Chapter 17
Taylor awoke the next morning, Oz's story still on her mind. Mostly, the female lead. She was a strong woman. Of course, she had trials to overcome from surprising situations. But she never wavered. She pushed on, tackling the opposition head on. Just like Nealy did the day they ran into each other in the ladies’ restroom. Drifter had barged in demanding Taylor to come out instantly. This man was intimidating, even to Taylor who was living with him. Yet, Nealy walked right up to him and blasted him for walking into the ladies’ room where she was with her daughter. Then proceeded to threaten him when he yelled at her. That was the strong confidence Taylor yearned to possess.
Her thoughts then reverted to her past with Nealy. It wasn't the best, although Nealy was never unkind to her. She could see that now. And she in no way wanted her friendship with Oz to affect him badly. She needed to make amends. For her and for Oz. And if she thought about it, there were others who she should ask for pardon. But today? Oz had said, one step at a time. One day at a time. This was an important step and today was a new day. Yeah. Today was the day.
***
Taylor’s heart pounded as she rapped on Ruby's door. She had spent the day here months ago. Would Ruby think her too forward in asking for help? Maybe not. Hopefully not. Asking for help was tough enough as it is. Not to mention the conversation she planned to have with her former coworker.
“Hi Taylor,” Ruby greeted, pulling open the door. "Come in."
Taylor stepped inside. "Hi. I won't keep you long.”
"I'm here alone. No need to rush off.”
Taylor paused, wringing her hands. "I actually have a favor to ask."
"I'm happy to help however I can."
"I need to talk to Nealy.”
"That's no problem."
"I don't know how to get in touch will her. Plus, I'm not sure she would want to see me,” Taylor confessed.
"She would love to see you,” Ruby said, grabbing her phone from the nearby counter.
Taylor stood patiently waiting as Ruby made her phone call.
"Hey Nee. What are you up to? . . . Feel like having company? Taylor's here with me. . . Alright. We'll see you soon."
Ruby slid her phone back onto the counter. "All set.”
***
Lush greenery surrounded Taylor as she walked with Ruby toward the door of a large log-sided home. Quiet. Secluded.
Ruby pushed the doorbell and stepped back. Taylor knew she was talking but couldn’t hear a word for the roar in her head. Was this a mistake? Was she making things worse? The door swung open. Too late to change her mind now.
“Come in. Overlook the mess.” Nealy laughed. “That includes me."
"You're never a mess,” Ruby said.
"Your blindness to it is sweet,” Nealy told Ruby, dropping onto the end of the large leather sofa.
Taylor found herself standing in the center of a large family room. Toys were scattered across the floor. A basket of laundry sat next to the coffee table where someone had begun folding the contents. And Nealy. Taylor didn't believe she looked a mess. She had never seen her so casually dressed in shorts and an oversized tee with whisps of hair escaping a messy bun. But a mess? Not even close.
"Where's the kids?" Ruby asked.
"Can you believe they’re all napping at the same time?”
"How’re you feeling?"
Nealy laughed. "I look that bad? I told you I was a mess. I'm tired. Exhausted, really.”
"And here we are interrupting your rest,” Taylor commented.
"I'm glad y'all are here."
"I'm staying here tonight,” Ruby announced.
"You don't have to do that.”
"I know I don't. But I am. The men are gone having fun. No need for us to sit home alone.”
"Brick was so excited for this trip. You should’ve seen him. He looked like a proud papa with Nathen rolling out with him.”
"He should be," Ruby said. “He’s been a great role model for that boy.”
Nealy looked toward Taylor. "Nathen is his nephew. He's been spending the summers with us.”
“Look,” Ruby cut in. “I'll leave you two to catch up and I'm going to run home and grab a few things. I won't be long,” Ruby announced heading toward the door.
The click of the door echoed through the silence. Taylor instantly felt like she was in a sauna. Say something. Anything. "I can come back another time," she offered.
