Hello, this is RisingSun1212. I plan to work very hard on this story so please read. I'd like to let you know I'm an experienced writer and I will do my best to please the reader, so let me know anything you feel about the characters or the plot or whatever is going on. I love to read comments, whether they're good ones or bad ones, just so long as I get to know people's opinions. Below is a short little blurb about the story to let you know what's going on. My other books have been just a time waster to have fun, but this book is a big project to me, meaning I want ANY and ALL criticism anyone has to offer! Thank you!

One More Chance:

Author: RisingSun1212

Genre: Romance

Summary: Kate Scott has been in the foster care system since she was ten. Living as an outcast in a foster family in New York City, she has never believed in happy endings, leading her to become rebellious. The only things she finds comfort in are her younger sister and animals, such as the rambunctious puppy she took off the streets and hides in her foster family's home. Robert Scott, a rural town farm-owner and music teacher, hasn't spoken to his family in over seven years. When his wife tries to get in touch with his parents, she discovers that he was so out of touch his brother had died about six years ago, leaving his two daughters in the foster care system. Robert decides the only way to be rid of his guilt is to take his nieces out of foster care and bring them to his home in Iowa. While Kate's younger sister is more than enthusiastic to leave the city and live on a quaint little farm in the country, Kate is skeptical. She spends her time alone, trying not to show interest in anything, including the farm animals and her aunt's veterinary clinic. When she meets and immediately despises Zach, the town's local teenage heart throb, she finds herself coincidentally crashing into him everywhere she goes. As she adjusts to this new place she also, despite her best efforts against it, finds herself falling for Zach. But Kate is wise enough from experience to know that opening your heart to love someone only sets you up to get hurt.

Notes: PLEASE READ...This book will be narrated by many different characters, including Robert, Zach, and perhaps even Mia, but the main focus is on Kate Scott, so she will narrate most of the story.

Prologue: Living in Iowa

Robert

Taking the last bite of his homemade meal, Robert realized he felt completely full and content. Olivia sat across the table from him. He looked at her, admiring how beautiful was, even in the wire-rimmed glasses that she hated to wear despite her nearly blind eyesight. Her black hair was up in a messy bun atop her head, curls cascading around her face. And though her bright blue eyes were hidden, they still mesmerized him. She caught him gazing intently at her and blushed. "Have I told you I love you lately?" Robert asked with a charming smile.

"I don't think so…" Olivia teased. Robert knew he was the luckiest man in the world. He had a great home, a farm in Iowa like he'd always wanted. He had a beautiful, happy wife and he had a job as a music teacher at the local school. There was nothing more he could've wanted. "You know, things have been a bit too perfect around here," Olivia pointed out with a smile, putting a small bite of bacon into her mouth. She always ate daintily. "No problems with money, no fighting at all…something's bound to go terribly wrong sometime."

"Don't say that," Robert warned. "You'll jinx us, and then I'll never forgive you." She was right of course. There had never been a time when his life was as perfect as it was now. Either they were struggling for money or something else had gone array.

"Oh, you don't honestly believe in all that?" Olivia laughed. "I'm just saying…" She hesitated for a moment, and there was a long moment of silence. Robert could tell that she wanted to say something, so he didn't break the quiet. When she finally spoke, Robert regretted giving her the chance to bring anything up. "How long has it been since you've spoken to your family?" she asked in a small, cautious voice.

She knew of course that family was the last thing Robert ever wanted to speak about, whether it was a good day or a bad one. As far as he was concerned, Olivia was the only family he had, and since she couldn't have children, it would stay that way. "It's been…I don't know, years," he replied casually but closed, making it obvious to her that he no longer wanted to speak about this.

"How many?" Olivia inquired with concern.

"Why does it matter? I don't owe those people anything. You know how I feel about them," Robert spat. He wasn't angry with Olivia, but just thinking about his parents and his older brother made him so angry that he wanted to punch something. How long ago had it been since he'd seen them? Maybe six, seven years had passed. And he didn't mind of course. They were the ones who had told him they never wanted to see him again, and he had granted their wish.

"I know that you don't exactly…" Robert could sense Olivia searching for the right words. "…get along, with your parents. And Phil was just following their lead, you know that. Maybe you should give him a call."

"I believe the last words he spoke to me were something about how I was wasting my life. And why are you defending him? He tried his best to convince me not to marry you," Robert explained with exasperation. "But I didn't listen to him, and do you know why?"

"Sweetie," Olivia interrupted carefully. "Just give him a call. Don't you want to talk to your nieces?" Robert thought about this for a moment. He had closed Phil out of his mind so effectively that he'd nearly forgotten he had nieces at all. Of course he wanted to be in contact with his nieces, but that involved contacting Phil, which was something he wasn't willing to do.

"I suppose," Robert admitted. "But just the thought of talking to him makes my blood boil." He remembered the last time he'd seen Phil, which was why they hadn't spoken in over seven years. He'd expected at least his brother to support his decision to be a music teacher, especially after his parents had completely shut him out. Phil, a big time accountant, was living in Chicago with his wife and daughters, living a perfect life and still in contact with his parents. When Robert had gone to meet him, he'd told him how much he agreed with their parents: a music teacher wasn't an appropriate job for a man that had succeeded so well academically, and he should do something better with his life. It had ended badly, perhaps with a punch or two, but the memory was hazy, since Robert had done everything in his power to forget that terrible day.

