Finding Megan (The Kiser Series Book 2) Read online

  Finding Megan

  By

  Hannah Davenport

  Finding Megan

  Hannah Davenport

  Copyright 2016 by Hannah Davenport

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial use permitted by copyright laws.

  Thank you for purchasing my book. If you enjoy reading it, please feel free to leave a review.

  This story is fiction; names and places are not real and not based on any known person. This is for enjoyment purposes only.

  I would like to thank my family for being so patient and understanding while I spent hours, days, even weeks writing this book.

  Finally, I would like to thank Covered Creatively for my amazing book cover.

  Book 2 in the Kiser Series. This can be read as a stand alone book, but it is advised to read the first book, “Trying to Survive,” first which is available for free in most stores.

  Carlana and Colin announced their big news at Austin’s graduation. They were getting married! Although Megan felt extremely happy for her friend, she couldn’t stop feeling the tendrils of jealousy. Why couldn’t she find someone to love? At thirty-five she felt time was slipping away. She wanted a husband and children, but it looked like it wasn’t in the cards for her…that is until she met Matt, Colin’s best friend. The sexy, muscular, Matt who took her breath away!

  All Matt ever wanted was someone to love. He’d thought he’d found it with Carly until she abruptly left him. He wasn’t interested in one-night stands; he wanted someone to come home to. He wanted to hear the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hall. He had almost giving up…until he met Megan; beautiful, sexy, Megan and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  Although the attraction was instantaneous, they’d both been hurt before and this made them cautious. It didn’t make sense; they lived states away from each other. Throw in the fact that Megan was living with another man and had a secret admirer; they had obstacles to overcome.

  Chapter 1

  ****

  Megan was sitting at her old wooden desk grading papers when her cell phone rang. Looking down, she saw Lana’s picture pop up on the screen. Lana was in New York with Colin, or she was supposed to be. Megan smiled; she was extremely happy for her friend. Lana had been born with a genetic lung disease and daily life was a struggle for her. In addition to the exhaustion that her lung disease caused, two years ago she’d also lost her husband in a terrible car accident. Since then, her life had been lonely and filled with grief.

  Now Lana had found Colin, a new man to love, who loved her back. Megan couldn’t not be happy for her, but she still felt slightly envious. Lana also had a wonderful son who loved her dearly. After his dad passed, Austin felt a strong obligation to care for Lana and he always tried to help when he could. Megan had always wanted kids, but after her sorry attempt at marriage, she was glad she’d never had a child with James, her cheating ex-husband.

  She met James during her last year at college. At first, she’d thought him handsome and funny. He was always making her laugh and she felt cherished. They went out every weekend, sometimes dancing, or to dinner and a movie. James made her feel special…important to him. Everything was wonderful for about a year, until one day… it just wasn’t.

  Megan could tell immediately when things started to change; most women can. Call it women’s intuition. He started finding excuses not to come over, saying he had to study, or had something pressing to take care of. She suspected that he was seeing someone else, but could never prove it.

  Looking back now, she realized she should have followed her gut instinct. Instead, two years later, she married him. Big mistake! Their marriage had started out fine, but a year into it, he started again with the excuses. He had to go away for work or I left my papers at the office. It seemed he always had to leave and go somewhere.

  Their marriage had lasted five years before Megan finally decided to end it. Of course, finding him in bed with their neighbor helped her make that decision. They both eventually signed the divorce papers. He wasn’t happy about it, but there was no changing her mind. The vision of him in bed with another woman was etched in her memory.

  Megan came home early from work one day…only to find James and Kim, their next-door neighbor, in bed together. Kim was on top, riding him like a stallion.

  “WHAT THE HELL!!!!!” Megan had screamed, seeing red. This bitch was in her bed, and the bastard brought her to Megan’s house! She stared at Kim and yelled, “GET OUT!” Then she rounded on James, “YOU TOO, ASSHOLE!”

  As tears ran down her face, Megan yelled at both of them while Kim scurried around the room, gathering her things and looking terrified. She knew Megan would tell her husband, and Megan did! Kim’s husband, Chris, kicked her out with just her clothes! Now, James and Kim were planning to marry, but she knew they hadn’t set a date yet. James still called Megan all the time, begging to come over. He missed her. In the beginning, Megan would argue with him until she finally just stopped answering his calls. What a slime ball! She promised herself the day she signed the divorce papers that she would never be with another cheater. Megan admitted to herself that she knew in her heart what was happening, even before her marriage, but she tried to convince herself it was just her imagination. Never again!

  Shutting down all her racing thoughts, she answered the call and said brightly, “Hello, my friend! How are you?”

  “Hey, Megan. I’m good, you?” Just hearing her happy voice put a grin on Megan’s face. Lana was her best friend, and although Megan didn’t share much about her personal life, Lana was always there for her. It wasn’t that she was trying to hide anything; she just didn’t want Lana to worry. Megan thought Lana had enough on her plate.

