She looked forward to everything they did; on a warm night toward the end of July, he took her up to Elizabeth City and they went dancing, another first in too many years. He moved her around the floor with surprising grace, waltzing and two-stepping to the drumming bass of a local country band. Women, she couldn’t help but notice, were naturally drawn to him, and occasionally one would smile at him from across the floor and Denise would feel a quick hot pang of jealousy, even though Taylor never seemed to notice. Instead his arm never left her lower back, and he looked at her that night as if she were the only person in the world. Later, while eating cheese sandwiches in bed, Taylor pulled her close as a thunderstorm raged outside the bedroom window. “This,” he confided, “is as good as it gets.”

Kyle, too, blossomed under his attention. Gaining confidence in his speech, he began to talk more frequently, though much of it didn’t make sense. He’d also stopped whispering when running more than a few words together. By late summer he’d learned to hit the ball off the tee consistently, and his ability to throw the ball had improved dramatically. Taylor set up makeshift bases in the front yard, and though he did his best to teach Kyle the rules of the game, it wasn’t something Kyle was interested in at all. He just wanted to have fun.

But as idyllic as everything seemed, there were moments in which Denise sensed an undercurrent of restlessness in Taylor she couldn’t exactly pin down. As he had during their first night together, Taylor would sometimes get that unreadable, almost distant look after they made love. He would hold her and caress her as usual, but she could sense something in him that made her vaguely uncomfortable, something dark and unknowable that made him seem older and more tired than Denise had ever felt. It scared her sometimes, although when daylight came she often berated herself for letting her imagination run away with her.

Toward the end of August Taylor left town to help fight a major fire in the Croatan forest for three days, a dangerous situation made more deadly by the searing August heat. Denise found it difficult to sleep while he was gone. Worrying about him, she called Judy and they spent an hour talking on the phone. Denise followed the coverage of the fire in the newspaper and on television, searching in vain for any glimpse of Taylor. When Taylor finally returned to Edenton, he drove straight to her house. With Ray’s permission, she took the evening off, but Taylor was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch soon after the sun had gone down. She covered him with a blanket, thinking he’d sleep until the morning, but in the middle of the night he crept into her room. Again, he had the shakes, but this time they didn’t stop for hours. Taylor refused to talk about what had happened, and Denise held him in her arms, concerned, until he was finally able to nod off again. Even in his sleep his demons gave him no relief. Twisting and turning, he called out in his sleep, his words incomprehensible, except for the fear she heard in them.

The next morning, sheepish, he apologized. But he offered nothing by way of explanation. He didn’t have to. Somehow she knew it wasn’t simply memories of the fire that were eating him up; it was something else, naked and dark, bubbling to the surface.

Her mother had once told her that there were men who kept secrets bottled up inside and that it spelled trouble for the women who loved them. Denise instinctively knew the truth of her mother’s statement, yet it was hard to reconcile her words with the love she felt for Taylor McAden. She loved the way he smelled; she loved the rough texture of his hands upon her and the wrinkles around his eyes whenever he laughed. She loved the way he stared at her as she got off work, leaning against the truck in the parking lot, one leg crossed over the other. She loved everything about him.

Sometimes she also found herself dreaming of someday walking down the aisle with him. She could deny it, she could ignore it, she could tell herself that neither of them was ready yet. And maybe the last part of that was true. They hadn’t been together very long, and if he asked her tomorrow, she liked to think that she would have the wisdom to say exactly that. Yet . . . she wouldn’t say those words, she admitted to herself in her most brutally candid moments. She would say Yes . . . yes . . . yes.

In her daydreams, she could only hope that Taylor felt the same.

“You seem nervous,” Taylor commented, studying Denise’s reflection in the mirror. He was standing behind her in the bathroom as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.

“I am nervous.”

“But it’s only Mitch and Melissa. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

Holding up two different earrings, one to each ear, she debated between the gold hoop and the simple stud.

“For you, maybe. You already know them. I only met them one time, three months ago, and we didn’t talk all that long. What if I make a bad impression?”

“Don’t worry.” Taylor gave her arm a squeeze. “You won’t.”

“But what if I do?”

“They won’t care. You’ll see.”

