Tessa's Wishes (Whispered Wishes Book 3) Read online

  Tessa’s Wishes

  By Karen Pokras

  Book Three: Whispered Wishes Series

  Tessa’s Wishes

  Book Three: Whispered Wishes Series

  © 2014 by Karen Pokras

  All Rights Reserved

  Published by Grand Daisy Press

  Digital Edition

  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 prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please go to www.karenpokras.com.

  Disclaimer: The characters in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

  Digital Edition, License Notes This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  For more information, please visit

  http://www.karenpokras.com

  Edited by Melissa Ringsted of There For You Editing

  Cover by Najla Qamber Designs

  Models: Courtney Boyett and Willis Totten

  Model Photographer: Casey Boyett

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  End Notes

  Other Books by Karen Pokras

  About Karen Pokras

  Chapter 1

  The church sat empty on the morning of September fifth. There would be no guests hurrying to take their seats as soft music played in the background, nor a nervous groom standing at the altar anxiously waiting for his bride to appear through the double doors that seemed so far away. It was a shame, actually, as Tessa had planned everything for her wedding down to the last detail. Included on the list of cancelled items were the string quartet set to play Pachelbel and Wagner as she and her bridal party walked down the aisle, the florist order of white roses and daises, and of course, the three-tiered wedding cake with the bride and groom perched on top, ready to start their happily ever after.

  She and Scott had been dating ever since they met in English class the fall of their senior year at Forest Hills University. He was the handsome, popular football star, and she was getting ready for her dream job as the director in the theater school’s production of West Side Story. Neither of them understood the assignment for the required history class they’d both put off taking until their final year. Perhaps it was coincidence, or perhaps it was fate, but they found themselves waiting outside of Professor Sutter’s office at the same time to ask for help. They decided to join forces and work together. Before they knew it, they were a couple.

  The pregnancy wasn’t planned. Scott did what he felt was the right thing to do and proposed a week before graduation, promising to love and cherish Tessa and the baby for all of eternity. Of course, she said yes. He was her soul mate. The man she was destined to be with forever and always.

  They planned to get married in early September. She’d always dreamt of a beautiful winter wedding, but the timing wouldn’t work, and she didn’t want to wait. If she didn’t have her almost perfect white wedding now, she knew it might never happen. A late summer wedding would have to do.

  As her belly swelled, so did the arguments, followed by hostility and resentment from her soon to be husband. She rationalized he was just nervous about becoming a father. They’d talked several times about having children when they were dating, and both agreed they wanted a family … later. Neither had been prepared to welcome a baby this soon. While Tessa was looking forward to the birth of their child, Scott was still having trouble adjusting.

  Her family was so focused on all of the excitement going on around them, they didn’t notice the trouble brewing. Besides planning for the upcoming wedding and birth for Tessa, her other sister, Holly, had married her fiancé, Ben, only a few months earlier. Their wedding was spectacular—a dream come true for both of them. Then, there was Ava. She and her husband, Max, had recently moved back to the East Coast after having given birth to their second child, Logan. Nobody really saw the end coming, not even Tessa.

  In August, two weeks before they were set to walk down the aisle, Scott called off the wedding and moved out of state without saying good-bye or leaving a forwarding address. She attempted to contact his family, but they wouldn’t speak to her. She wasn’t surprised. They’d wanted Scott and her to put the baby up for adoption from the moment they’d found out about the pregnancy, implying the entire incident was a mistake. It was no wonder he got cold feet and ran off.

