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Page 26 of Second Chance Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings #5)

Caleb was being modest. She overheard Cindy say that Caleb ended up having to move in and care for all three of the boys, ages six weeks to four years old, for the two months she was hospitalized at the height of the pandemic, because there was no one else.

She’d mentioned it when one of the residents questioned whether or not “Hot Pastor” would make a good dad.

The bell sounded over the door, and Taylor turned and saw a group of women in brightly colored hats enter the café. When they saw Caleb, they all waved.

He waved back, then asked, “Can you give me one second?”

“Sure.”

Taylor watched as Caleb walked to the register where Sue Ann was packing up a to-go order. He spoke to her for just a few seconds, and she grabbed something behind the cash register and handed it to him. When he returned to the table, he didn’t sit down.

He spoke in a quiet voice as he explained, “I asked Sue Ann if we could use the apartment she has upstairs for privacy. I have a feeling we aren’t going to have a moment’s peace if we stay here.”

Taylor stood, and the butterflies in her stomach cracked glow sticks and turned up the house music as they raved.

Caleb held out his hand, indicating ladies first, but Taylor had no idea where she was going. “I don’t know where to go.”

“Oh, right.”

He placed his hand on her lower back, and a tingle spread through her.

It was the exact same thing he’d done when they’d left the photo booth all those years ago.

He guided her down the hallway where the bathrooms were, through the kitchen, and out the rear exit.

There was a wooden staircase that she walked up with Caleb behind her.

When she was getting ready today, she told herself it didn’t matter what she looked like.

This wasn’t about her, and Caleb was a pastor, so…

Well, she wasn’t sure what that meant, but it meant something.

She had to be at work at noon, and for practical reasons, she’d worn her jeans in case she went straight there.

She’d worn her ‘good’ jeans because why wouldn’t someone revealing to a man that he had an eleven-year-old son wear the jeans that their butt looked the best in, pastor or not?

When they reached the top of the landing, she stepped to the side so he could unlock the door. Once he did, he held it open for her to go in before him. It was the smallest of gestures, but one that she knew would mean something to Owen. His father held doors for women.

As she walked past Caleb, she inhaled his masculine musk and closed her eyes. There was a quiet thrum to his scent, like a low whisper that was drawing her closer to him, enticing and comforting her at the same time.

He flipped the light on, and she opened her eyes, snapping out of the spell she’d briefly fallen under.

She took in her surroundings. Against the far wall sat a light gray couch, worn in some spots from years of use.

An oversized sage green reading chair, with a cozy blanket draped over the back, was nestled in the corner.

The kitchen was small, but the white lower cabinets and upper shelves gave it an open, airy feeling, complemented by the retro dining set that reminded her of the sign hanging on the café.

There were two doors, both painted a crisp white, one with a brass doorknob and the other with a silver handle.

“Did you want anything? Water? Tea? Coke? Sue Ann usually keeps it stocked.”

“No, I’m okay.” At this point, Taylor just wanted to get this over with.

She chose to sit on the reading chair because it was the closest and her legs were still a little wobbly. Caleb sat on the couch.

She exhaled slowly through her mouth, walked to the edge of the mental high dive, and jumped. “The beginning, well, you know the very beginning. We met on the boardwalk. Spent the night together, and then I went back to Polk State, and you went wherever you went.”

“Home. Back here,” he said.

“Right. I went back to school and went on with my life. I wanted to be a psychologist?—”

“And work as an advocate for the foster care system. You wanted to specialize in mental health support, education, and policy change for care once kids age out of the system.”

Taylor’s jaw was literally on the floor. Well, not literally, but she couldn’t believe he remembered that. “Who told you…How did you…remember that?”

She hadn’t spoken to anyone about her dreams since she left school.

“You told me. You told me when we were walking on the beach with snow cones. I think about that weekend a lot.”

“You do?” She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.

That conversation happened in the first hour or so after they met.

He’d been pretty drunk, at least that’s how she remembered it.

He’d been there celebrating his twenty-first birthday, but the reason he was on the East Coast was because of a funeral for his friend Josh’s family member, and they had been drinking all day.

“I do,” he said, his gravelly tone sent a shiver down her spine.

She tried to stay focused. This was not the time to get twitterpated.

She cleared her throat. “So, um, at the end of the semester, I applied for internships in my field for the summer, and I was chosen for one, but I had to do a drug screening. Which I did. They called me in and said that the tox screening was clear, but that I was pregnant.” She took in a shaky breath.

“At first, I thought there had to be a mistake because we were careful…

we used protection. But just to be safe, I got about a dozen over-the-counter tests, and they all said the same thing. I was pregnant.

“I know technically I had options, but really, I didn’t feel like I did.

I never knew anyone who had the same DNA as me.

I knew I was going to keep the baby. I had no way of finding you.

I didn’t know your last name. So, I decided I’d have the baby on my own.

But when I was five months pregnant, I met Martin.

He was a cop, ten years older than me; he owned his own home—he had stability.

