The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks [92]
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mitch watched as Taylor’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “No? Then go ahead and tell me where I’m mistaken.”
Reluctantly Taylor considered what Mitch had said.
“They were different from Denise,” he said slowly. “I was different. I’ve changed since then.”
Mitch held up his hands to stop him from continuing. “It’s not me you have to convince, Taylor. Like they say, don’t shoot the messenger—I’m only telling you because I don’t want to see you kicking yourself later.”
Taylor shook his head. For a few minutes they worked in silence. Finally: “You’re a pain in the ass, do you know that?”
Mitch brushed at a couple of nails. “Yeah, I know. Melissa tells me that, too, so don’t take it personally. It’s just the way I am.”
“So did you two finish the roof?”
Taylor nodded. He was holding a beer in his lap, nursing it slowly, a couple of hours before Denise began her shift. They were sitting on the front steps as Kyle played with his trucks in the yard. Despite his best efforts to the contrary, his thoughts kept returning to the things Mitch had said. There was some truth in his friend’s words, he knew, but he couldn’t help wishing he hadn’t brought the matter up. It nagged at him like a bad memory.
“Yeah,” he said, “it’s done.”
“Was it harder than you thought it would be?” Denise asked.
“No, not really. Why?”
“You just seem distracted.”
“I’m sorry. Just a little tired, I guess.”
Denise scrutinized him. “Are you sure that’s all?”
Taylor brought the beer to his lips and took a drink. “I guess so.”
“You guess?”
He set the can on the steps. “Well, Mitch said some things to me today . . .”
“Like what?”
“Just stuff,” Taylor said, not wanting to elaborate. Denise read the concern in his eyes.
“Like what?”
Taylor drew a deep breath, wondering whether or not to answer but deciding to anyway. “He told me that if I’m serious about you, I shouldn’t mess things up this time.”
Denise felt her breath catch in her throat at the bluntness of his comment. Why would Mitch need to warn him this way?
“What did you say?”
Taylor shook his head. “I told him he didn’t know what he was talking about.”
“Well . . .” She hesitated. “Does he?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then why is it bothering you?”
“Because,” he said, “it just pisses me off that he’d think I might. He doesn’t know anything about you, or us. And he doesn’t know how I feel, that’s for damn sure.”
She squinted up at him, caught in the dying rays of the sun. “How do you feel?”
He reached for her hand.
“Don’t you know?” he said. “Haven’t I made it obvious yet?”
Chapter 21
Summer rose in full fury in mid-July, the temperature creeping past the century mark, then finally it began to cool. Toward the end of the month Hurricane Belle threatened the coast of North Carolina near Cape Hatteras before turning out to sea; in early August Hurricane Delilah did the same. Mid-August brought drought conditions; by late August crops were withering in the heat.
September opened with an unseasonal cold front, something that hadn’t happened in twenty years. Jeans were pulled from the bottoms of drawers, light jackets were donned in the early evening hours. A week later another heat wave arrived and the jeans were put away, hopefully for the next couple of months.
Throughout the summer, however, the relationship between Taylor and Denise remained constant. Settled into a routine, they spent most afternoons together—to escape the heat, Taylor’s crew started early in the morning and would finish by two o’clock—and Taylor continued to shuttle Denise to and from her job at the diner, whenever he could. Occasionally they ate dinner at Judy’s house; sometimes Judy came by to baby-sit Kyle again, so they could have some time alone.
During those three months, Denise came to enjoy Edenton more and more. Taylor, of course, kept her busy as her guide, exploring the sights around town, going out in the boat, and heading to the beach. In time Denise came to see Edenton for what it was, a place