The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks [39]
“Sorry about almost knocking him over back there,” he said, “I didn’t see him when I came in.” He stopped, as if not knowing what else to say, and Denise sensed a shyness she hadn’t expected.
“I saw what happened. It wasn’t your fault. He kind of snuck up on you.” She smiled. “I’m Denise Holton, by the way. I know we met before, but a lot of that night’s fairly foggy.”
She held out her hand and Taylor took it. She could feel the calluses on his palm.
“Taylor McAden,” he said. “I got your note. Thanks.”
“Fowman,” Kyle said again, this time louder than before. He wrung his hands together, twisting and turning them almost compulsively. It was something he always did when excited.
“Big fowman.” He put the emphasis on big.
Taylor furrowed his brow and reached out, grabbing Kyle on the helmet in a friendly, almost brotherly way. Kyle’s head moved in unison with his hand. “You think so, huh?”
Kyle nodded. “Big.”
Denise laughed. “I think it’s a case of hero worship.”
“Well, the feeling’s mutual, little man. It was more you than me.”
Kyle’s eyes were wide. “Big.”
If Taylor noticed that Kyle didn’t understand what he’d just said, he didn’t show it. Instead Taylor winked at him. Nice.
Denise cleared her throat. “I haven’t had the chance to thank you in person for what you did that night.”
Taylor shrugged. With some people it would have come across as arrogant, as if they knew they’d done something wonderful. With Taylor, though, it came across differently, as if he hadn’t given it a second thought since that night.
“Ah, that’s all right,” he said. “Your note was plenty.”
For a moment neither of them spoke. Kyle, meanwhile—as if already bored by the conversation—wandered toward the candy aisle. Both of them watched as he stopped halfway down, focusing intently on the brightly covered wrappers.
“He looks good,” Taylor finally said into the silence. “Kyle, I mean. After all that happened, I was sort of wondering how he was doing.”
Denise’s eyes followed his. “He seems to be okay. Time will tell, I guess, but right now I’m not too worried about him. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health.”
“How ’bout you?” he asked.
She answered automatically, without really thinking. “The same as always.”
“No . . . I mean with your injuries. You were pretty banged up when I last saw you.”
“Oh . . . well, I guess I’m doing okay, too,” she said.
“Just okay?”
Her expression softened. “Better than okay. Still a little sore here and there, but otherwise I’m fine. It could have been worse.”
“Good, I’m glad. I was worried about you, too.”
There was something in the quiet way he spoke that made Denise take a closer look at him. Though he wasn’t the most handsome man she’d ever seen, there was something about him that caught her attention—a gentleness, perhaps, despite his size; an acute but unthreatening perceptiveness in his steady gaze. Though she knew it was impossible, it was almost as if he knew how difficult her life had been during the past few years. Glancing at his left hand, she noticed he wasn’t wearing a ring.
At that, she quickly turned away, wondering where the thought had come from and what had brought it on. Why would that matter? Kyle was still immersed in the candy aisle and was about to open a bag of Skittles when Denise saw what he was doing.
“Kyle—no!” She took a quick step toward him, then turned back to Taylor. “Excuse me. He’s getting into something he shouldn’t.”
He took a small step backward. “No problem.”
As she moved away, Taylor couldn’t help but watch her. The lovely, almost mysterious face accented by high cheekbones and exotic eyes, long dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail that reached past her shoulder blades, a shapely figure accented by the shorts and blouse she was wearing—
“Kyle, put that down. Your candy’s already in the bag.”
Before she caught him staring at her, Taylor shook his head and turned away, wondering again how he could have overlooked her beauty that night. A moment later Denise was back in front of him, Kyle now standing beside her. Kyle’s expression