"Please stay," Nealy said. "How have you been? I hear you're staying with Oz.”
"I am. Or I have been. I'm looking for a place of my own now."
"I can't imagine Oz being hard to live with. He's so sweet. Quiet too.”
Taylor smiled. "He's been great. He was just helping me get back on my feet.” She paused a moment, then jumped right in. "I asked Ruby to bring me here. I owe you an apology.”
"I don’t know what for. If anyone does, I feel as if I owe you one.”
What? This was unexpected. And crazy. Nealy was always nice to her. “How could you possibly think that?”
“I have never forgotten the sadness I saw in your eyes when we ran into each other at the convenience store that day. I know it’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten. I wanted to do something to help. To reach out to you, but Jethro said no.”
He controls her? And she seems happy? “You’re happy being told what to do?” Taylor knew she most likely sounded judgmental. Not that she meant it that way. Her shock just forced out the words without thought.
Nealy’s laugh was light but not condemning. “Of course.”
Maybe clubs were all the same. Taylor wanted to ask more but words failed her.
“You look confused,” Nealy noticed. “Haven’t you had someone you trusted help guide you toward the right decision?”
No. No, she hadn’t. Tell, demand, manipulate. Yes. But not for a good ending. “I guess I’m surprised. I never imagined you were told how to live or what to do. I mean . . .”
“Go ahead. What are you thinking? Don’t be afraid to ask,” Nealy told her.
“You look so happy. How does the fear of punishment for not obeying sneak into that?”
Nealy straightened. “I think we’re on two different things here. Jethro doesn’t demand me to obey him. He tells me what I should do at times because he knows better than I do about certain things. And I don’t question those things because I trust him. And he does it because he loves me and wants what’s best for me. I’m fully free to make my own decisions. I think you’re confusing respect and trust for abuse. There’s none of that here.”
Taylor hoped her smile looked sincere. She was happy for her friend. If she could call her a friend. But she had just given her a lot to think about.
“So, what do you believe you should apologize for?” Nealy asked.
"When we worked together, I wasn't the most pleasant person.”
Nealy flipped her hand through the air. "That’s water under the bridge.”
"Not for me. I've come to learn a lot over the past year. A lot about myself.”
"All a part of growing," Nealy told her.
"True. And I've grown more in the past six months than I did in the first twenty years of my life. I grew up, not wealthy, but well-off. I succeeded at everything I did. Failure wasn't an option in the Arison household. Something I came to realize later was a result of my father being in the public eye. And no cost was too high for that success.”
Taylor paused and returned Nealy's smile. "I'm sorry for my actions at the time. I'm no better than anyone else. And I should have never behaved as such. Moreover, I should have never believed it."
"Sounds like we had a similar upbringing. Apology accepted. Think no more of it.” Nealy grinned. “I must admit the bickering between you and Edna were entertaining at times.”
Taylor somehow felt lighter and laughed. “You two did seem tight."
"Still are. You'll be seeing her at club functions occasionally.”
"Oh, I'm not part of that."
"Nonsense. The club is Oz’s family. How can you not be part of that?”
"He just helped me because I had nowhere else to go."
"Oz is sweet but he's not going out of his way to help people. He's happy by himself and never brings anyone home. Never. I hear you can count the number of people, other than the club, who have been in his home on one hand. Including you.”
Taylor was speechless. She was no more special than anyone else. Why would he make an exception for her? Did he feel sorry for her that much?
“Knock. Knock!”
Taylor jerked toward the voice booming from the foyer. Edna.
“Hey Edna,” Nealy greeted. “Speak of the devil.”
“I knew you was thinking about me. So, here I am.” Edna jerked to a halt. “You really did mean the devil.” She pinned Taylor with an unwelcoming glare. “What is she doing here?”
“Taylor came by for a friendly visit.” Nealy patted the cushion next to her. “Come sit down.”
“Uh huh.” Edna eased toward the kitchen. “I brought food for you and sweets for the kids.”
