Free The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks Page B

her again. "Just kidding. You know I love you."
    "You better."
    When they reached the car, Taylor took the keys and opened her door. Once Judy was behind the wheel, he bent down to peer at her through the open window. "Are you sure you're not too tired to drive?" he asked.
    "No, I'll be fine. It's not that far. By the way, where's your car?"
    "Still at the scene. I rode with Kyle in the ambulance. Carl's gonna bring me back."
    Judy nodded as she turned the key, the engine cranking over immediately.
    "I'm proud of you, Taylor."
    "Thanks, Mom. I'm proud of you, too."

    Chapter 9
    The following day dawned cloudy with sporadic rain, though most of the storm had already passed out to sea. The newspapers were filled with coverage of what had happened the night before, the headlines focusing largely on a tornado near Maysville that had destroyed part of a mobile home park, leaving four people dead and another seven injured. No coverage at all was granted to the successful search for Kyle Holton-the fact that he'd been lost at all wasn't learned by any reporters until the following day, hours after he'd already been found. The success had made it, in their vernacular, a non-event, especially when compared with the continual reports feeding in from the eastern part of the state.
    Denise and Kyle were still in the hospital and had been allowed to sleep in the same room. Overnights were mandatory for both of them (or, rather, what was left of the night), and though Kyle could have been discharged the following afternoon, the doctors wanted to keep Denise in for an extra day of observation.
    The noise in the hospital made it impossible to sleep late, and after another examination of both of them by the doctor on call, Denise and Kyle spent the morning watching cartoons. Both were on her bed, pillows behind them, wearing ill-fitting hospital gowns. Kyle was watching Scooby-Doo, his favorite. It had been Denise's favorite as a child, too. All they needed was some popcorn, but the very thought made Denise's stomach turn. Even though the dizziness had subsided for the most part, bright lights still hurt her eyes and she had trouble keeping food down.
    "He's running," Kyle said, pointing at the screen, watching Scooby's legs turning in circles. (Eez runny)
    "Yes, he's running from the ghost. Can you say that?"
    "Running from the ghost," he said. (Runny fraw ah goz)
    Her arm was around him, and she patted him on the shoulder. "Did you run last night?"
    Kyle nodded, his eyes still on the screen. "Yes, eez runny."
    She looked at him tenderly. "Were you scared last night?"
    "Yes, he's scared." (Yes, eez scairt)
    Though his tone changed slightly, Denise didn't know whether he was talking about himself now or still talking about Scooby-Doo. Kyle didn't understand the differences among pronouns (I, you, me, he, she, and so on), nor did he use verbal tenses properly. Running, ran, run . . . it all meant the same thing, at least as far as she could tell. The concept of time (yesterday, tomorrow, last night) was also beyond him.
    It wasn't the first time she'd tried to talk to him about the experience. Earlier she'd tried to talk to him about it but hadn't gotten very far. Why did you run? What were you thinking? What did you see? Where did they find you? Kyle hadn't answered any of her questions, nor had she expected him to, but she wanted to ask them anyway. One day maybe he'd be able to tell her. One day, once he could talk, he might be able to think back and explain it to her. "Yeah, Mom, I remember. . . ." Until then, though, it would remain a mystery.
    Until then.
    It seemed as far away as ever.
    With a slow push, the door squeaked open.
    "Knock, knock."
    Denise turned toward the door as Judy McAden peeked inside.
    "I hope I'm not coming at a bad time. I called the hospital, and they said you both were up."
    Denise sat up, trying to straighten her wrinkled hospital gown. "No, of course not. We're just watching TV. C'mon in."
    "Are you