Second Look (A New Beginning Book 3) by Connie Stephany

out?
    *****
    When Adam got home, he called his sister to give her an update on their dad’s condition and let her know their mom was staying with him that night. They discussed taking turns staying with him to relieve their mom, although neither of them thought she’d agree to it.
    They never got the chance.
    When he received the call from his mom the next morning, Adam’s heart broke.
    His dad was gone.
    His mom told him his dad died while she held his hand.
    Adam had a feeling his parents knew he was going to pass that night. He wished he were there to support his mom and to say goodbye to his dad one more time.
    “Did you tell Mandi yet, mom?” Adam struggled to keep his voice strong. Telling Mandi would be so hard. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her to call him.
    “No, honey, I called you first.” He could hear her sniffling and her broken voice tore at his heart. He lost his dad, but she lost the love of her life.
    “Do you want me to call her?” Please say no.
    He’d do it but he didn’t want to be the one to break the news. He could barely keep it together for his mom.
    “No, honey, I need to do it.”
    “Will you ask her to call me, mom? I can pick her up on my way to the hospital.”
    “You don’t need to come up here, honey. I can do this on my own. I have paperwork to fill out and, well, I’m not really sure what else I have to do.” Her voice broke on the last few words.
    “I know I don’t have to, mom, but I want to be there for you. I’m sure Mandi will too. I also want to see dad.”
    “Thank you, Adam. I love you, honey. I need to call Mandi now.”
    He could hear that her voice had changed to become more strained, and he figured she was trying not to break down completely.
    “I love you too.”
    He heard the line disconnect, but not before hearing his mom’s uncontrollable, heart-wrenching sobbing.
    Adam lost it.
    He cried hard for the loss he wasn’t ready to bear.

Chapter Six

    Jennifer
    Hiding in the shadows
    Jennifer had a great day at work. She was in such a good mood she wanted to visit Rob before she headed home. Adam may just be there, but she was willing to take the chance.
    She gave a quick knock on the door and entered the room. She skidded to a stop when she saw the empty bed.
    A feeling of dread came over her and immediately she chastised herself. She was such a negative person sometimes. It could be a good thing the room was empty.
    She left the room and approached one of the nurses working on the floor.
    “Hey Sarah, what happened to Mr. Jackson in room 214?”
    “He passed away last night.”
    Jennifer couldn’t help the tears that formed in her eyes.
    Sarah gave her a sympathetic look. “Did you know him?”
    She nodded, trying to swallow down the tears.
    “I’m sorry. How did you know him?”
    She blew out a breath. “He was my best friend’s dad.”
    “Oh, I’m very sorry.”
    “Thank you. I better go. I’ll see you soon.”
    She called Mandi from the stairwell and finally let the tears fall as she spoke to her best friend.
    She wished she could reach out and give her dad a huge hug.
    *****
    The following Saturday was Rob’s funeral. The day would be hard in more ways than one.
    She arranged for her neighbor, Maddie, to watch Amber. Her daughter adored the girl.
    Over the years, it was rare for Jennifer to use a babysitter, other than daycare. Since Amber was born, it was just the two of them and she wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world. On occasion, Amber would stay over at a friends’ house, but that started only recently. She could count on her two hands the number of times she left Amber with a sitter, and she was proud of that. However, lately she found several reasons to need a sitter and she was very happy to have found her neighbor.
    Maddie knocked on her front door and Jennifer looked at her watch. She was a half hour early.
    Jennifer opened the door with a questioning look and a soft greeting. “Hi Maddie.”
    “Hi,”