Mended Fences: Will love and kindness be able to mend the fences broken by intolerance? (Mended Hearts Book 2) Read online

  MENDED FENCES

  BY

  SARAH MARKEL

  Author’s note

  I hope that you, the reader, find this book to be as enticing as the first. The events of this story flowed effortlessly once I started writing, and it is my sincere hope that this next step in the lives of Alex, Kelly, Zane, and Dej, does not disappoint. I would like to thank my good friend, Kaylin Fuller, for her invaluable input, contributions to the storyline, and her willingness to deal with my attitude when something would frustrate me.

  To my son, “Zane”: Your grown-up logic and sweet, childish mannerisms are what make you who you are. I couldn’t have asked for a better son, and I am eternally grateful to have been the one to bring you into this world. I am looking forward to watching as you become the man that you are meant to be, but no matter how old you get, you will always be my precious baby boy.

  To my daughter, “Dej”: No matter what anyone says, you are an amazing little girl. Your sarcasm and quick wit make people laugh, and no matter how irritated I get at your smart mouth, you are the only little girl for me. When the day comes for me to give you away (through marriage or in trade with the gypsies for three paperclips, a tooth pick, and a package of pink post-it notes), I can assure you that while my heart will be breaking, I will hold my head high and wish you all the best on your path to self-discovery.

  Lastly, I would like to make a very special dedication.

  To my sister in heaven, Sam DiLozano: I miss you every single day. Your courage and strength helped me in so many situations and without you, Alex would not be who she is. Throughout the character development phase, I looked back on our experiences and I would smile to myself each time. Even though the biggest difference between you and Alex is your sexuality, she would not be the character she is without your influence. One day we will see one another again, but until then, I will continue to think about you in everything I do.

  I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you liked the first book, and enjoy this second installment, please keep your eyes open for the third book in this series, coming soon!

  P.S.

  For those of you who are unsure: Dej is pronounced DAY.

  PROLOUGE

  Alex Walker sat in her beach chair, watching as the woman she loved taught her son and daughter how to surf. She smiled and cheered from her spot on the sand when the boy finally managed to stay upright on his board for the first time all day. Her twelve year old son, Zane, came running up to her, soaking wet in his black and blue wetsuit. “Mom! Did you see me? I did exactly what Mom said and I did it!” he declared excitedly. Nodding, Alex fist bumped her son. “I saw that, bubba! You did a great job.” She said proudly. With a wide grin, the boy stood and ran back to Kelly, who was helping Dej back onto her board. “He finally got it, eh?” Angie said, handing her a Mai Thai and taking the chair next to her twin sister. Nodding, Alex took a sip of her drink.

  The last six days had been nothing but sun, sand, and fun during their seven day trip to the Bahamas. Alex and Kelly had invited Angie and Steve to bring along their children for a family getaway. Together, the ten of them had toured the resort, taken glass bottomed boat tours, and sat on the beach under the stars. The four adults had even gone scuba diving the day before. Today, the group had decided to spend their last day on the beach to soak up as much of the beautiful sunny weather as they could, before they left the next day to go back home. There was only two weeks left before school started again, and while the kids were looking forward to it, Alex was hesitant to go back. Going home meant going back to work and wedding planning.

  While Kelly was taking on most of the burden of working out the details, Alex still had to put in her opinion. She would never say anything to Kelly, but planning this wedding brought back a lot of sad memories for Alex. When she had married her first wife, Alex and Callie had experienced each of the steps together. They went to every appointment, chose every color, every song, and even the food together. After Callie had been murdered, Alex never thought about marrying again. While it was Alex who had proposed, she hadn’t even thought about the wedding preparations. She did her best to help when asked, but for the most part had let Kelly do her thing. Before they had left for the trip, Kelly had made Alex promise to help more with the planning so they could make sure everything was perfect for their big day.

