Page 21 of Second Chance Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings #5)

“Today was great!” Audrey enthused. “You weren’t kidding about being a quick learner.”

“Thanks.” Taylor bent down and grabbed her purse beneath the counter. “I really appreciate you both giving me a chance. And thanks again for letting Owen hang out.”

It made Taylor’s life so much easier that both Audrey and Viv were not only cool about Owen hanging out after school, they wanted him to.

“He’s an angel,” Audrey enthused. “He’s welcome any time.”

“He’s teaching me how to play chess.” Viv sat on the stool and walked her feet one over the other, slowly spinning around, as she sipped her strawberry lemonade and kept glancing at the door.

She’d been doing it all day, as if she were expecting someone to walk through.

“You sure you and O-town don’t want to hang out for a little bit? ”

Audrey’s eyes sliced to her sister Viv; her expression clearly communicated something, but Taylor had no clue what that something was.

She had already stayed a half an hour longer than she was scheduled while Viv explained the origin story of Brewed Awakenings.

Granted, she was socially rusty, so she might be reading the situation completely wrong, but she doubted it.

Growing up in the foster system, always being the outsider, constantly going to new schools, new group homes, and new “families” had made her keenly aware of people having inside jokes, stories, and even languages.

The odd thing about today was she felt somehow that she herself was a part of whatever was going on with the sisters.

“I can stay if you need me to.”

“No, we’re fine.” Audrey glared at Viv. “Thanks, though.”

Viv had shown up right after Taylor’s shift started that morning.

She’d spent the entire day just hanging out, not really seeming like she had any reason to be there, which wasn’t any of Taylor’s business; Viv was an owner.

Something was definitely going on, though.

There was a strange vibe between the sisters.

Whispered huddles, silent communication through stares, and Audrey even cut Viv off mid-question.

Viv would start to ask Taylor a question, and Audrey would cut in and send Taylor off to do something.

Taylor really loved this job. She hoped that whatever was going on wasn’t going to affect her employment.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.” Taylor was exhausted. Her entire body ached, but she needed this job, so if she needed to stay and hang out, she would.

“Yes, we’re sure,” Audrey insisted. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, Taylor’s shift started at noon.

Even though she wouldn’t be able to sleep late because she had to take Owen to school, she was hoping to catch a nap before she clocked in.

Today had taken more out of her than she’d expected.

Being on her feet all day, interacting with so many people, and the mental strain of training, proved to be more draining than she’d anticipated.

Yesterday, she spent the entire afternoon memorizing all the drinks, which thankfully were on the website, so she’d had that in her back pocket.

But knowing the recipes was just one aspect.

There was so much more to it. She knew, once she learned everything, she’d be able to get into a flow; until then, she felt like she was wasting everyone’s time.

She walked over to the corner table where Owen was supposed to be working on his homework. He had his AirPods in, but she could hear that he was playing Angry Birds. She tapped on the table, and Owen looked up at her, startled. “Okay, Bud, time to go.”

“Already?” Owen’s expression deflated as his shoulders slumped.

Taylor didn’t blame him for being disappointed that they were already heading home.

Owen was a very social kid. For the past eight months, he’d been pretty isolated.

Part of that was because of his health. His life had consisted of hanging out at the retirement home and going to doctor’s appointments, but not much else.

The reason she’d given him for not letting him go outside or socialize was his compromised immune system.

Much like Billy Crystal declares Wesley “mostly dead” in The Princess Bride , that reason was mostly true.

Things were different now, though. She was officially employed in town.

Owen was in school. And Caleb had been to her house.

It was a strange feeling knowing that Owen had spoken to his father, and she hadn’t been there to witness it.

It was her own fault. She should have told him sooner who he was. She’d just…hadn’t.

There were reasons, but no excuses.

“Yep, Casper’s been home all day by himself.”

At the mention of Casper being alone, Owen’s entire demeanor changed. He popped right up and gathered his notebooks. He slid his backpack strap over one of his shoulders, picked up his napkin and blueberry muffin wrapper, and tossed them in the trash on the way out.

