The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks [123]
“There are a few more things to do,” he said on his way out the door. “I’ll be by tomorrow to take care of them.”
The next day he worked until nightfall, possessed.
Melissa’s parents left the following week, and Taylor filled the void in their absence. As he’d done with Denise during the summer months, he began swinging by Melissa’s home nearly every day. He brought dinner with him twice—pizza first, then fried chicken—and though he still felt vaguely uncomfortable around Melissa, he felt a sense of responsibility regarding the boys.
They needed a father figure.
He’d made the decision earlier in the week, after yet another sleepless night. The idea, however, had initially come to him while he was still in the hospital. He knew he couldn’t take Mitch’s place and didn’t intend to. Nor would he hinder Melissa’s life in any way. In time, if she met someone new, he would slip quietly from the picture. In the meantime he would be there for them, doing the things that Mitch had done. The lawn. Ball games and fishing trips with the boys. Odds and ends around the house. Whatever.
He knew what it was like to grow up without a father. He remembered longing for someone besides his mother to talk to. He remembered lying in his bed, listening to the quiet sounds of his mother’s sobbing in the adjoining room, and how difficult it had been to talk to her in the year following his father’s death. Thinking back, he saw clearly how his childhood had been stripped away.
For Mitch’s sake, he wouldn’t let that happen to the boys.
He was sure it was what Mitch would have wanted him to do. They were like brothers, and brothers watched out for each other. Besides, he was the godfather. It was his duty.
Melissa didn’t seem to mind that he’d begun to come over. Nor had she asked the reason why, which meant that she too understood why it was important. The boys had always been at the forefront of her concerns, and now with Mitch gone, Taylor felt sure that those feelings had only increased.
The boys. They needed him now, no doubt about it.
In his mind, he didn’t have a choice. The decision made, he began to eat again, and all at once the nightmares stopped. He knew what he had to do.
The following weekend, when Taylor arrived to take care of the lawn, he inhaled sharply when he pulled up to Mitch and Melissa’s driveway. He blinked hard, to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, but when he looked again it hadn’t moved at all.
A realty sign.
“For Sale.”
The house was for sale.
He sat in his idling truck as Melissa emerged from the house. When she waved to him, Taylor finally turned the key and the engine sputtered to a halt. As he started toward her he could hear the boys in the yard out back, though he couldn’t see them.
Melissa gave him a hug.
“How are you, Taylor?” she asked, searching his face. Taylor took a small step back, avoiding her gaze.
“All right, I guess,” he answered, distracted. He nodded in the direction of the road.
“What’s with the sign?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“You’re selling the house?”
“Hopefully.”
“Why?”
Melissa’s whole body seemed to sag as she turned to face the house.
“I just can’t live here anymore . . .” she finally answered, trailing off. “Too many memories.”
She blinked back tears and stared wordlessly at the house. She suddenly looked so tired, so defeated, as if the burden of carrying on without Mitch were crushing the life force out of her. A ribbon of fear twisted inside him.
“You’re not moving away, are you?” he asked in disbelief. “You’re still going to live in Edenton, right?”
After a long moment, Melissa shook her head.
“Where’re you going?”
“Rocky Mount,” she answered.
“But why?” he asked, his voice straining. “You’ve lived here for a dozen years . . . you’ve got friends here . . . I’m here . . . Is it the house?” he asked quickly, searching. He didn’t wait for a reply. “If the house is too much, there might be something I could do. I could build you a new one for cost, anywhere you want.”
Melissa finally turned to face him.
“It’s not the house—that has nothing