A New Hope (The Second Chance Series Book 2) by Christina Escue Read Free Book Online

she was, but I still think she needs to see Elliot if she wants. It ain’t right to keep a kid from his mama.
    Okay David, I’m done arguing with you about this. Do what you feel is best. I’ll be here to help clean up the mess she causes.
    Elliot was pulled from his thoughts by a soft knock on the door. “Elliot,” Leslie said hesitantly, “I don’t want to disturb you, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
    “You can come in.”
    She opened the door and poked her head in. “How are you holding up?”
    “I was just remembering a conversation I overheard between Nana and dad. At some point my mother wanted to see me, but I don’t know when that was. Dad was okay with it, but Nana didn’t like the idea. She said that my mother wasn’t a good person.”
    “Elliot, I never met Diane, but I know she hurt Karla, and let other people hurt her, for a really long time. I have to agree with your Nana, she wasn’t a good person. If you have questions about her you may want to ask Karla. I’m sure she can answer at least some of them.”
    “Do you think she would?”
    “Yes, I do. All you have to do is ask her.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Peterson. I will ask her, just not tonight. I think I want to go to the hotel and get some sleep. It’s been a really long day.”
    “That sounds like a plan to me. On the way back tomorrow we will pick up some boxes so we can pack up your room and have everything shipped to our house. Maybe surrounding yourself in your own things will help you settle in better.”
    Elliot’s face lit up in a huge smile. “I love that idea.”
    “Okay. Let’s go get Andrew and Karla and get out of here for the night.”
    She grabbed Elliot’s hand and led him from the room. They found Karla and Andrew in the kitchen pulling down dishes and cleaning out the refrigerator.  “Hey you two, Elliot and I think we should go to the hotel and relax for the rest of the evening. Then we can get an early start on all of this in the morning.”
    ‘That sounds like an excellent idea.” Karla said as she sat a stack of plates on the counter. “It has been an exhausting day.”
    “I completely agree.” Andrew said as he dropped something into the trash can and turned around. “We need to find a place to send all of this food. Some of this stuff will expire soon and I absolutely hate wasting food.”
    “We’ll figure everything out tomorrow Andrew.” Leslie said with a pointed look. “Now I think we need to go to the hotel and relax for a bit. Elliot, do you have a swim suit?”
    “I do. I will run and get it really fast.” He darted into his bedroom and as back out within seconds.
    As they loaded into the car Elliot thought to himself, I may not have dad and Nana anymore, but I do have family and with their help I will be okay.  

Chapter Thirteen
     
    The next two days passed in a blur of activity. They got everything Elliot wanted to take with him packed up and shipped to Tennessee. They also got a great deal of the things Elliot wanted to keep boxed up and put into a secure, climate controlled storage facility. They decided to leave the furniture for now and come back after they took possession of the property to decide what to do with it. Andrew had also called his lawyer and had papers drawn up about the farm. He wanted to make sure everything was in order when they took possession of it.
    Now it was Sunday, their last day in Texas, and Elliot was sitting at the table in the kitchen watching Leslie and Karla cook. Leslie decided to make roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet baby carrots, green beans and biscuits for dinner with an apple pie, which Karla made, for dessert. His mouth was watering from the smells surrounding him.
    The Robertson’s were supposed to be here at 5:30 and it was 5:15 now. “Elliot,” Karla said, pulling him from his thoughts.
    “Yes, Karla?”
    “Would you mind helping me set the table?” She asked tentatively, not sure if he was up to helping or