  “I’m okay; I’m sitting here grading math papers. The last kid left just a few minutes ago. What’s up?” she asked, curious as to why Lana was calling. She knew Megan would be at school and never called her there unless it was important.

  “Colin and I are coming home for Austin’s graduation, and I wanted to make sure that you’ll be there. I have some great news and I want to tell you in person.” Excitement rang clearly in her voice and Megan could already guess what news she wanted to tell her. Happy as she was for her friend, she wistfully wished that she could also have such news to share.

  “Of course I’ll be there! I wouldn’t miss his graduation for anything! You know that!” She didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so there were no nieces or nephews to spoil. And with no children of her own, she had often helped Lana over the years by watching Austin. There was no way she’d miss his graduation.

  “I know, I just can’t wait to see you. I have so much to tell you! I miss you, but I’m so happy. I never thought I could be this happy again,” Lana replied sheepishly.

  “That’s okay. I’m happy for you! I’ll be there tomorrow; save me a seat if you get there first.”

  “I will. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Lana.” Megan tapped the end button and slid her phone into the top right-hand drawer of her desk. She kept it there during the day to make it easier to grab. She had a few more papers to grade before she could leave.

  Megan taught third grade math and of twenty-two papers, she still had seven left to finish. It always took a while since the kids had no organizational skills; their work sprayed across every empty space on the page. This new system of math was also a
little tougher. She had to learn how to group the numbers instead of the old math. Wasn’t that supposed to be the new math? She sighed as she finished another paper.

  Catching movement from the corner of her eye, Megan saw Sam standing there watching her. Well, either that, or staring into nothing; she could never tell with him. She smiled, trying to be polite, but he seemed not to notice her at first. He was a burly middle-aged man with dark hair that was starting to show some gray. Sam had been the school’s custodian for as long as she had worked there. He had his mop beside him, using it as a prop as he stared at…what? She smiled to herself; he must have something on his mind.

  “Hi, Sam.” Megan tried to relieve some of the awkwardness, and get his attention.

  He finally noticed that she spoke, and threw his hand up. “Hi, Miss Megan,” he gave her a smile and then went back to mopping the hallway. She smiled as she shook her head. Odd fellow.

  Looking back down at the almost-finished papers, she sighed again. For some reason, it seemed like today would never end. The school was empty, except for her, Sam, and a few teachers. She saw him pass by her door a couple more times while he mopped the floor.

  Ten minutes later, she was finally finished with the last paper and was just putting everything away when she spotted Eric heading her way. A huge smile spread across her face.

  “Hey, Megan, want to get some dinner?” he asked.

  “Sure, what did you have in mind?” She slid her cell phone into her purse, and grabbed her bag that held the lesson plan for Monday. She turned off the light and shut the door behind her and she and Eric walked toward the parking lot.

  “How about The Old Hardware Store?” The Old Hardware Store was actually a great barbecue place. It used to be a hardware store and the sign still hung on the outside. It was a great place to eat and on Friday and Saturday nights they had live music. Megan didn’t have to work the next day, but she did need to be up early for Austin’s graduation. She often wondered why they had graduation before the last day of school.

  “Sounds good. I love that place.” she replied as they reached her car. “Want to ride with me?” she asked, unlocking her red Mini Coupe.

  “Why don’t you ride with me and I’ll ride with you next time?”

  Megan thought about it a second, and then threw her things in the car and grabbed her purse. She slid into the passenger seat of Eric’s blue Chevy Silverado.

  “How’s everything going? How’s Lana?” he asked as he turned onto the four-lane heading toward town.

  “Good. Lana’s really good. She’s in New York with Colin. I haven’t met him yet, but I’ll see them at Austin’s graduation tomorrow. She sounds very happy, though.”

  “You miss her.”

  She didn’t know if it was meant as a question or statement, but she answered anyway. “Yeah, I do. I also hate to admit it, but I wish I could find the same thing. All I’ve ever wanted is for someone to love me and to have kids. I’m thirty-five and I feel like time is running out.” Megan sighed, hating that she felt the way she did. She loved Lana, and wanted her to be happy. But at the same time she could feel her own yearning; she wanted what her friend had.

  Eric gave her a sympathetic smile as he took her hand, offering comfort. Eric and Megan had met in college and had quickly become good friends. They had even applied for teaching jobs at the same elementary school. Megan was hired as the third grade Math teacher, while Eric became the Gym teacher. He looked the part with his naturally-tanned skin and the body of a Greek god. Lana was her best female friend, but Eric was her best guy friend.

  The hostess at the crowded restaurant seated them in a worn booth near the back of the room, giving them a good view of everything. With their drink orders taken, they looked over the menu. When the drinks arrived, they ordered their food and settled into easy conversation. It was so comfortable to be around him…just to talk. She didn’t like to bother Lana with her problems; Lana had enough of her own. Eric reached across the table and took her small hand in his; “It’s okay to want what she has, Megs. It’s normal. It doesn’t mean you’re not happy for Lana; you just want someone, too.” He smiled, and then continued, “We all want that.”

