"South Dakota." He told me as he looked away from me, "And your mom and brother took over the old Summer's hotel?" I asked him.

"Yea, and I had to track them down she didn't even want me to know where they were."

I just nodded sitting there awkwardly next to him looking around the room slowly. This was sort of weird as I wasn't really sure what to say to him, or what to do. I wanted to go make something to eat, or go to sleep but to be honest I was kind of scared of him.

"So your dad is the Sheriff?" He asked me as he was now turned facing me his arm on the back of the couch propping his one leg up.

"Oh, yea, Sheriff Romero." I smiled, "That's pretty cool, what about your mom what does she do?" He asked me as I felt the breath hitch in my throat.

"She's not around anymore." I told him as I quickly looked away from his eyes, it shocked me how a guy I didn't know was looking at me so caring.

"I'm sorry I didn't know." He told me softly. "You don't mind me asking what happened do you?"

I wasn't sure what tell him about it, my dad had told everyone that she had left. I knew she didn't leave how could she have? They found me in the car near the motel. Why would she take off without the car? What did she walk away from the town? It was a six-hour drive to the next town and my dad was convinced she walked. Fat chance.

"I don't know." I said to him softly.

How do you tell someone you suspect your mother was murdered? When I brought it up to my dad he just got mad at me, started yelling at me and our relationship just became strained. However I knew she wouldn't just leave us, she couldn't. I knew Keith had something to do with it, he had to.

"You don't know?" He asked me.

"Long story, Dad thinks she took off however they found me in her car, with her purse and her money. I guess I just can't accept it even when I was young, her taking off just never seemed possible." I told him.

"Pit in your stomach told you it wasn't true?" He asked.

"Exactly, however I have no proof otherwise other then what I think I've found." I told him, "Anyway that's a pretty morbid thing to tell someone I just met, do you want a coffee or something?" I asked standing up.

"Not morbid at all, I've been known as quite the miniature detective myself when I was growing up. Who knows maybe your right I mean what woman leaves her car, money and child alone to walk away?"

I sat back down and looked at him intently. "That's what I keep saying."

"I'm guessing you have all the news papers clippings about it?"

"Of course I do…" I trailed off, I had to admit his eagerness to help me was some what scaring me.

"Well than the next time we hang out, we can start our investigation." He told me with a soft smile.

"Next time?" I asked.

"Of course, you are my only friend here." He told me as he chuckled.

"You're a cheeky one." I smiled, "So was that a yes or a no on the coffee?" I asked him again.

"Yes." He told me as I stood up walking away to go make the coffee.


I woke up the next morning realizing I wasn't in my bed almost instantly. I was lying on the couch, the couch Dylan was supposed to be sleeping on which either meant I imagined him all together or he slept on the floor. I sat up on the couch looking around the living room only to realize he was in my kitchen. "Hey morning, I let you sleep on the couch I took the floor. How do you like your eggs?" He asked me as I sat there staring at him blankly.

Was he for real? He slept on the floor, and was now making me breakfast? "Um over easy?" I questioned.

"You sure?" He chuckled. "Yea… sorry, wasn't expecting you to make food." I told him as I got off the couch making my way towards him.

"How did you sleep? You where on the floor, god I must have kept you all night with my talking." I laughed as I sat at the island in my small kitchen.

"Not at all, it was refreshing." He told me, "You don't mind if I quickly shower and change do you?" I asked him as he shook his head, "It's your house Liv, I'm not going to deny you what you want to do." He smirked.

"Oh right." I sighed, "You can shower after me if you want?" I offered, "I'll be fine till I get to my moms, thanks though."

"You sure? The plumbing in that motel is terrible." I explained.

"Than for sure, when you're done."

After hopping out of the shower I made sure to blow dry my hair as quickly as possible before pulling on skinny jeans and a solid black shirt. "Dylan shower is free." I called to him as he got to my doorway.

"You sure?" He asked me. "I'm sure, go shower." I rolled my eyes at him ushering him into the bathroom.

Instantly I grabbed my phone and sat on my bed calling Jodi, I started tapping my foot impatiently waiting for her to pick up. "Hey?" I heard her say scratchily.

"Jodi he's still here, he's in my shower." I whispered into the phone to her.

"You're calling me rather than hopping in?" She teased me.

"Don't be a pervert. What do I do? He made me breakfast and we stayed up all night talking too."

"So he's a catch, what's the problem hun?" She asked

"Hey, Liv do you have a towel?" I heard him ask, "That him he sounds pretty cute." Jodi said as I instantly worried he could hear her.

"Yea, dad I'll drop by later." I said into the phone hanging up on her instantly.

