Today's Cast:
Michael Park: Jack Snyder
Jacey Lawrence: Jacey Montgomery/Joey Montgomery
Maura West: Carly Snyder
Mark Collier: Mike Kasnoff
Lesli Kay: Molly McKinnon
Kelley Menighan Hensley: Emily Stewart
Hunt Block: Craig Montgomery
Anne Sayre: Mitzi Matters
Martha Byrne: Lily Snyder/Rose D'Angelo
What's Forever For?: An ATWT story
By JCP
Jack Snyder opened the door to his car and drove off down the road, heading towards the police station. He was never going to forgive his wife for this. She had slept with another man the night before their wedding. How could she do this to them? Didn't she love him? What had Mike been able to give her that Jack himself wasn't giving her?
He reached the police station and went to his desk, and seeing the picture of Carly sitting on it, he took it and stuck it in his drawer, not wanting to deal with that right now. He opened some files that were sitting in his outbox, and began to go through them.
Carly Snyder, Jack's wife, was sitting in a chair at their home, angry at herself. She could kick herself for what she had done to Jack. She was just getting ready for a long cry when the door banged open. Hoping it was Jack, she got up.
It was a friend of theirs, Jacey Montgomery. She was looking livid. ''I just talked to Mike. He called me, told me Jack might need a shoulder right now. I asked him why, he told me to talk to you. What did you do now, Carly? Did you sleep with my father again? Didn't I tell you before you guys got married that you weren't going to hurt him? I'm the closest thing that he has to a sister, and you know that I have been looking out for him since that Julia fiasco. And here you go, breaking his heart again. What did you do?'' She put her purse on the table by the door and took off her coat.
Carly folded her arms. ''I don't think that it's any of your business, but please don't be mad at Mike. Be mad at me, I'm the one who hurt Jack. I did a horribly wrong thing, and I know that. I'm so very very sorry, trust me.''
Jacey glared at her. ''I'm not mad at Mike, why would I be?'' She paused, and Carly could see the brain cells working. ''Oh my God, Carly, you slept with Mike, didn't you? Oh my God! How, oh, how could you sleep with Mike, that's horrible. Jack and Mike were getting to be friends, Carly.'' She was shaking her head back and forth in disbelief.
Her former friend ran her hand through her blond hair. ''I know, Jacey, I know. I'm so sorry that I did it. And I don't blame Jack or Molly if they never speak to me again. Or you, for that matter. I know how close you are to Jack.''
Jacey looked into Carly's eyes. ''I grew up here. I never had anybody that I could tell anything to, with the exception of Aunt Lily and Uncle Holden, and my sister. But then, Jack came back to town. He was older than me when we were growing up, about eight years, but then, when he came back, for some reason, we started to really connect. He was my bodyguard, my teddy bear. He'd do anything for me, I'd do anything for him. When Chris Hughes broke my heart by breaking up with me to go out with Abigail, he was there for me. When you left him at the altar, I was there for him. God, Carly, Jack has been here for everything that I have gone through for six years now. He's my best friend, plus my cousin, sorta. He's family. And now, I have to go and comfort him for something else that you did to him. I'm sick of the things that you do to him, Carly. A man can only take so much. Do you know what he went through when he was trying to save you from Stenbeck?''
Carly nodded. ''I know, and I love him, you know I do. And you do, too, I know that you do.''
Jacey knew that would come up. ''I am in love with him, Carly. I have been for about three years. But I would never hurt him like you did, and I have never tried to get him, I wanted him to love me if he wanted to. And I didn't try to stop his wedding to Julia because I knew he was happy. See, that's the difference between the way you love him and the way I do. And I was friends with him before I fell in love with him. I really and truly know him. With the things you keep doing to him, how can you know him at all?'' She turned and left the house, heading to the police station.
Outside, she ran into Molly McKinnon, Carly's cousin and Mike's, well, ex-girlfriend now. She gave Molly a hug. ''I'm so sorry, Molls. I know how much this hurt you. Now I get to go and comfort Jack, and I tell you, I love him so much, but I'm always the one who has to pick up the pieces of his heart and put them back together again.''
Molly nodded. ''I know. I guess you just talked to her?''
Jacey nodded. ''Mmmhmm. She's not going to have fun with you at all. I know that I don't really have a place to be mad, except, she hurt Jack. Jack is my best friend in the entire world besides Joey. And maybe Lucy. But I can't help but be mad. I hate what she did to him. I bet you that the baby she's carrying is Mike's. I can't wait till that baby comes into this world. God, what is she gonna do then?''
Molly shook her head. ''I don't care, and I'm going in there to tell her that. But you better go make sure that Jack's OK. I'll talk to you later. I love you.''
Jacey kissed Molly's cheek. ''I love you, too, Molls.'' She gripped Molly's hand before she turned and got into her car.
Jack was sitting at his desk, working, when she got there. She knew that that's where he would head, just wanting to bury himself in his work to take his mind off the pain. He looked up when she sashayed in. ''Hi, Jace.'' He said.
She walked over to his desk and took the chair in front of it and pulled it round, to the side. She sat in it, and took one of Jack's hands in hers. ''I'm so sorry. I had to come and make sure that you're alright. I know that you're not, though.'' She watched as his face constricted, and she knew that he was holding back the tears.
Jack took his free hand and ran it through his hair, and sighed. ''I'm glad you did. I just, I don't want to talk about it right now. Can you just, you know, sit here with me, so I won't be alone?''
Jacey's own eyes filled with tears. ''Sure, Jack, I can do that. I'm going to call Daddy and tell him where I'm going to be.'' She got up, and kissed his cheek before she got out her cell phone. ''Hi, Daddy, I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to hang with Lucy tonight. Something else came up.''
Craig Montgomery didn't like the tone in his grown daughter's voice. She was probably with Jack Snyder, nursing his broken heart. She was only twenty-three years old, she should out be having fun. Craig replied, ''That's OK, Rosanna's here, she'll take care of Lucy's loneliness. And maybe your twin sister can help, you know, you've been ignoring her lately.''
His daughter ignored that and replied, ''Daddy, I know that tone in your voice. You don't like the fact that I'm not going to be there. Do you know something that you aren't telling me? Do I have to come home and whoop your butt?''
Craig responded, ''Yes, I do. I know all about Carly and Mike, and I know where you are without even asking. You're with Jack Snyder, nursing his broken heart. Honey, why do you even bother? He isn't your type. You're only twenty-three years old, find your someone your own age.''
Jacey was angered at her father. He didn't understand friendship, since he didn't have it. ''Daddy, Jack is my best friend. I'm going to be here for him. I'm also going to leave this conversation because I didn't even want to fight. Goodbye.'' She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes.
Carly fought to keep tears from falling. She and Molly were arguing about what she had done. She was tired of all this defending of herself. She knew what she had done was wrong, and hated being reminded of it. She wished Rosanna had kept her big mouth and nosiness to herself, because if she had, none of this would have ever happened. Jack and Molly wouldn't have found out, and Carly would still be with Jack. Now their marriage was in shambles, and who was going to pick up the pieces? Jacey Montgomery, that's who.
Molly stared at her cousin, shocked and angry. ''Carly, I can't believe that you would do this to me. Did you not care at all about how this would effect me? And Jack! That man has been through hell the past few months, but here you are. You've been telling lie after lie, and it's hurt everyone close to you. Haven't you done enough? And we don't even need to say what you're thinking. I know that you wouldn't even be telling Jack, and Mike wouldn't have told me, if Rosanna hadn't spilled the beans. Or had been going to. You had no choice. You can consider me out of your life, Carly. And I won't defend you anymore. You can count on that.'' She turned to go.
Carly had to do something. ''Molly, please. I can't lose you. If I do, all I'll have is Parker. Please don't do this to me. I'm so sorry. You know that I love Jack with every breath I draw. I thought that we were over. I was totally devastated. I never wanted to cheat on him, it just happened. You know what drinking does to a person.''
Molly turned back around. ''Don't try to justify it, Carly. You did one of the most horrible things a person can do, and I no longer love you. I'm going now, I've got to pack all of my things at Mike's.'' She turned and opened the door, leaving Carly crying.
Mike Kasnoff entered the police station. Jack and Jacey were sitting by Jack's desk, having a very intense looking conversation. He knew he had to talk Jack into forgiving Carly. They were married now, they had to work through things sometimes. He walked up to Jack's desk. ''Can I please talk to you, Jack? I know that I don't deserve it, but I want to.''
