A/N Its okay to hate me for not updating this poor story in FOREVER. I hate myself. I really do. We can blame life, school, and the evil writer's block that I finally defeated a few days ago. Let's hope it never ever comes back! Enjoy, Readers…if you're still out there! : )

Chapter Ten

Life is so much easier to move through when there aren't any secrets to carry.

After that day, the knowledge that Danny and I were dating was as common to everyone as the squeaky step that Reverend Arnold stepped on every Sunday to get to the pulpit to read sermons. We were discreet over course, but that didn't stop the knowing smiles or the quick winks whenever we were seen together. He completely he shifted his work schedule around right after the New Year, allowing himself to be free to bring me home from school every day. Charlotte thought it was incredibly romantic and never could contain herself when he would take my books and open the truck door for me. He always offered her rides and she always refused, smiling at me brightly. One particular morning, in early January after he had picked me up, he made what he promised to be a quick detour to his house to pick up things and get the mail. He had been staying at our house, in Brett's old room, for the past several weeks. I left the college handbook I had been leafing through on the drive and followed him inside the cold house. He had grabbed the mail from the box by the door and was starting to go through it while my eyes scanned over the neglect of the home.

"Maybe we should tidy up in here." I suggested, noting the thin layer of dust on the mantle. Dust was forbidden in my mother's house.

He opened another letter, looking up to where I was. "No, its fine. We won't be here long."

I shrugged my shoulders and thankful for my coat keeping me warm, sat down in the rocking chair near the hearth and crossed my arms and legs. He stood up from his place at the desk only a moment later, the mail all opened and cluttered over its surface.

"Anything interesting?" I asked.

He shook his head, coming near me. "I think I'm going to rent this place out."

"What?"

"Well it makes sense, I'm never here. I have no desire to really be here. The place is paid off, just have to worry about the land and the taxes, a lease should cover both of those things." He shrugged his shoulders. "Its something I've been given quite a bit of thought too. I can always go get a room in town if I need to."

"You have one at my house."

He smiled, "Yeah, but how proper is that?"

"I don't give a fig about that."

"Really? What about your parents, or even Rafe? Don't you think it bothers them a little that I'm only feet from your room." He moved closer to me then, practically crawling on the floor with a mischievous smile on his face. "I could come in there at any time of the night, crawl into bed with you…" he was close to my face then, he warm sweet breath covering my cheeks, but I playfully pushed him back.

"You haven't done anything like that. We haven't…at all since that one time."

He kissed me. "Which they don't even know about."

"No, no one does."

He kissed me again, letting his body weight press softly on to me and heating up the air around us. "I do." He whispered. He pulled me up from the chair, his arms coming around me, pulling me in for more kisses. "And you do."

"Yes…"

His hands combed through my hair as his kiss deepened and I felt the effects shoot throughout my body. We hadn't let ourselves get even close to this point since that first time all those months ago, but now that we were here again and I remembered how nice it felt, I wondered why. The couch was only a few feet away, but he made no attempt to move me to it. Instead he let his lips move to my neck, my collar bone and I shivered as his hands began to follow their own path.

He removed my coat and then my sweater, throwing them in the chair I had just been sitting in and then, just like a husband carrying his new wife over the threshold he scooped me up in his arms and carried me into his old bedroom and laid me down on the bed. My heart was pounding in my chest as he came down on top of me, his lips and hands picking up where they had left off. His fingers were just coming to the buttons on my blouse when the sound of a car in the driveway pulled both of our attentions away.

Danny got off of the bed and went to the window.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know." He answered and leaned over to kiss me before he left the room. I wasn't sure if he had intended for me to stay or not, but I adjusted my clothes anyway and went back into the living room. The front door was open and I could hear Danny talking to whoever was on the other side of it. I stayed hidden behind the door until he came back in and shut it, a yellow envelope in his hand.

"Special delivery?"I asked.

He nodded as he began to open it. A few minutes passed before he looked up at me, a mixture of confusion and shock on his face.

"It's from my uncle."

I wasn't aware of Danny having any family. No one besides our family and friends from town had come to his father's funeral and no mention had been made of any of them sending condolences or wondering how Danny himself was doing after the tragedy.

"Your uncle?"

"Yeah." He sat down on the couch and scanned the telegram. "He lives in Atlanta, my mom's younger brother, I guess. He just heard about what happened." He shook his head, obviously in as much disbelief, if not more, than I was. "I've never even heard of him before."

I came over and sat next to him looking at the telegram, "May I?" I asked.

He nodded and blindly handed the paper over to me. I read it carefully. Mr. George Franklin it seemed was Isabel Franklin Walker's younger brother. He lived in Atlanta with his wife and two children and had only heard of the death of Cole Walker a few days before. He explained a falling out between Danny's mother and her family because of their disapproval in her choice of husband. He hadn't known he had a nephew until he had read Danny's father obituary. He wanted to meet Danny, to get to know him and make up for all of the lost years and bad blood in their family.

I was touched by the letter and its sincerity. I placed a hand on top of Danny's handing the letter back to him. "He sounds like he really wants to know you."

