The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks [124]
“You’re moving right away?” he asked, still struggling to make sense of this news.
Melissa nodded. “Next week,” she said. “My parents have an older rental house they said I could use until I sell this place. It’s right up the street from where they live. And if I do have to take a job, they can watch my boys for me.”
“I could do that,” Taylor said quickly. “I could give you a job doing all the billing and ordering if you need to earn some money, and you could do it right here from the house. You could do it on your own time.”
She smiled sadly at him. “Why? Do you want to rescue me, too, Taylor?”
The words made him flinch. Melissa looked at him carefully before going on.
“That’s what you’re trying to do, isn’t it? Coming over last weekend to take care of the yard, spending time with the boys, the offer for a house and a job . . . I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it’s not what I need right now. I need to handle this my own way.”
“I wasn’t trying to rescue you,” he protested, trying to hide how pained he felt. “I just know how hard it can be to lose someone, and I didn’t want you to have to handle everything alone.”
She slowly shook her head. “Oh, Taylor,” she said in almost a motherly tone, “it’s the same thing.” She hesitated, her expression at once knowing and sad. “It’s what you’ve been doing your whole life. You sense that someone needs help, and if you can, you give her exactly what she needs. And now, you’re turning your sights on us.”
“I’m not turning my sights on you,” he denied.
Melissa wasn’t dissuaded. Instead she reached for his hand.
“Yes, you are,” she said calmly. “It’s what you did with Valerie after her boyfriend left her, it’s what you did with Lori when she felt so alone. It’s what you did with Denise when you found out how hard her life was. Think of all the things you did for her, right from the very beginning.” She paused, letting that sink in. “You feel the need to make things better, Taylor. You always have. You may not believe it, but everything in your life proves that over and over. Even your jobs. As a contractor, you fix things that are broken. As a fireman, you save people. Mitch never understood that about you, but to me, it was obvious. It’s who you are.”
To that, Taylor had no response. Instead he turned away, his mind reeling from her words. Melissa squeezed his hand.
“That’s not a bad thing, Taylor. But it’s not what I need. And in the long run, it’s not what you need, either. In time, once you think I’m saved, you’d move on, looking for the next person to rescue. And I’d probably be thankful for everything you did, except for the fact that I would know the truth about why you did it.”
She stopped there, waiting for Taylor to say something.
“What truth is that?” he rasped out finally.
“That even though you rescued me, you were trying to rescue yourself, because of what happened to your father. And no matter how hard I try, I’ll never be able to do that for you. That’s a conflict you’re going to have to resolve on your own.”
The words hit him with almost physical force. He felt breathless as he tried to focus on his feet, unable to feel his body, his mind a riot of warring thoughts. Random memories flashed through his mind in dizzying succession: Mitch’s angry face at the bar; Denise’s eyes filled with tears; the flames at the warehouse, licking at his arms and legs; his father turning in the sunlight as his mother snapped his picture . . .
Melissa watched a host of emotions play across Taylor’s face before pulling him close. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
“You’ve been like a brother to me, and I love the fact that you would be here for my boys. And if you love me, too, you’ll understand that I didn’t say any of these things to hurt you. I know you want to save me, but I don’t need it. What I need is for you to find a way to save yourself, just like you