Page 39 of Second Chance Fate

“Wow,” Taylor breathed as she stared down at his hand. “You keep catching things.”

He smiled. “That’s cause you keep dropping them.”

She let out a soft chuckle as her eyes lifted to his.

This was the closest they’d been to each other. Not ever. They’d been a lot closer when they were in Daytona Beach. Close enough to make Owen.

As they stood barely an inch apart, Caleb instantly fell under her spell, totally transfixed as he stared down at her. Her bright sapphire eyes were mesmerizing. The blue was so vivid, itseemed to glow against her dark lashes and pale skin, drawing him in like a magnet.

It wasn’t just her eyes; her lips were so perfect and plump. They were the kind of lips that could make a man forget his name, with a plushness that invited exploration and a raspberry shade that begged to be kissed.

Silky blonde waves fell over her shoulders, framing her face. She was so beautiful. So beautiful, his chest ached. She had an air of grace and serenity about her, like she belonged in another world. She inspired feelings in him he didn’t even know he had until he met her. The first time he’d seen her was twelve years ago, and now he had the same impulse: he wanted to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder; he had primal, primitive impulses: that only she had ever awakened.

“What?” she asked as she licked her lips nervously. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of handing the knife back to her, he set it down on the counter behind her. In doing so, his upper body shifted closer to her.

With his other hand, he brushed a strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead, then tucked it behind her ear. “You are just…so beautiful.”

Her breath hitched and her eyes closed as his head lowered down. He felt her breath fan against his face at the same moment he heard Owen’s footsteps in the hallway. He quickly took a step back and dropped his hands to his side. Taylor’s eyes fluttered open, and he saw that she was just as affected as he was. There was a flash of horror on her face before she turned around so her back was toward him, and she instructed Owen to set the table.

Caleb assisted with the plates, but as he helped, his heart was beating so wildly in his chest he worried Owen would be able to hear it. He didn’t know what had come over him. He absolutely could not do that again. If Owen had walked in on that, it couldhave potentially damaged their relationship, which had enough going against it already. No matter what Caleb’s feelings were for Taylor, his priority was Owen.

Within ten minutes, they were all seated around the dinner table with two dogs at their feet, one of which was drooling an embarrassing amount. Thankfully, neither Taylor nor Owen seemed to mind Minnie’s drool. Once Owen heard the story of how Caleb found Minnie and how similar her health issues were to his, Caleb was pretty sure Minnie could murder someone and Owen would hide the body for her. Caleb loved and spoiled Minnie rotten, but it was obvious that she could do no wrong in Owen’s eyes. He was also really excited that she was going to be an emotional support dog.

The entire dinner was filled with laughter; it was so casual and natural. The plates were mismatched, and there was a chipped floral pitcher of iced tea and—despite the brief smoke alarm fiasco—a delicious chicken cacciatore. The last-minute scraping maneuver rescued the charred garlic bread, which was surprisingly edible.

Caleb couldn’t count the number of times he’d been a guest for dinner at people’s homes; it had to be in the hundreds. As the pastor’s son and then the pastor, it was part of the job. He’d never felt so at ease, so at home, so relaxed as he had sitting around the kitchen table with Taylor and Owen. He’d been concerned that there might be some awkwardness or Owen could be protective of his mom and not want him hanging around, especially since he didn’t know the true reason he was there. But he had nothing to worry about. The atmosphere was comfortable and… for lack of a betterword,normal. It didn’t feel like the first time they’d all sat down to dinner together, or like it was special. It felt like this was what they did every day.

Owen and Taylor bounced off of each other, finishing each other’s sentences and stories. It was almost like they had theirown language. He felt a deep sense of gratitude for the bond they shared, and for being able to witness it. He’d seen their connection in the photos and videos she sent, but it was different to witness it in person. Seeing it happen in real time was palpable.

And Owen, well… he wasn’t just a great kid, he was a great human. Caleb could see now why Nonna and Arthur loved him, and he’d even gotten a smile out of Gus. He was just a really special kid.

Before he took a single bite of food, he pulled up the calculator app on his phone and quickly figured out how much insulin to give himself. After dinner, he joked that it was time for his nightly ‘fix.’ He took large pills out one at a time from a rainbow-colored weekly dispenser, holding them up and commenting on each one before popping them in his mouth, leaning his head back, and swallowing. “The green one gives me super strength. The blue one keeps me from turning into a zombie after midnight. The white one charges my cloak of invisibility,” he deadpanned as he took out the final pill and held it in the air like Rafiki holds Simba on Pride Rock. “And the red one, well, that’s just a beta blocker.” He shrugged as he tossed it up in the air and caught it in his mouth.

Owen was such a well-adjusted, confident, bright, and funny kid. He’d watched him the entire night in a constant state of reverent awe. Caleb tried to catch Taylor’s eye across the table to silently communicate to her what an amazing job she’d done. But Taylor had warned him that Owen picked up oneverything, so he knew he couldn’t let the fact that he was bursting with paternal pride show. He figured he should read the room, take Owen’s lead, and try to keep things light.

As Owen set the pill dispenser back on the counter, Caleb joked, “You know, you could start a black-market pharmacy.”

Not missing a beat, Owen turned and stretched his arms out. “How do you think we can afford this place?”

They all laughed, but Caleb picked up on a brief flash of sadness behind Taylor’s eyes. It was quickly masked, but for a moment, there had been an emotional sting. In the photos she’d shared with him, he noticed the house they lived in back in Chicago was very… upscale. It didn’t look like a house that a cop could afford on a single salary, but the little bit of digging he’d done on Taylor’s ex made him think he’d probably been up to some illegal activities.

Owen picked up his plate, and Caleb stood and did the same. “Thanks for dinner. It was delicious.”

“You mean the part that wasn’t burned,” Taylor qualified as she rose from her chair and reached down to grab her plate.

Caleb beat her to it. He reached across the table and grabbed it out from under her nose. “No, I meanallof it.”

He then collected the two other dishes on the table.

She looked up at him with a question mark hanging above her head. “What are you doing?”

“You cooked,” Caleb explained.

She continued staring at him as if he hadn’t answered her question.

“That means you can’t clean.” He took the dishes to the sink.

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