Jack glared at Mike. His chocolate brown eyes were lit up in anger. ''Oh, you do, do you? Well, I have nothing to say to you, Kasnoff. Get out of here, can't you see I'm busy?''
Jacey got up, and led Mike into the interrogation room. She closed the door behind her. ''I'm sorry, Mike. Jack's not in a good mood, and I don't blame him. What you and Carly did to him, it's destroyed him all over again. He just went through having to give up JJ, and was really happy again, what with Carly being pregnant, and then you guys drop this bomb on his and Molly's laps. Mike, I am not going to say anything about it being right or wrong, but why did you tell him? Why, why, why? It was only going to hurt him, and Carly knew that! She also knew that Jack would totally leave her, which he has done. So what was the point? Why didn't you just let Rosanna run her mouth? Maybe he wouldn't have believed her.''
Mike paced the small room. ''That's what Carly said. I just, couldn't live with it anymore. It was killing me, not telling Molly. And it was killing Carly having to deal with it, too. Especially since that baby might be mine. But the reason I want to talk to Jack is, I want him to forgive Carly. She was in such a bad place that night, and I comforted her. That's all.''
Jacey ran her hands through her shoulder-length blond hair. ''Mike, I'm not going to help you with that. I think that they need time apart. Jack needs time to deal with this and think about it. His whole marriage has been one lie after another. He needs time to deal. So I am going to have to tell you that it's up to you if you wanna try, but he's not going to listen.''
The construction worker gave his ex-girlfriend a hug and exited the room. Jack was busily writing something in a notebook. ''Jack, just please hear me out, OK? Carly did a stupid thing. It was a onetime, never gonna happen again thing. Please don't punish her by not taking her back.''
Jack could hardly believe that Mike even had the audacity to talk to him. ''OK, Mike, let's backtrack, to where I told you that I don't want to listen to your groveling. Go home.'' He said more forcefully and grabbed his jacket from the chair and stuck his head in the room. ''I'm going home, where I can get away from everyone. Do you want to follow me in your car?''
Jacey said, ''Yeah, I will. I'll stop and get some ice cream, though, I think we'll need it.'' She kissed his cheek and got her own coat and her purse.
Jack went on outside, and Jacey stopped to talk to Mike. ''You didn't do me wrong at all, so I'm still going to be your friend. And you didn't have any commitments to Jack, so that's all clear there. But I'm telling you, give it time, OK?'' She gave him a hug and left the police station.
Carly wasn't there when Jack got home, but her suitcases that had been sitting by the steps were gone. He saw a note that she left on the table. It said,
''Jack, I'm sorry what I did to you. I really needed to get away from Oakdale for awhile, so I went to Cancun. When Parker and I get back, we'll get the last of our stuff. Remember that I love you, and tell Jacey that I'm glad you have her to help you through this. Love, Carly.''
Jack took the picture of him and Carly on their wedding day and put it in the drawer. He got up and laid down on the couch. He just wanted to die. All their plans, every dream, was all down the tubes. He now had to live alone. He wasn't a husband, he wasn't a father, he wasn't anything. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Jacey let herself in, carrying two gallons of Ben and Jerry's mint chocolate chip. She also had Hershey's syrup and whipped cream. She took the ice cream and put it into the freezer and the whipped cream and the syrup in the fridge. She then went back into the living room and put a blanket on Jack so he wouldn't be cold. She ran her fingers through his hair, wishing that he could be this peaceful all the time. He had gone through so much crap in the past few months, it wasn't fair.
The doorbell rang, and she got up to get it before it woke up Jack. It was Emily Munson, who was married to Hal Munson, Jack's best friend. Jacey stepped back to let her in. ''Hi, Em. What's up?'' She asked.
Emily walked in and nodded in Jack's direction. ''Is he alright? Carly told me before she left that she told Jack.'' She turned to face Jacey.
Jacey folded her arms. She knew that Emily had known about the whole thing, and she wasn't happy with the way that Emily had handled it, but she understood. It was Carly's job to tell Jack, not Em's. ''He's out of his mind. He almost punched Mike when he stopped by the police station, and he's just, I don't know, completely destroyed. I don't blame him, I would be, too.''
Emily pushed her purse strap higher on her shoulder. ''I just wish that he would forgive Carly. She didn't mean to cheat on him. She still loves him with all her heart. I know she does. She was so happy when he asked her to marry him.''
Jacey knew that. She had been there when Jack had asked her. He'd asked her at Emily and Hal's wedding. ''I know, Em, I do. But she and Jack need time apart. I told Mike the same thing. I am not going to help convince him to do a thing about it. I know him best, and trust me, he needs to deal with it. So you guys need to let him alone, OK?'' She turned around and sighed.
Emily began to feel frustrated. She knew Jacey well, they'd lived in the same town together all their lives. She also knew that the girl was in love with Jack, and that she was always going to keep hoping that she'd end up with him. ''Honey, I know how you feel about Jack. Everyone knows. The only person who doesn't is Jack. But you have to realize that Jack and Carly are meant to be together because they love each other so much.''
Her friend turned to face her. ''Emily, when Carly kissed Mike, and they tore off each other's clothes and had sex, she destroyed her and Jack's future. And no one understands or knows how I feel about Jack, and no one ever will. I do love him, but I am also his friend. I can tell you that I probably know him better than even Hal does. I'm not going to be helping him through this with the intention of trying to get him to fall in love with me. I am going to be here for him because he's my friend, Emily. And you know better than anyone about hiding your feelings.'' She rolled her eyes and wiped the tears from her face. ''Em, you'd better go. We might end up fighting, and that will wake up Jack. Go home and tell Hal that he needs to back off for a little while.''
Emily touched her shoulder. ''It's going to be OK for everyone involved, I promise. Even if Jack and Carly stay apart, and Mike and Molly don't get back together. And you, honey, need to move on. Jack only loves you as a friend. You're his family. That's all you will ever be. If you need fixed up, I can help you with that. Chris Hughes is back in town, you know.''
Jacey whirled around. ''I don't want to be hooked up with anybody, Emily! Especially not Chris Hughes, of all people!''
Her outburst woke Jack up. He ran his hand through his hair. ''Hi, Emily.'' He said, sitting up and removing the blanket from his lap.
Jacey said, ''Emily was just leaving.'' She hustled her to the door.
Emily stopped her just as Jacey opened the door. ''Remember what I said, hon. Think about moving on. I can make any calls that you need me to make.''
Jacey kissed her cheek. ''Bye, Em.'' She closed the door. She turned to Jack. ''Are you OK? I'm sorry I woke you up. Emily wanted to fix me up with Chris Hughes, of all people.''
Jack wearily got up from the couch. ''Why? She knows what he did to you.'' He said, as he headed for the kitchen.
She followed. ''Jack, do you want some ice cream? I can fix you a sundae. I got mint choco chip and whipped cream and choco syrup.''
Jack shook his head. ''No thanks. I just want to have some cold beer and relax. I have to think about too much, and I don't want to do it right now.''
She took the ice cream out of the freezer. ''Have you eaten at all today? Because you can't just let yourself go, Jack. I have been taking care of you for way too long.'' She filled a bowl with ice cream, whipped cream, and Hershey syrup. She handed it to him, and took out two spoons from the drawer. She sat down, and took a bite. ''Come on, Jack, eat some, it's great.''
Jack reluctantly dug a spoon into the bowl. ''How am I supposed to live without Carly? I can't believe that she did this to me. She was supposed to always love me. Now she's pregnant with some other man's child.''
Jacey shoved a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and took his hand in her own. She looked into his eyes. ''Jack, I want to tell you something. I could not imagine that any woman would want to hurt you. You are the most loving, sweetest, caring, gorgeous, sexy, well-rounded, and adorable guy that I know. You are such a good friend, and you always treated Carly like a princess. You even did that for Julia before she went crazy and did all those horrible things to you. Any woman would be lucky to have you. You will eventually move on, and I'm not saying that it will be easy. But you will. And I'll be here to help you do it.''
He gave her a weary smile. ''You've always been so good to me, Jace.'' He put his spoon down. ''I'm going to go to bed. Thanks for trying to cheer me up.'' He kissed her cheek and headed upstairs.