She put the hoops aside, choosing the studs. She slipped one into each ear.

“Well, it wouldn’t be so nerve-racking if you’d taken me to meet them sooner, you know. You’ve waited an awful long time to start bringing me to meet your friends.”

Taylor held up his hands. “Hey, don’t blame me. You’re the one who works six nights a week, and I’m sorry if I want you all to myself on the one night you have off.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“But what?”

“Well, I was beginning to wonder whether you were embarrassed to be seen with me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I assure you that my intentions were purely selfish. I’m greedy when it comes to spending time with you.”

Looking over her shoulder, she asked, “Is this something I’m going to have to worry about in the future?”

Taylor shrugged, a sly grin on his face. “It depends if you keep working six nights a week.”

She sighed, finishing with the earrings. “Well, it should be coming to an end fairly soon. I’ve almost saved enough for a car, and then, believe me, I’ll be begging Ray to scale back my shifts.”

Taylor slipped both arms around her, still staring at her in the mirror. “Hey, have I told you how wonderful you look?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“I know. But damn, look at you. You’re beautiful.”

After eyeing their reflection in the mirror, she turned to face him.

“Good enough for a barbecue with your friends?”

“You look fantastic,” he said sincerely, “but even if you didn’t, they’d still love you.”

Thirty minutes later Taylor, Denise, and Kyle were walking toward the door when Mitch appeared from around the back of the house, beer in hand.

“Hey, y’all,” he said. “Glad you could make it. The gang’s out back.”

Taylor and Denise followed him through the gate, past the swing set and azalea bushes, before reaching the deck.

Melissa was sitting at the outdoor table, watching her four boys jump in and out of the swimming pool, their noisy cries blending into one jumbled roar punctuated by sharp outbursts. The pool had been installed the summer before, after one too many water moccasins had been spotted near the dock on the river. Nothing like a venomous snake to sour a person on nature’s beauty, Mitch liked to say.

“Hey there,” Melissa called out, getting to her feet. “Thanks for coming.”

Taylor drew Melissa into a bear hug and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You two have met, right?” he said.

“At the festival,” Melissa said easily. “But that was a long time ago, and besides, you met a lot of people that day. How are you doing, Denise?”

“Good, thanks,” she said, still feeling a little nervous.

Mitch motioned to the cooler. “You two want a beer?”

“That sounds great,” Taylor answered. “Would you like one, Denise?”

“Please.”

As Taylor went to fetch the beers, Mitch settled himself at the outdoor table, adjusting the umbrella to keep the sun off them. Melissa made herself comfortable again, followed by Denise. Kyle, wearing a bathing suit and T-shirt, stood shyly by his mother’s side, a towel draped over his shoulders. Melissa leaned toward him.

“Hi, Kyle, how are you?”

Kyle didn’t answer.

“Kyle, say, ‘I’m fine, thanks,’ ” Denise said.

“I’m fine, thanks.” (I’n fine, kenks)

Melissa smiled. “Well, good. Would you like to go get in the pool with the other boys? They’ve been waiting all day for you to show up.”

Kyle looked from Melissa to his mother.

“Do you want to swim?” Denise asked, rephrasing the question.

Kyle nodded excitedly. “Yes.”

“Okay, go ahead. Be careful.”

Denise took his towel as Kyle ambled toward the water.

“Does he need a float?” Melissa asked.

“No, he can swim. I have to keep my eye on him, of course.”

Kyle reached the pool and stepped down, the water up to his knees. He bent over and splashed, as if testing the temperature, before breaking into a wide grin. Denise and Melissa watched him as he waded in.

“How old is he now?”

“He’ll be five in a few months.”

“Oh, so will Jud.” Melissa pointed toward the far end of the pool. “That’s him over there, holding on to the side, by the diving board.”

Denise saw him. Same size as Kyle, buzz haircut. Melissa’s four boys were jumping, splashing, screaming-in short, having themselves a great time.

“All four kids are yours?” Denise asked, amazed.

“Today they are. You let me know if you want to take one home, though. I’ll give you the pick of the litter.”

Denise felt herself relaxing a little. “Are they a handful?”

“They’re boys. They’ve got energy coming out their ears.”