Free Out at Home by J. L. Paul Page A

her cell and her landline, Taylor lounged around the house in old shorts and a raggedy t-shirt on Sunday. She had no desire to talk to Brady yet, although she had decided she would after his road trip. The problem was getting him to agree to it.
    She camped out on her sofa with chips and a soft drink to watch the Racers game, her heart only turning once or twice when the camera caught sight of Brady. When the game ended with a Racers victory, she decided to hop in the shower and go see her dad.
    Once she dressed, she checked her cell messages, hoping to hear from her brother. She sighed as she received not one message from Teddy. Or from Brady, which was surprising. Maybe he’d given up on her after all. She ignored the disappointment that suddenly hit her, chalking it up to exhaustion.
    She hit the road and headed for the hospital, hoping by some chance her father would be sitting up in his chair, his blank eyes focused on the television. Worry ate at her heart, although she did the best she could to not let it totally possess her. She had confidence in the doctors and nurses
    - but if her father didn’t want to get better, there wasn’t much anyone could do.
    Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. Reaching across the seat to get it, she checked the screen, contemplating just letting it go to voice mail but answered it anyway.
    “What do you want, Brady?” she asked, her teeth grinding.
    “You,” he answered, his tone smug.
    “Sorry, not going happen. Try again.”
    “What time can I pick you up tonight?”
    She sighed. “You can’t. I’m on my way to have dinner with my dad.”
    “He can join us,” he replied cheerfully.
    “No, he can’t.”
    “Taylor, quit avoiding me. I’m not going to go away,” he whined like a petulant child.
    “All right,” she conceded. “I know we need to talk. Can you please just wait until after your road trip?”
    “You’re not going think up another excuse then, are you?”
    “No, I won’t. I promise.” She bit her lip. “Will you please just give me a little time?”
    “Okay, fine,” he relented. “But I’m going to call you while I’m gone.”
    “Not every day.”
    “Every other day.”
    She caught herself smiling and quickly put an end to it. “Don’t be overbearing.” He laughed. “I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t. Bye Taylor. Take care, love.”
    She ended the call just as she pulled into the hospital.

    ***

    Finishing up her story, she closed her lap top, grinning in satisfaction. Luther had let her cover a story on a local debate that had the whole town in an uproar. Some big corporation was eyeing a large plot of farmland to build a huge shopping center. Most of the town opposed the idea. They loved their little farm community and insisted it remained as is. The townsfolk countered that if they wanted to shop, they could make the short commute to Indy.
    It’d been nearly two weeks since Brady had left for his road trip and he'd kept to his word; he only called her every other day. They were polite over the phone; she more than he. But the underlying tension hovered over them like a black cloud. She knew they’d have to talk soon if she ever hoped to move forward with her life.
    Teddy called frequently also. He hadn’t been able to break away from his summer semester so he kept in constant contact with her to keep up-to-date on their father’s condition. Taylor only wished she’d had better news to give him.
    Her father’s conditioned worsened nearly every day. They’d inserted a feeding tube but he kept trying to remove it. He constantly ripped his IV’s out until the nurses had to restrain him. Taylor, not able to bear seeing her father strapped down to the bed, finally broke down and told them to stop.
    Defeated, she told them to just leave him be; it’s what he wanted anyway.
    In order to keep her mind busy, she took Luther’s advice and tentatively started working on a book. The idea came to her as she was driving home