Olivia already had the phone in her hands before he could protest. She held it out to him, a comforting look on her face. He remembered Phil's number, as long as he hadn't moved. He dialed it slowly, punching each number with a stiff finger. Holding the phone to his ear, he heard numerous rings before almost giving up. After all this worrying, his brother wasn't even going to pick up the phone to talk to him. But then the line clicked.

"Hello?" It wasn't the familiar voice of his brother, but that of an elderly lady.

Robert hesitated. Maybe he'd dialed the wrong number. But he decided he would ask for Phil just in case. "I'm looking for a Phil Scott," he said gruffly, clearing his throat afterwards.

"Are you sure?" the woman asked.

"Quite so," Robert answered, raising an eyebrow at his wife. She shrugged, having no idea what was happening on the other end of the conversation.

"And this is?" The lady spoke slowly, and though Robert had no problem with senior citizens, he felt as if she was just sucking up his time. He sighed and answered with a taut, "Robert Scott." There was silence on the other end of the line for what seemed like an eternity. And then: "Well, Mr. Scott, I'm terribly sorry that you haven't heard." Robert's gut clenched. The tone of her voice didn't sound right. It was almost full of…pity. She continued on, "Phil Scott died about six years ago. It was tragic really, a huge accident." Robert dropped the phone of the wooden table with a clang. Olivia jumped in surprise and, though she kept quiet, looked at him expectantly.

Robert could hear the elderly woman screaming, "Hello? Are you still there, sir?" from the speaker on the phone, and he immediately hung up as soon as he could get the feeling in his arms back. Died? Dead? For six years, Robert marveled. Six years had passed without Robert even knowing of his own brother's death. How was that even possible? A deep, terrible feeling suddenly enveloped him. Olivia had been right: he should've tried to stay in touch despite the fact that they didn't get along.

His heart pounded. Olivia, sensing something was wrong, jumped out of her seat and went over to kneel next to his chair, placing a soft hand on his and offering a concerned face. "He's dead, Olivia," Robert whispered, barely audible. Olivia was speechless. She leaned her head on Robert's shoulder and let out a long breath that she'd been holding in. They sat there like that for what seemed like hours, but what was probably only a few minutes.

"You need to call your father," Olivia said finally.

Reluctantly, Robert picked up the phone and dialed his parents' number, hoping that they were home and at the same time wishing they weren't so that he didn't have to speak to them. His hand trembled as he held the receiver up to her ear. His father answered in the usually grunting way of his, and Robert couldn't even bring himself to say hello. "Hello? Someone there?" his father said, obviously annoyed.

"It's me," Robert said. There was silence on the other end, but he hadn't hung up. Robert took a deep breath. "I just called Phil's house. Is it true that he's…?"

"Dead? Gone? No longer with us?" his father said roughly, as always saying exactly what was in his mind. "And what do you care? You haven't bothered to contact us in over seven years." Despite his father's rough exterior, Robert could tell that he was hurting deeply from the loss of his son.

"It was a mistake," Robert admitted. "Please, tell me how it happened." He wanted desperately to change the subject before his father began scolding him.

"I don't know the details. They were on a family vacation and had a boating accident. The two girls survived but their parents died." He spoke like he was a news announcer, bored and emotionless, as if he wasn't talking about his own son. Something suddenly struck Robert. The girls had survived? And now they neither and mother or a father.

"Are they there with you now?" Robert asked, hoping and praying that the girls hadn't been shipped off to an orphanage or anything like that.

"Susie and I are in no condition to take care of children, Robert," he said, and finally there was emotion in his voice. Robert could tell he regretted this very fact. He waited for a moment until his father continued. "They're in the foster care system now. Living in New York."

"Foster care?" Robert's voice cracked. Olivia stared at him with her placid blue eyes, extremely concerned. "How could you let them do that? Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't have your number," his father replied. "If you had called we could've set something up, but I don't know where you live, Robert, I don't know anything about you." Robert knew this was true, no matter how much he was ashamed to admit it. His father didn't know him whatsoever, and that disappointed him. Not with his father, but with himself. His father should've been able to come and ask for his help, but because of Robert's determination to be rid of his family, he'd completely checked out of their lives. He sighed.

"They are in New York? New York City, you mean?"

"They're living in an apartment with a bunch of other kids, a dump of a place. When me and Susie visited them a few years ago it was terrible, but there's nothing we could do about it. Susie's in a wheelchair now." Robert hated listening to the stories that he had missed out on the past few years. He should've known that his nieces were in foster care, and he should've known that his mother was in a wheelchair.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Robert whispered.

"I'm sorry too, son," he said faintly, and the line went dead. Robert tried to remember the last time his father had called him son. There had in fact been one conversation in which he'd refused to think of him as his son at all. Robert put the phone down on the table and buried his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening. It was as if everything Olivia had said just twenty minutes ago was suddenly making sense. Things had been too perfect in his life, but it was all fake.

"Phil's kids are in foster care?" Olivia asked. She apparently gleaned enough from Robert's side of the conversation to understand the basics of what was going on. "That's terrible," she sighed, rubbing Robert's back comfortingly. "Let me make you a cup of coffee," she offered, beginning to stand up.

"Olivia," Robert stopped her by grabbing her arm. He knew what he had to do, even if it wasn't going to be easy. But it was the only way he could make things up to his mother, his father, and Phil. "Stay here and take care of the animals." There was a look of concentration on his face.

"Robert?" she asked as he stood up and went to retrieve his coat.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," he said, kissed her on the cheek, and closed the door behind him. He knew it was going to be tricky and a lot of work, but he had to do this. He had to do something to rid himself of this terrible guilty feeling, and he could only think of one way.

He was going to New York.