Page 37 of Second Chance Fate

“But then you did find him, find me.”

“I did. But like I said, I wanted to make sure that you were a good person. And then I needed to see if you were even interested in being a part of his life. And then I needed to find a way to tell him that wouldn’t cause him undue stress.”

“Because it would be bad for his health.”

“Exactly.”

“So what’s next?” he asked.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

She thought she’d made that clear, but this was a lot to take in. “On if you’re interested in being a part of his life.”

“I’m hisdad.” The heartfelt conviction Caleb infused in that simple three-letter word tore Taylor’s soul open. He shifted forward on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees as he leaned closer to her. “I know I haven’t done anything to earn that name, but I didn’t know he existed. If you let me, I will do everything I can to make up for the time I lost and the time that you’ve had to do this alone. I never want either of you to ever feel alone again, because as long as I’m breathing, you won’t be.”

Tears filled Taylor’s eyes, and for once, they weren’t because she was scared, or sad, or hurt, or overwhelmed. He’d just spoken to her biggest fear. Not thatshewas alone. She’d been alone her entire life. Her greatest fear was that Owen would be alone. From the moment he was born, she’d been living in a constant state of fear. Sitting in this apartment, staring into Caleb’s eyes, was the first time she felt like the weight of the world wasn’t on her shoulders. That Owen had more than just her in his corner.

There was a little voice in the back of her head telling her that it was too good to be true and telling her to look out because the other shoe was going to drop, but for right now, she wasn’t going to listen to that voice. Just once, she was going to put duct tape over that voice and believe that everything was going to be okay.

11

Caleb hadan internal clock running in his head all day long, counting down the minutes until he could see Taylor and Owen. He’d been trying to relax and not hyper-fixate and overthink the dinner tonight, but it had been an exercise in futility. All day he’d been on edge about what tonight would be like.

Normally, he was a go-with-the-flow, relaxed guy. He never felt nervous or had any anxiety attached to hanging out or having dinner with someone, not even Steph Curry. The basketball icon came to Hope Falls to work with the charity actor Kyle Austen Reed founded with his wife, Aurora. Kyle met Aurora when he visited the hospital; she was the single mom of one of his fans. Their story was like a Hallmark Christmas movie come to life.

Caleb checked his watch again. Only two minutes had passed. Both he and Taylor agreed that it would be best if he hung out with Owen before they broke the news to him that he was his biological dad. Owen just started school again, and another big change could add too much stress to his life. Since they were holding off on telling him, it meant Caleb had to hold off from telling anyone. Thankfully, his parents were still out oftown on their cruise. They were the only people he felt guilty about keeping in the dark. If they were in town, it would be ten times worse.

The second the clock hit four forty-five, Caleb popped out of his chair like it was spring-loaded. He wasn’t due to show up at Taylor’s for another fifteen minutes, and the drive over would only take five, but he couldn’t stay in the office a second longer. He powered down his computer and patted his thigh, giving Minnie the cue that it was time to go. She stood and leisurely bowed into a downward dog pose.

Once she’d stretched and shaken her head, she walked past him into the hall, and he shut his office door.

“See you tomorrow.” He casually waved as he passed Judy’s desk, hoping to make a clean exit.

“Where are you off to tonight looking so dapper?” Judy spun her chair toward him.

Dapper? He wasn’t going for dapper. He wasn’t sure what he was going for. How was someone supposed to dress to hang out with their eleven-year-old son who didn’t know that he was their father? He assumed Judy’s comment was referring to the haircut he’d gotten today at The Beauty Spot, since his clothing was as basic as you could get. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, nothin’ fancy. He didn’t want to wear anything too formal or even semi-formal since this was just a dinner.

“I don’t have anything on your calendar.” Judy tilted her chin as she peered through the bottom of her glasses and read the computer screen, which he was sure had his calendar pulled up.

She knew his schedule better than he did. Typically, she was the one telling him where he needed to be and when. And she always knew where he was so he could be reached in case there was an emergency. Privacy was a luxury he’d never experienced, so he couldn’t say he missed it. Usually, he had no problem with sharing his whereabouts, but this situation was definitelyone that he could firmly put in the extenuating circumstances column.

Since every move he made was under a microscope, he and Taylor had discussed coming up with a cover story of why he would be hanging out with them. He suggested saying they were dating. He pointed out that if they did, when Owen’s paternity was revealed, it would come as less of a shock. Unfortunately, Taylor hadn’t been on board with that. To him, it made perfect sense, but he had to admit he might have had ulterior motives. He wanted to date Taylor. From the horrified expression on her face, his interest in her was not reciprocated. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to jump back into a relationship; from the little he heard about her ex, she’d been through hell.

This situation was delicate in nature. He had no clue how to navigate it. One thing he did know was that secrets didn’t stay secrets in Hope Falls. Keeping his relationship to Owen private until Owen knew and was comfortable with other people knowing was the most important thing to him. Even though, if it were up to him, he would take out a front-page ad, post it on every website, and scream it from the rooftops, both virtual and brick-and-mortar. Still, he had to do what was best for Owen.

Ultimately, Taylor and Caleb decided not to hide anything and not to create a backstory. They were adults who were spending time together; people could think what they wanted to.

So, he told Judy the truth. “I’m going to a friend’s for dinner.”

“A friend?” Her eyes twinkled. It was the same twinkle she’d had when he got back from Sue Ann’s yesterday and she asked him how his coffee date was. “Have fun.”

Caleb gave her a quick nod and headed out the back to his Jeep. He opened the door, and Minnie jumped inside and settled into the passenger seat.

“We’re gonna go meet your brother,” he explained as he pulled out of the church parking lot.

He hadn’t been able to tell anyone about Owen, so he’d spent last night talking to Minnie about him. She was laying curled up beside him on the couch as he cast the Dropbox of photos and videos Taylor sent him to his big screen TV.

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