  She gave him a grateful smile as relief washed through her, “Thanks, Eric.” It felt nice to have someone to talk to, someone to tell her that what she felt was normal, and that she wasn’t a bad friend.

  “Any time, sweetheart,” he said, and gave her hand one last squeeze before letting it go.

  “How was work today?” Eric asked between sips of his beer.

  Megan looked up and caught him staring at her with his hazel eyes. He had thick dark hair that fell just below his ears, a chiseled jaw, and broad shoulders. The dimple in his right cheek when he smiled was the icing on the cake. No doubt about it, Eric was extremely handsome. “It was okay. I’m having trouble with one of the kids. I think something’s going on at home. He used to be a good student, always turned his homework in on time and never got in trouble. Now, he’s barely passing, and picking fights with the other kids. I’ve tried to talk to him, but he just clams up. It breaks my heart to see such a drastic change in such a short amount of time.”

  “I don’t think many people realize how much the home life affects kids,” he offered.

  “No, they don’t. I may have to have a parent/teacher meeting if things don’t improve. How about you?” Megan asked, taking a sip of her own Sam Adams.

  “Same as usual.”

  They talked over dinner and enjoyed the country music band for a while before leaving. Eric dropped her off at school so she could retrieve her car.

  When she arrived home, Megan found a vase filled with big beautiful flowers sitting on her front porch. She smiled from ear to ear as she wondered who sent them. After unlocking the old wooden front door, she picked up the flowers, carried them to the kitchen and set them on the table. She looked, but couldn’t find a note or card anywhere. The red roses were beautiful, and Megan couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread across her face once again.

  The next morning, Megan dressed in a pair of black slacks and silky red button- down, and headed off to graduation. She couldn’t believe Austin was old enough to graduate!

  Looking around, she spotted Lana standing next to a very handsome man whom she knew well. Well, she didn’t actually know him…she only knew what the sleazy tabloids reported about him. She was still a bit suspicious. He was frequently featured on the front page of the tabloids with various women on his arm. The stories claimed he had been engaged to many of these women, during the time he was seeing Lana. Lana had assured her that it was all a big misunderstanding, but she was more trusting than Megan was. Megan would withhold judgment until she was able to get to know him a bit, but then she knew it didn’t matter anyway. It was not her decision to make and she would never say anything to ruin Lana’s happiness.

  “Megan, over here!” Lana yelled when she spotted her friend. Megan wove in and out through the crowd, making her way over to them, and then pulled Lana in for a hug. It had been a long time since they’d seen each other. Lana had spent two weeks in a hospital in North Carolina, and then had gone to stay in New York with Colin. With her arms around Lana, all the envy she had felt drained away. She loved her friend, and wanted her to be happy. “God, it seems like forever since I saw you!” Lana exclaimed, and stepped back to admire Megan.

  “It has been forever,” Megan laughed. “You look good.” Lana looked better than she had in a long time. She looked healthy and extremely happy.

  The handsome man at her side put his hand on Lana’s shoulder. He looked even better up close and in person; she was sure her mouth gaped open a little. He looked lovingly at Lana as she took his hand. “Colin, I’d like for you to meet Megan. Megan, this is my Colin,” Lana said with a beautiful smile.

  “Nice to meet you, Colin,” Megan said, extending her hand.

  He smiled, and said, “It’s nice to meet you, too, Megan. I’ve heard so much about you.�
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  “I hope it wasn’t all bad,” she laughed.

  “Not all, but I did tell him stories about some of the things we did, growing up,” Lana chimed in, and they all laughed.

  There was an exodus to fill the seat as the ceremonies began. When finally Austin walked across the temporary stage, Megan had to wipe the tears from her eyes. She still couldn’t believe he was all grown up. She snapped a few pictures, and when they finally found him in the crowd, she gave him a big hug.

  They all had dinner together, along with Lana’s parents. Lana and Colin announced their big news; they were getting married. Megan hugged Lana, as did her parents. Austin seemed to accept Colin, but sat quietly, so it was a little hard to tell. When Lana asked, of course, Megan agreed to be her maid of honor. Then Lana coyly mentioned introducing her to someone named Matt.

  ****

  Matt sat at the Italian restaurant with Colin and Carlana. They had just announced that they were getting married. He couldn’t believe it. He never thought he’d see the day when Colin settled down, but he was very happy for him…for them.

  He couldn’t help but feel a little envious though. All he ever wanted was a wife…a family…and to hear the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hall. Matt had thought he would have that with Carly, but she had other plans. After two years of dating, she moved back home to Maryland with no warning. Matt pulled his attention back to his companions.

  They talked for a few minutes about Matt being the best man at their wedding, and then Carlana mentioned her friend Megan, who would be the maid of honor. Matt just sat and listened. It was easy to see how in love they were with each other.

  Leaving the restaurant, he decided to stop in and see his mom. It had been a few days, and he always liked to check in to make sure she was doing okay. With all the traffic, it would take about thirty minutes to get there by cab.