Second Chance Family - Rosa Mink

Miranda's past pushed her to create a better future, especially for those like her. The ones that had secrets and horrors they couldn't always outrun. Her own past was one she kept guarded so tightly, it nearly destroyed her once. A chance encounter with one of the few people that knew her closest guarded secret changed everything, sending her down a path she never expected.

Running away from home at fifteen pregnant, Miranda did the only thing possible, she gave her baby away to keep her safe. Now, thirteen years later, thanks to that chance encounter, she knows where her daughter is for the first time in her life. While there's still danger in even going to see her, even from afar, the desperate need to know she's safe wins out, and soon, Miranda finds that her daughter's world is encroaching far too much into one she lived, and she won't let that happen.

A plea from Wendy is all it takes to get her to stay and help coach her soccer team, and she can't resist from spending a bit more time with her. Being near Wendy reopens every old wound inside her, but her daughter's smiles are enough to bandage them—even if she and her father Keith don't know who she truly is. There's no stopping herself from falling in love with her daughter but falling for Keith is entirely unexpected. She knows her time with them both is limited. Once they know who she really is, they won't want her around, won't want the person that abandoned Wendy in their lives, no matter how much it's exactly where she wants to be.

Keith adopted Wendy when she was just a baby with his wife, never expecting to lose the woman he loved far too soon. He knows Wendy misses her too, but she doesn't know she's adopted, or about the letters the girl that gave him the chance to be a father left for her. He and Nicole intended to tell her when she was old enough to understand everything, but he's put that off since her death. Now with the appearance of Miranda in their world, and the news that Wendy's best friend was being abused comes out, he knows it's time to tell her the truth—hopefully with Miranda's help.

With every moment he spends with Miranda, he can't help but falling in love with her, her strength, her determination, and especially the way she loves his daughter. He knows Miranda is his second chance, but she's holding something back from him and he wants to know what and why.

When her secret comes out, that Miranda and Wendy's mother are the same person, the last thing he wants is to let her go, for him or Wendy. When he knows Wendy feels the same, he's determined to find Miranda, reclaim their second chance together. Nothing is going to stop him. Not the truth of how Wendy came to be. Not that the bastard that hurt Miranda is still out there. Not the potential danger Miranda's work puts her in. If there's anything he knows for certain, it's not to give up on love like theirs. To find it once is a gift, to find it twice is a miracle. One he's not about to let slip away from him.

With some strong language, no cheating, some very heavy emotional material, and a HEA, Second Chance Family is approximately 56,900 words. It is intended for an adult audience and may include subjects that are sensitive to some readers.

TW: discussions of childhood abuse and assault, along with self-harm, and depression throughout the story