The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks [100]
“I need a little break here,” Mitch said, the words almost lost in the wheeze of his gasps.
Taylor darted off to the side, safely out of reach. “Then you gotta catch me, pal.”
Taylor let him suffer for another minute or so, until Mitch looked almost green. He finally ran toward the middle of the yard, slowed down, and allowed Mitch to tag off. Mitch bent over again, trying to catch his breath.
“They’re faster than they look,” Mitch said honestly, “and they change directions like jackrabbits.”
“It just seems that way when you’re old like you,” Taylor replied. “But if you’re right, I’ll just tag you.”
“If you think I’m leaving base, you’re out of your mind. I’m just going to take a seat here for a while.”
“C’mon!” Cameron shouted to Taylor, wanting the game to resume. “You can’t catch me!”
Taylor rubbed his hands together. “All right, here I come!”
Taylor took a giant step toward the kids, and with a jubilant scream they scattered in different directions. But Kyle’s voice, cutting loudly through the darkness, was unmistakable and suddenly made Taylor stop his charge.
“C’mon, Daddy!” (C’maw, Da-ee!) Kyle shouted. “C’mon, Daddy!”
Daddy.
Taylor, frozen for a moment, simply stared in Kyle’s direction. Mitch, who’d seen Taylor’s reaction, teased: “Is there something you haven’t told me, Taylor?”
Taylor didn’t respond.
“He just called you ‘Daddy,’ ” Mitch added, as if Taylor had missed it.
But Taylor barely heard what Mitch had said. Lost in thought, the word repeated in Taylor’s mind.
Daddy.
Though he knew it was simply Kyle mimicking the other children—as if calling out Daddy were part of the game—it nonetheless brought Melissa’s statement to mind again.
So are you going to marry this girl or what?
“Earth to Taylor . . . come in, big daddy,” Mitch said, unable to suppress a grin.
Taylor finally glanced toward him. “Shut up, Mitch.”
“Sure enough . . . Daddy.”
Taylor finally took a step toward the kids. “I’m not his daddy,” he said, almost to himself.
Though Mitch whispered the next words to himself, Taylor heard them as clearly as he’d heard Kyle’s a moment before.
“Not yet, anyway.”
“Did you guys have fun?” Melissa asked as the children came pounding through the front door, finally tired enough to call it quits for the night.
“We had a blast. Dad’s getting awful slow, though,” Cameron offered.
“I am not,” Mitch said defensively as he followed them inside. “I let you get to base.”
“Right, Dad.”
“I put some juice in the living room. Don’t spill, okay?” Melissa said as the kids trudged past her. Mitch leaned in to kiss Melissa, but she pulled back. “Not until after you shower. You’re filthy.”
“This is what I get for entertaining the kids?”
“No, that’s the response you get when you smell bad.”
Mitch laughed and started toward the patio slider, heading toward the backyard in search of a beer.
Taylor brought up the rear, Kyle right in front of him. Kyle followed the other kids to the living room as Denise watched him go.
“How did he do?” Denise asked.
“Fine,” Taylor said simply. “He had fun.”
Denise looked at Taylor carefully. Something was obviously bothering him.
“Are you okay?”
Taylor glanced away. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m okay.”
Without saying anything else, he followed Mitch outside.
With the evening finally winding down, Denise volunteered to help Melissa in the kitchen after dinner, putting the leftovers away. The kids were watching a movie in the living room, sprawled all over the floor, while Mitch and Taylor straightened things up on the deck out back.
Denise was rinsing the silverware before putting it into the dishwasher. From where she was standing she could see the two men outside, and she watched them, her hands unmoving under the water.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Melissa said, startling her.
Denise shook her head, returning to the task at hand. “I’m not sure a penny will cover it.”
Melissa picked up some empty