  On Thanksgiving Day, Sophie Rose Haines entered the world. Scott never once called to ask about his daughter.

  ~~~

  Three Years Later

  “Tessa!” Mr. Abbott bellowed from his office without getting up. “Tessa!”

  She quickly put the phone on hold. The fact that she’d been waiting for fifteen minutes to speak with the nurse at her daughter’s pediatrician’s office was irrelevant. Her boss had made it quite clear on more than one occasion that work came first. Standing up, she straightened her blouse and steadied herself before walking one door over to face the wrath of the man who signed her paycheck.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, turning the corners of her lips up into a forced grin. Taking a seat in the chair opposite her boss’ desk, she braced herself for the inevitable attack.

  He slammed the binder down on his desk. “Your projections are off. The return on investment doesn’t match the statements, and the interest calculations on the bonds are all wrong. I’m meeting with the client first thing in the morning. I can’t present this to him. It’s crap! Nicholas Schilling is a multi-millionaire. He pays us a lot of money to get this right … money I use to pay you. Every time you get this wrong, you’re wasting that money.”

  “Sir, I ran the numbers several times. They—”

  “I’m telling you, they’re off.” Picking up the binder, he held it out as his beady eyes bore through her. “Are you going to sit there and argue? Because one of us is wrong, and it’s not me.”

  There was no use trying to explain. Red would always be blue to him. Always.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “These reports need to be completely re-done. All of them. Looks like you’ll be working late.” He sneered as she took the thick folder out of his hands.

  Rising to her feet without another word, she quickly walked out of his office, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing the tears well up in her eyes. Damn him. She rushed back to her ow
n office and picked the phone back up. The call had been disconnected. No matter, she wouldn’t have time to bring Sophie to the doctor after work anyway. This job truly sucked. Well, not the job itself, but the people she had to work with … make that person.

  Her parents told her she was ridiculous when she announced she wanted to be a theater production major in college. You’ll never be able to make a living doing that. They were right.

  After Scott left and Sophie was born, Tessa moved back in with her parents. She cared for Sophie during the day, while her parents took over at night so she could work as an assistant director at the local theater. She loved the job and the people, but barely made enough money to pay her portion of the food bill.

  At the same time, her father had just retired, and her parents were looking to sell their house. Initially, when they thought all three of their daughters were to be married off and settled, they had put a deposit down on a condo a few towns over. The place was perfect for them—a fifty-five and older community with lots of activities. Unfortunately for Tessa, it meant she would need to find a new place to live, as her parents would now be in a tiny home that didn’t allow young residents. It also meant she was stuck looking for alternative childcare. While her parents would still be close enough to see their grandkids regularly, the hour plus commute would make them too far to be her daily sitter. With rent and daycare expenses now looming, she had no choice but to give up her theater job.

  Thankfully, her father had an old college friend, Bruce, a local accountant and financial planner, who was looking for some office help. The pay was decent, and there was a good yet inexpensive daycare close by. She was able to move out of her parents’ house before it sold and into her own tiny apartment. Bruce was a kind man who taught Tessa about the business. She found it interesting and learned the ropes quickly. After a year, Bruce, like her parents, decided he was also ready to retire. He sold the business to one of his competitors: Steven Abbott. Mr. Abbott, as he insisted on being called, agreed to keep her on as part of the deal. Unlike Bruce, however, her new boss was not a kind man. He was ruthless … and heartless.

  Tessa constantly had her eyes out for another job. She worried, though. This one was close to Sophie’s daycare, gave her basic medical insurance, and covered her rent. And who’s to say her next boss would be any better? Although, it was highly unlikely she’d get stuck with someone worse. She sent out inquiries on a weekly basis with no luck. It looked like she was stuck with Mr. Abbott whether she wanted to be or not.

  She began to dial the telephone again.

  “Pick up, please, pick up,” she whispered just as she heard the familiar “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s Tessa. I need your help.”

  Chapter 2

  “Tessa? What’s up?” Ava sounded flustered when she answered the call. In the background, her son, Logan, was shouting for her … crying was more like it, drowning out any silence that might have existed prior to the phone ringing.

  At three years old, he was a typical toddler, always wanting attention, particularly when his mom was in the middle of something else. By the sound of it, if Logan didn’t get what he was yelling for that very second, his world would surely come crashing down around him.

  “Sweetie,” Ava said, with more than a hint of pleading in her voice, “I just need to talk to Auntie Tess for a minute. Tessa, would you mind holding on for a sec while I get him settled?”

  “Sure, no problem,” she replied.

  The click of the television turning on drowned out his demands. Too many times, she had done that herself, trying to distract Sophie with a show or movie so she could get something accomplished, or to squeeze in some much needed alone time. Parenting at its finest. She knew it wasn’t the best alternative, but often she had no choice, and it wasn’t doing anyone any harm … was it? They did plenty together. Besides, Sophie loved her shows. Logan probably did as well. It’s not like she put her daughter in front of the television for hours at a time. At least, not very often.