Jacey cleaned up the ice cream and stuck the bowl and spoons in the sink, to clean up later. She went into the living room, and sat on the couch. She knew that she was perfectly welcome to sleep there if she wished. She always had been, even when Jack and Carly were living together. Carly had never tried to come between the two of them; she'd never objected to their friendship. Jacey hugged one of the pillows to her chest. Her heart hurt for Jack. She couldn't believe that Carly had had him, and let him slip through her fingers. Now she had left him hurting. For awhile, he was going to be a shell of his former self.
She lay back on the couch, feeling tears falling from her face. She knew she'd never have him the way she wanted him. He would never love her the way she wanted him to. He'd love her, alright, but she'd always just be the best friend. She began to cry herself to sleep.
The next morning, Jacey woke up to the ringing of the bell. She got up, knowing she needed to change into one of the outfits that she kept there. She checked herself in the mirror by the stairs, making sure that she didn't have any drool marks on her face. She then walked over to the door and opened it.
It was Molly. ''Hi, I didn't expect you here this early in the morning.'' Molly said, as Jacey stepped back to let her in.
Jacey smiled tiredly. ''I slept here last night. On the couch. It was about ten when Jack went to bed, and I was too drained to go home. So I crashed.''
Her friend sat down on the couch, and sighed. ''I just wanted to see how he was. If he was dealing, or letting his pain take over.''
Jacey sat down next to her. ''No, he's not doing so good. He nearly attacked Mike, and I don't blame him, but Mike was only his friend. He didn't have any promises to him. Carly did. I personally don't care if Jack never talks to Mike again, but I will. He's been my friend too long. And Molls, I promise I won't help him try to convince you to take him back. I know you too well than to think that that will actually work.''
Molly smiled at her. ''Thanks, that means a lot.'' She added, ''And I would be a bad friend if I asked you to stop talking to Mike. It's going to bother Jack, but he won't ask you to, either.''
Jacey ran her hands through her blond hair. ''I am so sick of the stuff that Carly does to him. I hope that for his sake, she's out of his life for good this time. I was always her friend, but I never thought she should be with him. But he was happy, so I never said anything.''
Molly sighed. ''Yeah, well, I just lost my cousin, and my boyfriend, so I'm a lot worse off this time around. At least Jack still has you.''
Jacey put her arm around Molly. ''You've still got me, too, I'll be here for you if you need me. You're one of my best friends, Molls.''
Jack came in from the kitchen, surprised to find the two girls on his couch. ''Hi, guys. Jace, did you sleep here last night?'' He noticed that she had on yesterday's attire.
She nodded. ''Yeah, I'm going to go shower, actually. I still have some clothes here. You talk to Molly, she needs a friend right now.'' She whispered the last part.
As Jacey went upstairs, Jack joined his friend on the couch. ''Hey, how are you holding up?'' He asked, taking one of her hands in his.
Molly began to cry. ''Not too well, Jack, I've lost my boyfriend and a cousin all in the same day. It hurts like hell.''
Jack put his arms around her and held her while she cried. They sat like this for awhile, then she stopped, and they looked into each other's eyes. Then, in a split second, they were kissing madly. Molly stopped, and whispered, ''We can't, Jacey's upstairs.''
Her cousin's estranged husband couldn't help it. ''So, she's taking a shower. Molly, you feel it, too, don't tell me that you don't.''
Molly couldn't bring herself to do it, because she knew that she and Jack didn't love each other. They were just grief-stricken, and plus, Molly knew how Jacey felt about Jack, and she wasn't going to hurt one of her best friends. ''No, Jack, I..'' She broke off as he kissed her again.
Jacey came back downstairs, dressed in a jeans skirt and a blue top. She gasped as she saw Molly and Jack kissing. She ran down the rest of the steps, and grabbed her purse, and coat.
Molly broke the kiss and got up, going to her friend before she left the house. ''Jacey, please, don't go. I'm sorry, I didn't want to, it just happened.''
Jacey turned around, while Jack stood there, wondering what was going on. ''Molls, I can't talk about this right now. Give me some time to calm down. I've gotta get out of here.'' She turned to go.
Jack stopped her this time. ''Jace, what's the matter? Why are you so upset?''
She turned once again, to face her friend. ''I saw you kissing Molly, Jack, and it hurt a lot. And do you know why? Because I'm in love with you, that's why! And Molly should have known better. Despite the fact that you both just had your hearts ripped out by the people you loved the most in the world. And I was going to be here for you both, and then this happens. Jack, I know that you don't feel that way about me, but is it always going to be every woman in Oakdale but me?'' Crying, she dashed from the house, slamming the door shut behind her.
Jack was stunned. He'd never known. He turned to Molly. ''That's why you tried to stop me. You didn't want her to be hurt. Oh my God. I never knew. Wow, this is big.'' He sat down on the couch.
Molly sat down on the other end of the couch. ''Jack, She has loved you for three years. She's always kept it to herself because she never thought that she was good enough for you. And you never showed any interest whatsoever.''
Jack sighed. ''I can't believe it. I've always thought she was just being a good friend. I never once thought that she was in love with me. I've gotta go talk to her. I just can't let her go all upset.'' He went to the coat rack and took his jacket off and headed out the door, leaving Molly sitting stunned on the couch.
Jacey was crying as she drove. She was heading straight for Snyder's Pond, where she'd first spoken to Jack after he'd been back to Oakdale. The memory of it would be forever burned in her memory.............
She sat crying on a rock by Snyder's Pond. She couldn't believe that she'd let some boy hurt her this way. She knew better. She'd come here, as she always did, to sit and think about things. Emma Snyder was her uncle's mother, and she knew that she was welcome to come here all she wished. She couldn't believe that she kept letting herself get hurt. Of course, she was only seventeen years old, but still.
Her crying was interrupted by a gorgeous young man, entering the clearing and sitting down on the grass. He didn't seem to notice her. He looked familiar, though. Suddenly, it came to her. He was Jack Snyder, Emma's nephew. He'd been living, well, she couldn't remember, but he was some big FBI agent or something. He'd grown up here, with Uncle Holden, she knew that much. She said, ''Aren't you Jack
Snyder?'' She hadn't talked to him much since he'd left town. She'd been too young.
He turned to look at her. ''Yeah, and you are?'' He seemed down about something.
She replied, ''I'm Jacey Montgomery, Sierra's daughter. She's Aunt Lily's sister. So we're like, sort of cousins.''
Jack nodded. ''Yeah, I guess. So, have you been crying? What's the matter? Did some boy break your heart or something?''
Jacey made a face at him. ''I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you. But you look pretty bummed out yourself. Wanna tell me why you've gone all wiggins?''
He looked at her. ''Wiggins? What kind of a word is that?''
Jacey giggled. ''Wiggins means to go postal, I guess is a good way to put it. Most of my friends and I are Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, and so that's where we get the word. Not a lot of people our age say it, exactly.'' She paused. ''Anyways, so why are you with the wiggins?''
Jack said, ''It's no big, don't worry about it. Let's just sit here and talk about nothing in particular. How's your school? Do you go to Oakdale High?''.........
Jacey wiped tears from her face. She wasn't really angry at Jack, he'd had no idea about how she'd felt about him, but Molly did. And she certainly hadn't tried in any way to make Jack stop. She stopped the car as she reached Snyder's Pond. She leapt from the car and headed to her rock. Jack was already there. She sniffled through her tears. ''How'd you beat me here?'' She asked.
Jack smiled at her. ''I sped all the way. Broke about a million laws that I'm not supposed to break.'' He shrugged. ''A friend was hurting, I didn't really care.''
Jacey made a face at him and sat down on the rock. ''Are you saying that you had no idea about how I felt about you? Almost everyone knows. And if they don't know, they have a pretty good idea.''
Her friend knelt beside her. ''Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I really didn't know. And I'm not in love with Molly. You know I'm not. It was just, I don't know what it was. But she tried to stop me. I swear, she did. I just didn't know. You were always special to me, though. You know that.''
Jacey's eyes filled with tears again. ''Jack, I am so in love with you. The way you smile, the look you get when you're confused, how romantic you can get, the way you loved JJ. And it devastated me when he was taken away because it devastated you. But if you don't feel the same way that I do, I understand. No one can make you feel love.''
Jack's own eyes had filled with tears at the mention of JJ. He was never going to be completely over JJ, never. He choked out, ''I was glad when you were there for me. You always have been. I don't know how to thank you for that, and I never will. But as for feeling the same way, I've never looked at you that way, so I don't know how I feel about that. Besides, I'm really not ready. But I'll tell you what, let's just go back to that original plan where you help me through my heartache, and see what happens after that. OK?''
