Second Chance by Christy Reece

do with her. They went everywhere together, like two peas in a pod. Keeley was always so sweet and pleasant. Never had a bad thing to say about anybody. Of course, when she got to be a teenager and started looking like she does now, the boys took a shine to her.”
    Despite his determination to avoid the thought, a vision of the dark-haired and curvaceous beauty appeared in his mind. Keeley Fairchild had the kind ofexotic looks and figure that made grown men drool. If she looked like that in school, he knew exactly how the teenaged boys of Fairview County High School had reacted. Like ravenous wolves.
    “She didn’t pay them no mind, though. Even when she started winning all them awards, she never got the big head.”
    “Awards?”
    Myron nodded. “For running track. Won several state finals … mostly long-distance running. Paper only printed one little article about her, though.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “Don’t really know. Made the excuse they had too much news that week or some such thing.”
    That seemed odd. Why would the town’s newspaper not write an article about a local student winning a statewide award? Keeley didn’t have a lot of friends because of her poverty, but would that have made a difference to a newspaper? Had someone perhaps pulled strings and prevented them from publishing the article? Someone like Elizabeth Fairchild? But why would Elizabeth hate a teenaged Keeley? From what he’d been able to glean from the few people who would talk to him, Stephen only started seeing Keeley well after she’d graduated from high school.
    “Can you think of anyone who would hate Keeley enough to want to take her children?”
    Myron’s face drooped with sorrow. “I wish I could tell you something about that. I’d do just about anything for Keeley, but I don’t know anybody who’d hate her that much. Townsfolk might not like her, but I don’t know of anybody that hates her … other than old lady Fairchild, that is.”
    “Do you think she’s capable of doing something like this?”
    “Oh, she’s capable all right. She’s ’bout as mean as they come.”
    Cole had yet to meet the woman, but he already shared Myron’s opinion of her.
    “You’re the first person to open up about Keeley. Most of the people act like they know nothing about her.”
    Myron snorted. “That’s ’cause old lady Fairchild thinks she owns everybody in town. She don’t own me, though.” His eyes gleamed. “You got a pen and some paper?”
    Cole pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket and handed them to Myron.
    “I’ll give you some names of people who’ll talk to you. A lot of them have been down on their luck at one time or another…. Keeley’s one of the few people who’ll give them some work or a helping hand. Not a lot of people know about her doing stuff like that, ’cause … well, that’s just the way she is. But these people here … you tell ’em Myron sent you. They’ll tell you what kind of lady she is. They ain’t beholden to Elizabeth Fairchild, so they’ll talk and tell you the truth, too.”
    Myron scribbled several names on the pad and handed it back to Cole. Then, with a dignified nod, he stood and shuffled away. Several people in the small diner glared at him, which, by the small chuckle Cole heard as Myron went out the door, seemed to amuse him.
    Cole got to his feet. As he made his way through the diner to pay for his meal, he could feel the stares boring a hole into his back. Elizabeth Fairchild had to be very pleased with how the townspeople kowtowed to her. Fear of losing your job was a powerful motivator.
    He pushed open the diner door and took a moment to survey the small town of Fairview. No doubt about it, the town was thriving. Businesses were open, peoplewere bustling here and there, and the many cars parked up and down the street indicated a steady and healthy clientele. With the economy, most people were struggling these days. The people in Fairview probably felt they had it