Holding Out For A Hero (The Five Sisters Series) (5 page)

Mike got out his bag, and she sat down in the chair to let him review the situation.  Her hair had grown back a little in 7 days, but he told her he didn't have to shave it again.  He got out his scissors and tweezers, and proceeded to cut the first stitch and pull it out.  Taylor's hand immediately went to the spot, and she yelled, "Ouch!" 

Mike laughed and said, "I told you it might hurt."  Taylor squinted her eyes and put her hands under her bottom to keep from grabbing Mike's hands and scissors to stop it.  Mike was a little gentler when he pulled out the next few stitches, then he told her they were gone, and he leaned over and kissed her head where the stitches had been.  She was surprised, but he said, "I remember how scared I was for you , and this just reminded me of how precious life is.  I’m sorry, I just wanted to comfort you in some way.  I know I have not been the best company lately, but I am working on it." 

Taylor turned and gave him a hug and told him, "It’s ok, I understand."

That day and the next were the first days that really seemed to drag on for Taylor.  She felt completely alone as Mike dealt with his grief, and unsure how to proceed.  She tried to talk to him during meals, but his responses were short.  Not rude, but short and clear that he didn't want to talk.  She read more books and felt like she was by herself most of the time.

By the time she was there for 10 days, she decided that she could go running as well as him.  So on the 10th day, when he got up to go running, she got up as well and left right after him, running slowly but surely.  Mike was listening to his iPod and didn't even know she was there behind him.  He kept running for about 15 minutes and Taylor had not been able to stay up with him but she could see him in the distance.  He ran to the top of a ridge then slowed to a walk and ventured out to the area where he could stand and see the vast wilderness of Montana. 

Taylor came up behind him, and walked to the side of him, about 10 feet away, to keep from startling him.  She fully expected him to be happy to see her, but his reaction was far from that.  He turned when he saw her out of the corner of his eye, and his face showed frustration with her.  He immediately pulled his ear buds out and started berating her for being there when she was not fully healed.

"What are you doing out here?"  He started asking her. 

"I ran behind you, I was able to keep a good pace and keep up with you and I feel just fine." Taylor told him with her chin lifted up in a show of defiance.

Mike sighed.  "I don't think that a couple of days after the accident that you had, you could be ‘just fine’,"  He continued, "I just took the stitches out of your head, and your bruises are just now healing."

Taylor looked at him and said, "I have been going for walks every morning since day 5 and improving my stamina.  I feel like I was healthy and active before the accident so I should continue.  And, I am so tired of being alone in that house."

Mike looked at her and his eyes acknowledged the point of her comments.  He had been in a funk for several days now, and he could not seem to get out of it.  Maybe he needed to be with Taylor and let her get under his skin.  That would hurt again later, he thought, but why not go ahead and see what happens?

"Ok.  You have me there; I have not been a good host for a few days.  And, if you have been walking and today you kept up with me without much of a problem, who am I to tell you what to do. " Mike told her.

Taylor walked over to him and stroked his arms.  He put his arm around her shoulders and turned to look out over the mountainous terrain that they were living in.  They sat down, and Mike told her about the mountains and valleys in the area.  He described the different trees and types of plants that were around them.  Taylor smiled and listened, glad that he had decided to calm down and let her be with him.  She hoped this was a turning point for him to join the regular world again. 

After about an hour, they decided to return to the house, but Mike insisted that they walk on the rugged trail to get down the bit of a hill to prevent injury.  Taylor knew he was still worried about her but she didn't feel any issues with the climb or the run.  Either way, she gave in and walked down.  On the road, they jogged back to the house.

Upon returning to the house, they went their separate ways to shower.  Taylor took her shower and spent some time braiding her hair to keep it away from her face.  She was planning on working in the garden today, and it needed to be out of the way.  As Taylor emerged from her bathroom and walked to the kitchen, Mike was standing in there making them breakfast.  Taylor was surprised at his demeanor.  He seemed to have done a 180 degree turn around.  He was smiling and whistling a song and cooking them some pancakes. 

"I guess I will have to go to the store pretty soon, with two of us being here and a dog, we have eaten my month's supply almost up."  Mike told her between pancakes. 

"Can I go along? I would like to see the site of the accident if you don't mind," Taylor asked him.

"Sure, company is always nice.  We can go later today after we make a grocery list."  Mike said.

Taylor wondered if she would see anything at the accident site, as her burned out car had long ago been hauled away and she could not remember it anyway.  Her only memory so far had been an angry one, so she was hoping something would trigger her memories, yet not quite sure what it was going to be.

So, after breakfast, they set about making a list of things that they would need for groceries.  Taylor had no idea if she liked or didn't like things, so she just went with what they had been eating so far. 