Jacey smiled at him through her tears. ''OK. Sounds good to me. How about we go home? I'm kinda hungry for some breakfast.''
Three months later.................................
It was a sunny morning. Jack awoke, smelling bacon. He was finally ready to move on. It had taken awhile, but he was ready to date again. If he found the perfect girl. Carly had come back from Cancun a new woman. She hardly spoke to anyone but Hal, Emily, and Mike. Not many people were sure how they should handle the situation if they saw her, so they pretty much avoided her. Molly and Mike were not back together, but Mike kept on trying. Jack still felt like punching the guy's face in, so he didn't ever try to talk to him. He and Molly had remained just friends, and hadn't kissed since that night. Jack hadn't known what he was thinking.
On the Jacey front, he had started to look at her in a new light. She was actually kind of sexy in an understated way. She never tried to impress him, she just wore what she felt comfortable in. He happened to like it. It was probably her frying the bacon. She came over every morning, and sometimes slept on his couch. He was getting to like it.
He went downstairs, to eat breakfast. He wasn't a breakfast kind of guy, but she would force him to eat it, so there was no point in putting up a fight. He smiled cheerfully at her as he entered the kitchen. ''Hi, Jace, it smells great.''
She smiled back. ''You can't fool me, Jack Snyder. I know that you don't like breakfast.'' She handed him a plate and put the cooking things in the sink. She was just sitting down when the bell rang. ''I'll get it.'' She said, before he could get up.
It was Mitzi Matters, a friend of her Aunt Rose's. Of course, she was a friend of Jack's, too. She was also in love with Jack, and that had made her and Mitzi kind of standoffish from each other. ''Hey, Mitz. What's going on? You do know that it's nine in the morning, right?'' Jacey asked.
Mitzi nodded. ''Yeah, I do. Is Jack home? I've been busy since I heard that he had that trouble with Carly, and I wanted to make sure that he's OK.''
Jacey made a face at her. ''Mitzi, it's been three months. You couldn't have stopped by before? I guess you don't love Jack as much as you say that you do.''
Mitzi said, ''Rose and I are starting our own business, speaking of which, your sister Joey is working there, you should pay attention to her more.''
Her adversary grimaced. ''You've got me there. Aunt Rosie told me about the biz, I just didn't know Jo was working there. Anyway, Jack's eating breakfast in the kitchen. I didn't make enough, but you can have my plate.''
Mitzi shook her head. ''No, thanks, Rose and I are meeting at Al's in fifteen. I just needed to see Jack.''
The two women went into the kitchen, where Jack was finishing his breakfast. ''Hey, Mitz, haven't seen you for awhile.'' He said, as Jacey took his plate and put it in the sink. She also sat down and began eating her own breakfast.
Mitzi sat down at one of the other chairs and said, ''I know, I'm sorry. How are you? I heard about you and Carly, and I'm truly sorry. I know how much you loved her.''
Jack sipped from his coffee cup, and stole a piece of Jacey's bacon. ''Thanks, Mitz. I'm great, actually. I have definitely moved on. But I heard that you and Rose are opening a beauty shop.''
Mitzi nodded. ''Yeah, we are. Me, Rosie, and Joey Montgomery are going to be working there. I'm doing all the hair and nails, Rosie's running the place, and Joey's doing all the computer stuff, like the books, and inventory and whatnot. It's gonna be great.''
Jack smiled. ''I bet it is. But ladies, I've got to get going to work. So I'll see you later, Jace.'' He started heading out of the kitchen, then turned back around. ''Are you going to meet me at Al's for lunch?''
Jacey could feel Mitzi's eyes on her as she replied. ''Sure, I've got time. Noon OK?'' She placed her plate in the sink, to wash later.
Jack nodded. ''Sounds great. See you later.'' He headed on outside.
Jacey left the kitchen, followed closely by Mitzi. ''So, Mitz, you oughta be getting to meeting Aunt Rosie. You'll be late.''
Mitzi went to the door and opened it, but paused in the doorway. ''I gotta ask you something. Jack's a free man, right? I mean, you aren't dating him, are you?''
Jacey was tempted to play with her mind and tell her yes, but she knew what would happen if she did that. ''No, Mitzi, not officially, but we are getting closer. Jack keeps looking at me, with not puppy dog eyes, but with these curious looks. Like he wants to examine the package a little bit better. So don't be thinking that you'll get him for yourself.''
Mitzi made a face at her. ''You know me too well, honey.'' She turned without a good-bye and left.
Mike Kasnoff was sitting in a booth at Al's Diner, drinking coffee. He was getting used to the idea of sitting alone when a familiar voice met his ears.
Joey Montgomery was grinning at him. ''Hey, Mike! How are you today?'' She was looking happy and cheerful.
Mike gestured for her to sit down. ''Hey, what's going on? I thought that you were meeting Rose and Mitzi.''
Joey sat. ''Neither of them are here yet. So how goes the plan to get Molly back? I know that Carly's having a hard time by herself. Jace said that she hasn't even tried to get Jack back.''
Mike made a face. ''Yeah, I can see why. He won't give her the time of day, no wonder. I wouldn't try, either.''
Joey cracked her gum. ''I don't blame him, but I also don't blame her. I am just staying out of it. I have seen Molls, though, and I promise you, Mike, she's so ready to move on. I really doubt that she'll take you back.''
Mike sipped some more coffee. ''I don't care, Jo. I want her back, and I know that I can make it work. I don't want to give up. I never will.''
His friend took his water glass and took a drink. ''To change the subject, I need your help with something.''
Mike sipped his coffee again and stirred in some more sugar. ''What's the problem?'' He wanted to help Joey out; she was one of his best friends.
Joey grinned and cracked her gum some more. ''OK, here's the plan. I know that Jack and Jacey are into each other, big time. He's started to get into her since she told him that she was in love with him. I want to help them along. You can help me by talking to Jacey. I'll handle Jack since you totally destroyed that relationship.''
Mike gave her a reproaching look. ''I thought we weren't going to go to the Blame Game portion of that.''
Joey said, ''I'm not playing blame game. You did totally ruin your friendship with Jack. You just did. And I do wish that you guys could patch it up, but you won't, so we'll cut our losses and move on.''
Mike made a face at her. ''Fine, we'll move on. But I'm not going to help you meddle in their friendship, and I am definitely not going to help you meddle in their possibility of a love life.''
They were interrupted by Rose and Mitzi arriving for their breakfast date with their business partner.
Joey jumped up, grinning. ''Hi, Rose, Mitzi. Aunt Rosie, did you meet Mike before you went off to Ivanya?'' She asked, happy to make the introductions.
Rose shook her head. ''No, I didn't. I'm Rose D'Angelo, Lily's twin sister. This is my friend Mitzi Matters.''
Mike stuck out his hand for Mitzi and Rose to shake. ''I'm Mike Kasnoff. My story is way too long to share. But I bet you've heard a lot of rumors in the past couple of months.''
Rose nodded. ''Yeah, I have, but I didn't judge or join in because I didn't know you. Anyway, we hate to steal this lovely lady from you, but we need her to talk business.''
As the three ladies sat down to talk about their business, Jacey was sitting in the Lakeview dining room with Lucy, talking about Aaron Snyder. ''Luce, the boy is worth it, because he's a Snyder, but you are recovering right now. I think that you need to stay clear of him right now. I don't think that Aaron actually cares if you get all of your memory back.''
Lucy sipped from her water glass. ''No, he cares. I know he does, Jace, he loves me.''
Jacey shook her head. ''No way, sis. But look, let's talk about something else. I have a lunch date with Jack today. What should I wear? How should I wear my hair? And most importantly, what perfume do I wear?''
Lucy laughed. ''Just be yourself. Wear what you have on. Those tight fitting jeans and white blouse look good. You have this air of casual mystery. I like it. Jack will like it, too.''
Jacey smiled. ''Thanks, Luce.'' She looked at her watch. ''I'm going to go, I'm going to see Joey, Mitzi, and Aunt Rose before I go to Al's. Have a nice breakfast.'' She kissed her sister goodbye and hurried out the door.
Later that afternoon, Jack was waiting patiently for his friend to join him in Al's Diner. He was actually really excited about this lunch. He sipped the coffee he'd ordered and watched the door. She breezed in, looking great in her tight jeans and that white shirt. Jack's mouth actually began to water, and as soon as she sat down in the booth, he grabbed her mouth with his lips and kissed her as deeply as he could, hungrily, and passionately..................
