The entire car ride to the house was silent. Narvel wanted a conversation like the ones had been having at the diner, but eveytime he was about to say something, he stopped himself. Narvel sensed that Reba was deep in thought, and the last thing he wanted was her snapping at him. He liked her. A lot. Even more so then when they first met. He really didn't want to pressure her, because he feared if he did one little thing wrong, he would be on her bad side again.

Reba, in the meantime, was wrestling with herself. How could she let the time get away like that? She was always the professional one. And Narvel was here to take her place, she was sure of it. She had to be working harder then ever, not squandering away the time with the enemy! Reba's mood became darker because of her confusing thoughts. By the time Narvel pulled into the driveway of the house, Reba was ready to blow a fuse.

Reba hopped out of the car before Narvel had even turned it off. She walked quickly to the door, eager to get to work and forget about her conflicting thoughts, before remembering that Narvel had the key. She groaned in frustration and impatiently waited as Narvel slowly made his way to her.

He took out the key and went to unlock the door, but paused and turned to Reba. "Why are you so angry with me, Reba?"

"I'm not angry with you, Mr. Blackstock." Which was partly true, she was more mad at herself. "I just want to get in so we can start our work."

Narvel turned to the door quickly before she could see his dismay. It was back to Mr. Blackstock. Back to "Mr. Blackstock" and that cold tone that he disliked so much. He was tired of this already. He didn't know what he had done to make her so upset with him, but he was not going to keep taking it. If she only wanted to work, then that's exactly what he would do.

"Very well, Ms. Hart," Narvel put the key in the lock and turned it, then opening the door he gave her a polite smile and ushered her in. "Let's get to work."

-

When Reba came home that day, she immediately she crashed on the couch. She felt both emotionally and physically drained.

The kitchen door slammed. "Reba?"

Reba groaned. "What do you want Barbara Jean?" Reba put her hand over her eyes and sighed. So much for resting.

"Hey buddy!" Barbara Jean picked up Reba's feet, sat down, and put Reba's feet back on her own lap. "How was work?"

"Horrible. Awful. Terrible. Do I need to go on?"

"Really? But you looked pretty happy when I saw-" Barbara Jean stopped herself.

Reba uncovered her eyes and stared at Barbara Jean. "Saw what?"

"Oh nothing." Barbara Jean tried to change the subject. "Oh, so today I gave Henry some potato chips, and the kid thought it was heaven. I was literally wrestling with him on the ground to get them bac-"

Reba interupted her babble with a firm, "Barbara Jean."

She started picking at a loose thread on the couch. "Yes, Reba?"

"Were you spying on me today?"

Barbara Jean paused and put on her lying face. "Nooooooooo..."

"Barbara Jean!" Reba stood up and put her hand on her hips.

"Well! You wouldn't tell me anything about your new partner so I had to find out for myself!" Barbara Jean pouted.

"I don't like talking about him! You know what he did today? He took me to lunch!"

Barbara Jean cocked her head to the side, "What a crime." she said sarcastically.

Reba, however, was too upset to notice. "Then he sold the house! In only one hour! Can you believe that? I have been trying to sell this house for a long time and he just shows up and sells it on his first day!"

"Sounds like he's doing his job..." Barbara Jean muttered under her breath.

"Not only does he sell it, he sells it to one of the most picky, rude couples I've ever met!" Reba went on with her rant, pacing as she spoke. "And the only reason he sold it is cause he's so gosh darn good looking! He had the woman fawning all over him! He could have told her the house was on sale for a million dollars and she would have bought it, just because Narvel recommended it to her!"

"Oh so his name is Narvel?" Barbara Jean asked.

Reba looked at her like she was crazy. "Is that really all you have to say?"

"Well Reba, I see no point in agreeing or disagreeing with you. You're obviously going to hate this man simply because you feel threatened."

Reba was shocked by Barbara Jean's perception. "That is not true." she lied.

"Oh yeah it is! I know you Reba. And when I was follo-I mean, when I stumbled upon the diner that you happened to be at," Reba rolled her eyes. "I could tell you really liked him, all the way up until you started thinking about work."

"I don't like him, Barbara Jean!"

"Oh yes you dooooooo!" Barbara Jean stood up and went over to where Reba was standing with her arms crossed. "You think he's good looking, nice, and smart. You. Like. Him." Barbara Jean tapped Reba's nose with the last three words.

Reba glared at her, "I will hurt you."

Barbara Jean backed away. "Ok fine, be stubborn. But I'm telling you, you're going to miss a great catch! Narvel is definitely a hunk. And your clock's tickin'! Tick, tock. Tick-ahhh!" Barbara Jean ran out the front door as soon as she saw Reba walking toward her with a book in her hand.

Reba nodded in satisfaction in the direction that Barbara Jean left and looked down at the book she had picked up. One of her favorite romance novels, "Pride and Prejudice."

Reba stared at the title in surprise. "Shoot." Reba said to herself, she looked up to the ceiling. "I guess You're trying to tell me something, huh?" She sighed.

-
After getting back to his quiet condo, Narvel immediately set his briefcase down and flopped onto his couch. What a day. Narvel closed his eyes and pictured Reba laughing with him from across the table. Her beautiful blue eyes were looking at him sweetly, she tucked her brilliant red hair behind her ear and raised one of her eyebrows as she teased him. Narvel sighed. She was so gorgeous. He had never been this crazy over someone. Not even Lisa would fill his thoughts as often as they were filled with Reba. And Narvel had believed himself to be in love with Lisa. Sure they had their rough patches during their marriage, but Narvel was a firm believer that if you both truly love each other, you can find a way to work anything out. Him and Lisa just weren't right for each other. Their fights got more frequent, their arguments became louder, and when Lisa had finally brought up the idea of divorce, while Narvel was shocked and a little hurt that she had actually suggested it, he couldn't deny that it seemed to be the right thing to do. After it was final, not being able to fully come to grips with the fact that there was no more "Lisa and I", Narvel decided it was time to leave. He didn't have children,—Lisa always thought they would get in the way of their relationship. Ironic, right?—he knew many real estate firms would love to have him no matter where he went, and he just wanted to get away. All of his family lived near Houston, so he decided it would be the ideal place to move to. He never expected to find another love like his and Lisa's again. But then Reba came along. Narvel sighed. He didn't want another one-sided relationship. To find out your love for someone isn't returned, that hurts worse than most anything. But he didn't know what to do. Reba was clearly set on despising him, and if he didn't know the reason for her hatred, how could he fix it? Maybe he just needed to forget pursuing Reba at all. She probably had tons of men waiting in line to get a date with her. Maybe he should just let them be buisness partners, the way Reba wanted. If that was what would make her happy, so be it.