CHAPTER FOUR: A SURPRISE VISITOR

In her kitchen at Milltown, Carly had just finished giving Molly a rundown of her last encounter with Jack; answering and clarifying her cousin's occasional questions in between as she narrated all the details. Sometime amidst their conversation, they'd relocated to the kitchen, where Carly had put on a pot of coffee; and now they stood there leaning against opposite counters, facing each other, sipping and talking.

"Oh my God!" Molly exclaimed, "I cannot believe that he told you he loved you and you actually walked away from him!" With her hands firmly gripping the edge of the countertop on either side behind her, Molly leaned forward to examine Carly more closely and check for signs that may indicate whether her cousin had possibly gone crazy.

"Are you insane, Cuz?" she continued. "We're talking about Jack here; the love of your life, the father of your children, the one man you somehow find your back to over and over again."

Carly groaned.

"See, I knew you'd get on my case!" she lamented.

"As I should!" Molly justified, "so, why the hell didn't you call me right after it happened with the 411?" she asked.

"Well, I knew that you were busy getting settled into your new apartment, so I really didn't want to distract you." Carly paused. "How's that going by the way?"

"Oh, it's been great. Wait until you see it, you're gonna love it!"

"I still wish you'd let me help out," Carly said.

Molly waved a carefree hand at her cousin.

"Please Cuz, you had so much going on already; I didn't want to rope you into this too. Besides, Holden and I got to spend some quality time together getting everything set up. Not to mention the breaks in between were a great perk," she said mischievously with a wink. "You're still coming by to see it on Saturday?"

"Yep," Carly confirmed. "So, how is Holden taking the move?"

Molly sighed.

"Well, neither of us are happy about it exactly, but I just felt like it was the right thing to do," Molly explained. "I mean, his kids just had to deal with Lily and Damian groping each other all over their house until recently." Molly cringed. "So I just thought that it wasn't helping them to also have to watch their father canoodling with his new girlfriend at their grandmother's farm. I just wish I'd thought of it sooner. Besides, with me living in my own apartment, Holden and I have more privacy when we want some alone time, you know? Over at the farm, it was like Grand Central Station. We always had to watch our hands every time that damn screen door swung open every five minutes."

"Yeah," Carly agreed, fully aware of the amount of traffic that the farm generated.

"Speaking of kids…how are Parker and Sage doing?" Molly asked.

"Oh, they're fine. Winter break just ended last week, so suffice it to say that they aren't exactly thrilled about being back in school."

Molly chuckled.

"And how is Sage handling Jack's moving out?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not particularly well. She's really bummed out because she'd gotten used to having him around the house for the past month and a half."

"You mean…like you?" Molly teased.

Carly shot her cousin a disapproving glare.

Just then the doorbell rang. Carly grabbed her coffee mug from the counter and walked into the living room to answer it, with Molly in tow. When she saw who was standing on the other side of the semi-translucent glass door, she gasped in surprise.

"Neal?" she said, when she came face-to-face with him.

"Hi Carly," he grinned, his English accent as strong as ever as he said her name.

"Oh my God! What are you doing in Oakdale?" she asked as she reached out to give him a hug.

"It's a long story," he said smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't ring you. I just thought I'd drop all my manners and show up unannounced to surprise you."

Carly laughed.

"Well, you did!" she acknowledged. "But it's nice to see you. Please come on in," she invited.

"Thank you," he replied, as he walked in.

Upon seeing that they weren't alone in the room, Neal walked up to Molly and extended his hand in introduction.

"Hi," he said smiling, "Neal Stokes."

"Molly Conlan," she said as she returned the handshake. "I'm Carly's cousin."

Neal looked from Molly to Carly at learning this piece of information.

"Well, I see that good looks run in the family," he discerned complimentarily, earning an appreciative smile from both women. "It's nice to meet you, Molly."

"Please sit down, Neal," Carly said and the three of them settled down; Carly and Molly on the couch, and Neal in the chair in front of the fireplace, closest to Carly.

"So, what brings you back to Oakdale?" she asked interestedly.

"Business. Well, mostly business. Although I must confess that I was quite happy at the opportunity of seeing you again."

Carly blushed at the flattery.

Molly tried to conceal a smirk as her eyes darted from Neal to Carly to Neal again. It didn't take a genius to see that Neal was clearly smitten with Carly. They obviously had some sort of history, and now she was brimming with curiosity to find out all about it once she was alone with her cousin.

Carly caught Molly's wayward smirk, knowing full well that she had some explaining to do afterwards, but for the moment, she quickly diverted her attention back to Neal.

"Neal, would you care for a cup of coff—"she started, only to correct herself, "Oh, wait, you like tea," she said smiling, as she recalled him mentioning it to her the last time she had invited him in after they had gone out.

Neal smiled back, looking quite pleased that she had remembered.

"I wish I could stay," he said, "but I have a meeting in about an hour's time at the hospital. That's why I'm back in town, you see. My company just signed a contract with Oakdale Memorial to construct the new neurology wing, and we're supposed to go over all the preliminary floor plans today."

"Ahh, I see," Carly said, better comprehending what "business" had brought him back to Oakdale.

"So," Neal emphasized, "although I can't stay for tea at the moment, I was still hoping that we could get together and catch up sometime?" He then quickly held up his hands in the air to further clarify himself, "no ulterior motives. Just two friends catching up," he promised.

Carly laughed.

"Um, sure," she said smiling. "Just let me know when you're free."

"Well, actually," he explained, "Bob Hughes has invited me to the charity benefit that's taking place at the Lakeview tomorrow night. He thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to meet some of the hospital trustees and board members and get to know them on a first name basis in a social environment."