I grabbed the towel from the window seat in front of me moving quickly around my bed to hand him the towel not realizing he had moved closer to me. Till I had walked right into his bare chest, "Oh wow…" I began to stammer out as he just chuckled.

"Thanks." He said as he took the towel from me.

"I um, yea…" I said as I quickly left the room to sit in the kitchen and pick at the breakfast he'd made me.

I don't know what was more what was more embarrassing, my comment when I walked into him, or the fact that even when he pretended to ignore it I still didn't know what to say. Good lord what was wrong with me.

"Was it any good?" I heard him ask as he walked into the kitchen with a new set of clothes on.

"Well, um yea I wasn't going to complain?" I told him as he chuckled.

"I'd hope not it was just eggs and bacon." He told me as I felt like I could just crawl under a rock. I thought he was talking about the incident not the food.

"I don't… eat either very often." I quickly came out with.

"Guess not." He grinned, "I'm all ready." He told me as I nodded.

"Great." I said hearing the doubt in my voice.

Once we had walked down the stairs and towards my car I felt Dylan take my wrist, "Who's Chevelle is that?" He asked pointing at my car.

"Mine why?" I asked with a soft grin.

"You have fantastic taste in cars." He informed me, "It was my moms, I had the mechanics fix it up and modernize it when I was sixteen…"

"It's a great car Liv." He told me as he pulled me into a side hug.

On the drive towards the motel Dylan and I had continued getting to know each other. He told me about his time back in South Dakota, why he had moved here and not with his dad, his relationship with his dad. I told him some stories about Jodi and I, our adventures in White Pine Bay.

"So basically you're telling me that nice girl persona I met in the café isn't how you are all the time? Damn." He said sarcastically snapping his fingers causing me to laugh.

"I'm a nice girl when I want to be, if I was nice all the time I don't think you'd talk to me, I'd be boring." I told him chuckling.

"You boring? Some how I doubt that, you could dress like you're stuck in the 50's and I think you'd still find a way to not bore me." He told me as I could feel him staring at the side of my face.

I quickly pulled into the parking lot of the motel pulling up as close as I could to the stairs leading up to the house. I turned in my seat to face him realizing he was still facing me. It felt like we where just sitting there staring at each other before he handed me his phone.

"You'll need to give me your number so we can hang out again, unless you're cool with me just showing up." He remarked.

"I wouldn't complain if you did, but it might be a bit weird." I smiled as I put my number into his phone. "Well if you ever get bored now you can reach me and don't forget, I know someone selling a bike in town if you ever feel like being about to commute." I smiled at him.

"Thanks again for letting me stay at your place that was, that was really cool." He told me.

"It was nothing, I mean couldn't let you think everyone here is hostile now could I?" I grinned softly as he shook his head, "No now I just think you're the only nice person here." He told me as he opened the car door.

Once he stepped outside pulling his back out of the back seat he leaned into the drivers side window to thank me again, "Really Liv, I owe you one a big one. I don't think anyone else would have taken someone in like you did with me."

"Probably not but that's just who I am. Don't owe me anything, call me later tell me how your reunion with your step ford family goes." I teased him as he shook his head.

"For sure, see you around hopefully." He told me as he threw his bag over his shoulder and made his way towards the door.


I began to pace around Jodi's living room as she sat with a beer in hand watching me. I told her all about last, our conversations, the way he would look at me. Everything. I don't know what was drawing me to him; clearly he was only here to seek shelter with his family for a short while. No one moves here with the intent to stay permanently unless their nuts.

"Call him, ask him out." She said as she laughed at me.

"No way, Jodi that's insane he'll think I'm stalking him." I pointed out.
"Stalking him? Babe, he made you breakfast and offered to help you solve your mom's murder. I think he will think you're into him, which you are." She added.

"I think he's attractive, I didn't say anything else." I pointed out.

"Olivia, you've been pacing in my living room for over an hour. Telling me all about how perfect you think he is… you didn't need to say anything else." She laughed at me.

I sat down on the chair across from the couch she was sitting on. She was right I had been wondering around the room talking about Dylan however I hadn't thought it was for an hour. I just assumed it had been a few minuets. Good lord knows why I was so…so addicted to a guy I barely knew.

"Ok, maybe I have a school girl crush. Ugh-" I let out in frustration as I let my head fall back. "Jodi he is so damn attractive like, he puts hotty cop to shame." I sighed as she started to howl.

"Is that so? Then maybe you should, call him. Come on Liv how often do you find yourself wanting more from a guy and not disappointed? The guy made you breakfast and he didn't even sleep with you. Think about it. Go for it don't be silly." She told me.

"Jodi, I barely know the guy that would be weird." I attempted to back out of her pushing.

"Olivia…" She said as she stood up walking towards me sitting on the arm of the chair.

