Page 9 of Second Chance Fate

When he finally made it through the double doors and entered the lobby, he looked out over the sea of people trying to play Where’s Waldo, except he was playing Where’s Mystery Blonde?

“Pastor Harrison, do you have a moment?”

No!

He made sure to keep his expression neutral as he turned to see who was asking, and he was glad he had. The question was coming from Claudia Benson. She’d had a tough year.Her husband left her and her three kids high and dry. She moved back in with her father, who suffered from alcoholism. As badly as he wanted to find the mystery woman before she disappeared, his first priority would always be to the people in the community who needed him. Toanyonewho needed him, in this community or anywhere.

With his tone and expression softened, he shifted his attention fully toward her. “Caleb, please. And sure, what can I do for you?”

“I wanted you to meet my niece, Kimberly.” She motioned to a woman he’d never seen before beside her.

You’ve got to be kidding me. The last person he ever expected to don a bow and arrow and play Cupid was Claudia Benson.

“Nice to meet you, Kimberly.”

Kimberly flashed him a bold smile. “I follow you on IG.”

Caleb never really knew how to respond to that. “Oh, thanks.”

“I DM’d you, actually,” she relayed with a flirty twinkle in her eye.

“Oh, I don’t actually check my DMs; Judy handles that.” Caleb had stopped checking his DMs after Karina’s post. Judy found them entertaining, so she went through them and passed along any that were important.

“Oh, well, I was hoping maybe we could get some coffee or something this week.” She reached out, and her fingers brushed along his forearm.

“I’d have to check my schedule. You can call the church office. Judy handles all that for me.”

“I'll do that.” Kimberly smiled, her eyes twinkling with interest.

He turned and continued scanning the lobby. He greeted people as he weaved his way through the crowd, searching for the blue-eyed angel. He checked by the bathrooms, then doubledback, but even as he made his way through the crowd of faces, he knew he wouldn’t see hers. Just like the premonition he’d had that she was there a second before he’d seen her, he knew she wasn’t now. She was gone. He’d missed her again.

4

As everyone bowedtheir head to pray, Taylor quietly slid out of the back pew and walked out the sanctuary doors into the lobby. She walked as fast as her feet could carry her, stopping just short of running. She needed to get off the premises before there was any chance of running into Caleb.

Did he recognize her? Did he know who she was? Had he figured it out?

So many questions were running through her mind. The walls felt like they were closing in on her as she headed down the hall to the children’s church where Owen was. A panic volcano had erupted in her chest, and anxiety lava was flooding through her. Her neck was hot and itching, which meant she was getting hives, one of the fun side effects she had whenever she experienced a panic attack. She’d gotten them since she was in third grade. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down before they spread up her neck, then face, and down her arms and hands.

In through the nose, out through the mouth, she told herself over and over. She was trying to stay calm, to be rational. One way to achieve that was to counter her hysteria with logic.

Caleb, or “Hot Pastor,” as she’d heard him referred to a dozen times since stepping into the church an hour before, was a very gifted, charismatic speaker. She was sure that part of his appeal and charm was makingeveryonefeel like he was speaking directly to them, when in reality he was speaking to the congregation at large.

He hadn’t singled her out. Had he? Had he figured out why she was in Hope Falls? Was her identity no longer a secret?

She’d done her best to stay under his—and everyone else’s—radar. She’d seen him a handful of times around town but never spoken to him. She’d kept her distance. She’d needed that time to do reconnaissance work before allowing him access to her and Owen’s life. She had to know she wasn’t inviting another monster into their midst, even if he was Owen’s biological dad. She had to make sure that he was a good and decent person. Also, she needed time to heal and decompress after being in a very toxic, unhealthy relationship for over ten years.

Today had been the next and final step before she made her approach. Going to church. She wanted to study him in his natural environment. She thought she’d be able to sneak in and out undetected. But from the moment she walked into the sanctuary and slipped into the back pew, she felt his eyes on her. In fact, when she first sat down, it looked like he was staring directly at her.

It had to be in her imagination. She must be paranoid, right? But it really seemed like he was looking directly at her and no one else.

And there was the movie.Good Will Hunting. They’d gone to see it in Daytona Beach at a dollar movie theater. She still watched it as her comfort movie because it represented the last, and maybe only, time in her life she felt safe.

Why would he talk about that movie if he didn’t recognize her? That wasn’t exactly a movie that someone would talk about in church, was it?

This entire situation felt very out of control. Control was something she wanted, something she needed. The reason she was in Hope Falls was for Owen to know his dad,ifhis dad was a good man, but she had to do it on her terms. If Caleb remembered her, that could jeopardize everything.

When she got to the room the children’s church was in, she stood in the doorway and caught Owen’s attention. He was seated next to a boy who looked his age with brown hair and freckles. When she motioned to him that it was time to leave, he sprinted across the room. “Mom, can we stay? Miss Perkins was here earlier, and she said there’s going to be a potluck and she’s bringing roast beef.”

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