Page 84 of Second Chance Fate

Taylor could see how much that meant to him. It showed just how much he had been worried, either consciously or unconsciously, that Owen would be upset he was his dad. She was so happy that wasn’t the case.

“Son, get out here!” Caleb’s dad bellowed. “Come on! We have three generations of Harrison men playing ball!”

“Are you okay?” Caleb checked in with her before standing up and joining his dad and son.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she assured him.

Since being in the hospital, he treated her like she was fine china, fragile and delicate. As much as she appreciated it, it wasn’t necessary. She’d only had herself to rely on for so long.

He stood and pressed a kiss to her forehead before jogging onto the grass with his dad and Owen, and she noticed her son looked clammy. It could just be typical sweat, but she pulled up the app on her phone to check Owen’s blood sugar. It was holding steady at a hundred and ten, but she needed to keep an eye on it because it could drop suddenly when he exerted himself.

As she watched the three generations of Harrison men playing ball, she wondered if Owen would want to change his last name. If she had to guess, she would say yes. Actually, did she want to? She was married, so legally she could.

Thinking back, that should have been her first clue that her marriage to Martin wasn’t on the up and up. He never cared that she didn’t want to change her name. For someone as controlling as he was, the fact that he encouraged her to keep her maiden name had always felt strange to her, but she never said anything because she didn’t want to rock the boat. Now, it made perfect sense. To change her name, she would have had to produce a marriage certificate, which would have been impossible.

But this time, she did have a marriage certificate. If she wanted, she could be Rebecca Taylor Harrison. Or maybe she could lose the Rebecca altogether; she’d never liked it. She could just be Taylor Harrison. Yeah, that had a nice ring to it.

25

Caleb watchedfrom the deck as his dad threw a baseball in the backyard with Owen. They’d taken a short break so Owen could have some cookies when his blood sugar dropped below a hundred, but now his dad and son were at it again.

“He looks just like you.” His mom stepped beside him on the deck. “I actually can’t get over it.”

“I know.”

“And it’s not just his looks; it’s his mannerisms, too. He does that middle finger knuckle pop that I tried so hard to get you to stop doing.”

“I know.”

“So, I was thinking…” His mom clapped her hands together.

Oh boy, Caleb knew that whatever came next was going to be something he wouldn’t like. His mom’s way of softening the blow was to preface whatever punch she was throwing with ‘so, I was thinking.’ He mentally put up his guard and got ready to bob and weave.

“I know that you and Taylor are legally married, but?—”

“Mom, I know that—” Caleb cut her off as he defended his reasons for why he got married without them there, in the hospital.

“I knowwhyyou did what you did, and I understand,” she interrupted his interruption. “It was the right thing to do. You were taking care of your family. You got married to the mother of your child. Your father and I are so proud of you. However, you got married, but you didn’t have awedding.” She took a deep breath. “Your dad would never admit this, but he hasalwaysdreamed of standing up with you as you exchange your vows and being the person who declares you husband and wife. You know that he doesn’t ask for much for himself; he’s spent his entire life doing for other people. And it’s not him asking now; it’s me.” Emotion filled her eyes as they pooled with tears. “I’m not asking for a big wedding at the church; I know that’s too much, and it’s just a building that holds mixed emotions for you. I was thinking maybe we could have something here. In the backyard. Something small. Just family and anyone you guys want here on Saturday.”

“Saturday?”

She nodded. “Yeah, before word gets around and it turns into a circus.”

If it were just up to Caleb, he’d say yes, absolutely, no question. But it wasn’t just up to him. “I don’t know. I need to talk to Taylor.”

As if he’d summoned her, Taylor walked out onto the deck at that exact moment. She’d been inside on the phone with Mario, a nurse she’d bonded with at the hospital; he’d called every day to check up on her.

Taylor's blonde hair framed her face in soft waves, catching the last rays of sunlight and giving it a golden sheen. Her blue eyes, the same color as the sky at its clearest, sparkled with excitement. The shirt she wore was a perfect match for her eyes,accentuating their brightness. Her skin, sun-kissed and radiant, seemed to glow in the fading light. Her ruby red lips, full and inviting, begged to be kissed.

When Taylor approached them, his mom patted his hand as her eyes widened in a very non-subtle gesture suggesting this was a perfect time for him to speak to his new wife about the wedding she’d just proposed as she made an equally lame/obvious excuse to go inside, subsequently leaving them alone so they could speak in private. “Oh, I think I might have left the stove on.”

Taylor clearly picked up on his mom’s odd behavior as she watched the woman who gave birth to him pretend to have a crick in her neck so she could tilt her head toward his wife in yet one more obvious attempt to indicate he should ask her about what they’d just talked about.

When the Queen of Subtlety disappeared into the house, Taylor looked up at him. “Did I interrupt something? I can go back inside and?—”

“No.” He reached out, snaked his arms around her, and pulled her against him.

He didn’t want her to go anywhere. In fact, if it were up to him, she’d never be more than an arm’s length away from him so he could hold her anytime he wanted. She’d been inside on the call for less than ten minutes, and he’d missed her. Really, truly missed her. That had to be some kind of record. Who misses someone when they just walked into the other room?

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