Note: I'm so sorry for the huge delay in this story. I hope there are still some of you who are enjoying this story. I'm trying to make the story a little less complicated, with a little less characters involved. Please let me know what you think of it! xx.

8.

Emily decided it was time to leave her mother's house. She had to pick up her son, Daniël, who was staying with his father, Tom Hughes, and his stepmother, Margo Hughes. Emily stood up and said: "Mom, I've got to pick up Daniël. Thanks for the coffee." Susan stood up immediately and said: "Emily… Please. Tell me, are you really okay? I can see something's going on, and I'm sure it had something to do with Dusty. You know you can tell me everything." Emily sighed. She was sick of it, and while raising her voice she said: "Mom, please… Dusty and I are done, okay? We're done, over. You're happy now?" Susan was stunned and said: "Emily, sweetheart, I'm not happy if you're not. But… I think it's better if you two stop seeing each other. It only makes you sad." Emily was furious, even though her mother was right in some way. She and Dusty had spent so much time together, and a lot of it was nice. But they had had a lot of fights as well. "Mom, I really need to go." With those words, Emily left. She was crying while she rushed to her car. She hated herself for being jealous. Because it was thanks to her jealousy that Dusty and her would never, ever be the couple she wanted them to be.

When they walked around town, Dusty suddenly asked: "So, tell me about your marriage." Catherine wasn't sure what to tell him. She wanted to tell him she wasn't married to Gil, but that would get the case in danger. So she decided to twist everything. She had to lie anyway. "It's… Complicated." "Complicated is a little… Complicated. What do you mean?" Catherine shrugged and said: "We're having problems. Or maybe I'm having problems, I'm not sure. Gil has been having a burn-out for a while now, that's why we decided to get away from Vegas. I figured he would calm down and feel better, but I feel like it's getting worse. I'm…. I'm just not sure I still love him as much as I should love my husband." Catherine was surprised of how easy she was able to do this, but felt guilty when she saw Dusty's sympathetic look. "But you do love him don't you?" Catherine shrugged, and decided to answer honestly to this question. As far as possible. "I don't know. We've changed so much throughout the years. I do love him… I just… I'm feeling like I'm falling in love with someone else." Dusty stopped walking and looked in her eyes when he said: "Who's that lucky man?" His eyes made Catherine melt and without thinking she said: "You." Dusty looked at her, just smiling, when her phone suddenly rang. She saw it was Gil. "Gil?" "Hi Cath, it's me. Jack's here, to talk about the case. You're able to come?" Catherine sighed. She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to. "Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes." She hung up immediately after that and Dusty said: "Your husband?" Catherine nodded. "Yeah. I'm… I'm sorry." Dusty cut her apology off. "Don't be. I understand, he needs you. You should go." Catherine nodded. "I know." She didn't move though, and said: "Dusty… I like you. Can we meet again tonight, please?" Dusty shrugged and said: "Catherine, look. I think you're a gorgeous woman, but I do not want to ruin your marriage. You're vulnerable right now because you're having doubts about it, but you'll regret it if something will happen between us." Catherine shook her head and looked deeply in his eyes when she said: "I won't. Please, can we meet tonight?" Dusty knew he couldn't resist the woman's begging words and said: "Okay. Come to the Lakeview. I'll text you my suite's number."

Catherine arrived home ten minutes later in her and Gil's house, were she found Jack and Gil at the kitchen table, with a couple of files in front of them. Catherine walked in and put her purse on the couch, and sat down next to the two men. "So, what's going on?" Before Gil could say a thing, Jack started talking. "Gil emailed me this morning about the extended files of a couple of residents." Catherine nodded. "I know, we talked about the names." "Well, then you also know one of them was Ric Decker. He's been in a psychical hospital on the other side of the country for a while, somewhere In Los Angeles. Or actually, we thought he was." Catherine immediately looked up and focused. "What do you mean, he was?" "Margo called the hospital to see how he was doing. We don't usually call those hospitals, especially not after the case had been closed. After all, it's been a couple of years since Ric's been here. Apparently, the hospital has released him a couple of months ago. " "And they haven't even let the Oakdale PD know?" Catherine stared at Jack in disbelief. "They don't need to let us know, it's not compulsory. But I think we should try to track him down. He is definitely a main suspect know." Gil and Catherine nodded, and Gil said: "I'll call one of our co-workers to let them check if he's been living in Las Vegas lately, and we'll let them check for fingerprints in any other cases." Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's good." Jack stood up and said: "I have to get back to the station. I'll email you the other files this afternoon. We can't scrap all the other ones of the list yet." Gil and Catherine nodded, and after they said their goodbyes, Jack was gone. When the door slammed, Catherine's phone beeped. It was a text message, from Dusty. It only said his suite number. It made her smile though. Catherine was glad he wanted to see her. Gil saw Catherine smile and said: "What's so funny?" Catherine felt a little snatched. Gil saw in her eyes she wasn't planning on answering his question, so he said: "Cath, I…. I was wondering, if you liked to get dinner tonight? At the Lakeview perhaps?" The look in Gil's eyes was one Catherine hadn't seen a lot. It was different from the way he usually looked at her. She wasn't sure what it was though, and said: "Gil, I'm sorry. I'm having dinner with someone tonight." Catherine knew there would be a question from Gil that would ask her who it was, and her mind was spinning to give him a good answer. As expected, Gil asked: "Who you're having dinner with?" Catherine decided to take a risk and said: "Meg. She…. She called me this afternoon, and asked if I wanted to have dinner and drinks. I accepted. Do you mind?" While Gil though to himself that he definitely mind, he said instead: "No, go ahead. It's not like we're married." Catherine smiled and said: "Thanks. We'll go to dinner some other time this week. After all, we're supposed to be a married couple, right?" With those words, she ran up the stairs while she yelled: "I'm taking a shower!"

That evening at seven, Catherine was on her way to Dusty's suite. She wore her favourite pair of tight jeans, with a tight black blouse. She hoped she looked good. When she arrived at his door, she took a deep breath before she knocked. Dusty opened very quickly and just said: "Hey." He let her in his suite while Catherine smiled at him and looked around his suite. It was classic, but pretty. Catherine liked it. Dusty handed her a glass of wine while he said: "I've been thinking about you the entire afternoon." "I've been thinking about you as well." While Catherine drank her wine, Dusty drank up his glass of whisky in one, big swig. He put his glass on a counter and said: "You're beautiful." Catherine just smiled while she was standing in the centre of his suite, near his bed. He walked to her, and when he stood just a couple of centimetres away from her he said: "I'm not sure if it's good what I want. And I'm definitely not sure if it's right what I want. But I want it more than anything." Catherine answered in a flirty way: "Well, what is it that you want?" He threw his arm around her waist while he crashed his lips on hers. Catherine's wineglass fell on Dusty's carpet, and while the wine spread over the carpet, their kissed became more passionate and intense. Dusty's hands were gliding all over Catherine's body while he gently pushed her on his bed.

Meanwhile, Gil was home alone. He kept looking at the clock, hoping Catherine would return soon. He knew she would probably stay away for a while, since it was just ten o'clock. He wished she would've stayed home. The couple of days the two had spent in the house together, made him realize how much he needed Catherine. She was always there for him. She was the only one who knew him. The only one he could trust. She was his best friend. And Gil started realizing that he wanted her to be more than his best friend. Gil started realizing that, every time he saw her, he wished he could kiss her. Touch her. Hold her. Love her. He wished they were more among the Oakdale residents. After all, those times were the only times that he could truly, honestly behave as if she was his lover. And vice versa.