  Dealing with one young child was challenging enough. Tessa couldn’t imagine what it was like for Ava to have two, although at almost eight years old, Jenna was hardly a young child anymore. Come to think of it, she was probably a big help to her mom. Plus, Ava had her husband, Max, to support her both emotionally and financially, even if his job as an airline pilot did require him to travel often. The fact of the matter was that Tessa would gladly switch places with her older sister any day, even with the sacrifices Ava had to make moving back to Forest Hills three years ago.

  Her oldest sister had always dreamt of owning an art gallery, and she was so close to making that wish come true. When she and Max lived out in California, she ran a gallery, quite successfully. The owner had been all set to sell it to her, but Ava found out she was pregnant with Logan. Not that having a child was bad news or anything. Quite the opposite, in fact. She and Max were thrilled. It’s just that she’d had such a difficult pregnancy with Jenna and a hard time balancing her time between being a mommy and having a career. After giving it much thought, she turned down the offer and selflessly decided she wanted to devote all of her time to raising their kids. She and Max packed up their children and moved back to the East Coast so they could be closer to both of their families. She hadn’t stepped foot in an art gallery since. She claimed she’s had no regrets. Tessa wasn’t entirely convinced.

  Maybe they weren’t so much sacrifices, as they were changes in plans. In reality, had any of their lives turned out as intended? Perhaps Holly’s had, although to date she didn’t have that house full of kids. It’s possible, though, after hanging out with her sisters’ kids, she had changed her mind or was in less of a hurry. Even so, Holly still could have kids. It’s not like she was giving anything up. Everything else in her life was going forward right on schedule.

  No, Tessa was talking more about long-term objectives, like her desire to run a theater and perhaps get married. She’d already attempted to work in a theater and get married. Both undertakings had been dismal failures. The theater didn’t pay, and … well, men sucked. She’d said it a million times over the years to her sisters every time she watched them go through heartache. True, they were both happily married now, but the thought of going through the kind of pain she went through with Scott again to maybe find a partner was a crap shoot she wasn’t willing to gamble. She was perfectly fine with being single. She could even handle a life away from the theater. Now her crotchety bastard of a boss was another story. He had to go. He was more than a sacrifice, he was cruel and unusual punishment. Oh, how she wished she could find another job.

  “Tessa? Are you there? What’s up?” Ava asked, returning to the phone.

  She hated to ask her older sister for yet another favor, especially when Ava sounded so worn out. After hearing her voice, Tessa wished she could have made up some small talk, hung up the phone, and called Holly to ask for help with Sophie, but she already knew Holly had parent-teacher conferences after school today and would be unavailable. It seemed like she was always asking one of her sisters for help, but this was an emergency. Well, not an emergency in the sense of life or death, but an emergency in the sense that if she didn’t finish this project, she could lose her job. No, she would most definitely lose her job. If that happened, she and Sophie would have to move in with her older sister. Ask Ava for a favor or move in with Ava? Yes, the favor route was definitely the better choice in this situation.

  “I’m here,” she said, keeping her voice low in case Mr. Abbott was eavesdropping, as he often did. “Listen, I’m so sorry to ask you this, but my boss is being a royal ass, and I have to work late again. Any chance you can pick Sophie up from daycare and give her dinner? It looks like I’m going to be stuck here a while.” Holding her breath, she cringed as she waited for her sister’s response.

  “Sure.” Ava sounded exhausted as Logan broke out in full-fledged hysterics. Apparently television was not an acceptable substitute for what he wanted.

  Lett
ing out a long breath, she closed her eyes for just a split second in relief. “Thanks, sis, I owe you one. I’ll call you later. Give everyone a kiss from me.”

  Swiftly hanging up the phone before the guilt set in, Tessa tried to blink back her tears. Ava always said yes … even when it was a burden. Bringing her hands up to her eyes to brush away the few drops that had managed to escape, she returned her attention to the client folder sitting on her desk.

  “Tessa!” Mr. Abbott hollered from his office. “Those reports are not going to get done if you’re busy gossiping on the telephone with your girlfriends!”

  Seriously? She’d been on the phone for all of two minutes. Was he expecting her to respond? Apologize? Argue? Grovel? Just what exactly made this man so miserable day in and day out? She didn’t care. Her patience had left the building hours ago, and she had no interest in psychoanalyzing the psycho in the next office. Instead, she stuck up her middle finger, watching her doorway to make sure her asshole boss wasn’t standing there, of course. Feeling slightly better, she picked up the binder and began flipping through the pages of the Schilling file.

  Chapter 3

  Tessa stared at the numbers on her computer screen. How could they be wrong? They weren’t. She’d used the same formulas and broker statements as she had every quarter for the past two years. All of the checks and cross-references were formulaic and in place. If she’d entered a wrong number, they wouldn’t tie back correctly to the statements. The reports were foolproof. A method she’d tirelessly perfected last year, not that her boss had bothered to notice or appreciate the hard work she’d put in to streamline the process. To him, the fact that she was able to create reports in less time didn’t mean she was being more efficient. No, to her cranky old-school boss, it meant she had to be rushing and therefore was obviously not doing a good enough job.