Synopsis

Avalin Summers's life is changed forever when she is told her parents might not be dead.

In the romantic suspense, Second Chance, Karina Harris weaves a tale of hope and uncertainty in the story of Avalin Summers, an art student who is fiercely loyal to her older brothers, Jaden and Quinn.  When Jaden requests a family meeting at their childhood farm in Colorado, she doesn't question him.  But what she discovers is something she has not dared to dream about for the past five years.

Special Agent, Ian Martin has spent the past year investigating the case of part-time FBI operatives, John and Rosemary Summers, and the suspicious conclusion of their last mission.  Recent intelligence hints that they may not have perished in the European plane crash.  But he needs the help of the Summerses' grown children, Jaden, Quinn, and twenty-one-year-old Avalin, to find out.  At the family meeting he presents evidence that suggests their parents may have escaped capture and fled to Portugal.  

The siblings' lives are turned upside down when they discover their parents were working as undercover agents.  Hoping they are alive, Quinn and Avalin eagerly join Ian in his search.  When they land in Lisbon they are bombarded with even more uncertainties.  Thrown together by circumstances fraught with danger, betrayal, and heartache, Ian and Avalin discover something special in each other.    As events unfold, Ian and Avalin begin to question their beliefs in their government, their families, and even God as they search for someone they can trust.  Will they find love on their journey together?  Will they discover the truth about the Summers before it's too late?

                                             Still not sure this is the next book for you?  Check out the first chapter:                                                                                                   

                                                                                       Stupidity

She had to get inside quickly. The wind was biting through the frayed edges of her favorite jacket. Avalin had thought she could make it to the barn and back before the storm began. Beauty, her aptly named mare, was close to foaling, and she’d wanted to make sure she had plenty of oats and water to see her through what might be the worst storm of the season. Forty minutes later, Avalin was up to her knees in snow and looking into the face of a whiteout. She knew better. Now she couldn't see anything in front of her, but trying to make it back to the barn was just as foolish. She could as easily wander into the field and freeze before anyone found her. As it was, she felt within minutes of frostbite. 

Looming in front of her suddenly was the old oak tree. The house wasn't far from it. Maybe someone inside would be able to spot her from there. Avalin grasped the gnarled trunk with one arm. She fumbled with the flashlight she had grabbed as she left the barn and began to swing it up and down, hoping she was facing the right direction.

Come on, Quinn, she thought wildly. 

He had to be looking for her by now. Her brother would be much more prepared than she had been. This was his home, when he wasn't out slaking his wanderlust on some photography assignment. Even though they had all grown up on this farmstead, Quinn was the only one who still called it home, choosing to remain here after their parents were killed five years ago. He really used it more as a respite between jobs, but he maintained that it was a great place to come home to. Quinn had kept their old housekeeper, Anna. She and her husband, Ben, ran the place and kept it in order. If it weren't for them, the whole farm would have fallen to ruin years ago. 

The wind howled through the branches of the ancient oak as Avalin fought to maintain her balance with one arm clutched around the trunk and continued to swing the light with the other. Her eyes squinted against the swirling snow, but she couldn't distinguish anything. At this point she could no longer feel her feet. Try as she might, she couldn't lift them out of the knee-deep drift she had sunk into as the snow had banked up the side of the tree. Weariness was setting in. It was more and more difficult to continue the endless swinging of her would-be beacon. 

Maybe I could take a break for just a second, she thought vaguely.

Dimly through the screams of the wind came another sound, just as the whiteness became gray with movement. She heard her name being called, and the howling sound suddenly seemed more like a dog barking than the wind whipping viciously through the tree branches. Too tired to even smile with relief, she sank into the snow, her flashlight slipping from her numb fingers, as Percy, Quinn's gigantic Great Dane, bounded through the swirls of spitting snow. Right on his tail was her favorite brother, bundled up like an abominable snowman and carrying his own lantern. 

"I found her,” he cried into his walkie-talkie as his huge boots crunched through the mounds of whiteness to get to her side. 

"Girl, you better have a good explanation for being so stupid," he began, only to cut off as he realized Avalin had slipped into unconsciousness. 

Cursing softly, he quickly picked her up and began to carry her back up the hill to the farmhouse. He ended up having to sling her over his shoulder so he could hold onto her with one arm and pull on the guide rope he had tied around his waist with the other. Following the rope back up the way he had come, he brought her into the warmth and safety of their childhood home within minutes.



Avalin awoke to the sound of crackling flames and the smell of burning pine. She felt warm and toasty in a voluminous robe, knowing instinctively that the arms would reach to her knees. A blanket had been pulled up to her chin, and her hair was free of its braid and had been spread out behind her to dry. Before she opened her eyes, she took a mental inventory of herself, wiggling toes and fingers. 

