A/N: This was going to be a one-shot but as I got farther and farther into writing it I got more ideas and decided that I would make it have multiple chapters. I'm not quite sure how many chapters it will have, but I hope by posting this new story it will make up for my late posting!
It had been eight years since Reba Hart's divorce with her ex-husband, Brock. They still had a good friendship, as Reba had previously stated that the problem with their divorce is they were too nice to each other. Reba wouldn't have had it any other way though. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and although things were different than they had been when they were teenagers, Reba was glad that they could obtain a wonderful friendship. Just because Brock was her best friend doesn't mean that he never got on her nerves. Matter a fact, Brock Hart got on her nerves on an almost daily basis. Brock had changed since their divorce. He was no longer with Barbra Jean, his mistress that fell pregnant during the time that he was separated from Reba. Brock then asked for Reba to sign a paper to end the divorce quickly so he could marry Barbra Jean, which she did. After six years of marriage Brock's second marriage ended in a divorce, but he wasn't as close to Barbra Jean as he was with Reba.
Maybe that was because in a way he still loved Reba. He wasn't sure if that was just because she was the mother of his kids, or if he still loved her the way he did before the kids were even thought of. Brock wanted to find out, but every time he brought anything of the soft up to Reba she would overreact and nothing would be discussed. After a while Brock stopped trying to talk to Reba about it because he hated the huge fights that it was causing, but he couldn't help but think that if the affair wouldn't have happened then the couple would be celebrating their twenty ninth year of marriage. He screwed that up, and he knew he did.
Reba was sitting alone at her house like she did most of the time on Saturday nights. It was August, and the thought that this was the anniversary of her and Brock's marriage wouldn't leave her head, but it didn't bring her down either. She knew that everything happened for a reason, and this must be how their lives were meant to be. If they weren't meant to be together for the rest of their lives than she couldn't do anything to stop it. She was just happy that they were such good friends, because she knew that she wouldn't have been able to do anything with Brock. Brock was her rock, as weird as it sounds. He was always that person that she went to first for advice and someone that she knew she could confide in. In that aspect things had never changed. Sure, during their separation and divorce it was strained, but after the fact that Reba accepted what had happened and she couldn't change it, their friendship quickly bloomed again.
If we hadn't gotten in a divorce we'd be celebrating our twenty ninth year of marriage. Wow. It's a shame that it ended the way it did, but at least we're still friends. I guess mama was right when she told me that we just weren't meant to be, Reba thought to herself as she held a book in front of her. She was unable to pay attention to what she was reading because Brock seemed to take over her thoughts. Reba was reminiscing about her days with Brock. They had some wonderful memories, and no matter what happened to them Reba was always glad to have those memories.
Reba was knocked back into reality when she heard a knock at her front door. Reba closed and placed the book that she was unable to read on the table as she stood up off of the couch. Walking to the door she didn't know who could be at her door, but when she opened it and Brock was revealed she was a little shocked.
"The circus must be in town." Reba said as she started laughing at her remark towards Brock. She always had some type of remark towards her, but that's just how their friendship was. At least they were talking and getting along because most divorced couples do as little talking as they possibly can.
Brock glared at Reba and rolled his eyes. "Haha Reba. Look, I was at the condo and it was just really quiet. I decided that even having you yell at me for Lord knows what would be better than sitting in the condo all by myself."
Reba looked at Brock and knew exactly what he meant. It was quiet in her house, as it was most Saturdays. "I know what you mean Brock. Come on in." Reba said as she moved aside to allow Brock in her home. Brock walked in and Reba could tell that Brock was curious to where the kids were. "Kyra is over at a friend's getting ready for their trip to Europe and Jake is at his friend's house spending the weekend there."
Brock looked at the red head and nodded. It was like she could read his mind. She use to do that all the time when they were married, and even some after they got divorced, but recently Brock had so much going on in his life that Reba could hardly ever read him. She felt some kind of happiness when she realized that she had answered what Brock was wondering, and she felt like they were finally getting close again, which was something that appeared to be happening since his divorce with his tall blonde ex-wife.
There were times where Reba couldn't believe that Brock went and married Barbra Jean. The person that she had hired to help Brock out at the office had become his mistress and had ended her twenty year marriage with him. There were very few things that she regretted about her life with Brock, but the fact that she hired Barbra Jean was not something she fully regretted. Yes, it eventually ended her marriage and she blamed herself for it many of times for it, but she wasn't the one that decided to have an affair. Hiring Barbra Jean did have a plus side in her life though. Reba was able to be more of a mom to her three kids since she didn't have to be at work all day.
