Page 36 of Second Chance Fate

“You do?” She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. That conversation happened in the first hour or so after they met. He’d been pretty drunk, at least that’s how she remembered it. He’d been there celebrating his twenty-first birthday, but the reason he was on the East Coast was because of a funeral for his friend Josh’s family member, and they had been drinking all day.

“I do,” he said, his gravelly tone sent a shiver down her spine.

She tried to stay focused. This was not the time to get twitterpated. She cleared her throat. “So, um, at the end of the semester, I applied for internships in my field for the summer, and I was chosen for one, but I had to do a drug screening. Which I did. They called me in and said that the tox screening was clear, but that I was pregnant.” She took in a shaky breath. “At first, I thought there had to be a mistake because we were careful…we used protection. But just to be safe, I got about adozen over-the-counter tests, and they all said the same thing. I was pregnant.

“I know technically I had options, but really, I didn’t feel like I did. I never knew anyone who had the same DNA as me. I knew I was going to keep the baby. I had no way of finding you. I didn’t know your last name. So, I decided I’d have the baby on my own. But when I was five months pregnant, I met Martin. He was a cop, ten years older than me; he owned his own home—he had stability. He wanted me to be a stay-at-home mom, which I wasn’t sure about, but then Owen was born premature with multiple health issues, and I didn’t even give it a second thought. The first five years of his life were just taking him to doctor’s appointments and being in and out of the hospital.”

“Is it just asthma?” He reached out his hand toward me. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean you said “issues,” so is it more than that?”

Taylor could see how concerned Caleb was. She didn’t know if it was because that was sort of his job and he was naturally an empathetic person or if it was because it was Owen. It probably didn’t matter either way; she was just curious.

“Within the first six months of his life, he was diagnosed with asthma, epilepsy, and cardiomyopathy.”

“Minnie has epilepsy and a heart condition.”

“Who’s Minnie?”

“She’s my little girl, my dog, my rescue dog.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to compare her to Owen, I just…it surprised me to?—”

“No, it’s okay. It’s more than okay; it’s great. Actually, Owen would love that. He loves dogs.” Taylor was feeling more and more nervous, so she dug in her purse for the paper she’d printed out from the DNA site. “Anyway, I was basically just surviving and trying to keep Owen alive the first five years of hislife, but once he started school, things with my ex got…bad. I knew I needed to leave, but I didn’t have the resources, so it took some time.

“I wasn’t trying to keep Owen from you; I didn’t know how to find you. Then when I was watching What is Love?I saw you. So, when I was finally able to leave, we came here. The reason I haven’t approached you earlier is that I wanted to make sure you were a good person—or at least try and find out as much as I could.”

Taylor wasn’t sure what else to say. She thought for sure Caleb would have more questions, or at least more to say, but he was just sitting there, silently. Maybe he didn’t believe her.

She pulled the paper out of her purse. “If you want proof, I did put his DNA in a public genealogy site, and it turned out you had also?—”

“Oh, right, my mom had us do that a few Christmases ago.” He didn’t take the paper. “I don’t need to see that. I know he’s mine.”

Hearing him say those words “He’s mine,” was so strange for Taylor. He’d always only been hers.

Her reaction must have shown in her face because he immediately backtracked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like…I just meant?—”

“No, it’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. He is…I mean…you are his biological dad.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. She’d said it out loud, and the world hadn’t imploded. She wasn’t struck by lightning. Caleb wasn’t running away. She felt lighter than she had in a long time, but also so light she was having an out-of-body experience.

“I have a few questions, if that’s okay.”

“No.” She shook her head, then smiled, hoping to break the tension. It worked. “Of course, it is. I just told you that you havean eleven-year-old son; I think you are entitled to some follow-up questions.”

“You said your ex was bad. Is that why you are blonde now and changed your name?”

“Yes and no. Or I guess, no and yes. When we met, my hair was dyed black because I was Priscilla Presley in a play. This is my natural hair color. And my name is Rebecca Taylor. When I moved here, I just started introducing myself as Taylor. I don’t know why. I guess I thought it was an extra layer of protection, even though it’s not. Maybe it had more to do with not wanting to hear the name he called me for the past ten years anymore, I don’t know.”

Caleb nodded. “Does Owen know that I’m his dad?”

“No.” Taylor saw a flash in Caleb’s eye that looked a lot like hurt, but as fast as it appeared, it was gone.

“Does he think your ex is?—”

“No,” she quickly clarified. “He knows that Martin isn’t his dad.”

“Who does he think his dad is?”

“I told him the truth that I met his dad in Daytona Beach. We were young, and I didn’t know how to find him.”

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