Everything’s still there, she thought wryly. 

Stretching slightly, she felt additional warmth by her feet. Looking down, she saw Percy curled up next to her father's chair, in which she had been cocooned. He looked up at her, sensing she was awake, and his tail thumped quietly on the hardwood floor.

"Are you awake, then, luv?" asked an endearing voice. 

Smiling as she turned, Avalin glanced up to see Anna's worried face. The look in her aged eyes gave mute evidence to the close call Avalin had had. 

"I made some of your favorite cocoa. It'll warm the insides as well as this fire." 

She held out a large, steaming mug with one hand and reached up to feel Avalin's forehead with the other. 

"No fever, thank the good Lord," she breathed in relief.

"Thank you, Anna," Avalin croaked, reaching for the cup. She wondered how long her voice would sound like sandpaper. Hopefully not too long since she would surely have to explain herself to her brothers soon.

She had to push the sleeves of the robe up before she could handle the cup and then gently sipped the hot, creamy liquid. It was indeed as delicious as she remembered.

"Your brothers have both been pacing holes in the floor, waitin' on you to come to your senses. I'd best be letting them know you're awake at last." 

With a smile that lit up her wrinkled face, Anna turned and disappeared into the hall.

Avalin sat up and pushed the blanket down onto her lap. Setting the cocoa on the side table, she tried rolling the sleeves up so that she would look less like a little girl in her big brother's robe. But she knew that was exactly how they would see her. 

"I guess I deserve whatever they dish out," she grumbled to Percy, as she tried to smooth out her hair with fidgeting fingers.

As he tilted his head at the sound of her voice, the thumping intensified. Then Percy's ears twitched as he heard the footsteps stomping down the hall. He scrambled to stand, his nails clicking on the floor, as Quinn rounded the corner. Fists on his hips, legs spread apart, he faced her like an avenging angel about to proclaim the wrath of God.

Avalin had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at that ridiculous thought. The last thing she wanted was for her brother to think she was laughing at him. Trying unsuccessfully to look suitably ashamed, she finally glanced up to see her brother's face. It was a mixture of frustration and relief. There was only a hint of his usual dimples showing through. His golden curls had grown longer since the last time she had seen him, attesting to the fact that he must have been doing a job away from such civilized amenities as barbershops. He had, however, been home long enough to shave.

"Well? Are you going to tell me you had some dire emergency for going out into that storm? Somebody was dying and needed your help? A crazy maniac burst into the house, and you were trying to escape?" 

He turned and began pacing in front of her, arms waving as he gave in to his rant. Avalin knew her brother loved her. Sometimes she just wished he weren’t so protective. Of course, at this moment he had a right to be upset with her, so she would let him continue for a few more minutes. 

"Or maybe…"

"Okay! Okay," she finally interrupted, having heard all she could stand. "I admit I was an idiot! It was totally irresponsible of me, and I'll never do it again! I was going to check on Beauty, and time got away from me. Before I knew it, the storm had begun, and I got lost. Are you satisfied?"

"Yes." He grinned, leaning down to give her a tight squeeze. "You scared the crap out of me, Sis."

"Likewise," came a voice from behind Quinn. 

Looking beyond his shoulder, Avalin saw her elder brother, Jaden. He was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms folded in front of him as he looked down at her fondly. She wondered for a second if Jaden was going to take up where Quinn had left off. But he gave in and only leaned forward to give her a brief hug. Ten years separated her from Jaden, and they had never had the close relationship she and Quinn enjoyed. He had taken on much responsibility when her parents died. He’d already begun to make a life for himself in New York but had come back to the farm at the time. Avalin had often wondered if he begrudged the loss of his freedom and had felt saddled with a farm, a nineteen-year-old brother determined to see the world, and a sixteen-year-old sister still in high school. If he did, it never showed. 

"I'm so sorry, guys. I really do know better. Thanks for fishing me out of the snow, Quinn. Has the storm let up yet?"

"It’s still going strong, but it should blow itself out by morning. You were out for about an hour. Anna managed to get you into some dry clothes, and we put you down here because it was the warmest place, next to the fire," Quinn stated. "Would you like something to eat? It's late, but I'm sure Anna has saved some leftovers if you’re hungry."

"No thanks. I just want to go to bed." Avalin stood and wrapped her arms around herself, her socked feet barely peaking out from beneath the enormous robe.

"All right, kiddo. See you in the morning."

"Rest well, Avalin," murmured Jaden as she quietly walked up the stairs to her old room.