“You don’t have to bring food every time you dart the door.”
“I love cooking for those babies.” She appeared again. “Now why is she here?”
Say something. Something nice like, I’m sorry for being a pain in your behind. Taylor opened her mouth, but nothing would come. She stood. “I have things I should be doing. Thank you for letting me drop by.”
“What happened to you?” Edna blurted.
“Edna!” Nealy scolded.
Edna threw her fists to her hips. “Oh, no. You’re not hushing me,” she snapped at Nealy, then twisted back toward Taylor. “Girl, you look like skin and bones. What happened?”
Taylor stared at Edna. Thanks for the reminder of how bad she looked now. Most likely as bad as she felt.
“Sit down. I’ll get you something to eat,” Edna ordered, and disappeared into the kitchen.
A moment later she returned with a container in hand, tugging open the lid. “And don’t think I’m being nice. This doesn’t change the dynamics of our relationship. But I can’t dog on you looking so frail. We gotta get some meat back on those bones so you can give me hell too.”
Taylor smiled. Maybe things weren’t as strained between them as she thought.
***
Taylor returned home to a dark and lonely house once again. Eager to finish the book on Oz's laptop, she hurried to get comfortable and settle down to read. As before, she was instantly sucked into the story with no concept of passing time until she read “The End.”
She closed the laptop and fell to her side, hugging the device to her chest as she lay there. An amazing story. From an amazing man. And he trusted her enough to allow her to read it before being published. Come to think of it, he had trusted her unconditionally from the beginning. Like now. He had given her his credit card and left her alone for days in his home. His own private space that she had learned he allowed no one to invade.
Taylor rolled from the couch and stood. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed the credit card and her phone, dialing Oz as she walked toward his room. She placed the credit card and the laptop on top of the bureau next to the door in his room as she waited for him to answer.
“Hey there.”
“Am I interrupting?" she asked.
"Doesn't matter if you do, you call any time you want."
Taylor could hear lively music and voices in the background. Images of what he could be doing flashed through her mind. "Sounds like you're having a good time."
Oz laughed. "Depends on who you ask. How was your day?"
"I finished the book."
"You read the entire book I left for you?"
"I did.”
"Well, was it to your liking?"
"It's amazing! Oh my gosh! How the rogue seduced his woman was wicked. Panty-melting, amazingly wicked.”
Oz laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Did I really just blurt that out? Taylor shook as if to shake off the flames of embarrassment. “But when the heroine stood up to that big bully of a man. . . I loved it. It inspired me.”
"Glad to know."
"I um. . .” Taylor pushed out a breath. "I went to see Nealy today.”
"So I heard."
"Really? Already?"
"I heard things went well."
"It did. But I was nervous as hell."
"How do you feel now?"
"So much better. I'm glad I did it."
"That's what matters.”
"I looked at a few apartments."
“Really?"
Taylor noted the surprise in his voice. "Nothing definite yet. Just looking. I've kept you long enough. Have fun and be safe."
"I'll see you in a couple of days,” he promised.
Taylor ended the call. The sound of his voice lingered in her mind, igniting an unusual warm feeling. She placed her phone down and picked up the envelope he had given her when he left. She opened the flap, pulling out the bills. Not that she didn't trust him. No. She found herself trusting him like no one she ever had. This was a very generous gesture. Paper. She placed the small stack on the envelope and flipped open the note.
Her heart swelled as she stared at his handwriting.
I’m very proud of you!
Love, Oz
She stuffed the money back into the envelope and stuck it in a drawer while keeping her gaze on the note. Her hand seemed to move on its own free will as her fingertip trailed over the words. Over his thoughts. His feelings. Proud of you. She smiled. Love, Oz.
Eventually, she placed the piece of paper on the nightstand, spreading it flat with her hand. A quick sidestep to flip off the light switch and another touch to Oz's name, and she climbed into bed.