Page 15 of Second Chance Fate

“Owen and Taylor?” Caleb had no clue who she was talking about. They must be new residents he hadn’t met yet.

“They live at Cobbler’s Cottage.”

“Theylivethere?”

Cobbler’s Cottage was named that because it looked exactly like you’d imagine a cobbler’s cottage would. Last he heard, his cousin Lauren and her husband Ben had bought it as an investment property to list on Airbnb. He didn’t know that it was being used as a long-term rental.

She nodded. “Yeah, for probably eight months or so. You haven’t met them?”

“No.” Caleb shook his head.

"Oh, right. You’re not here for bingo or game nights anymore.”

Caleb used to come at least every week for either bingo or game night before he got Minnie. But once he got her, he didn’t like leaving her at night if he didn’t have to.

“Oh, wait…” Caleb lifted up one of the slices of cake as if that was him. “Is this the Owen who calls Bingo?”

“Yep. That’s him.” Cindy smiled.

Caleb had heard about a kid named Owen from several of the residents at Golden Years. Caleb assumed that Owen must have a relative at the retirement home, but now he wondered if he’d spent so much time there because he lived next door.

Arthur had mentioned the kid more than once, which meant he liked him a lot. He was teaching him to play chess and poker,and he’d commented on how smart and quickly Owen picked up both, just like Caleb had when he was a kid. After Arthur saved Caleb’s life, he and Josh used to visit, and he’d taught them both to play chess, too.

“Sure, no problem.” Caleb agreed, more than happy to drop off the cake.

As he walked over to the cabin, he had to admit he felt a little nervous, which was odd for him. He never felt nervous meeting people. It was just strange that he hadn’t met Owen or his mom yet. He wondered if maybe she worked several jobs, and that’s why he hung out at Golden Years. Eight months was a long time for people to be in town and him not to have met them.

He walked up to the door, balanced one of the pieces of cake on his forearm, lifted his fist, and knocked. He heard the familiar sounds of nails clicking on hardwood floors and heard the command, “sit,” then “good girl,” before the door cracked open. He wondered which breed of man’s best friend he was about to meet.

What he saw when he looked down was not what he was expecting. Large brown eyes stared up at him. Familiar eyes. Eyes that belonged to a kid he assumed was Owen. A strong sense of something he could only describe as déjà vu washed over him. It was so powerful he nearly forgot why he was there.

“Hi.” The kid smiled widely, snapping him out of the fog he was in.

“Hi, I’m Caleb.”

“The pastor,” the kid said at the same time Caleb introduced himself.

Caleb grinned. “Right, yeah. I am. And who’s this?”

Beside Owen sat a gorgeous white pit bull with a gray stripe on her ear who was stayed sitting down, but her butt was wiggling with excitement and her nostrils were flaring as shesniffed the air, stretching her neck as far as she could trying to reach the cake.

“This is Casper, and I’m Owen.”

“Hi, Casper, hi, Owen. Nice to meet you both. Is your mom around?”

“She’s in the shower. Do you want to come in and wait?”

“No, that’s okay.” Caleb doubted Owen’s mom would appreciate him inviting a stranger inside their house to wait while she was in the shower. The strange thing was, Caleb actuallywantedto accept the invitation. He couldn’t figure out why he wanted to; he just did. He held up the pieces of cake. “Cindy just wanted me to drop these off for you and your mom from Arthur’s party.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.” Owen took the cake, and Casper sniffed the cellophane as they were passed.

“Nice meeting you, Casper.” Caleb reached down to pet Casper’s head before stepping back and lifting his hand. “You too, Owen. Bye.”

“Bye.” Owen smiled, then shut the door.

As Caleb walked to his car, he tried to figure out how he knew Owen. He had to have seen him before. Maybe he had played in the youth basketball league over the summer. Cindy said they had been in town for eight months, so it was possible. Or maybe he’d seen him down at the river or just around town. No, it was more than that. He couldn’t shake the feeling that heknewthe kid from somewhere. Not that he’dseenhim, but that heknewhim…he just couldn’t remember from where.

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