In the late evening, moonlight spilled through the bedroom. The air was silver as Taylor lay on the bed, Denise resting her head on his chest. She had turned on the radio, and the faint strains of jazz muted the sounds of their whispers.

Denise lifted her head from his chest, marveling at the naked beauty of his form, seeing at once the man she loved and the blueprint of the young boy she never knew. With guilty pleasure, she recalled the sight of their bodies intertwined in passion, her own soft whimpers as they’d become one, and how she’d buried her face in his neck to stifle her screams. And she’d done so knowing that it was what she both needed and wanted; she’d closed her eyes, giving herself to him without reserve.

When Taylor saw her staring, he reached over and traced her cheek with his fingers, a melancholy smile playing on his lips, his eyes unreadable in the soft gray light. She moved her cheek closer to his fingers as he opened his hand.

In silence they lay together as the digital numbers on the clock radio blinked forward steadily. Later Taylor rose. He threw on his pants and walked to the kitchen to get two glasses of water. When he came back, he saw Denise’s figure intertwined with the sheet, covering part of her. As she lay on her back, Taylor took a drink of water, then set both glasses on the bedstand. When he kissed her between her breasts, she could feel the cool temperature of his tongue against her. “You’re perfect,” he whispered.

She put one arm around his neck, then ran her hand down his back, feeling all of it: the fullness of the evening, the silent weight of their passion.

“I’m not, but thank you. For everything.” He sat on the bed then, his back against the headrest. Denise moved up and he draped one arm around her, pulling her close to him.

It was in that position that the two of them finally fell asleep.

Chapter 20

When she woke the following morning, Denise was alone. The bedcovers on Taylor’s side had been pulled up, his clothes nowhere to be seen. Checking the clock, she saw that it was a little before seven. Puzzled, she got out of bed, put on a short silk bathrobe, and checked the house quickly before glancing out the window.

Taylor’s truck was gone.

Frowning, Denise returned to the bedroom to check the bedstand: no note. Not in the kitchen, either.

Kyle, who’d heard her puttering around the house, staggered sleepily out of his bedroom as she was pondering the situation, plopping down on the living room couch.

“Hewwo, Money,” he mumbled, his eyes half-closed. Just as she answered, she heard Taylor’s truck coming up the drive. A minute later Taylor was slowly opening the front door, a grocery bag in his arms, as if wary of waking a sleeping household.

“Oh, hey,” he said, whispering as soon as he saw them, “I didn’t think you two would be up yet.”

“Hewwo, Tayer,” Kyle cried, suddenly alert.

Denise pulled her robe a little tighter. “Where did you go?”

“I ran to the store.”

“At this hour?”

Taylor closed the door behind him and walked across the living room. “It opens at six.”

“Why’re you whispering?”

“I don’t know.” He laughed, and his tone returned to normal. “Sorry about leaving this morning, but my stomach was growling.”

She looked at him questioningly.

“So anyway, since I was already up, I decided that I would make you two a real breakfast. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, the works.”

Denise smiled. “You don’t like my Cheerios?”

“I love your Cheerios. But today is special.”

“Why is today so special?”

He glanced toward Kyle, who was now focused on the toys piled in the corner. Judy had organized them neatly the night before, and he was doing his best to rectify that. Certain his attention was occupied, Taylor simply raised his eyebrows.

“Do you have anything on under that robe, Miss Holton?” he murmured, obvious desire in his tone.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased.

Taylor set the bag of groceries on the end table and put his arms around her, his hands running down her back, then inching lower. She looked momentarily embarrassed, her eyes flashing toward Kyle.

“I think I just found out,” he said conspiratorially.

“Stop,” she said, meaning it, but not really wanting him to. “Kyle’s in the room.”

Taylor nodded and pulled away with a wink. Kyle hadn’t turned his attention from his toys.

“Well, today is special for the obvious reason,” he said conversationally as he picked up the bag again. “But even more, after I make your gourmet breakfast, I’d like to take you and Kyle to the beach today.”

“But I have to work with Kyle and then head into the diner tonight.”

As he walked past her toward the kitchen, he stopped, leaning toward her ear as if sharing a secret.

“I know. I’m supposed to go over to Mitch’s this morning to help fix his roof. But I’m willing to play hooky once if you are.”

“But I took the morning off at the store,” Mitch protested gamely. “You can’t back out on me now. I’ve already pulled everything out of the garage.”

Dressed in jeans and an old shirt, he had been waiting for Taylor to pull up when he heard the phone ring.

“Well, put it all back in,” Taylor said good-naturedly. “Like I said, I’m not going to be able to make it.”

As Taylor talked, he moved the bacon around with a fork in the sizzling pan. The aroma filled the house. Denise was standing close by, still in her short robe, scooping coffee grounds into the filter. The sight of her made Taylor wish that Kyle would disappear for the next hour or so. His mind was barely on the conversation.

“But what if it rains?”

“You already told me it’s not leaking yet. That’s why you let me put it off this long.”

“Four cups or six?” Denise asked.

Lifting his chin away from the receiver, Taylor answered. “Make it eight. I love coffee.”

“Who’s that?” Mitch asked, everything suddenly coming clear now “Hey . . . are you with Denise?”

Taylor looked toward her admiringly. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”

“So you were with her all night?”

“What kind of question is that?”

Denise smiled, knowing exactly what Mitch was saying on the other end.

“You sly dog . . .”

“So about your roof,” Taylor said loudly, trying to get the subject back on track.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Mitch said, suddenly affable. “You just have yourself a nice time with her. It’s about time you finally found someone-”

“Good-bye, Mitch,” Taylor said, cutting him off. Shaking his head, he hung up the phone while Mitch was still talking.

Denise pulled the eggs from the grocery bag. “Scrambled?” she asked.

He grinned. “With you looking so good, how could I not feel scrambled?”

She rolled her eyes. “You really are a goob.”

Two hours later they were sitting on a blanket at the beach near Nags Head, Taylor applying sunscreen to Denise’s back. Kyle was using a plastic shovel nearby, scooping sand from one spot on the beach and moving it to another. Neither Taylor nor Denise had any idea what he was thinking as he did it, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

For Denise, the memories of the previous evening were revived as she felt the lotion being caressed into her skin.

“Can I ask you a question?” she said.

“Sure.”

“Last night . . . after we’d . . . well . . .” She paused.

“After we’d done the horizontal tango?” Taylor offered.

She elbowed him in the ribs. “Don’t make it sound so romantic,” she protested, and Taylor laughed. She shook her head but was unable to repress a grin.

“Anyway,” she went on, regaining her composure. “Afterward, you got sort of quiet, like you were . . . sad or something.”

Taylor nodded, looking out to the horizon. Denise waited for him to say something, but he didn’t.