"You're asking him to hang out, go on a date, come on… when was the last time you went on a date and it didn't end in the guy running away to your dad… has Zack even texted you back?" She asked me.

Zack, had been texting me. He even texted me last night claiming the real reason for his rushing things to end our date was because he had found someone else. Load of shit really, it was a godsend that I happened upon Dylan at the café.

"Well?" I heard her voice ask me. "Fine, I'll ask him if he wants to go to the bar with me." I sighed.

"The bar? Oh good lord no, sweetie ask him what he would want to do… trust me. If you want him to share that 'crush' you have go do something he wants." She suggested.

"I'll call him tomorrow." I told her, "Tonight we drink." I sighed to her.

"Oh don't be silly invite him out, could be fun?" She laughed.

"I think if I want him to like me meeting you and the gang should be one of the last things I do." I commented.

"She's right there." A voice called from the kitchen before making its own appearance.

"Baby! You're back!" Jodi shrieked as she bolted from the spot beside me towards her boyfriend.

James was always a tall man, adorned in a suit and tie, his many tattoos seeping out of every spot that it could. He wore thick-rimmed glasses and that smile that had always made me think he was filled with vile evil thoughts.

"How was the trip to New York?" She asked him, "It was good, learned a lot of interesting things. Saw your brother a number of times too, he can't seem to wait to come back." He told her.

"Yea except, my father has banned him from being here… he's far to much of a prick." She told him.

"Hey if you two want time alone, I can go." I told them both as I watched Jodi cling to the most uninterested James.

"It's fine, no need." He told me.

"No, I have to get some rest for work tomorrow. Pulling a double." I lied to them as Jodi smirked knowing my lie through and through.

"See you tomorrow then hun, when you're done work?" She asked me.

"Yea, of course." I told her as I turned around to leave. "Hey, um Olivia do you think you could be me a solid?" I heard Jodi asked me.

Turning around uncomfortably I smiled at her, knowing full well she was about to ask me to attend to a matter of her families business. "Sure what's up?" I asked her.

"Call Gil Turner." She told me, "Tell him that he is to take up the position of the operation."

"Gil? What happened to Martin?" I asked her.

"What happens to everyone in this town when they don't follow the rules? Look Liv… I know you're close to the Martins… but he caused a great offence to Gil and … look Liv my hands where tied, I tried talking to my father but he said in order to create peace Gil gets his blood." She explained.

"Is he already dead?" I asked her.

"Will be tomorrow, look I'm going to need your help now more then ever Liv… I don't trust Gil but my father requested it… at least check up on him at the compound every so often? I need you to be my partner, I can't be seen there." She told me.

"Yea sure fine." I told her angrily as I began to leave the house.


Once in my car I began to angrily hit the steering wheel. I had basically raised Bradley, babysat her, helped her with her homework and here I sit with the knowledge that her father was about to die. What was I going to do about it, nothing because like a dog with its tail between my legs I was ordered not to.

I could hear my phone going off, as I rummaged through my purse pulling it out. "Hey?" I said harshly as I put my ear to the phone.

"Woah woah, calm down." I heard Dylan's laugh flow through my ears.

"Hey sorry, it's been a long day." I told him softly.

"Not a problem, I was just curious what you where doing tomorrow?" He asked me.

"I um, tomorrow… nothing it appears. I just lost my job, so getting ready to start the new one." I told him only half lying.

"Figured out how you where planning to get the money for the bike?" I asked him.

"Not yet, but I was thinking of heading into town. Was going to see if you wanted to help me out by showing me around." He asked.

"Oh sure of course. See you at the café we met?" I asked him.

"Sure, Sounds good I'll get Norma to lend me her car." He told me.

"Norma?" I asked. "My mom." I chuckled, "Wasn't aware you where on a first name term with her, must be pretty bad." I laughed.

"Worse than that." He laughed, "I'll call you when I leave my moms." He told me.

"Sounds good see you then." I said as we hung up, I quickly entered his number and name into my phone. Before dialing Gil's number pressing the phone to my ear as I began to drive away from Jodi's house.

"Olivia, so good to hear from you darling what can I help you with?" His snake like voice whispered into my ear.

"The deed is yours to complete, when you're finished the compound is yours to take up. You will answer to Jodi and I, is this understood?" I asked him.

"Very clear my dear, and thank you." I hung up the phone before anything more could be said. I loved Jodi like a sister but she was starting to push my life in a direction I tried so hard to stray from.


Hey loves!

For any one curious "James" Jodi's boyfriend is portrayed by James Quaintance.
I also apologize if things move to quickly in this story, it will be following EVENTS in the show, however many things will be changed to fit how I would like them to go. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!