

      Annie didn’t know what to say. How did one respond to such a senseless death? Everything she thought of saying sounded inadequate, but she had to say something. “I can’t begin to imagine her sorrow.”

      “None of us can, and I think that’s why she throws herself into her work here.” Cora rocked in her chair. “She’s trying to forget.”

      Annie had a lot to forget about her past, but her own self-inflicted troubles faded in comparison. She would never look at Melody in the same way again. “That’s hard to do.”

      “You’re so right.” Ruby reached over and patted Annie’s arm. “Tell us about yourself, dear.”

      After these ladies had extoled Melody’s virtues, how could Annie talk about the bad stuff she had done? There was nothing virtuous about her life. “You don’t want to hear about me.”

      “Sure we do. We want to pray for you. So we need to know what to pray about.” A knowing smile curved Cora’s thin lips, making every wrinkle in her kind face smile. “We know you came to The Village to get help. We’re all here for some kind of help, and we can help each other with prayer.”

      Cora’s warm brown eyes beckoned Annie to make a prayer request. “I’m here because I’m trying to get my kids back. Please pray that the court will see that I’m clean and sober for good and deserve to have my children again.”

      Liz clapped her hands. “Then that’s what we’ll be praying about—for your little ones’ return to you.”

      “Thank you.” Annie blinked back tears, so thankful that Pastor John had sent her here.

      All these people at The Village of Hope doing good for others made Annie want to be a better person. She could be a better person, but could she ever be good enough to make up for her past?

      * * *

      Melody pulled her car away from the curb. “How was your time with Annie?”

      “Okay. She filled out your papers, and I put them through the mail slot.”

      “I know. I read them, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

      Ian narrowed his gaze and wondered where this was going. “What about them?”

      “Don’t you see how she can help us?”

      “Help us?”

      “Did you read her information? Her job experience?”

      Ian nodded. “I know her job experience.”

      Melody cast him a sideways glance as she parked her car. “Then you should realize what a godsend she is.”

      Ian shook his head and tried to wrap his mind around what Melody was saying. “How so?”

      “She was a financial consultant.”

      “I still don’t know what that has to do with us.”

      “In order to satisfy the naysayers on the board, we need to put a new financial plan in place. We’re going to have to get this place in the black. What better person to help us than someone like Annie.”

      Ian gritted his teeth in order not to say what he was thinking about his ex-wife. There was no way they could let her near the finances of this ministry. She couldn’t be trusted. The time had come to tell Melody everything about Annie and him. “We have to talk about this. Your office or mine?”

      Melody opened her car door. “Yours is closer.”

      As they walked to the administration building in silence, Ian tried to figure out how he would start the conversation. Why had he ever thought he’d never have to talk about his former life?

      After Ian unlocked the door and let it swing open, he stood aside for Melody to enter. “Have a seat.”

      Melody sat on one of two black leather guest chairs in front of Ian’s desk. “I’m glad you’re at least going to consider using Annie’s expertise.”

      Ian sat on the other chair. “I haven’t changed my mind. I have reservations about having her involved with the money.”

      “What aren’t you telling me?”

      Melody had just handed him an opening. He should jump right in, but he took a few moments to pray. He couldn’t do this without God’s help.

      “Why so hesitant?” Melody’s brow furrowed. “You know something about her that I don’t. Tell me what it is.”

      “It’s not only about Annie. It’s about me, too.” Ian took a deep breath. “I’m not going to represent Annie in her efforts to get her kids back.”

      “Why?”

      “It’s not a good idea because we have a rather rancorous story. Annie and I were once married.”

      Mouth dropping open, Melody leaned forward. After several seconds of silence, she eased back in her chair. “Wow! So this is what you wanted to talk about?”

      Ian shrugged. “Not exactly, but it has to