Page 26 of Second Chance with Seth

I nod my head. “That’s why I’m so unsure about everything. My future is in her hands.”

“I see,” he says, although he probably doesn’t, and I’m saved from the trouble of explaining when the door opens behind him, and Taylor steps out. When I left, she was still Nate’s fiancée, but they were due to get married the following month. Everly and I were invited, but obviously I didn’t go. Whether she did or not, I have no idea. Either way, it looks like things went to plan… in more ways than one, judging from the ring on his finger, and that Taylor is pregnant. Very pregnant. I’m no expert in these things, but I’d say she’s not far away from giving birth, and I glance at Nate again, who’s grinning in a way I imagine most men would, when they’re about to become a father.

“It looks like congratulations are in order,” I say and he nods his head, putting his arm around his wife, who leans in to him.

“We’ve only got ten days to go,” he says.

“And they can’t go fast enough.” Taylor rolls her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Should you be working?” I ask, and she frowns.

“I wasn’t.”

“No. I was,” Nate says, letting out a sigh. “Taylor’s replacement screwed up on an article he wrote for me yesterday. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I was about to leave for the day, and I had the choice of either staying late, or coming in today and fixing it. I was desperate to get home to Taylor last night, so I came in this morning, and Taylor came with me because she didn’t wanna stay home by herself.”

“Of course… you don’t live above the shop anymore, do you? You had a new house built.”

“Yeah. We’ve been in it for nearly ten months now. It’s weird living outside of town, but we’re getting used to it.”

“And at least you’ve got Laurel as a neighbor.”

His brow furrows. “So you hadn’t heard about her and Brady?”

“What about them?”

“They got married in December. They’re living in Cedar Street now.”

“Wow… so much has changed. Speaking of which, what happened to Dawson? When did he leave?”

“He didn’t,” Nate says. “He’s still here.”

“Then why did he change the name of the bar?” I ask, even more confused now.

“Because he met someone. Her name’s Macy.” He tips his head to one side, looking puzzled. “Did you ever know Bernice Wilkes? She lives…”

“I knew her,” I say, saving him the trouble of explaining. “She was the piano teacher.”

“Exactly,” he says. “Well, Macy is her niece. She moved here last winter and started working for Peony… and then for Dawson, too. Before we knew it, she’d moved in with him, and then the next thing I heard was he’d signed over half the bar to her, which became more obvious to everyone in the town when he changed its name. It’s a combination of their initials.”

“Dawson? Dawson Pine did all that?”

“Yeah,” he says, smiling. “I know it sounds unusually romantic, but he wasn’t always morose.”

“No. I remember what he was like before Stevie left.”

“Exactly.”

“Even so, I don’t recall him being that tender-hearted over Stevie.”

“He wasn’t,” Nate says, turning his attention to Taylor again. “But I guess some of us only get it right the second time around.”

I nod my head, remembering that he was married before, too, although I don’t know many of the details, and now doesn’t seem like the time to bring them up.

“So, this is what happens when I turn my back for five minutes?” I say.

“Five minutes?” he says, sounding a little incredulous. “It’s closer to a year, Seth.”

“Yeah, I know. I was being rhetorical.”

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