Page 76 of Second Chance Fate

She’d texted to let him know that when she’d opened the prayer request box that he’d installed as a way for people to write down requests and drop them off any time, day or night, outside the church office, it was overflowing with cards of concern regarding his living situation. Not one, not two, not three, but dozens. She’d taken photos of some and texted them to him. From what he’d seen, they were all very hellfire and brimstone themed, accusing him of living in sin and warning him that he would burn in hell if he did not repent for his sins. There were also several that had scripture references of corrupt leadership, such as Corinthians 15:33, Amos 5:24, and Galatians 6:8.

He had a pretty good idea who was behind the onslaught and knew he needed to deal with her. He was still waiting to know the right way to do so. If it were up to him, he’d take an old-school town crier approach with new-school technology and call out her behavior on social media. He’d name her and tag her in a post to hold her accountable. He’d already called her into his office and spoken to her privately on several different occasions, and she still continued her self-righteous, destructive behavior.

The one thing he knew for certain was he could not act out of emotion, no matter how protective he felt about Taylor and Owen. This was truly a test of something he’d preached for years and prided himself on. He needed to wait until he felt peace about how to proceed and not just react; otherwise, he knew he could risk doing or saying something that could harm her or someone else, and despite what the comments in the box said, he did take his role as a spiritual leader in this community very seriously.

He pulled up to the church, its steeple standing tall against the backdrop of vibrant autumn leaves. Caleb parked and took adeep breath before heading inside. The air in the office was cool and filled with a hushed reverence that always made him feel both at peace and responsible.

When he made his way down the hallway, he was surprised to find Maribel Henley, whose husband, Ralph, he’d just seen with his mail cart, seated in the office waiting room, leafing through a well-loved copy of Good Housekeeping. Judy was at her desk, her bright pink nails tapping rhythmically on the edge as she chatted animatedly on the phone. As Caleb came into view, she gave him a knowing look, and he approached the desk. She covered the receiver to quickly and briefly let him know that she'd fielded several inquiries about what folks perceived to be happening between him and Taylor.

"Don’t worry, I’m putting fires out as fast as you-know-who can start them," Judy said with a wink as she handed him the stack of comment cards before returning to her call.

Caleb sighed, aware of how quickly news—aka gossip—spread through their town.

He turned back, and Mrs. Henley raised her gaze from the magazine and offered Caleb a gentle smile full of empathy. She'd been his Sunday school teacher from the ages of four to eight and his sixth-grade homeroom teacher. He’d always felt that she had a knack for understanding without needing many words exchanged. Maybe it was because she raised twin boys and understood their language, or maybe it was because she was an empath. Whatever the reason, he’d always felt a special bond with her, but he had a sneaking suspicion she was one of those teachers that every student felt that way about.

“Do you have a minute?” she asked.

“For you? Always.” He held his office door open to her, and she walked inside.

As soon as the office door clicked shut behind them, Caleb motioned for Maribel to take a seat in one of the two armchairsin the sitting area beside the window. After setting the cards on his desk, he lowered down in the other chair opposite her. The room was filled with the faint scent of lavender from the essential oil diffuser in the corner that Judy insisted he use because it was calming. Maribel settled into her chair, smoothing down her cardigan as she smiled gently at him.

“How are the twins?” he asked.

“The boys are doing great.”

“I just saw Ralph. Any talk of retiring?” Caleb asked the question he’d posed for the past five years.

She shook her head. “I don’t think he’d know what to do with himself if he was home. I keep tellin’ him I’m busier now than when I was teaching, but, you know, Ralph, that man is more stubborn than a mule.” Her eyes danced every time the subject of her husband came up. “He said he ran into you a few weeks ago. You were asking him about his dimples and the twins.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Caleb had completely forgotten about that conversation. He had asked him about that when he was putting two and two together that Owen was his. That felt like a lifetime ago.

"Anyway, I don’t really know where to start," she began, her voice soft yet steady. “I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t think things were getting out of hand. I don’t normally involve myself in things like this, but I felt like I had no choice."

He wanted to put her mind at ease and tell her that he knew what was going on, but he also didn’t want to throw Patsy Clemons under the bus if she wasn’t the reason Mrs. Henley was in his office.

Maribel continued, her voice laced with a touch of exasperation. "Last night, Patsy took it upon herself to call an impromptu prayer meeting."

Well, it seemed the bus would have been rightfully parked.

“I know,” he assured her. “My parents are back in town, and my mom let me know.”

There was a hint of relief in her face as she continued, “Did she mention my Zumba class?”

“No.” Caleb had heard through the grapevine that Mrs. Henley had started teaching Aqua Zumba, but he had no clue what that had to do with Patsy.

“I wouldn’t have come in just for the prayer meeting; I only mentioned it for context.” She rolled her shoulders back. “There was an incident in the locker rooms after my Aqua Zumba class. While we were changing, Patsy made some accusations about you in the form of prayer requests, and I asked her to stop and speak to me privately. She refused, then doubled down and began to quote Bible verses supporting her claims when Leonora flew across the room, hurling some very, well, creative insults and telling her where she could stick the Bible verses. It took both Renata and me to pull Leonora off of Patsy and restrain her.”

Leonora Bianchi, better known as Nonna, was Josh’s grandmother, and she treated Caleb as her own. She was in her nineties and weighed about as much as her age. The thought of her having to be restrained by two women should be ludicrous, but it wasn’t. Josh’s grandmother was fiercely protective. There was a reason Viv, who owned Brewed Awakenings and was sixty years younger than Nonna, had bonded and got along so well; both women were firecrackers.

“Well, thank you for letting me?—”

“That’s not all.”

“There’s more?”

She nodded. “This afternoon I was picking up Waffle from the Barky Brush, and Debbie said that Patsy was getting her hair done at The Beauty Spot after the Zumba class, and she had quite a lot to say about you, your living situation, and Taylor.Again, she said it was a prayer request, but she was speaking loudly enough for anyone passing by to hear." She sighed softly. "Owen happened to be walking by with Jonah; they were returning props to Say Cheese for the dog adoptions. She said she doesn’t know if he heard, but I just wanted you to know."

Caleb was used to people gossiping about him. It came with the territory of living in a small town and being the pastor’s son. But the thought of anyone saying a bad word about Taylor made him want to punch holes in the walls. The thought of Owen overhearing anyone talk about his mom made him want to do much worse. He physically felt his blood boiling.

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