TO BE CONTINUED
Michael Park: Jack Snyder
Jacey Lawrence: Jacey Montgomery/Joey Montgomery
Maura West: Carly Snyder
Mark Collier: Mike Kasnoff
Lesli Kay: Molly McKinnon
Kelley Menighan Hensley: Emily Stewart
Hunt Block: Craig Montgomery
Anne Sayre: Mitzi Matters
Martha Byrne: Lily Snyder/Rose D'Angelo
What's Forever For?: An ATWT story
By JCP
Jack Snyder opened the door to his car and drove off down the road, heading towards the police station. He was never going to forgive his wife for this. She had slept with another man the night before their wedding. How could she do this to them? Didn't she love him? What had Mike been able to give her that Jack himself wasn't giving her?
He reached the police station and went to his desk, and seeing the picture of Carly sitting on it, he took it and stuck it in his drawer, not wanting to deal with that right now. He opened some files that were sitting in his outbox, and began to go through them.
Carly Snyder, Jack's wife, was sitting in a chair at their home, angry at herself. She could kick herself for what she had done to Jack. She was just getting ready for a long cry when the door banged open. Hoping it was Jack, she got up.
It was a friend of theirs, Jacey Montgomery. She was looking livid. ''I just talked to Mike. He called me, told me Jack might need a shoulder right now. I asked him why, he told me to talk to you. What did you do now, Carly? Did you sleep with my father again? Didn't I tell you before you guys got married that you weren't going to hurt him? I'm the closest thing that he has to a sister, and you know that I have been looking out for him since that Julia fiasco. And here you go, breaking his heart again. What did you do?'' She put her purse on the table by the door and took off her coat.
Carly folded her arms. ''I don't think that it's any of your business, but please don't be mad at Mike. Be mad at me, I'm the one who hurt Jack. I did a horribly wrong thing, and I know that. I'm so very very sorry, trust me.''
Jacey glared at her. ''I'm not mad at Mike, why would I be?'' She paused, and Carly could see the brain cells working. ''Oh my God, Carly, you slept with Mike, didn't you? Oh my God! How, oh, how could you sleep with Mike, that's horrible. Jack and Mike were getting to be friends, Carly.'' She was shaking her head back and forth in disbelief.
Her former friend ran her hand through her blond hair. ''I know, Jacey, I know. I'm so sorry that I did it. And I don't blame Jack or Molly if they never speak to me again. Or you, for that matter. I know how close you are to Jack.''
Jacey looked into Carly's eyes. ''I grew up here. I never had anybody that I could tell anything to, with the exception of Aunt Lily and Uncle Holden, and my sister. But then, Jack came back to town. He was older than me when we were growing up, about eight years, but then, when he came back, for some reason, we started to really connect. He was my bodyguard, my teddy bear. He'd do anything for me, I'd do anything for him. When Chris Hughes broke my heart by breaking up with me to go out with Abigail, he was there for me. When you left him at the altar, I was there for him. God, Carly, Jack has been here for everything that I have gone through for six years now. He's my best friend, plus my cousin, sorta. He's family. And now, I have to go and comfort him for something else that you did to him. I'm sick of the things that you do to him, Carly. A man can only take so much. Do you know what he went through when he was trying to save you from Stenbeck?''
Carly nodded. ''I know, and I love him, you know I do. And you do, too, I know that you do.''
Jacey knew that would come up. ''I am in love with him, Carly. I have been for about three years. But I would never hurt him like you did, and I have never tried to get him, I wanted him to love me if he wanted to. And I didn't try to stop his wedding to Julia because I knew he was happy. See, that's the difference between the way you love him and the way I do. And I was friends with him before I fell in love with him. I really and truly know him. With the things you keep doing to him, how can you know him at all?'' She turned and left the house, heading to the police station.
Outside, she ran into Molly McKinnon, Carly's cousin and Mike's, well, ex-girlfriend now. She gave Molly a hug. ''I'm so sorry, Molls. I know how much this hurt you. Now I get to go and comfort Jack, and I tell you, I love him so much, but I'm always the one who has to pick up the pieces of his heart and put them back together again.''
Molly nodded. ''I know. I guess you just talked to her?''
Jacey nodded. ''Mmmhmm. She's not going to have fun with you at all. I know that I don't really have a place to be mad, except, she hurt Jack. Jack is my best friend in the entire world besides Joey. And maybe Lucy. But I can't help but be mad. I hate what she did to him. I bet you that the baby she's carrying is Mike's. I can't wait till that baby comes into this world. God, what is she gonna do then?''
Molly shook her head. ''I don't care, and I'm going in there to tell her that. But you better go make sure that Jack's OK. I'll talk to you later. I love you.''
Jacey kissed Molly's cheek. ''I love you, too, Molls.'' She gripped Molly's hand before she turned and got into her car.
Jack was sitting at his desk, working, when she got there. She knew that that's where he would head, just wanting to bury himself in his work to take his mind off the pain. He looked up when she sashayed in. ''Hi, Jace.'' He said.
She walked over to his desk and took the chair in front of it and pulled it round, to the side. She sat in it, and took one of Jack's hands in hers. ''I'm so sorry. I had to come and make sure that you're alright. I know that you're not, though.'' She watched as his face constricted, and she knew that he was holding back the tears.
Jack took his free hand and ran it through his hair, and sighed. ''I'm glad you did. I just, I don't want to talk about it right now. Can you just, you know, sit here with me, so I won't be alone?''
Jacey's own eyes filled with tears. ''Sure, Jack, I can do that. I'm going to call Daddy and tell him where I'm going to be.'' She got up, and kissed his cheek before she got out her cell phone. ''Hi, Daddy, I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to hang with Lucy tonight. Something else came up.''
Craig Montgomery didn't like the tone in his grown daughter's voice. She was probably with Jack Snyder, nursing his broken heart. She was only twenty-three years old, she should out be having fun. Craig replied, ''That's OK, Rosanna's here, she'll take care of Lucy's loneliness. And maybe your twin sister can help, you know, you've been ignoring her lately.''
His daughter ignored that and replied, ''Daddy, I know that tone in your voice. You don't like the fact that I'm not going to be there. Do you know something that you aren't telling me? Do I have to come home and whoop your butt?''
Craig responded, ''Yes, I do. I know all about Carly and Mike, and I know where you are without even asking. You're with Jack Snyder, nursing his broken heart. Honey, why do you even bother? He isn't your type. You're only twenty-three years old, find your someone your own age.''
Jacey was angered at her father. He didn't understand friendship, since he didn't have it. ''Daddy, Jack is my best friend. I'm going to be here for him. I'm also going to leave this conversation because I didn't even want to fight. Goodbye.'' She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes.
Carly fought to keep tears from falling. She and Molly were arguing about what she had done. She was tired of all this defending of herself. She knew what she had done was wrong, and hated being reminded of it. She wished Rosanna had kept her big mouth and nosiness to herself, because if she had, none of this would have ever happened. Jack and Molly wouldn't have found out, and Carly would still be with Jack. Now their marriage was in shambles, and who was going to pick up the pieces? Jacey Montgomery, that's who.
Molly stared at her cousin, shocked and angry. ''Carly, I can't believe that you would do this to me. Did you not care at all about how this would effect me? And Jack! That man has been through hell the past few months, but here you are. You've been telling lie after lie, and it's hurt everyone close to you. Haven't you done enough? And we don't even need to say what you're thinking. I know that you wouldn't even be telling Jack, and Mike wouldn't have told me, if Rosanna hadn't spilled the beans. Or had been going to. You had no choice. You can consider me out of your life, Carly. And I won't defend you anymore. You can count on that.'' She turned to go.
Carly had to do something. ''Molly, please. I can't lose you. If I do, all I'll have is Parker. Please don't do this to me. I'm so sorry. You know that I love Jack with every breath I draw. I thought that we were over. I was totally devastated. I never wanted to cheat on him, it just happened. You know what drinking does to a person.''
Molly turned back around. ''Don't try to justify it, Carly. You did one of the most horrible things a person can do, and I no longer love you. I'm going now, I've got to pack all of my things at Mike's.'' She turned and opened the door, leaving Carly crying.
Mike Kasnoff entered the police station. Jack and Jacey were sitting by Jack's desk, having a very intense looking conversation. He knew he had to talk Jack into forgiving Carly. They were married now, they had to work through things sometimes. He walked up to Jack's desk. ''Can I please talk to you, Jack? I know that I don't deserve it, but I want to.''
