Taylor woke up on Saturday morning feeling better
than he had in a while. He was proud of himself for having gotten past the previous evening’s horrific craving.
He got out of bed and padded to the kitchen, where Zac sat eating a bowl of cereal and reading a magazine. Taylor took a chair opposite his brother.
“How did your date go?” Taylor asked.
Zac smiled. “Good, I think,” he said. “We didn’t really talk much about anything heavy. We just had fun. It was kind of nice.”
Taylor nodded. “I know how that is,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the day when I can have a good time again and not think about anything depressing.”
“How was last night for you?” Zac asked.
Taylor bit his lip and gave Zac a long look. “You want the truth?”
Zac had been raising a spoonful of rice krispies to his mouth. He gently lowered the spoon back to the bowl. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Taylor sighed. “It almost wasn’t,” he admitted.
“Okay,” Zac said slowly. “What happened?”
“Well, I was okay until about 10 o’clock,” Taylor said. “Then I got the worst craving I’ve had so far.”
Zac’s brown eyes widened. “Why the hell didn’t you call me?”
“Because you’ve been doing everything for me for weeks now,” Taylor said. “You’ve been practically carrying me through every single day since you’ve been here. I wanted to give you a chance to get away from me.”
“Taylor, I came home to take care of you,” Zac reminded his brother.
“I know,” Taylor said. “And I appreciate that, Zac. More than you know.”
“So what did you end up doing?” Zac asked.
“Well, I tried my sponsor, but he wasn’t home,” Taylor said. “And I really didn’t want to freak out Mom or Dad or the girls.”
Zac looked at Taylor impatiently. “And?”
“I ended up calling Rory.”
Zac cocked his head. “The girl at work? The wench?”
Taylor smiled slowly. “Yeah,” he said with a slight chuckle. “The wench.”
“Why in the world would you call her for something like that?” Zac asked.
“Because she’s like the only one outside of the family who knows about this,” Taylor said. “I didn’t have to explain anything to her.”
Zac looked thoughtful. “So, did she help you through?”
Taylor grinned. “Yeah,” he said. “Surprisingly enough, she was really cool to me.”
The phone rang. “Finish eating,” Taylor said, taking a look at Zac’s bowl of soggy cereal. “I’ll get it.”
Taylor hurried to the living room and picked up the telephone. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Taylor.”
“Rory! Hi. What’s up?”
Rory twirled a strand of strawberry blonde hair around her finger. “I was a little worried after last night,” she confessed. “I just thought I’d give you a call and see how you were this morning.”
Taylor smiled. “I’m doing okay,” he said. “I think I’m going to go to a meeting after a bit here, though.”
“That’s probably good,” Rory said. She paused. “What are your plans for after your meeting?”
Taylor started. “Um, I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ll probably hang out with Zac or over at my parents’ place. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Rory said. “I thought maybe you could use a little something to clear you head. You know, get your mind off things a little. I was going to go out to my parents’ place and do some riding. I can’t say for sure if it would make your troubles any better, but I know it always cures what ails me. I was just wondering if you’d like to go riding with me this afternoon.”
An image of Molly flashed through Taylor’s mind. “Did you see the way she was looking at you at lunch?” she had said.
Taylor pushed away the thought. Why was he so suspicious of people? Rory couldn’t possibly think of him as anything more than a co-worker, Taylor reasoned. She had made it abundantly clear that she didn’t care for him the day he had walked into Ferndale Woods. She knew that Taylor had had a hard time the night before, and she was just being nice. Nothing more, nothing less.
“What time are you going?” Taylor asked.
“I don’t know,” Rory said. “I usually leave about 1 o’clock or so. I get out there at 1:30, ride for a few hours and then go back up to have Saturday dinner with my parents and my brothers.” Rory paused. “I could pick you up if you wanted.”
Taylor grinned. Why not? He thought. “Sure,” he said. “That would be great.”
Taylor gave Rory his address, then went back to the kitchen.
Zac gave his brother a sideways look. “What was that all about?”
Taylor smiled slowly. “I’m going horseback riding this afternoon.”
Zac cracked up. “Get the hell out of here.”
Taylor shook his head. “I’m serious.”
“With who?”
“Rory.”
Zac looked confused. “What is this?” he asked. “At the beginning of the week, this girl was the bane of your existence. Now you’re calling her during crises and going on dates.”
“Whoa,” Taylor said. “This isn’t a date.”
Zac gave Taylor a long look. “Then what is it?”
“It’s me … developing a new hobby,” Taylor decided on the spur of the moment.
Zac chuckled. “You’ve never ridden a horse, Tay.”
Taylor looked determined. “I’ll learn.”
Zac shook his head. “Just when you’re almost saved from the drugs, you find another way to kill yourself.”
Taylor flicked his brother in the head. “You’re hilarious,” he said. “Forget music, you ought to take your comedy act on the road.”