  “Hello, earth to Alex.” Angie said, tapping her twin on the shoulder and bringing her back to reality. Shaking herself, Alex apologized. “It’s ok, I was just asking if you guys were all packed yet.” Nodding, Alex smiled. “Yeah, we finished up this morning.” she said. “Are you alright, Sis?” Angie asked, noticing that Alex’s expression had changed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wish this trip wasn’t over so soon. Kelly made me promise to help more with the wedding stuff once we get back.” Alex said, watching her fiancée as the woman paddled out into the water with Dej on the front of her board. “How dare she? You go through all the trouble of asking her to be your wife, and she had the audacity to expect you to help her make that happen?” Angie replied, with a look of mock outrage on her face. Slapping her sister playfully, Alex stood and walked away to join her family in the water.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Welcome back, Dr. Taylor. How was the vacation?” Jack asked when Kelly arrived at work on Monday morning. “It was wonderful, Jack. We all had a blast. Although Alex is in quite a bit pain. She got a nasty sunburn yesterday and she’s in a cranky mood today.” Kelly replied. “Well you look like you got a fair amount of sun too.” He said with a chuckle, noticing that Kelly’s skin had a golden tanned color to it. Nodding, Kelly let herself into her office. Oh it’s good to be back. She thought to herself as she set the paperwork Jack had handed her on her desk. Looking through the papers, she sorted them into piles and placed them in the proper place on her desk. She took a few moments to check her messages and make a note of the calls she needed to return. Once she had finished, Kelly put on her lab coat and set off to the Comfort Care floor to get to work.

  *****

  When Alex arrived at Serenity Home an hour later, she spent nearly five minutes trying to get out of the car. I can’t believe you forgot to put sunscreen on, you idiot! You’re a redhead, you never forget the sunscreen. She chastised herself once she finally got out of her seat. Slamming the car door out of frustration, Alex headed inside. “Good Morning, Ms. Walker. Holy crap! Are you alright?” Tina asked when Alex passed her desk. Nodding silently, Alex unlocked her office and stepped inside, leaving the door open. Because of the sunburn that covered most of her body, she had chosen a lightweight cotton sundress for work that day. Attempting to sit down in her office chair, however, she was currently regretting the decision. Lifting the hem of her skirt a bit to give her more leg room to sit, Alex grimaced as she managed to lower herself into the chair. Noticing her boss’ discomfort, Tina knocked on the doorjamb. “Ms. Walker, do you want me to get Dr. Taylor down here? That sunburn looks horrible.” the woman asked with concern. Shaking her head carefully, Alex replied “No thanks, Tina. I’ll be fine. I’ve already taken a bath in aloe twice this morning. I just need to push through the pain and I will be alright.” With an uncertain nod, Tina went back to her desk.

  *****

  “Alex?” Kelly asked a few hours later as she knocked on her fiancée’s office door. “Come in.” she heard Alex say, pain evident in her voice. Kelly eased open the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind her, sh
e went over to Alex who currently had her head on her desk and a wet towel over her back. “Honey, you need to go home. I told you that you shouldn’t come in today.” she said gently. Groaning, Alex lifted her head and protested. “It’s my own fault I’m in pain, babe. A sunburn is no excuse for not doing your job.” she said with a wince as she sat up. Shaking her head at the woman’s stubbornness, Kelly opened the office door and called Tina inside. “Please cancel Ms. Walker’s appointments until Wednesday, or try to reschedule them with Mrs. Baxter. I’m going to take her home so she can nurse that sunburn for a few days.” Kelly instructed. Nodding, Tina agreed and went back to her desk.

  *****

  “Alright, honey. You stay put until I get home. Try not to get up unless it’s urgent, and when I get home, we’ll see how this feels.” Kelly instructed as she finished applying the silver sulfadiazine cream to Alex’s legs. When the women had arrived home, Kelly helped Alex onto the couch after putting a thin sheet over the leather. “No problem there.” Alex muttered, laying herself back to get comfortable. “I love you, baby.” Alex said, motioning Kelly down for a kiss. Obliging, Kelly pressed her lips to Alex’s gently and replied, “I love you too, Alex. Now stay put or that cream won’t work.” She added, as she stood. When Alex nodded, Kelly smiled and left the house to go back to work.