Jack glared at Mike. His chocolate brown eyes were lit up in anger. ''Oh, you do, do you? Well, I have nothing to say to you, Kasnoff. Get out of here, can't you see I'm busy?''
Jacey got up, and led Mike into the interrogation room. She closed the door behind her. ''I'm sorry, Mike. Jack's not in a good mood, and I don't blame him. What you and Carly did to him, it's destroyed him all over again. He just went through having to give up JJ, and was really happy again, what with Carly being pregnant, and then you guys drop this bomb on his and Molly's laps. Mike, I am not going to say anything about it being right or wrong, but why did you tell him? Why, why, why? It was only going to hurt him, and Carly knew that! She also knew that Jack would totally leave her, which he has done. So what was the point? Why didn't you just let Rosanna run her mouth? Maybe he wouldn't have believed her.''
Mike paced the small room. ''That's what Carly said. I just, couldn't live with it anymore. It was killing me, not telling Molly. And it was killing Carly having to deal with it, too. Especially since that baby might be mine. But the reason I want to talk to Jack is, I want him to forgive Carly. She was in such a bad place that night, and I comforted her. That's all.''
Jacey ran her hands through her shoulder-length blond hair. ''Mike, I'm not going to help you with that. I think that they need time apart. Jack needs time to deal with this and think about it. His whole marriage has been one lie after another. He needs time to deal. So I am going to have to tell you that it's up to you if you wanna try, but he's not going to listen.''
The construction worker gave his ex-girlfriend a hug and exited the room. Jack was busily writing something in a notebook. ''Jack, just please hear me out, OK? Carly did a stupid thing. It was a onetime, never gonna happen again thing. Please don't punish her by not taking her back.''
Jack could hardly believe that Mike even had the audacity to talk to him. ''OK, Mike, let's backtrack, to where I told you that I don't want to listen to your groveling. Go home.'' He said more forcefully and grabbed his jacket from the chair and stuck his head in the room. ''I'm going home, where I can get away from everyone. Do you want to follow me in your car?''
Jacey said, ''Yeah, I will. I'll stop and get some ice cream, though, I think we'll need it.'' She kissed his cheek and got her own coat and her purse.
Jack went on outside, and Jacey stopped to talk to Mike. ''You didn't do me wrong at all, so I'm still going to be your friend. And you didn't have any commitments to Jack, so that's all clear there. But I'm telling you, give it time, OK?'' She gave him a hug and left the police station.
Carly wasn't there when Jack got home, but her suitcases that had been sitting by the steps were gone. He saw a note that she left on the table. It said,
''Jack, I'm sorry what I did to you. I really needed to get away from Oakdale for awhile, so I went to Cancun. When Parker and I get back, we'll get the last of our stuff. Remember that I love you, and tell Jacey that I'm glad you have her to help you through this. Love, Carly.''
Jack took the picture of him and Carly on their wedding day and put it in the drawer. He got up and laid down on the couch. He just wanted to die. All their plans, every dream, was all down the tubes. He now had to live alone. He wasn't a husband, he wasn't a father, he wasn't anything. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Jacey let herself in, carrying two gallons of Ben and Jerry's mint chocolate chip. She also had Hershey's syrup and whipped cream. She took the ice cream and put it into the freezer and the whipped cream and the syrup in the fridge. She then went back into the living room and put a blanket on Jack so he wouldn't be cold. She ran her fingers through his hair, wishing that he could be this peaceful all the time. He had gone through so much crap in the past few months, it wasn't fair.
The doorbell rang, and she got up to get it before it woke up Jack. It was Emily Munson, who was married to Hal Munson, Jack's best friend. Jacey stepped back to let her in. ''Hi, Em. What's up?'' She asked.
Emily walked in and nodded in Jack's direction. ''Is he alright? Carly told me before she left that she told Jack.'' She turned to face Jacey.
Jacey folded her arms. She knew that Emily had known about the whole thing, and she wasn't happy with the way that Emily had handled it, but she understood. It was Carly's job to tell Jack, not Em's. ''He's out of his mind. He almost punched Mike when he stopped by the police station, and he's just, I don't know, completely destroyed. I don't blame him, I would be, too.''
Emily pushed her purse strap higher on her shoulder. ''I just wish that he would forgive Carly. She didn't mean to cheat on him. She still loves him with all her heart. I know she does. She was so happy when he asked her to marry him.''
Jacey knew that. She had been there when Jack had asked her. He'd asked her at Emily and Hal's wedding. ''I know, Em, I do. But she and Jack need time apart. I told Mike the same thing. I am not going to help convince him to do a thing about it. I know him best, and trust me, he needs to deal with it. So you guys need to let him alone, OK?'' She turned around and sighed.
Emily began to feel frustrated. She knew Jacey well, they'd lived in the same town together all their lives. She also knew that the girl was in love with Jack, and that she was always going to keep hoping that she'd end up with him. ''Honey, I know how you feel about Jack. Everyone knows. The only person who doesn't is Jack. But you have to realize that Jack and Carly are meant to be together because they love each other so much.''
Her friend turned to face her. ''Emily, when Carly kissed Mike, and they tore off each other's clothes and had sex, she destroyed her and Jack's future. And no one understands or knows how I feel about Jack, and no one ever will. I do love him, but I am also his friend. I can tell you that I probably know him better than even Hal does. I'm not going to be helping him through this with the intention of trying to get him to fall in love with me. I am going to be here for him because he's my friend, Emily. And you know better than anyone about hiding your feelings.'' She rolled her eyes and wiped the tears from her face. ''Em, you'd better go. We might end up fighting, and that will wake up Jack. Go home and tell Hal that he needs to back off for a little while.''
Emily touched her shoulder. ''It's going to be OK for everyone involved, I promise. Even if Jack and Carly stay apart, and Mike and Molly don't get back together. And you, honey, need to move on. Jack only loves you as a friend. You're his family. That's all you will ever be. If you need fixed up, I can help you with that. Chris Hughes is back in town, you know.''
Jacey whirled around. ''I don't want to be hooked up with anybody, Emily! Especially not Chris Hughes, of all people!''
Her outburst woke Jack up. He ran his hand through his hair. ''Hi, Emily.'' He said, sitting up and removing the blanket from his lap.
Jacey said, ''Emily was just leaving.'' She hustled her to the door.
Emily stopped her just as Jacey opened the door. ''Remember what I said, hon. Think about moving on. I can make any calls that you need me to make.''
Jacey kissed her cheek. ''Bye, Em.'' She closed the door. She turned to Jack. ''Are you OK? I'm sorry I woke you up. Emily wanted to fix me up with Chris Hughes, of all people.''
Jack wearily got up from the couch. ''Why? She knows what he did to you.'' He said, as he headed for the kitchen.
She followed. ''Jack, do you want some ice cream? I can fix you a sundae. I got mint choco chip and whipped cream and choco syrup.''
Jack shook his head. ''No thanks. I just want to have some cold beer and relax. I have to think about too much, and I don't want to do it right now.''
She took the ice cream out of the freezer. ''Have you eaten at all today? Because you can't just let yourself go, Jack. I have been taking care of you for way too long.'' She filled a bowl with ice cream, whipped cream, and Hershey syrup. She handed it to him, and took out two spoons from the drawer. She sat down, and took a bite. ''Come on, Jack, eat some, it's great.''
Jack reluctantly dug a spoon into the bowl. ''How am I supposed to live without Carly? I can't believe that she did this to me. She was supposed to always love me. Now she's pregnant with some other man's child.''
Jacey shoved a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and took his hand in her own. She looked into his eyes. ''Jack, I want to tell you something. I could not imagine that any woman would want to hurt you. You are the most loving, sweetest, caring, gorgeous, sexy, well-rounded, and adorable guy that I know. You are such a good friend, and you always treated Carly like a princess. You even did that for Julia before she went crazy and did all those horrible things to you. Any woman would be lucky to have you. You will eventually move on, and I'm not saying that it will be easy. But you will. And I'll be here to help you do it.''
He gave her a weary smile. ''You've always been so good to me, Jace.'' He put his spoon down. ''I'm going to go to bed. Thanks for trying to cheer me up.'' He kissed her cheek and headed upstairs.
