Second Chance eX-mas by N.D. Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a story about Ally and Archer, childhood sweethearts who had it all, the looks, the hope and the future as well as every chance for it to come true, that is until Archer left and never looked back but also never knew what he left behind until he returned home and found out.

It is Christmas in Blissful and Ally is busy preparing orders and making deliveries for her customers and as always is running late for her other responsibilities, but when she finally arrives home with everything she needed to complete her work before she can relax and enjoys the holiday season properly, she receives a piece of news which shakes her to the core, Archer is coming back to Blissful. Archer who left her, Archer who hurt her, Archer who she had learnt to live without and survive the wounds in her heart which he gave her and Archer who she would not let back in no matter what he tried to do, she had just gotten her life to a position where she could look at the future and be hopeful, despite the time and energy she had spent to get there and she wouldn’t let that future slip away.

Archer is thinking about coming back to Blissful and what that means, he is thinking about the day he left and the decision he made which led him to do so, it is a long drive from the airport and it is giving him more time to think than he would like. He knows that she probably hates him and has a life without him, but he doesn’t want to see it if she has, he is remembering all the places in the town as he passes them and some of the memories of Ally which are associated with them, as he thinks about turning the car around, but that all fades into the background when he pulls up outside his mother’s house. He sees the shutters and thinks about his siblings and how they each chose their own colours for them, he then sees his mother bounding down the steps and into his arms for a hug and to know if he is home for good, his reply is as long as she will put him up for and with that out of the way, he goes to eat what she has cooked for his homecoming meal and they start to catch up on what the other has been up to since he left, including exactly what he left behind and it is the shock of a lifetime.

This information leads to Archer and Ally meeting again and Archer trying to mend all that he broke when he left, he knows now what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it, but will he manage to reform these bonds, will the magic of Christmas be able to help, or will the past be too much to overcome? This is a story of second chances, but what they look like is not always what people plan them to be.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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