Read Second Chance with Love for Free Online Page B

in a week. Be good to Scott and Melanie. Next week they are dropping you off at Grannie's."
    "Grannie makes me eat vegetables all the time."
    "Thats because she loves you very much." Hilda smiled.
    "Now be good, Babykins, and see you soon."
    "Bye Mommy, I love you."
    "I love you too, Sweetie.”
    Hilda's heart fluttered at the sound of her son's feet running off.
    "How're things with you, everything going okay?" Melanie asked.
    "Charles, Mom, leadership difficulties." Hilda sighed, realizing lately that she only seemed to talk about her woes to Melanie. She experienced a tinge of guilt.
    "The usual, then."
    "It's hard to be respected as a woman and a single mom."
    "Keep praying for strength. God will comfort you." Melanie always stayed positive.
    "I know. Listen, I've got to get back to the team or I'll call you once we land."
    "And don't worry about Aaron he's..." Melanie began. "Who am I kidding; it's your job to worry, I guess. But rest assured God is watching over him, just as he is watching over all of us. Okay?"
    "It makes me feel much better to hear it said every now and then." Hilda said. "If there's anything, make sure you call immediately."
    God provided her with the courage to undertake mission trips and opened the door for her to participate in short term trips despite the cost. Yes, her weakness had been preyed upon, and as a consequence, fears and doubts plagued her.
    "Just go and help whoever you can through Christ. We really admire you, Hilda."
    Hilda thanked Melanie for her warm words. She ended the call feeling stronger and more confident about her direction. Hilda stood up in a better mood, and turned the corner only to collide with a brick wall. Hilda looked up and was startled to see Aaron's eyes.
    The eyes were definitely Aaron's eyes only darker... older... and serious. The eyes of a soldier.
    She dropped her phone to clasp a hand to her mouth.
    Her shame. The very thing she was running from, hiding from, had found her. The fight, her strength and resolve, all escaped in a single gasp. Hilda's phone slipped from her hand. She quickly went to pick it up. Believing if she looked away, he'd disappear, likely a projection of her wild imagination. As she rose from picking up the phone, he was still there. The man who she fell for six years ago, whose bed she chose over her faith in Christ, her temptation to backslide. He never wanted marriage, Christianity or even fatherhood, he said he just wanted her. This had overwhelmed her, she was young and not fully aware of the dangers of lust.
    After six years, why here? Why now? She took her Christianity seriously, even though he was a Christian and raised in a Christian household. Back then, she only wanted to impress him, and she had hidden her joy for Christ away from him.
    "Hey Red. I almost didn't recognize you." His eyes were dazzled as he watched her, as if he couldn't believe that she was real.
    His hair was short at the sides with scruffy curls on top. He wore a tank top and had the same athletic build that she remembered. The combat trousers, large backpack, and army boots didn't escape her attention. He and Scott were in the army back then. Apparently, he was still a soldier.
    Hilda didn't meet his eyes. She tried to look around for an exit. The mission team, Charles, her mother, they were all erased from her concerns. All she could do was think about Aaron. She needed to get to him. Seeing Nathan here frazzled her nerve endings with panic.
    Red. He always called her Red. Hilda shut it out.
    "I couldn't believe my eyes. I still can't. What are you doing here?"
    Hilda retreated, but when her back met the solid wall, she knew she was trapped.
    He stepped closer.
    "All these years, I've thought about you. After we--”
    Hilda flinched, folding her arms to her stomach, she turned away.
    "Why did you up and leave?"
    The question was stab to the gut. The life he suggested for them six years ago was not the one she wanted to live. He was a dominant personality