Page 35 of Dreams
Taylor was surprised to find herself smiling, not a single tear in her eyes. “That’s Danny.” It hurt her to think her sister was too young to remember the face of the boy who had been such a part of their family, but she’d tell her about him, often and in detail. She wanted Evie to know him, to love him.
When she’s older,Taylor thought.I’ll explain everything.
She flipped through the rest of the book. It was almost full even though she’d only gotten it weeks before his death. She went through sketchbooks like kids went through candy.
Leaning forward, she threw her phone on the table to keep from losing it in the cushions of the couch and then grabbed one of the charcoal pencils she’d put there. This one she’d have to do from memory. Closing her eyes, she developed the picture in her mind.
Evie leaned in, watching her as she started to draw. Suddenly, she didn’t know why she’d quit. This feeling, of control, of creation, was what she’d needed.
Evie jumped off the couch when the front door slammed and ran to their dad. He scooped her up and walked into the room.
“This is a nice surprise,” he said.
Taylor barely glanced up as she concentrated.
“Doug,” her mother said, coming in from the kitchen and pointing to the book that was perched on their daughter’s knees and the small smile gracing her lips.
He was silent as he made his way towards her and sat down, not wanting to interrupt. Taylor finally glanced up to find her father’s eyes shining. He moved closer and pulled her against his side and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“We’ve missed that smile, sweetheart,” he whispered.
She treated him to a wider one as she looked up and then glanced pointedly back at the drawing she was working on.
“Right,” he chuckled. “I remember. Don’t interrupt the artist when she’s hard at work.”
She nodded, and he stood. Before he walked too far, her phone chimed from its spot on the coffee table.
“I’ll grab that for you,” her dad said, reaching forward. His hand stilled as he looked at the screen. Instead of handing it to her waiting hand, he answered it and held it to his ear.
“Walker,” he barked. Taylor snapped her eyes up to look at him. “This is my daughter’s phone.”
He listened for a moment.
“Don’t try to back down now,” he snapped. “I want to know what’s going on.”
Another beat of silence, and Taylor held her breath.
“I’ll deal with you tomorrow at practice.”
He hung up the phone and set it back on the table, not meeting her eyes.
“Let me just ask you this,” he finally said. “Does Josh have something to do with the smiling and the drawing?”
“Yeah, Dad. We’re friends. He’s…” A tear slid down her cheek and landed on the crumbling castle stage she was drawing. “Please, don’t scare him away.”
He sighed and pulled her into another hug. “Walker’s a good kid. I won’t keep him from being friends with you. Not if he keeps making you smile. It’s been too long since we’ve seen that, and I’ve missed it.”
* * *
Sitting in his locker stall before practice, Josh needed something to take his mind off Coach Scott’s imminent arrival. It was all he could think about ever since the phone call. Taylor hadn’t called him back, but he hadn’t expected her to. She, too, had to face her father.
A part of him wondered why Coach would be upset. He seemed to like Josh well enough. There was only a few years’ age difference between him and Taylor. But then he remembered Danny, and how any father would be protective of their daughter’s heart after that.
He had to remind himself daily that they were just friends. Maybe Coach wouldn’t be so mad. They became better friends with every moment they spent together. Watching her talk about Danny had nearly broken his heart. He’d do anything for her to not have to feel that pain anymore, but pain makes you who you are. Hers made her strong. Others might not see it through the tears that came easy to her eyes, but Josh saw it in the way she walked through life. She was still going and little pieces of herself were returning. It was something special to watch.
Sighing, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and flipped through emails on his phone. His agent wanted to set up a meeting to start talking about his expectations for his new contract this summer.Too soon,he thought. He still had a lot to prove, and it was a long season.
There was an email from his dad’s assistant. A request for two tickets to a game and flight information. If he was free, he’d be expected to have dinner with his father and whoever his companion was on the night they arrived. Wanting to see what the girl’s name was this time, he scrolled down, stopping when he got to a name.
