Page 105 of Second Chance Fate

He turned, and it was the first time Caleb noticed Arthur, in the next bed, propped with pillows and his right arm in a sling. He also had a bloody bandage wrapped around his shoulder.

Arthur got shot?

Arthur must have noticed Caleb’s expression because he winked at him and said, “Don’t worry, kid, he missed all my vital organs. Can’t kill me that easy.”

Owen laughed. Taylor managed a weak smile as she reached for Caleb’s hand and squeezed it tight.

He pulled up a chair, never letting go of her fingers, and tried to focus on what mattered. “So what happened? The voicemail I got was all garbled, and then my phone died.”

“Hey!” a woman’s voice came from the doorway.

Caleb turned and saw Adriana and Jonah.

Adriana stepped up to the end of Taylor’s bed. “We were here to see baby Gabriel and heard what happened.”

“Did Viv and Glenn name the baby after Gabe?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah, and their dad.” Adriana smiled and turned back to Taylor. “Are you okay? I mean, obviously not, but…”

“No, I’m okay.” Taylor turned to Arthur. “Thanks to my hero!”

“He was savage!” Owen exclaimed.

Arthur mumbled something under his breath, and Caleb couldn’t help but smile. He’d hated the attention he got when he saved Caleb’s life after he got bit by the snake, too.

Adriana’s phone buzzed with a text, and after she looked at it, her eyes bounced between Caleb and Taylor. “Gabe picked up the twins, and were gonna grab some dinner at Sue Ann’s. Do you want me to take Owen with us, and then he can spend the night.”

Taylor turned to look at Owen. “Do you want to go or stay?”

His mouth twisted. “Are you getting admitted?”

She shrugged. “You know what I know. They said they don’t think so, but that’s all I know.”

He looked down at his hands. Caleb could see that he hated leaving his mom, but also, there was really nothing for him to do there, so he might want to go, too.

“If you go get dinner and it turns out they are keeping your mom and you want to come back, I’ll come get you,” Caleb told him.

“Okay.” Owen looked happy as he hopped up from the chair. “Oh, but, before we go, can I show Jonah the security footage?”

“Oh, um…” Taylor glanced over at Caleb as if he was going to be upset about something.

“What security footage?” he asked.

“Eric sent it over. It’s from Golden Years; one of their cameras caught some of what happened,” Taylor explained.

“One of their cameras was pointed at Cobbler’s Cottage?” Caleb didn’t understand why; it wouldn’t make sense considering how the properties were laid out.

“Yeah. It was the strangest thing.” Taylor looked over at Arthur. “Something must have bumped it.”

“All sorts of critters in those woods,” he huffed under his breath.

“Can I show Jonah, Mom?”

“If it’s okay with…” She looked up at Adriana.

“Sure.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Gabe and I have a therapy fund; we’ll add another Benjamin if this scars him.”

“Ha, ha, ha.” Jonah fake laughed, but with a real smile.

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