Second Chances (Silver Cove #7)

Prologue

Oliva held her arm close to her side. Part of her mind wanted to believe that it wasn’t broken, but in reality… she knew it must be. Her skin over the spot was colored, and her wrist and fingers were swollen to the point that she couldn’t bend any of her knuckles.

How had she ended up here? How had she allowed a man to do this to her again and just walked away?

Maybe it was because the entire town knew Brock. Maybe it was the fact that everyone who knew him always described him as such a nice guy. After all, Brock knew every single person in Silver Cove. Not that that was hard—it was a small town and the locals stuck close.

She wasn’t a true local. She’d met Brock a few years back and, after a whirlwind dating period of nine months, had accepted his proposal. Shortly after their wedding, she’d gotten pregnant with Simona, the only person in her life that she could truly count on to love her unconditionally.

The first time Brock had hit her, she’d packed her bags and tucked baby Simona into her carrier. She had been at the door when Brock had talked her into staying. He’d sworn that it was due to stress and lack of sleep.

The next time he’d hit her, it had been the extra beer he’d drank when out with the guys. She soon lost track of the excuses but had somehow let him talk her into believing that Simona couldn’t make it without her daddy and that she couldn’t make it, financially or otherwise, without him.

She’d let him convince her that she was nothing without him. That she couldn’t even tie her shoes if he wasn’t around. That she’d get lost, living out on the streets, and wouldn’t even be able to dress herself properly if it wasn’t for him.

For the next three years, she’d believed every single word of his lies. Somehow, what he said had started defining her, as if his words magically became the truth.

She’d convinced herself that it wasn’t really his fault. That his excuses—that she’d needed to be taught a lesson for her many transgressions, such as forgetting to pay the water bill, for example—were valid reasons for what he’d done.

What kind of mother was she that she’d allowed their water to be shut off? Reason had tried to surface in her mind and remind her that there hadn’t been any money left in their joint account to pay the bill because Brock had gone out drinking and had used up the money earmarked for it.

This time it had been because she’d needed to fill in for a coworker, and he’d wanted to go out with his friends. It wasn’t as if she’d planned to work, but he’d been angry that she hadn’t turned her friend down. That she’d put him out.

But she wasn’t thinking rationally. Not when her arm was throbbing, and his evil words kept playing over in her mind, somehow twisting the actual truth into his version of the truth.

She’d taken a psychology class back in college, before she’d dropped out of school to marry Brock, and had learned all about the illusory truth effect.

If you repeat a lie enough, people will think it’s the truth. She had fallen victim to Brock’s lies.

Her only saving grace, besides Simona, over the past three years had been working at Serenity’s Attic, a boutique of sorts right in the downtown of the quaint town of Silver Cove, Maine.

At least going to work was something Brock always let her do, during normally scheduled hours, anyway.

He even made sure that he was there to watch Simona when she had to work.

But she knew that was only because it was the only source of income in the household after he lost his job on the fishing boat.

After that, he’d been hired at the Walmart a few towns over as a night stocker. That had worked out with her own schedule and, between the pair of them, they’d taken care of Simona.

Then one day, Brock had come to her and claimed that he was in love with Bethany, another night stocker at Walmart.

He’d filed for divorce so quickly that she and Simona had only had time to pack up one bag each before Bethany had moved into the one-bedroom apartment they lived in.

She had faced her biggest fears. She and Simona were homeless.

Thankfully, she had an amazing boss. Crystal Holley was one of the most caring women Olivia had ever known.

When she had caught her and Simona sleeping in her car in the back parking lot of the store, Crystal had jumped in and offered her a place to stay.

They had spent almost six months living with Crystal in her massive historical home, Holley Hall, before things had changed.

First, Crystal had made her manager of the store, which came with a big pay raise and more responsibility.

Then she’d found a cute apartment just down the street from the store with affordable rent, and she and Simona had moved in.

While she’d lived with Crystal, she’d counted on the woman for so much, as Brock was being a completely absent father. By the time she moved into the new apartment, however, Brock had broken things off with Bethany and desperately wanted to get back together with Olivia.

Since she’d had a taste of her freedom, she’d denied him but had allowed him to watch their daughter, believing it was the right thing to do. Brock had never been anything but an amazing father to Simona, and she just couldn’t deny that her daughter loved the man.

For a year and half, Brock had shown them nothing but kindness, then slowly, without her even realizing it somehow, he’d snuck in the jabs once again. It had started small, with him grabbing her arms when he was angry or shoving her slightly.

She’d been so embarrassed about letting him do that to her again that she’d convinced herself that she wouldn’t allow him to do it the next time.

Then one day shortly after, Kayla Thomas, now Kayla Holley after marrying Crystal’s nephew Rowan, had caught Brock grabbing her arm at the store when they’d been arguing over work schedules.

She’d been so embarrassed that she’d made a point for the next few months not to allow Brock to pick up or drop off Simona at the store.

Now here it was seven months later, and things had progressed to where they had been when they’d been married.

She shifted slightly behind the counter and winced when the pain made everything in the room spin. She wasn’t even married to the man, yet she couldn’t work up enough guts to stand up to him.

Biting her lip to fend off passing out, she held onto the countertop with her good hand and willed her body to get back under her control.

When the bell rang signaling someone coming into the store, she tried to focus her eyes as she called out a greeting and stood.

Then once again, the store spun, and her world went black.

She woke with Rowan Holley kneeling over her, looking down at her wrist. Rowan was the town doctor and hunk, but he’d married Kayla a few months back and had been officially off her radar. Not that she had one. After Brock, she’d turned that thing off.

“Don’t move,” Rowan said to her in a calm voice. “I’ve called for an ambulance.” He was frowning as he looked down at her arm. “Want to tell me what happened?”

She glanced down at her now bright-purple arm and shook her head quickly.

“I didn’t think so. Crystal is on her way.” He sighed.

She groaned. “Couldn’t you just... put a sling on it or something?”

His frown somehow grew. “Olivia.”

How long had she known Rowan? Almost five years now? She’d never seen the man look so worried or pissed.

“Not this time. I’m afraid you might have to have surgery,” Rowan said.

She glanced down at her arm and saw what she’d been denying in her head. Her arm wasn’t just broken, it was shattered.

“Now, want to tell me what happened?” Rowan asked, his tone darker and more forceful. Still, there was tenderness behind his eyes.

She closed her eyes, feeling the sting of tears. Tears she hadn’t spilled in the past five years. Tears which now seeped from her eyes uncontrollably.

“Brock. He was angry that I was filling in for Kayla tonight,” she admitted. “He wanted to go out with the guys.” She’d filled in tonight for Kayla after her friend had gone into labor. Olivia had been excited to know that Kayla was giving birth to her and Rowan’s first child together.

She heard Rowan sigh. “I stopped by the store on the way home from the hospital to tell you that Kayla and Willow are both doing fine, only to find you on the floor.”

“Willow?” she asked, feeling as if her body was floating.

“Yes, Willow Lori Holley was born about four hours ago,” Rowan said with a smile. “When I drove by, I saw the lights and wondered why you were still here.”

“I just got here,” she said, feeling groggy.

“Honey, it’s just past midnight,” he said softly. “You filled in for Kayla at five.”

“No.” She shook her head. “That can’t be right.”

“Just rest, the ambulance is almost here now,” Rowan said softly. She closed her eyes and could hear the ambulance.

That had been it. When Olivia had woken in the hospital after getting a few pins in her wrist and saw her sweet daughter, Simona, being held by Crystal, tears streaming down her chubby cheeks, she was determined to make a change.

No matter what happened in her life now, she was never going to allow anyone to hurt her or her daughter ever again.