Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“I’m so sorry,” Taylor says, addressing Natalie. “What’s your mom going to say?”
“It’s okay.” I pull a wad of cash from my pocket and peel off some bills. “We’ll clean up the dirt and the rocks. You can get the door repaired and painted with this.” I pass Natalie the money and she eyes me curiously.
“And who are you?” she asks.
I know she’s not asking for my name again, but the reason I’m paying for Taylor’s repairs. I tip my hat and hold out my hand, and Natalie shakes it. Molly’s watching too with equally curious eyes.
“That’s a question for another day,” Taylor says. “Molly, do you have any of your things?”
Molly nods and disappears into the house, returning with a small blue backpack. That sorry man outside provided so little for his family. What kind of man could be this way to his own flesh and blood? I don’t know why I even bother to think that way because I know. Too many men. Too many men think their flesh and blood are there as punching bags or property.
“Take Molly and wait in the truck,” I tell Taylor.
She nods and leads her sister up the path to the sidewalk, turning to offer Natalie a small and apologetic wave. I know she must feel terrible for what her friend has gone through because of her father. No matter how much people tell us it’s not our fault, kids still feel a sense of responsibility towards their parents.
I turn to Taylor’s friend. “Thank you for taking care of Molly, and I’m so sorry you had to deal with this.” I wave in Taylor’s father’s direction. He’s groaning and writhing on the floor now with Jesse’s huge boot resting on his chest.
I pick up two of the rocks and set them back into the garden, filling dents in the dirt. Her mom has made a pretty display that I want to try to put it back as it was. It takes three more journeys back and forth until the step is free of rocks. “Do you have a brush?”
Natalie disappears inside, returning with a brush and a small pan. I sweep up the dirt as best as I can and drop it around the flowers. It doesn’t look too bad now. A professional will need to fix just a few dents in the door.
“You’re a good friend,” I tell her as I get ready to check on Taylor and Molly.
“She didn’t deserve a father like that,” Natalie says. “At least mine just fucked off and left us. But that man—” She shakes her head. “He doesn’t care about them. He’ll really hurt them if he gets the chance.”
“He’s going to get what’s coming to him.”
She nods, her hand rubbing her upper arm over her lilac sweater. “Are you going to look after them now?” Her dark brown eyes assess me, searching my expression.
“We all will,” I say. “For as long as they want us to.”
“That’s good,” she says. “Taylor deserves the world for all that she’s been through. You make sure you give her that and nothing less.”
I don’t know what to say in the face of such fierce friendship. I could tell her that I wish I could give Taylor the world, but most of the time, I don’t trust myself at all. I could tell her that with Taylor, I’m starting to hope for things I never dared to before. She brings out the best in me: protective instincts, kindness, a desire to do everything in my power to keep her safe and make her happy. But now’s not the time and place to confess things I’m not ready to admit to myself, so I smile and take two steps back before I turn and walk away.
It takes fifteen minutes for the cops to arrive. Jesse outlines Taylor’s dad’s crimes, excluding the bride auction. The threatening behavior, damage to property, and sexual abuse will be enough to get him put away. Taylor will give a statement because she wants to keep her sister safe. This is the only way to ensure her father won’t try to come for them both.
On the drive home, Taylor sits in the middle, and Molly rests her head on her sister’s lap and falls asleep. “She must be exhausted,” she whispers, stroking her hair back from Molly’s face with tender care. I rest my arm protectively around Taylor’s shoulders, wanting her to feel my strength and know she doesn’t have anything to fear now.
For the first time in my life, I trust that I’ll do the right thing by a woman, enough to make a life with her. All the years, I worried I would be like my father, that the pressure of love and family life would push me over the edge now seem so stupid.