He wanted me to be a stay-at-home mom, which I wasn’t sure about, but then Owen was born premature with multiple health issues, and I didn’t even give it a second thought.

The first five years of his life were just taking him to doctor’s appointments and being in and out of the hospital. ”

“Is it just asthma?” He reached out his hand toward me. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean you said “issues,” so is it more than that?”

Taylor could see how concerned Caleb was. She didn’t know if it was because that was sort of his job and he was naturally an empathetic person or if it was because it was Owen. It probably didn’t matter either way; she was just curious.

“Within the first six months of his life, he was diagnosed with asthma, epilepsy, and cardiomyopathy.”

“Minnie has epilepsy and a heart condition.”

“Who’s Minnie?”

“She’s my little girl, my dog, my rescue dog.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to compare her to Owen, I just…it surprised me to?—”

“No, it’s okay. It’s more than okay; it’s great.

Actually, Owen would love that. He loves dogs.

” Taylor was feeling more and more nervous, so she dug in her purse for the paper she’d printed out from the DNA site.

“Anyway, I was basically just surviving and trying to keep Owen alive the first five years of his life, but once he started school, things with my ex got…bad. I knew I needed to leave, but I didn’t have the resources, so it took some time.

“I wasn’t trying to keep Owen from you; I didn’t know how to find you.

Then when I was watching W hat is Love? I saw you.

So, when I was finally able to leave, we came here.

The reason I haven’t approached you earlier is that I wanted to make sure you were a good person—or at least try and find out as much as I could. ”

Taylor wasn’t sure what else to say. She thought for sure Caleb would have more questions, or at least more to say, but he was just sitting there, silently. Maybe he didn’t believe her.

She pulled the paper out of her purse. “If you want proof, I did put his DNA in a public genealogy site, and it turned out you had also?—”

“Oh, right, my mom had us do that a few Christmases ago.” He didn’t take the paper. “I don’t need to see that. I know he’s mine.”

Hearing him say those words “ He’s mine ,” was so strange for Taylor. He’d always only been hers.

Her reaction must have shown in her face because he immediately backtracked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like…I just meant?—”

“No, it’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong.

He is…I mean…you are his biological dad.

” She took a deep breath and exhaled. She’d said it out loud, and the world hadn’t imploded.

She wasn’t struck by lightning. Caleb wasn’t running away.

She felt lighter than she had in a long time, but also so light she was having an out-of-body experience.

“I have a few questions, if that’s okay.”

“No.” She shook her head, then smiled, hoping to break the tension. It worked. “Of course, it is. I just told you that you have an eleven-year-old son; I think you are entitled to some follow-up questions.”

“You said your ex was bad. Is that why you are blonde now and changed your name?”

“Yes and no. Or I guess, no and yes. When we met, my hair was dyed black because I was Priscilla Presley in a play. This is my natural hair color. And my name is Rebecca Taylor. When I moved here, I just started introducing myself as Taylor. I don’t know why.

I guess I thought it was an extra layer of protection, even though it’s not.

Maybe it had more to do with not wanting to hear the name he called me for the past ten years anymore, I don’t know. ”

Caleb nodded. “Does Owen know that I’m his dad?”

“No.” Taylor saw a flash in Caleb’s eye that looked a lot like hurt, but as fast as it appeared, it was gone.

“Does he think your ex is?—”

“No,” she quickly clarified. “He knows that Martin isn’t his dad.”

“Who does he think his dad is?”

“I told him the truth that I met his dad in Daytona Beach. We were young, and I didn’t know how to find him.”

“But then you did find him, find me.”

“I did. But like I said, I wanted to make sure that you were a good person. And then I needed to see if you were even interested in being a part of his life. And then I needed to find a way to tell him that wouldn’t cause him undue stress.”

“Because it would be bad for his health.”

“Exactly.”

“So what’s next?” he asked.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

She thought she’d made that clear, but this was a lot to take in. “On if you’re interested in being a part of his life.”

“I’m his dad .” The heartfelt conviction Caleb infused in that simple three-letter word tore Taylor’s soul open.

He shifted forward on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees as he leaned closer to her.

“I know I haven’t done anything to earn that name, but I didn’t know he existed.

If you let me, I will do everything I can to make up for the time I lost and the time that you’ve had to do this alone.

I never want either of you to ever feel alone again, because as long as I’m breathing, you won’t be. ”

Tears filled Taylor’s eyes, and for once, they weren’t because she was scared, or sad, or hurt, or overwhelmed.

He’d just spoken to her biggest fear. Not that she was alone.

She’d been alone her entire life. Her greatest fear was that Owen would be alone.

From the moment he was born, she’d been living in a constant state of fear.

Sitting in this apartment, staring into Caleb’s eyes, was the first time she felt like the weight of the world wasn’t on her shoulders.

That Owen had more than just her in his corner.

There was a little voice in the back of her head telling her that it was too good to be true and telling her to look out because the other shoe was going to drop, but for right now, she wasn’t going to listen to that voice.

Just once, she was going to put duct tape over that voice and believe that everything was going to be okay.