Taylor watched Mike being domestic and she felt like hugging him.  She had stopped thinking constantly about what life would be like when she got her memory back and how she would return to her family.  Here was a man that had saved her life and let her stay with him for an unknown amount of time and was going through his own trauma, yet she could only think about how much she wanted to rub his bare chest and kiss his lips.  He had a long and lean body that was very muscular in a runner's type of way and she could only think of doing things with him from the Kama Sutra book she had been reading.  She rubbed her hands on her shorts and looked at the floor to stop the deluge of thoughts her imagination had started to run away with.

They got in the truck to go to town.  Mike told her it was a 30 minute drive to the store, and that they would stop at the "scene of the crime" on the way to the store.  She was not sure how she felt about seeing the spot, but she felt like it might bring her closer to memories.  She had already had one break through; maybe another one would be triggered.

They stopped after about 10 minutes, and Mike pulled the truck over to the side. "Here it is"  he told Taylor.  Taylor opened her car door and walked across the road to look at the tire marks on the road and the places in the grass where you could tell her car had burned.  She stood there for a long time and tried to remember what had happened. 

"Don't try so hard to remember, it will come back soon.  You are doing great with everything else, don't push it."  Mike told her.  He put his arm around her shoulders and stood next to her. 

Taylor started to weep at the great amount of loss that she felt.  Her fingerprints were nowhere, her information was lost, and she was probably never going to find out what happened or who she was.  Mike pulled her to his chest and gave her a hug and kissed her head.  Taylor cried for 10 minutes without Mike saying a word. 

Once she stopped, Mike gently asked her if she was ready to go to the store.  "Sure, nothing is coming to me, so let's go so we can get back."  Taylor told him.

She sighed and walked across the road to the truck and climbed back in.

"It will come," Mike said quietly. 

They made it to the store, and thankfully, it was not busy.  The store was empty except for about 5 people, and no one even really looked at Taylor and Mike.  They got their groceries, and as they strolled down the aisle, Taylor found a few other things she was interested in trying.  Mike indulged her, thinking of how hard it was to be closed up in the house and with only him for entertainment.  They laughed and chatted their way through the store to find what they needed. 

When they got to the register, the woman asked Mike who his "girlfriend" was.  Mike responded with a terse "she's not my girlfriend" and the friendly, comfortable atmosphere they had felt was suddenly deflated.  They gathered their bags, and packed the items in the truck and headed home quietly.  The 30 minute drive contained only music, and Taylor hummed along.  She wondered why Mike was so offended that she would be considered his girlfriend.

When they got back, Taylor started putting away the food and Mike went outside to take care of the garden area.  Taylor made dinner and used the fresh vegetables that Mike brought in with the fresh meat they had bought at the store. 

At the dinner table, after they had started eating, Taylor asked Mike about his issue.

"Why are you so offended that I would be considered your girlfriend?"  Taylor asked.

Mike spit out his squash and laughed.  "You’re just not my girlfriend; you’re too young for a man like me.  People would say that I’m robbing the cradle."

Taylor looked at him and asked, “Do you have any sort of feelings like you would want to have a relationship?" 

"Taylor, slow down.  You have been here less than two weeks, and you have no idea when you will get your memory back.  At that point, you could have friends and a family who wants you back.  I have grown to like having you around quite a bit, but I don't want to get into a relationship that may change dramatically in two minutes."  Mike told her.  "I am sorry if it offends you that I don't want to be in a relationship, but you should put yourself first and work on your healing."

Taylor had to admit that it made sense to not get involved, but it was a little offensive to be treated like she was too young or not good enough for a relationship with him. 

That night, she had a hard time getting to sleep and kept tossing and turning.  Her thoughts were on that side of the road where she lost everything she had and her life started over again.  She felt like she wanted to start now, and with what was here now, but she also understood that she may never recover and how would she deal with that.  She had not even given that a lot of thought.

Driving down the road in the middle of the day, she could hear the music on the radio blaring and her singing.  She could see her Lexus LS460 driving down the road at breakneck speed, like she was running away from something.  She felt the anger and the intensity she was driving with.  She felt like she was there, and speeding down the Montana road with her dog.  She didn't seem to care what the speed limit was, and she was going about 100 MPH. 

Taylor saw herself reach over and pick up the phone to read a text message.  She swerved the car a little but corrected and got it back to straight.  She could see the text was from a person named Bryan, but couldn't remember what it said.  Then she leaned back into the heated leather seats and put her foot down farther to get where she was going faster.  Taylor saw another text come through, and she reached for the phone and looked but the car responded to the slightest turn of the wheel and started to swerve.  She over-corrected this time, and felt the car grab some gravel and the back tires start to slide.  She skidded across the road and turned the wheel back the other direction as she slammed on the brakes.  Her car turned back but the wheels felt like they locked and she could no longer turn or stop the car from going into the ditch on the other side.  There was a telephone pole ahead, and she was headed straight for it.  No matter how hard she pressed on the brakes, the car would not turn or divert from her inevitable fate.