  *****

  “I want Mr. Burns to be given point two-five milliliters of Roxanol every two hours for pain, alternated with point five milliliters of lorazepam every hour for agitation. That will keep him comfortable and less stressed out. If there is any change, call me right away.” Kelly instructed the charge nurse. Heading toward the elevators, she made some notations on her clipboard and sighed heavily as the doors opened. She hated using strong medications on her residents, but the elderly man had taken a fall the day before and shattered his hip. When his family was asked if they wanted surgical repair, they had declined saying he probably wouldn’t survive the procedure. After receiving permission from the family a few hours ago, Kelly had ordered the man be brought upstairs and had just finished giving the new care orders. When the elevator opened into the lobby, she headed for her office, only to be stopped by Jack. “Dr. Taylor, this letter came for you.” He said, handing her an envelope. “Is everything alright?” the man asked when Kelly’s face changed. Nodding, the woman went into her office and closed the door.

  When she had finished updating the chart on Mr. Burns, Kelly gathered her things and left for the day. Before she had been able to start on the update, she had been called up to the Crisis floor to pronounce a resident and notify the family. After making the call, she had spent almost an hour with them while they said their goodbyes and waited for the coroner. When she finally made it back to her office, she had called Alex to check on her. Not getting an answer, she assumed the woman was asleep and went back to work. Now that her day was over, Kelly was eager to get home. Locking her office behind her, she waved goodbye to her assistant and left the building.

  *****

  “How’s Alex?” Angie asked when Kelly arrived to pick up the kids. “She’s alright, I guess. I told her this morning to stay home, but she’s so bullheaded she went into work anyway. I had to take her home and slather her with silver cream because she was in so much pain she could barely move.” Kelly explained with exasperation. Laughing, Angie patted the woman on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to it. One thing that has always remained constant with her is her bullheadedness. When she sets her mind to something she will either do it or die trying.” Chuckling, Kelly accepted the coffee that Angie had offered. After taking a sip, she looked to her friend and asked “Hey, Ange. I wanted to ask you a question, and now that it’s just the two of us, do you mind?” Peeking out to make sure all of the children were outside, Angie nodded. “Alright. I was wondering, where did Alex and Callie get married? I don’t want to push Callie’s memory out, but I would like our wedding to spark happy memories, not sad ones.” Kelly explained. Taking a moment to think, Angie answered “You know, it’s funny you asked that, because that was something that the two of them never agreed on. Alex wanted to get married on the beach in August, but Callie insisted on doing it in the spring at Turner Park. So after months of begging, Alex finally gave in and they got married in the gazebo. The same one we had the kids’ party in last year.” The woman added, her eyes darkening. Slightly shocked by the news, Kelly said “Well then I am definitely not suggesting a park location. I want this day to be nothing but happiness for Alex.” Thanking Angie, Kelly rounded up the kids and took them home.

  “Hey, beautiful. Welcome home.” Alex called from the kitchen when she heard Kelly and the kids come through the door. “What are you doing? I told you to stay on the couch until I got home!” Kelly demanded as she walked into the room with her hands on her hips. “Aww I love it when you’re mad at me.” Alex said with a smile, leaning back gingerly against the sink. Biting back a laugh at the woman’s glare, Alex explained “I was just in here to get a drink. I stayed on the couch all day until a few minutes ago. I swear.” She explained, raising her hand in oath. Relaxing her posture, Kelly went over and kissed her fiancée lightly. “Come on upstairs and let me look at that burn.” She instructed, taking Alex’s hand. With a smirk, Alex made a comment about Kelly’s timing. “Well, if you don’t mind the kids seeing you naked, we can do this downstairs.” Kelly said flatly, unamused by Alex’s playful statement. Stopping on the stairs, Alex turned Kelly around to look at her. Frowning, she asked “Baby, what’s wrong?” Shaking her head, Kelly avoided Alex’s gaze. “Nothing’s wrong, honey. I just want to get you taken care of so you aren’t in pain anymore.” She said, turning to continue up the stairs.