Carly nodded, seeing how it made sense.

Neal paused a moment before he continued.

"I know that this is somewhat last minute, but I was hoping you'd be kind enough to accompany me," he asked. "Unless you have other plans or are already going with somebody else?"

"Well, I…" Carly fumbled, taken by surprise at the question.

"She'd love to!" Molly blurted out.

Carly's head reflexively snapped in her cousin's direction and she shot her an annoyed glare.

Picking up on this, Neal addressed Carly again.

"I hope I'm not putting you on the spot. If you're otherwise engaged, we can always just do lunch or coffee or tea another time," he said, smiling gently.

Carly paused as she deliberated her answer. She'd always liked Neal. He was a really nice guy, and funny to boot. Although he wasn't her idea of a romantic suitor-which she'd made evident to him so as not to lead him on- she had enjoyed his company and his friendship when they'd spent time together the last time he'd been in town. Despite his obvious romantic interest in her, Neal had been a perfect gentleman and respected the boundary, and provided her with a listening ear and gentle understanding at a time in her life when it seemed like the whole world was against her. Feeling more than a little guilty for having taken so much more from him than she had returned in their friendship, Carly felt that she owed him. Prompted by an encouraging smile from Molly, Carly looked back at Neal.

"Neal, I'd be happy to go with you," she accepted cordially.

"Wonderful," he said smiling, and then looked at Molly. "Will you be going too Molly?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she confirmed.

"Splendid. Then I shall look forward to seeing you tomorrow as well. Well, I should be going," he said getting up. "Pick you up at 7:30?" he asked Carly.

"Sounds good", Carly nodded as she got up and walked him to the door.

Neal gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Molly," he called from the door.

"You too, Neal," Molly reciprocated. "See you at the benefit."

"Yes indeed," he said, as he walked out. "Good day, ladies."

Carly closed the door and turned to face her cousin. She knew exactly what was coming.

"So…he seems nice," Molly said, although Carly could easily tell that the casualness in her voice was just a temporary ruse.

Carly sighed.

"Okay, out with it!" Molly ordered.

For the second time that morning, Carly gave Molly another rundown; this time, obviously, on how she came to be acquainted with Neal.

Molly listened carefully and then made a thoughtful conjecture.

"I bet it drove Jack crazy," she speculated.

"Yeah, both Jack and Hol-" Carly began, before catching herself.

"Holden," Molly finished for her.

Carly looked at her cousin guiltily, but Molly looked unfazed.

"That's ancient history, Cuz," she assured her, making Carly relax. "Still…you showing up with Neal…" Molly continued, a teasing smile dancing on her lips, "it'll definitely get a reaction out of Jack."

Carly blew a strand of hair away from her face as a light bulb went on inside her head and she sat up straight and narrowed her eyes on Molly.

"Wait a minute…is that why you wanted me to go with Neal?" she inquired, "to make Jack jealous?"

"Maybe," Molly grinned unabashedly.

"Oh, Mol," Carly said, shaking her head.

"What?" she countered. "Is it any secret that Jack Snyder sees green any time another man eyes his woman?"

"I'm not his 'woman'—not anymore," Carly corrected quietly. "Besides, from what he told Sage over the phone yesterday, I don't think he's even planning on going," Carly responded, as a hint of despair crept in at the thought.

"Like hell he won't," Molly muttered under her breath, bringing her coffee mug up to her mouth to hide the impish grin that had snuck its way on there. She sipped the drink.

"What?" Carly asked in puzzlement, having not heard her cousin and requiring repetition.

"Nothing", Molly responded, lowering the mug to reveal her best imitation of an innocent smile. She quickly changed gears and cleared her throat. "Okay, Cinderella, if you are going to the ball after all, what do you say we get crackin' on finding you that perfect dress? Off you go!" she said as she pointed towards the stairs.

Carly grinned.

"Whatever you say, fairy godmother," she replied as she scurried up the stairs, "just give me ten minutes to get ready."

"Take your time," Molly called after her with an added cheerfulness.

Once Carly was out of earshot, Molly reached for her cell phone and placed a call.

Holden Snyder was sitting at the kitchen table at the farm reading his newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee when his cell phone started to ring. He glanced down and smiled when he saw who was calling.

"Well, hey there," he said pleasantly.

"Hey yourself," Molly grinned into the phone.

"To what do I owe this honor?"

"Does a girlfriend need a reason to call her fabulous boyfriend?" Molly asked flirtatiously.

Holden laughed.

"No, of course not."

Molly bit her lip and smiled.

"Well, actually, there is a reason I called," she confessed.

"Aha! And the truth comes out," he teased, "What's up?"

"Jack's not around is he?" she asked.

"No, not yet, but he should be stopping by in a while. Why?"

Molly paused.

"I need a favor…" she said slowly, the wheels clearly turning in her head.

Ten minutes later Carly came downstairs wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a green v-neck sweater with argyle print, a beige coat, a white woolen scarf, and black boots; her long blonde hair hanging loosely around her shoulders. When she reached the base of the stairs, she noticed that Molly was on her cell phone, and could tell by the smile on her cousin's face that she was talking to Holden.

When Molly saw Carly walk into the living room dressed and ready to go, she told Holden that she needed go; but not before issuing him a reminder.

"Oh, and Holden?" she said, "don't forget about that little favor you promised to do for me." She flashed Carly a smile.

Carly could've sworn that she saw a distinct flicker in her cousin's eyes, but before she could quiz her about it, she was being shoved out the door and towards her car.