Page 107 of Second Chance for the Single Mom

“Hi, Ms. Mercer? This is Juliana Vortsch, over at the Worthington Academy. Hopefully I’m not calling too late, but I didn’t want to wait before giving you the good news. The Worthington Academy would be delighted to accept Brandon as a student beginning in the fall. We will be extending a formal invitation, of course, along with the opportunity to apply to a variety of scholarships to financially assist in covering the tuition. We value having a variety of students from various backgrounds, and would love the opportunity to showcase…”

The voicemail went on for another minute, but I stopped listening. I was grinning too hard.

Shay had opened his eyes and was staring at me. He pointed at my phone, then cocked his head questioningly.

“Worthington,” I mouthed back at him, then flashed a thumbs-up.

Shay silently pumped a fist, but that was enough of a motion to disturb Jordan, who popped up out of his chair like his pants were on fire.

“What? I’m awake. Is it time for rounds?” He looked around the room, then relaxed when he saw me. “Sorry. I had a horrible dream that I was caught sleeping on the job. How’s Sara?”

Lucas sat upright, and gently shook Bran awake. My son rubbed an eye, then focused on me.

“We have two healthy children,” I announced. “A boy, and a girl.”

Bran gasped. “That’s exactly what I wanted!”

I took turns hugging all of my boys, starting with Bran and ending with Shay. I had a lot of attention to go around, now.

“Also, Bran got into the Worthington Academy,” I added, almost as an afterthought.

“Really?” Lucas asked.

“Let’s go!” Jordan shouted, picking up Bran and twirling him around in the air. “They have a great baseball team. One of the best in the state. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be playing on their varsity team as an eighth grader.”

“Getting your son into a prestigious private school,” Shay said casually. “That’s a big deal. Probably good enough to bump someone up in hypothetical boyfriend rankings.”

“You’re probably right,” I agreed.

Jordan put Bran down and gave me averyserious look. “Don’t you dare joke about demoting me in the rankings. Not after I got Sara upgraded to a private room.”

“Private school beats private room,” Lucas said. “If anyone wants my opinion.”

We all laughed while Jordan sputtered and argued.

Epilogue

Six Months Later

“We’re going to be late!” I yelled over my shoulder. “Are your shoes on yet?”

“Putting them on now,” Lucas called back from Bran’s room.

I finished the sandwich I was making, then put it in a reusable container and added it to the rest of the snacks in Bran’s lunch bag. I loved that he spent his entire day at school, rather than just the mornings like when he was in Kindergarten. But that meant packing a lunch for him, which added a few extra minutes of work in my already-too-busy mornings.

We were getting to get to the point where I could afford to let him buy lunch at school, but I was still reluctant to spend money on luxuries. Especially when I could make his lunch for him and save twenty-five dollars a week. That kind of money added up.

“Ta-da!” Lucas said, emerging from the bedroom with our son. “The little man himself, all ready to go.”

Even though Bran had been going to Worthington for a month now, I still felt a proud twist in my chest when I saw him dressed in his cute little uniform. He wasn’t even six years old yet, but he was already growing up so fast. I knew that one day I might blink, and he would be taller than me.

“Something wrong?” Lucas asked.

“Nothing.” I turned back to the lunch bag and pretended to fiddle with something. “I’m just amazed at how handsome of a boy you’re turning out to be. You look so nice in your suit.”

“Thanks,” Lucas said, kissing the back of my neck. “I really like this tie.”

“I was talking about Bran.”

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