  When the pair reached their bedroom, Kelly told Alex to strip. Still unsure about the reason behind Kelly’s short demeanor, Alex did as she was told. Slipping off her sundress, she stood with her back to Kelly as the woman carefully removed the remnants of the silver cream with a wet cloth. Once the cream had been removed, Kelly ran her fingers gently over Alex’s flesh looking for any kind of pain response. After reapplying cream to the areas that were the most painful, she asked Alex to turn around. Repeating her actions on Alex’s front, Kelly gathered up her supplies and put them back in the bathroom. “Babe, wait.” Alex said, taking Kelly by the hand as she headed for the door. “Tell me what’s bothering you. I’ve never seen you like this before. You seem so… morose I guess.” She said pulling the woman down to sit on the bed next to her. With a heavy sigh, Kelly answered “I got a letter today. From them.” Unsure who “them” was, Alex waited. When the woman offered no other explanation, she asked “Who is them, babe?” Letting go of Alex’s hand, Kelly wrapped her arms around herself and replied, her eyes gone dark with anger and sadness, “My parents.”

  CHAPTER 2

  “Alright. So you got a letter from your parents. Why does that make you so upset? What did the letter say?” Alex asked. She knew that Kelly had had a falling out with them when she was in college, but the woman had never given any details as to why, and Alex had never pried. Seeing Kelly like this, Alex didn’t know what to do aside from trying to understand. “I don’t know, I haven’t even opened it. Since we haven’t spoken in fifteen years, I’m kind of upset that they even knew where I was.” Kelly said, standing and placing her hands on her hips as she paced.

  “I mean, it’s not like they ever cared what I was doing or where I was at. When I graduated college they didn’t even bother to show up! And when I graduated medical school, I tried to call them and all I got was their stupid answering machine. Never got a call back either. The last time I ever heard anything from them was the day I left for school. I decided that it was time to come out to them, and figured hey, I’m their daughter, they won’t care. Boy was I wrong. My mom threw me out of the house and slammed the door on me! Who does that to their own kid?” she demanded to no one in particular. Staying quiet, Alex let Kelly vent. “My sister used every drug known to man. She stole money and jewelry from them,
ran away constantly, dropped out of high school, and got pregnant at sixteen. But did my parents shun her? No, they did everything they could to help her out. But I graduate high school, college, medical school, and go on to become a successful doctor, and I am the pariah because I’m sexually attracted to women? I don’t know what they want, but they aren’t going to get it.” She declared harshly. When she was sure that Kelly was done with her rant, Alex said “I didn’t know you had a sister.” Startled, Kelly turned and looked at her. “I’m sorry honey, I guess I needed to vent.” She said, sitting back down next to her fiancée.

  “Don’t worry about it, babe. Everyone has to vent sometimes.” Alex assured her. Smiling, Kelly kissed Alex’s cheek and stood. “Let’s go make the kids dinner. I’ll tell you about my sister while we cook.” She said, pulling the woman along. After checking on the kids, the two went down to the kitchen and started on dinner. While Kelly worked on gathering vegetables and seasonings, Alex set about cutting a large chicken breast into strips. “So tell me about this sister you’ve never mentioned before.” Alex said as she sliced. “There’s a lot to tell, what do you want to know?” Kelly asked as she chopped onions into one inch squares. “Start from the beginning. I don’t know anything about her except for what you said upstairs.” Alex said. Nodding, Kelly began.

  “Well, I’m the youngest by three years. My sister, Kristen, was in no way happy to be getting a younger sibling when my parents told her about me. When I was born, she tried several times to either give me away or throw me away. I don’t remember us ever getting along. Before I could talk, she used to blame everything she did on me, and once I could defend myself she hated me even more.” Kelly explained, putting the onions in a bowl. As she started on the bell peppers, she continued. “I only have one good memory of her from my childhood, and that was when I was seven. It was the first day of school, and I was really excited to go. Kristen walked me to the bus stop and waited with me until my bus came. Just before the bus got there, this little boy grabbed my ponytail and pulled it hard. I begged him to let go, crying my eyes out, and Kristen slapped him. She told him if she ever saw him do it again, she would cut off his hands. That boy was so scared, he stayed away from me after that. When he let go, she fixed my hair for me and gave me a hug before I got on the bus.” Stopping for a moment to wash her hands, Kelly wiped a tear from her eyes. Offering Alex a watery smile, she went on.