Reba didn't realize that Brock had took a seat on the couch. She was too lost in thought to notice. When she came to she looked over at Brock, the blonde hair man that had obviously been working out since they had divorced because he now had a six pack, was staring at her. How long has he been looking at me, Reba asked herself not knowing rather to smile or not.
"Hey Red. May I ask you a question?" Brock asked her as Reba walked over to her, sitting on the couch and crossing one of her legs under her.
"Sure Brock. Go for it." Reba said, not knowing exactly what she was about to get herself into. How could she know?
Brock looked at Reba. He had wished he hadn't asked that question because now he was having to come up with another one to avoid asking what he really wanted. "Would you want to go to lunch?" Brock asked Reba with a soft smile, hoping that she wouldn't know that wasn't what he was originally going to ask her. He didn't want to ruin their friendship by asking if her if she still loved him, especially not on this day. Brock resented himself every year when this day came because he knew that the reason they weren't celebrating another anniversary was because of him. If he would've noticed what he was sacrificing then he never would have done it, but the past was done and couldn't be changed.
"Sure, Brock. That sounds nice." Reba said, not thinking anything of it. There was nothing wrong with having lunch with a friend, especially with a friend that you have known for over thirty years. Brock's face looked shocked to hear that Reba was agreeing but Reba just bent over to pick up her purse off of the coffee table, and then stood up.
Brock smiled at his beautiful ex-wife and got up off of the couch as well, and then he walked over to the door as he opened it for her. Reba smiled over at Brock and walked out of the house. Sometimes Reba didn't want to be alone with Brock because she was afraid of her feelings. She didn't want anyone knowing that she was still in love with her ex-husband. They had been through so much since they were happily married and Reba wasn't sure if they would ever have the same relationship that they once had. She liked their friendship and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it.
They got into Brock's car and Reba sat in the passenger seat not saying anything. She wasn't sure what to say. Brock was the first one to break the silence when he asked Reba how everything was going at home. Reba looked over at Brock and smiled. "Things are going really good. I don't know if I'm ready for Kyra to go to Europe though. She's going for two months and I've never been that far away from her for that long."
Brock looked at Reba and smiled softly. "You'll be fine Reba." He said with a soft voice. Reba looked over at Brock. She didn't think that she would be okay. That was her youngest daughter and she wasn't ready for her to grow up, even though she was already grown up. "Reba, you'll be fine but I'll tell you what, if you have a day where you're down and can't find a reason to be happy, stop by my condo. It's not that far away and I will always be there for you if you need someone to talk to.
That is so sweet, Reba thought to herself. He could be really sweet at times, and those were Reba's favorite times. Those times were the times that Reba realized that he never meant to hurt her. Reba smiled and looked over at Brock. "Thanks Brock. I'll keep that in mind. How are things going with Barbra Jean?" She asked, trying to get off of the lovey dovey talk so she wouldn't say what she really wanted to.
"I saw her the other day when I went to see Henry. She seemed to be really good, told me that she had been on a few dates with this one guy and that things were getting pretty serious between the two of them." Brock said, not showing any emotion. Reba wasn't sure if Brock was okay with that or not so she told Brock that she was sorry. "No, it's fine. I just asked her to be careful about bringing guys around Henry. I don't want guys to be coming and going out of Henry's life, same with women on my part. That's why I haven't even thought about going on a date with anyone, except one person. I don't even know how that will work out though, because this girl is so stubborn."
Reba was oblivious to the fact that Brock was talking about her, and Brock had no intentions on telling her yet. "Well if she's that stubborn then why don't you surprise her? Don't do something that she would predict is coming. Show up at her house or something with flowers and then take her to something she either hasn't done or hasn't done in a long time. I tell you if a man would show up at my door with flowers and then take me horseback riding he would definitely get a second date from me." Reba said as Brock laughed a little. Reba looked at Brock and knew that he knew it was true. Reba hadn't been horseback riding in years, since before Cheyanne was born.
Brock smiled at his beautiful ex-wife. The smell of her perfume filled his car and his loved it. That was his favorite smell, and he was shocked that she continued to wear it even after they got a divorce, but he definitely wasn't complaining. When Brock stopped at the restaurant he smiled as he parked the car and helped Reba out, hoping that they would have a wonderful time.