Jacey cleaned up the ice cream and stuck the bowl and spoons in the sink, to clean up later. She went into the living room, and sat on the couch. She knew that she was perfectly welcome to sleep there if she wished. She always had been, even when Jack and Carly were living together. Carly had never tried to come between the two of them; she'd never objected to their friendship. Jacey hugged one of the pillows to her chest. Her heart hurt for Jack. She couldn't believe that Carly had had him, and let him slip through her fingers. Now she had left him hurting. For awhile, he was going to be a shell of his former self.
She lay back on the couch, feeling tears falling from her face. She knew she'd never have him the way she wanted him. He would never love her the way she wanted him to. He'd love her, alright, but she'd always just be the best friend. She began to cry herself to sleep.
The next morning, Jacey woke up to the ringing of the bell. She got up, knowing she needed to change into one of the outfits that she kept there. She checked herself in the mirror by the stairs, making sure that she didn't have any drool marks on her face. She then walked over to the door and opened it.
It was Molly. ''Hi, I didn't expect you here this early in the morning.'' Molly said, as Jacey stepped back to let her in.
Jacey smiled tiredly. ''I slept here last night. On the couch. It was about ten when Jack went to bed, and I was too drained to go home. So I crashed.''
Her friend sat down on the couch, and sighed. ''I just wanted to see how he was. If he was dealing, or letting his pain take over.''
Jacey sat down next to her. ''No, he's not doing so good. He nearly attacked Mike, and I don't blame him, but Mike was only his friend. He didn't have any promises to him. Carly did. I personally don't care if Jack never talks to Mike again, but I will. He's been my friend too long. And Molls, I promise I won't help him try to convince you to take him back. I know you too well than to think that that will actually work.''
Molly smiled at her. ''Thanks, that means a lot.'' She added, ''And I would be a bad friend if I asked you to stop talking to Mike. It's going to bother Jack, but he won't ask you to, either.''
Jacey ran her hands through her blond hair. ''I am so sick of the stuff that Carly does to him. I hope that for his sake, she's out of his life for good this time. I was always her friend, but I never thought she should be with him. But he was happy, so I never said anything.''
Molly sighed. ''Yeah, well, I just lost my cousin, and my boyfriend, so I'm a lot worse off this time around. At least Jack still has you.''
Jacey put her arm around Molly. ''You've still got me, too, I'll be here for you if you need me. You're one of my best friends, Molls.''
Jack came in from the kitchen, surprised to find the two girls on his couch. ''Hi, guys. Jace, did you sleep here last night?'' He noticed that she had on yesterday's attire.
She nodded. ''Yeah, I'm going to go shower, actually. I still have some clothes here. You talk to Molly, she needs a friend right now.'' She whispered the last part.
As Jacey went upstairs, Jack joined his friend on the couch. ''Hey, how are you holding up?'' He asked, taking one of her hands in his.
Molly began to cry. ''Not too well, Jack, I've lost my boyfriend and a cousin all in the same day. It hurts like hell.''
Jack put his arms around her and held her while she cried. They sat like this for awhile, then she stopped, and they looked into each other's eyes. Then, in a split second, they were kissing madly. Molly stopped, and whispered, ''We can't, Jacey's upstairs.''
Her cousin's estranged husband couldn't help it. ''So, she's taking a shower. Molly, you feel it, too, don't tell me that you don't.''
Molly couldn't bring herself to do it, because she knew that she and Jack didn't love each other. They were just grief-stricken, and plus, Molly knew how Jacey felt about Jack, and she wasn't going to hurt one of her best friends. ''No, Jack, I..'' She broke off as he kissed her again.
Jacey came back downstairs, dressed in a jeans skirt and a blue top. She gasped as she saw Molly and Jack kissing. She ran down the rest of the steps, and grabbed her purse, and coat.
Molly broke the kiss and got up, going to her friend before she left the house. ''Jacey, please, don't go. I'm sorry, I didn't want to, it just happened.''
Jacey turned around, while Jack stood there, wondering what was going on. ''Molls, I can't talk about this right now. Give me some time to calm down. I've gotta get out of here.'' She turned to go.
Jack stopped her this time. ''Jace, what's the matter? Why are you so upset?''
She turned once again, to face her friend. ''I saw you kissing Molly, Jack, and it hurt a lot. And do you know why? Because I'm in love with you, that's why! And Molly should have known better. Despite the fact that you both just had your hearts ripped out by the people you loved the most in the world. And I was going to be here for you both, and then this happens. Jack, I know that you don't feel that way about me, but is it always going to be every woman in Oakdale but me?'' Crying, she dashed from the house, slamming the door shut behind her.
Jack was stunned. He'd never known. He turned to Molly. ''That's why you tried to stop me. You didn't want her to be hurt. Oh my God. I never knew. Wow, this is big.'' He sat down on the couch.
Molly sat down on the other end of the couch. ''Jack, She has loved you for three years. She's always kept it to herself because she never thought that she was good enough for you. And you never showed any interest whatsoever.''
Jack sighed. ''I can't believe it. I've always thought she was just being a good friend. I never once thought that she was in love with me. I've gotta go talk to her. I just can't let her go all upset.'' He went to the coat rack and took his jacket off and headed out the door, leaving Molly sitting stunned on the couch.
Jacey was crying as she drove. She was heading straight for Snyder's Pond, where she'd first spoken to Jack after he'd been back to Oakdale. The memory of it would be forever burned in her memory.............
She sat crying on a rock by Snyder's Pond. She couldn't believe that she'd let some boy hurt her this way. She knew better. She'd come here, as she always did, to sit and think about things. Emma Snyder was her uncle's mother, and she knew that she was welcome to come here all she wished. She couldn't believe that she kept letting herself get hurt. Of course, she was only seventeen years old, but still.
Her crying was interrupted by a gorgeous young man, entering the clearing and sitting down on the grass. He didn't seem to notice her. He looked familiar, though. Suddenly, it came to her. He was Jack Snyder, Emma's nephew. He'd been living, well, she couldn't remember, but he was some big FBI agent or something. He'd grown up here, with Uncle Holden, she knew that much. She said, ''Aren't you Jack
Snyder?'' She hadn't talked to him much since he'd left town. She'd been too young.
He turned to look at her. ''Yeah, and you are?'' He seemed down about something.
She replied, ''I'm Jacey Montgomery, Sierra's daughter. She's Aunt Lily's sister. So we're like, sort of cousins.''
Jack nodded. ''Yeah, I guess. So, have you been crying? What's the matter? Did some boy break your heart or something?''
Jacey made a face at him. ''I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you. But you look pretty bummed out yourself. Wanna tell me why you've gone all wiggins?''
He looked at her. ''Wiggins? What kind of a word is that?''
Jacey giggled. ''Wiggins means to go postal, I guess is a good way to put it. Most of my friends and I are Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, and so that's where we get the word. Not a lot of people our age say it, exactly.'' She paused. ''Anyways, so why are you with the wiggins?''
Jack said, ''It's no big, don't worry about it. Let's just sit here and talk about nothing in particular. How's your school? Do you go to Oakdale High?''.........
Jacey wiped tears from her face. She wasn't really angry at Jack, he'd had no idea about how she'd felt about him, but Molly did. And she certainly hadn't tried in any way to make Jack stop. She stopped the car as she reached Snyder's Pond. She leapt from the car and headed to her rock. Jack was already there. She sniffled through her tears. ''How'd you beat me here?'' She asked.
Jack smiled at her. ''I sped all the way. Broke about a million laws that I'm not supposed to break.'' He shrugged. ''A friend was hurting, I didn't really care.''
Jacey made a face at him and sat down on the rock. ''Are you saying that you had no idea about how I felt about you? Almost everyone knows. And if they don't know, they have a pretty good idea.''
Her friend knelt beside her. ''Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I really didn't know. And I'm not in love with Molly. You know I'm not. It was just, I don't know what it was. But she tried to stop me. I swear, she did. I just didn't know. You were always special to me, though. You know that.''
Jacey's eyes filled with tears again. ''Jack, I am so in love with you. The way you smile, the look you get when you're confused, how romantic you can get, the way you loved JJ. And it devastated me when he was taken away because it devastated you. But if you don't feel the same way that I do, I understand. No one can make you feel love.''
Jack's own eyes had filled with tears at the mention of JJ. He was never going to be completely over JJ, never. He choked out, ''I was glad when you were there for me. You always have been. I don't know how to thank you for that, and I never will. But as for feeling the same way, I've never looked at you that way, so I don't know how I feel about that. Besides, I'm really not ready. But I'll tell you what, let's just go back to that original plan where you help me through my heartache, and see what happens after that. OK?''
