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Page 28 of Second Chance Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings #5)

Tonight, he knew all the feelings he was having—the nerves, the anger, the excitement, the regret—would have to wait.

Tonight was about Owen. Taylor mentioned that he was extremely perceptive, so he just wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything to spoil this night.

He had the opportunity, the gift, to spend the evening with his son. He’d deal with his emotions later.

The moment they turned down the road to get to the cottage, Minnie was whining loudly with excitement beside him.

Taylor assured Caleb that Casper was great with other dogs and said Owen would love to meet Minnie, but it wasn’t Owen or Casper he was worried about.

They pulled to a stop in front of the cottage, and when he shut off the engine, Minnie’s excitement levels skyrocketed.

She was now howling the way she did when sirens came by.

He knew her response was the sort of thing they needed to work on if she was going to pass her test to be an emotional support animal.

“Remember.” He leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers. “You need to be a good girl.”

Minnie whined louder as her tail began to thump louder against the door.

He climbed out and she followed. He lifted his hand, giving her the sit command, and her backend dropped to the ground.

He lifted his hand, his palm facing her, which was her stay command.

He walked away from her toward the door and paused.

Caleb could hear that her breaths had increased, but she remained seated.

When he got halfway up the drive, he gave her the release command, and she rushed to him.

When Caleb took her to obedience training, one of the techniques they taught him was that if Minnie was overstimulated, he should refocus that energy on a command, even as simple as “sit” and “stay,” because it recalibrated the pathways in the mind.

Once she was by his side, he lifted his hand to knock on the door, but before his knuckles met wood, it flew open.

“Hi—” His greeting was cut off when smoke billowed out the front door.

He looked away and waved his hand as a frazzled Taylor looked surprised to see him standing on the porch as she waved a dishcloth in the air. “Sorry, come in. I must have dozed off and burned the bread.”

Taylor spun around and rushed into the kitchen, leaving both him and Minnie standing on the porch.

Since he wasn’t a vampire and didn’t need an invitation, he walked inside.

He closed the door behind him but then opened the front window to help air out the house.

Once he’d done that, he was going to ask Taylor if she needed help, but he saw Owen standing in the hallway with Casper beside him.

“Mom, is something burning?”

Minnie instantly began to whine. She loved meeting new people and dogs. It was a toss-up which she loved more.

Minnie’s whine alerted Owen to their presence.

He looked over, and the moment he saw them standing in his living room, his face lit up and he walked over to them.

Caleb couldn’t say for certain, but if he had to guess, Owen was definitely happier to see Minnie than he was to see him.

He dropped to his knees and gave Minnie scritches behind her ears.

“This is Minnie.”

“Hi, Minnie.”

“It’s all good!” Taylor pulled a glass casserole dish out of the oven and set it on the stove. Then she pulled out a baking sheet with bread that had a layer of char on top of it.

“Do you need help?” Owen offered as Minnie covered his face in kisses.

“Nope, I got it.” She picked up one of the slices of bread and started scraping the top with a butter knife. “Go wash your hands. Dinner’s ready.”

Owen hopped up and headed back down the hall that he’d come from. Casper stayed in the front room to say a proper hello to Minnie, which meant they sniffed each other’s butts. Once they’d officially met and decided they were cool, they both headed to the kitchen, where the action was.

“Can I help with anything?” Caleb asked as he entered the small space.

Taylor turned, and she must not have realized how close he was because she gasped, and the butter knife she was holding slipped from her fingers. Once again, Caleb’s reflexes didn’t let him down. Acting purely on instinct, his hand surged forward, and he caught the knife midair.

“Wow,” Taylor breathed as she stared down at his hand. “You keep catching things.”

He smiled. “That’s cause you keep dropping them.”

She let out a soft chuckle as her eyes lifted to his.

This was the closest they’d been to each other. Not ever. They’d been a lot closer when they were in Daytona Beach. Close enough to make Owen.

As they stood barely an inch apart, Caleb instantly fell under her spell, totally transfixed as he stared down at her. Her bright sapphire eyes were mesmerizing. The blue was so vivid, it seemed to glow against her dark lashes and pale skin, drawing him in like a magnet.

It wasn’t just her eyes; her lips were so perfect and plump. They were the kind of lips that could make a man forget his name, with a plushness that invited exploration and a raspberry shade that begged to be kissed.

Silky blonde waves fell over her shoulders, framing her face.

She was so beautiful. So beautiful, his chest ached.

She had an air of grace and serenity about her, like she belonged in another world.

She inspired feelings in him he didn’t even know he had until he met her.

The first time he’d seen her was twelve years ago, and now he had the same impulse: he wanted to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder; he had primal, primitive impulses: that only she had ever awakened.

“What?” she asked as she licked her lips nervously. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of handing the knife back to her, he set it down on the counter behind her. In doing so, his upper body shifted closer to her.

With his other hand, he brushed a strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead, then tucked it behind her ear. “You are just…so beautiful.”

Her breath hitched and her eyes closed as his head lowered down.

He felt her breath fan against his face at the same moment he heard Owen’s footsteps in the hallway.

He quickly took a step back and dropped his hands to his side.

Taylor’s eyes fluttered open, and he saw that she was just as affected as he was.

There was a flash of horror on her face before she turned around so her back was toward him, and she instructed Owen to set the table.

Caleb assisted with the plates, but as he helped, his heart was beating so wildly in his chest he worried Owen would be able to hear it.

He didn’t know what had come over him. He absolutely could not do that again.

If Owen had walked in on that, it could have potentially damaged their relationship, which had enough going against it already.

No matter what Caleb’s feelings were for Taylor, his priority was Owen.

Within ten minutes, they were all seated around the dinner table with two dogs at their feet, one of which was drooling an embarrassing amount.

Thankfully, neither Taylor nor Owen seemed to mind Minnie’s drool.

Once Owen heard the story of how Caleb found Minnie and how similar her health issues were to his, Caleb was pretty sure Minnie could murder someone and Owen would hide the body for her.

Caleb loved and spoiled Minnie rotten, but it was obvious that she could do no wrong in Owen’s eyes.

He was also really excited that she was going to be an emotional support dog.

The entire dinner was filled with laughter; it was so casual and natural.

The plates were mismatched, and there was a chipped floral pitcher of iced tea and—despite the brief smoke alarm fiasco—a delicious chicken cacciatore.

The last-minute scraping maneuver rescued the charred garlic bread, which was surprisingly edible.

Caleb couldn’t count the number of times he’d been a guest for dinner at people’s homes; it had to be in the hundreds.

As the pastor’s son and then the pastor, it was part of the job.

He’d never felt so at ease, so at home, so relaxed as he had sitting around the kitchen table with Taylor and Owen.

He’d been concerned that there might be some awkwardness or Owen could be protective of his mom and not want him hanging around, especially since he didn’t know the true reason he was there.

But he had nothing to worry about. The atmosphere was comfortable and…

for lack of a better word, normal. It didn’t feel like the first time they’d all sat down to dinner together, or like it was special.

It felt like this was what they did every day.

Owen and Taylor bounced off of each other, finishing each other’s sentences and stories.

It was almost like they had their own language.

He felt a deep sense of gratitude for the bond they shared, and for being able to witness it.

He’d seen their connection in the photos and videos she sent, but it was different to witness it in person.

Seeing it happen in real time was palpable.

And Owen, well… he wasn’t just a great kid, he was a great human. Caleb could see now why Nonna and Arthur loved him, and he’d even gotten a smile out of Gus. He was just a really special kid.