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Jason walked up to Old Ben grocery store and enjoyed the walk in the early morning light. Snow was at his side as he approached the door. "Stay here boy! Sit!" Jason commanded as Snow sat down obeying his word and looked up at him panting happily. Jason entered and heard the familiar bells jingle above him. He looked around and noticed that Ben wasn't in the front of the store. He casually looked around and went toward the freezer and opened the lid and grabbed a fudge bar and walked up to the counter as Ben came out from the back storage room. "Hey Jason! Top of the morning to you!" Ben bellowed cheerfully. "Any mail from Alice today?" Jason asked placing the fudge bar on the counter and pulled out a dollar handing it to Ben. "Umm... yeah! A letter for you arrived yesterday." Ben said placing the dollar in the cash register and handed Jason his change. Ben walked to the back room again and then came back handing Jason the letter. He slid his finger under the flap and ripped it open. He pulled out the letter and began to read. He suddenly dropped his fudge bar to the floor and frowned while he read. "Anything wrong Jason?" Ben asked noticing Jason was starting to look very sad. Jason looked up and stared right through Ben with a sick look on his face. Ben suddenly felt worried and was dying to know what was in the letter that made him so sad. "Jason? Hey! Are you okay?" "Ahhh ...yeah! NO! It's Taylor! He needs me! I have to go to him!" Jason shouted looking confused as his eyes started to well with tears. "Is he alright? He's not sick again is he?" "No. But he is very depressed Alice said in the letter. He is giving up. He can't do that!" Jason said angrily. "How are you going to get there?" Ben asked. "I am going to book a flight there right now. I want my private jet. Can I use your phone Ben?" "Sure! You have a private jet?" Ben questioned sounding astounded at the news. "Yes... Ben I have a lot of money. You could say I am very rich." Jason stated as Ben handed him the phone. Jason placed his call at the airport and set up a flight that would take off at noon. He knew he had to hurry back to his cabin to pack a few things for the trip to Tulsa. "Umm... Ben? Do you mind if I place a long distance call on your phone? I will pay for it." Jason asked with a begging look covering his face. "Sure! Sure go ahead!" Ben said. Jason dialed the number in the letter that Alice gave to him. He heard the phone ringing and wished Alice would pick up. "Hello? Alice Duncan speaking." "Alice? This is Jason. I...I received your letter today." "JASON! Thank God! Please Jason you have to come to Tulsa! Taylor needs you so bad!" Alice begged as Jason could hear the agony in her voice. "How bad is he? Is Taylor okay?" Jason asked fearfully. "Ohhh... Jason! He is so depressed. The poor kid has lost all hope. He just sits and isn't interested in anything. Not even his music! Everyone trys to help, but then I think he just gets sadder thinking he is letting everyone down." Alice explained to him sadly. "I booked a flight to Tulsa for noon. I am using my private jet. Can you meet me at the airport? My poor Taylor! I will do anything for that kid!" Jason bellowed trying to hold back his tears noticing Ben was watching him intently. "Oh thank GOD! Yes just tell me where to meet you." Alice choked back a sob as she started to cry. "Please Alice don't cry. I will be there probably at about two o'clock. You should meet me at gate seven!" Jason stated and told her what airport his plane would land and gave her the address. "Okay... got it! I will see you soon!" Alice said feeling better. Jason hung up the phone and handed Ben ten dollars for the call. "Just keep the change Ben. I have to run!" Jason shouted as he bolted out the door. "Come on Snow!" Jason yelled as Snow ran after him. Jason ran almost all the way back to his cabin but stopped a few times catching his breath. He finally reached his cabin lifting the door and threw it back with a loud bang. He bolted down the stairs as Snow followed him in. He quickly found his old suitcase and hurriedly threw some clothes into it and grabbed a big wad of money out of his secret drawer. Finally he ran outside as Snow looked at him confused and began to whimper. "Oh! Snow I'm sorry I have to go. I won't be back for a little while. You're going to have to fend for yourself till I come back!" Jason yelled running to the shed where his truck was parked. Finally he was heading for the airport speeding down the highway as tears were flooding his eyes thinking about Taylor. "God... he must think I abandoned him!" Jason said out loud wiping the tears away as he neared the airport. Taylor sat at the kitchen table sadly staring into space as he picked at his breakfast of eggs and toast. Everyone was deathly silent watching Taylor sadly. He seemed to be in his own little world. Walker looked over at Diana who jumped when the telephone rang suddenly breaking the silence. Diana got up and walked into the living room to answer the phone. "Hello?" "Diana! Guess what? Jason is coming!" Alice exclaimed excitedly over the phone. "He...he is?" Diana looked up and closed her eyes thankfully at the news. "He is arriving today. Me and Sherri are going to pick him up from the airport at about two o'clock. You are finally going to meet him Diana! And I didn't even have to beg." Alice said cheerfully. "I can't wait to meet him and thank him for saving our son!" Diana said as her mood suddenly cheered up. "Well I will let you go and prepare things for his arrival." Alice said. "Okay Alice. Bye!" Diana said as she hung up the phone. "Walk!? Walker come in here!" Diana called and Walker came into the living room wondering what Diana was calling him for. "He's coming! Jason is coming! He is arriving at the airport at two this afternoon, Alice told me!" "Really!? Should we tell Taylor or wait till he gets here?" Walker asked. "Wait till he gets here. If something happened where he changed his mind I wouldn't want Taylor to go through any more disappointments. I don't think he could take it right now. I will totally believe it when I see this man walk through our door!" Diana stated as Walker nodded his head in total agreement. "Tay? Do you want to practice or something?" Zac asked as Taylor sadly shook his head no. "Are you sure? Zac and I wanted to work on the song that you were writing." Ike said gently touching Taylor's arm. Taylor looked down at the table then up at Ike. "Uhh...no. You guys can work on it if you want." Taylor said. "Well why don't you at least come down to the studio and sit and listen for awhile." Ike suggested hoping Taylor would at least want to do that. He hated to see him so sad. "I..I guess so. I won't be much company though." "Hey having you there helps." Zac said happily glad that Taylor agreed to sit in the studio. It was a start. Zac hoped they could get Taylor interested in their music again. "I have to go to the bathroom. I will meet you guys down there then. Okay?" Taylor said as he rolled his wheelchair away from the table and left his food barely touched. Ike and Zac sadly watched him wheel his way down the hallway. "You think he will come?" Zac asked looking at Ike. "I..I don't know." Ike said with tears welling in his eyes. "Boys we have something to tell you." Walker said walking into the kitchen as Ike and Zac looked up at their father and mother with questioning eyes. "What?" Ike asked noticing his parents looking suddenly excited about something. "We don't want Taylor to know yet, but Jason is coming to see him this afternoon." Diana rasped in a low voice. "REALLY?" Zac yelled excitedly. "Shhhhh... Zac! I don't want Taylor to hear!" Diana scolded a little angrily. "Oh sorry!" Zac whispered as his heart started to race with excitement. "It's about time!" Ike whispered with a smile covering his face. "Why can't we tell Taylor now?" Zac asked looking into his mother's eyes. "Because if anything happens where he backs out I don't want him to be disappointed." "Yeah I can see that. I don't think he could take much more." Ike said sadly. "I can't wait to see the look on Taylor's face when he sees him here." Zac exclaimed in a low voice feeling excited. << Previous Page of Story>> << Back to Story Page>> << Back To Index Of Chapters Page>> Back To Main Page>> |