Jacey smiled at him through her tears. ''OK. Sounds good to me. How about we go home? I'm kinda hungry for some breakfast.''
Three months later.................................
It was a sunny morning. Jack awoke, smelling bacon. He was finally ready to move on. It had taken awhile, but he was ready to date again. If he found the perfect girl. Carly had come back from Cancun a new woman. She hardly spoke to anyone but Hal, Emily, and Mike. Not many people were sure how they should handle the situation if they saw her, so they pretty much avoided her. Molly and Mike were not back together, but Mike kept on trying. Jack still felt like punching the guy's face in, so he didn't ever try to talk to him. He and Molly had remained just friends, and hadn't kissed since that night. Jack hadn't known what he was thinking.
On the Jacey front, he had started to look at her in a new light. She was actually kind of sexy in an understated way. She never tried to impress him, she just wore what she felt comfortable in. He happened to like it. It was probably her frying the bacon. She came over every morning, and sometimes slept on his couch. He was getting to like it.
He went downstairs, to eat breakfast. He wasn't a breakfast kind of guy, but she would force him to eat it, so there was no point in putting up a fight. He smiled cheerfully at her as he entered the kitchen. ''Hi, Jace, it smells great.''
She smiled back. ''You can't fool me, Jack Snyder. I know that you don't like breakfast.'' She handed him a plate and put the cooking things in the sink. She was just sitting down when the bell rang. ''I'll get it.'' She said, before he could get up.
It was Mitzi Matters, a friend of her Aunt Rose's. Of course, she was a friend of Jack's, too. She was also in love with Jack, and that had made her and Mitzi kind of standoffish from each other. ''Hey, Mitz. What's going on? You do know that it's nine in the morning, right?'' Jacey asked.
Mitzi nodded. ''Yeah, I do. Is Jack home? I've been busy since I heard that he had that trouble with Carly, and I wanted to make sure that he's OK.''
Jacey made a face at her. ''Mitzi, it's been three months. You couldn't have stopped by before? I guess you don't love Jack as much as you say that you do.''
Mitzi said, ''Rose and I are starting our own business, speaking of which, your sister Joey is working there, you should pay attention to her more.''
Her adversary grimaced. ''You've got me there. Aunt Rosie told me about the biz, I just didn't know Jo was working there. Anyway, Jack's eating breakfast in the kitchen. I didn't make enough, but you can have my plate.''
Mitzi shook her head. ''No, thanks, Rose and I are meeting at Al's in fifteen. I just needed to see Jack.''
The two women went into the kitchen, where Jack was finishing his breakfast. ''Hey, Mitz, haven't seen you for awhile.'' He said, as Jacey took his plate and put it in the sink. She also sat down and began eating her own breakfast.
Mitzi sat down at one of the other chairs and said, ''I know, I'm sorry. How are you? I heard about you and Carly, and I'm truly sorry. I know how much you loved her.''
Jack sipped from his coffee cup, and stole a piece of Jacey's bacon. ''Thanks, Mitz. I'm great, actually. I have definitely moved on. But I heard that you and Rose are opening a beauty shop.''
Mitzi nodded. ''Yeah, we are. Me, Rosie, and Joey Montgomery are going to be working there. I'm doing all the hair and nails, Rosie's running the place, and Joey's doing all the computer stuff, like the books, and inventory and whatnot. It's gonna be great.''
Jack smiled. ''I bet it is. But ladies, I've got to get going to work. So I'll see you later, Jace.'' He started heading out of the kitchen, then turned back around. ''Are you going to meet me at Al's for lunch?''
Jacey could feel Mitzi's eyes on her as she replied. ''Sure, I've got time. Noon OK?'' She placed her plate in the sink, to wash later.
Jack nodded. ''Sounds great. See you later.'' He headed on outside.
Jacey left the kitchen, followed closely by Mitzi. ''So, Mitz, you oughta be getting to meeting Aunt Rosie. You'll be late.''
Mitzi went to the door and opened it, but paused in the doorway. ''I gotta ask you something. Jack's a free man, right? I mean, you aren't dating him, are you?''
Jacey was tempted to play with her mind and tell her yes, but she knew what would happen if she did that. ''No, Mitzi, not officially, but we are getting closer. Jack keeps looking at me, with not puppy dog eyes, but with these curious looks. Like he wants to examine the package a little bit better. So don't be thinking that you'll get him for yourself.''
Mitzi made a face at her. ''You know me too well, honey.'' She turned without a good-bye and left.
Mike Kasnoff was sitting in a booth at Al's Diner, drinking coffee. He was getting used to the idea of sitting alone when a familiar voice met his ears.
Joey Montgomery was grinning at him. ''Hey, Mike! How are you today?'' She was looking happy and cheerful.
Mike gestured for her to sit down. ''Hey, what's going on? I thought that you were meeting Rose and Mitzi.''
Joey sat. ''Neither of them are here yet. So how goes the plan to get Molly back? I know that Carly's having a hard time by herself. Jace said that she hasn't even tried to get Jack back.''
Mike made a face. ''Yeah, I can see why. He won't give her the time of day, no wonder. I wouldn't try, either.''
Joey cracked her gum. ''I don't blame him, but I also don't blame her. I am just staying out of it. I have seen Molls, though, and I promise you, Mike, she's so ready to move on. I really doubt that she'll take you back.''
Mike sipped some more coffee. ''I don't care, Jo. I want her back, and I know that I can make it work. I don't want to give up. I never will.''
His friend took his water glass and took a drink. ''To change the subject, I need your help with something.''
Mike sipped his coffee again and stirred in some more sugar. ''What's the problem?'' He wanted to help Joey out; she was one of his best friends.
Joey grinned and cracked her gum some more. ''OK, here's the plan. I know that Jack and Jacey are into each other, big time. He's started to get into her since she told him that she was in love with him. I want to help them along. You can help me by talking to Jacey. I'll handle Jack since you totally destroyed that relationship.''
Mike gave her a reproaching look. ''I thought we weren't going to go to the Blame Game portion of that.''
Joey said, ''I'm not playing blame game. You did totally ruin your friendship with Jack. You just did. And I do wish that you guys could patch it up, but you won't, so we'll cut our losses and move on.''
Mike made a face at her. ''Fine, we'll move on. But I'm not going to help you meddle in their friendship, and I am definitely not going to help you meddle in their possibility of a love life.''
They were interrupted by Rose and Mitzi arriving for their breakfast date with their business partner.
Joey jumped up, grinning. ''Hi, Rose, Mitzi. Aunt Rosie, did you meet Mike before you went off to Ivanya?'' She asked, happy to make the introductions.
Rose shook her head. ''No, I didn't. I'm Rose D'Angelo, Lily's twin sister. This is my friend Mitzi Matters.''
Mike stuck out his hand for Mitzi and Rose to shake. ''I'm Mike Kasnoff. My story is way too long to share. But I bet you've heard a lot of rumors in the past couple of months.''
Rose nodded. ''Yeah, I have, but I didn't judge or join in because I didn't know you. Anyway, we hate to steal this lovely lady from you, but we need her to talk business.''
As the three ladies sat down to talk about their business, Jacey was sitting in the Lakeview dining room with Lucy, talking about Aaron Snyder. ''Luce, the boy is worth it, because he's a Snyder, but you are recovering right now. I think that you need to stay clear of him right now. I don't think that Aaron actually cares if you get all of your memory back.''
Lucy sipped from her water glass. ''No, he cares. I know he does, Jace, he loves me.''
Jacey shook her head. ''No way, sis. But look, let's talk about something else. I have a lunch date with Jack today. What should I wear? How should I wear my hair? And most importantly, what perfume do I wear?''
Lucy laughed. ''Just be yourself. Wear what you have on. Those tight fitting jeans and white blouse look good. You have this air of casual mystery. I like it. Jack will like it, too.''
Jacey smiled. ''Thanks, Luce.'' She looked at her watch. ''I'm going to go, I'm going to see Joey, Mitzi, and Aunt Rose before I go to Al's. Have a nice breakfast.'' She kissed her sister goodbye and hurried out the door.
Later that afternoon, Jack was waiting patiently for his friend to join him in Al's Diner. He was actually really excited about this lunch. He sipped the coffee he'd ordered and watched the door. She breezed in, looking great in her tight jeans and that white shirt. Jack's mouth actually began to water, and as soon as she sat down in the booth, he grabbed her mouth with his lips and kissed her as deeply as he could, hungrily, and passionately..................
TO BE CONTINUED