“Bye, Miss Audrey. Bye, Miss Vivian.” Owen smiled and waved.

Audrey waved back. “Bye.”

Vivian put both hands over her chest. “You are going to break so many hearts.”

Owen’s smile widened and his dimples deepened as he looked down at the floor and stepped around Taylor to walk in front of her.

When he did, she noticed his cheeks were turning red.

Owen should be used to the attention by now; Viv was not the first person to express that sentiment.

That was the general consensus from nurses, X-ray techs, paramedics, phlebotomists, respiratory therapists, a crossing guard, two endocrinologists, a handful of pharmacists, a cardiologist, several residents at Golden Years, including Nonna, and now Vivian.

He’d been told he was a heartbreaker from before he could speak, and Taylor was happy the attention he got hadn’t jaded him or gone to his head. She would rather he be a little shy or embarrassed than arrogant and cocky.

They got to the door, and Owen opened it so Taylor could walk in front of him. As it closed behind her and they walked to her car, she saw Vivian at the counter swooning in an exaggerated manner over Owen holding the door, which made Taylor smile.

It was something he’d picked up when he was five.

About a week after he started kindergarten, he noticed some of the dads opening car doors and the classroom doors for the moms. One day when she picked him up alone, he asked why Martin didn’t open doors for her.

At the time, she’d been so shell-shocked that he’d even noticed, she hadn’t known what to say.

She could have tried to come up with a lie, but aside from the biggest secret anyone could keep from another person, Taylor did try not to lie to her son.

She told him the truth; it was because Martin wasn’t a very nice person. He didn’t respond, just hugged her. From that day forward, unless he was ill or his hands were full, he opened every door for her.

On the short walk to the car, Owen asked, “Are you working tomorrow? Am I walking here after school?”

“Yep. Tomorrow and the day after that.”

She was happy that Owen liked going to the coffee shop. She was also happy the walk from his school was only a couple of blocks, it was safe, and he’d made a friend who had walked with him.

When they got in the car, she sank into the driver’s seat. Her entire body ached. She hadn’t realized just how out of shape she must have become, or how little brainpower she used on a daily basis, if this was how exhausted she was after one shift.

As they pulled out of the parking space, the kid who she’d seen Owen walking with waved from across the street. He was in front of the fire station playing with a yellow Labrador retriever.

Owen waved back.

“Who’s that?” Taylor asked as she pulled up to the four-way stop on Main Street.

“It’s Jonah. His dad is Gabe Maguire .”

The way Owen said Jonah’s dad’s name made Taylor think she should know who he was.

“Oh, wow.” Taylor tried to sound adequately impressed, although she had no clue what she was impressed by.

“You have no clue who that is, do you?” Owen saw right through her pitiful attempt.

“No.” She shook her head. “I do not.”

“He’s the MMA fighter who had cancer. Remember, I watched that documentary on him.”

“Oh, right. Yes, I do remember now.”

Owen gravitated toward true stories of athletes who beat the odds, faced adversities, and conquered them, especially if they had anything to do with battling health issues.

“Jonah invited me over this weekend.”

“Oh, he did?”

“Can I go?”

“Um…” This was all moving so fast. First, he was back in school and walking to her job.

Now he wanted to go over to a friend’s house.

Logically, Taylor knew that going over to a friend’s house was typical preteen behavior.

Unfortunately, her anxiety wasn’t on speaking terms with logic at the moment.

It had kicked logic out a long time ago and invited its friends panic, paranoia, and irrationality to the party.

“Do they have cats?” Taylor was grasping at straws for excuses to deny his request for completely selfish reasons. She didn’t want to spend the six to eight hours over the weekend being terrified over whether or not he was okay.

“Oh, um…” Owen’s brow furrowed as his shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“Well, find out if he does.” That bought her some time at least. She’d use that time to do a Google deep dive into Gabe Maguire to find out if he had any skeletons in his closet. For now, she wanted to change the subject. “Did you finish your homework?”

“I just have math left.”