Page 55 of Second Chance Fate

Taylor was quiet, staring down at the marriage license in her hand. Caleb could see that she was mulling over the points that he’d made, which were good, solid arguments in favor of becoming legally man and wife. He just hoped she saw it that way.

“But what about all the Hot Pastor stuff? Don’t you want to date peo?—”

“No,” he quickly corrected her assumption. “I do not want to date. I want to have a family, and Idohave a family. I might not have gotten it the most traditional way, but you and Owen are my family.”

She licked her lips. “So, we’ll be married on paper, for legal reasons, basically.”

“Yes.”

“So do we have to tell people we’re married?”

“Do you want to tell people?—"

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t.”

He did his best to ignore the sting of rejection he felt seeing her reaction at the thought of anyone knowing she was his wife.

“Then no one has to know. I’d like to tell my parents when you’re comfortable, but I’ll wait until you are.”

“But if I’m living in your house, and people don’t know we’re married, isn’t that a bad look for a pastor?” He could see the concern she had in her eyes for him, which meant she was actually seriously considering saying yes. “I mean, I don’t know a lot about stuff like that, but wouldn’t that be bad?”

An urgency of affection rushed through him as he leaned forward and brushed strands of hair that fell on her forehead, tucking them behind her ear. She rested her cheek in his palm.“I’ve spent a good portion of my life dedicated to serving the people in my community. I prioritized caring for them over myself and sacrificed my personal life. But now, my priority is Owen and you. That’s it. I don’t care what it looks like, what people’s opinion of it is, what people assume they know, or what gossip they spread. Theonlything that matters to me is that you are both safe, happy, and have everything you need. That’s it. If anyone has a problem with how I’m going about doing that, I honestly don’t give a shit.”

Her forehead furrowed. “Are pastors allowed to cuss?”

“Well, lightning hasn’t struck me down, so I guess so.”

She smiled, and he lowered his hand. “Are you sure, really sure you want to do this?”

“I haveneverbeen more sure of anything in my life.”

Taylor looked down, staring at the ring in her hands, and Caleb found himself holding his breath. When she looked back up at him, their eyes locked, and she handed the ring back to him. His heart sank like an anchor in the ocean. He stared down at the solitaire diamond, and his heart broke into a million pieces. He really thought she was leaning toward yes. He did his best to mask his disappointment because the last thing he wanted was to make her feel like she’d done anything wrong by making a perfectly sane decision not to take this leap of faith with him.

“Okay,” she said.

His eyes flew up to hers, certain he must have misheard her. “What?”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, and her chin dipped in a decisive nod. “Let’s do it.”

“But…” Caleb looked down at the ring.

“I can’t take your ring since this isn’t…you know. But, if you’re sure you want to do this then, okay.”

Caleb looked at her and knew it was completely wrong, but he really wanted to kiss her. Instead, he stood and pressed his lips quickly to her forehead.

“Do you want me to get Owen?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want him to think I’m doing this because I’m actually sicker than I am. Even if it’s just subconscious. It could cause him undue stress.”

“You’re right.” Caleb hadn’t realized the magnitude of what a balancing act overseeing Owen’s health was. He couldn’t imagine carrying the sole weight of all those decisions on his own all these years. He was so happy that now not only did Owen and Taylor have him, they also had his parents and the entire Hope Falls community.

He watched as the corners of her mouth curled as she looked down at the marriage license.

“What?” he asked.

“For my first marriage, I had the dress and veil, two hundred guests, and all of Martin’s unit came in their uniforms, and then I found out years later none of it was legal because he was married to someone else at the time. Today, we’re going to sign papers while I’m in a hospital bed, with no guests, and no dress, and I’ll be legally married. Life is so weird sometimes.”

“Yeah.” And sometimes it’s perfect. Today, marrying Taylor in any capacity made Caleb’s life perfect.

---