Page 35 of Second Chance Fate

The man nodded, then turned and went to the counter, picked up his bags, and walked out.

“Sorry about the interruption, again.” Caleb sat back down.

“It’s no problem.” It was fine with her if the interruptions kept coming; if they continued, she’d have to leave to go to work, and she could put this off for another day. She was not the rip-off-the-Band-Aid type of person. She was perfectly fine avoiding things.

“His daughter had a brain aneurysm right after giving birth to her third son. Her husband was deployed at the time. And it was during the pandemic, so it was a tough time for everyone.”

“Oh, were they the Simpson boys?”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

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, youknow 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.”

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