Page 29 of Second Chance Fate

After a brief rock, paper, scissors, it was decided Owen would walk Casper around the grassy area on the side of the building, while Taylor ran in to grab the inhaler. Despite being certain that she had last seen the inhaler on the windowsill, she still felt a wave of relief when she walked inside and found it exactly where she thought it would be, and she was even more relieved to have it in her hand.

Manny, who had given her the quarters, was behind the counter chatting with a customer. On her way out, when shecaught his eye, she held the inhaler up so he knew why she’d come in. He smiled and waved, and she walked outside.

She made it two steps in the direction of the side of the building where Owen was and froze when she heard voices. Two voices. Owen’s and Caleb’s.

“I left my inhaler, so my mom’s going to get it.”

“I had asthma when I was younger, too.”

That was all she heard before she froze.

“You did?” Owen asked.

“Yep.”

“But you don’t now?”

“No, not really.”

“Did you grow out of it?”

Owen wanted so desperately to grow out of his asthma. If he knew he was speaking to his birth father, that would make Caleb’s response hold even more weight. That was the motivation she needed to break the invisible cinder blocks her feet were cemented in.

“Not completely, but it—" Caleb stopped speaking when Taylor came around the corner.

No more words came out of his mouth. It would be hard for them to, since his jaw dropped. Literally. She saw his expression morph into recognition. She was not a stranger to him.

“It’s…hi.”

Her heart was pounding so hard, she barely heard him when he spoke. Either that, or he was speaking very quietly.

“Mom, this is Caleb.” Owen, being the outgoing, confident kid he was, made introductions. “And this is my mom, Reb—er, um, Taylor.”

She hoped that Caleb hadn’t picked up on Owen’s slip-up, or if he had, he wouldn’t say anything in front of Owen about the fact that they’d met before.

“Hi, Caleb.” Taylor reached out to shake his hand. The moment their hands touched, she felt the warmth of his skin against hers; his fingers were strong and calloused, a shiver ran through her entire body, and she quickly pulled her hand back. “Nice to meet you.”

“Mom?” Caleb looked between Owen and Taylor.

“Are you?—”

“Owen, can you go take Casper to the car?” Taylor cut off whatever Caleb was about to ask and handed Owen his inhaler.

Owen didn’t move. He stayed exactly where he was as his eyes bounced between Caleb and his mom.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’ll be right there.”

Reluctantly, he did as she asked. She watched her son’s retreating back, then him climbing into the car, and when the door was shut, she turned back to finally face the man she’d moved to Hope Falls for.

“Taylor?” he said her name like a question as he took a step closer to her.

She could feel the weight of his stare on her, heavy and warm like a blanket on a cold night. Her body responded to him on a cellular level, completely bypassing any sort of barriers she had in place for protection or preservation. It was the same thing that had happened all those years before on the boardwalk.

She tilted her chin up, her gaze drinking in his muscular chest that exuded strength, his square jaw covered in stubble, full lips, and finally reaching his golden-brown eyes. The warm, earthy tones of his irises seemed to hold the secrets of whole universes within their depths, and Taylor found herself getting lost in them.

Being this close to Caleb was an overload on her senses. She inhaled and was transported back in time. He smelled masculine, a mix of cedarwood, citrus, and dryer sheets.

“Do I know you?” Confusion swam in his eyes. “You look so familiar…”

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