"Yeah." He said absently and held up something else from the envelope. "He sent me a ticket to Atlanta."

I won't deny that my heart selfishly sank at that moment. The thought of him leaving me, even if it was in the sake of the family he deserved to know, hurt unbearably. I waited a moment to respond; too afraid I would say the wrong thing and give away my true feelings if I spoke to soon. In the end all I could say was, "Oh."

We left soon after that, going back to my house. After he had helped me down from the truck, he voiced his plan to go find Rafe, kissing me on the cheek before he walked off. I clutched my books and went into the house, shutting the door behind me. My mother heard and called for me from the kitchen. I hung my bag and coat up and went to her, trying to push away the ill thoughts from my head.

My mother had put me to work rolling out dough for dinner rolls and so I was covered in flour and sticky dough up to my elbows when Danny finally came into the house 45 minutes later, Rafe on his heels. Rafe settled himself at the table, propping a leg up.
"You believe this crap?" he asked me.

"Rafe—"
"No, Danny, I'm sorry but some guy you don't even know claiming to be your uncle wants you to travel a hundred or so odd miles from home to meet him…seems all wet to me. I don't like it."

Danny came to stand next to me, releasing an exasperated. I began to knead the dough with more force than I normally would have, unsure if I should say anything.

"What if he's some loon wanting money or to gut you in a dark forest? You don't know anything about him or anyone in that family for that matter. It doesn't take a Hardy Boy to see the potential bad situation here. You're nuts if you go and that's the truth of it."

"Okay, that's enough Rafe." I finally put down the dough and dusted my hands off on my apron. "The chances of any of that are slim to none and you know it. Did Danny even ask for your opinion on going or not? Yeah, I didn't think so. He's an adult, capable of making adult decisions on his own without the interference of a pig headed best friend like you!"

"Jesus Christ, Em, I was just trying to warn him."

"Well don't!" I fired back. Beside me, Danny's arm came around my waist in gratitude. I gave him a small smile.
"Fine, go then! What the hell do I care?" my brother steamed and stomped out of the room. Frustrated myself, I grabbed at the dough, pulling off chunks and rolling them in my hands before setting them on the pan. Danny watched me silently. I finished quickly and with sloppy results, but I didn't care and practically threw the pan into the oven before going to the sink and pumping water to wash my hands off.
"You don't want me to go either." He observed behind me.
I reached for a towel, drying my hands and silently shook my head.
"Not for the reasons Rafe said. I'm sure your uncle and the rest of your family are nice people, devoid of any mental illness or murderous thoughts, it's just…" I paused, turning around to face him, "I don't like the thought of you being so far away. My entire life, you've always been an arm's reach away. It hurts to think about not seeing you at all for weeks or months…years."
He smiled, "Years?"
"Maybe that's a slight embellishment." I admitted, "All the same…"

He came to me, putting his arms around my waist and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "I couldn't stand to be away from you for any long period of time. I would take you with me if I knew I could get away with it. As it stands though, I can't, but I have to do this, Emily. I can't know I have family out there and NOT know them. You're lucky; you've always had family around you. Brothers, parents, cousins and aunts and uncles, grandparents, none of whom live more than a day from you. I've never had anyone. Even when my dad was alive he wasn't here. I've pretended for too long that this was my family—"
"But we are."
"I think I had to give up that notion the second I fell in love with you, Doll. You can't be my sister and my girlfriend…it's a little strange." There was humor in his voice and it produced a small laugh from me. "See you understand. I'm sure Rafe does too he's just being…himself. I will come back to you, I will write to you every day. I promise"

"You're really going to go then?"

"Wouldn't you?"

I paused for only a moment before nodding. He was right of course I would have gone. I understood and sympathized with everything he had said. I was still reluctant though, even as I hugged and kissed him and he promised me again that everything would be fine. Perhaps I should have listened to my intuition then. Been more aware of that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, maybe if I had then the events that extended from that trip wouldn't have happened and thrown my life into turmoil. But I didn't. I smiled and put on a brave face for the man I loved and began to help him plan for his trip.

He left on a Tuesday in early March. I went to the station with him, Rafe drove. It was a cold and rainy day and there were very few words spoken between the three of us. The engine on the train was going and the whistle sounded the five minute warning just as Danny handed his bag off to be stowed. He turned to Rafe first; whose view on the situation hadn't change since the arrival of The Letter. He stared at Danny for a moment before accepting the handshake that he offered and wished him luck. Then from out of nowhere, he hugged him. It was fierce, brotherly and quick, but a hug none the less. I smiled, amused that even my brother couldn't ignore the emotion of the moment.

"Come back, okay?" he said as the parted.
"I will." Danny nodded.

With a silent nod, Rafe walked back into the station, giving Danny and me as much privacy as he could get on the crowded train platform.

We hadn't had a moment alone together since he had gotten the letter. Time and our schedules just weren't on our side, but last night just when I had given up on the thought, he surprised me by taking me to see Swing Time at the movie theater. We were able to hold hands and eat our popcorn and forget about the impending trip and separation for an hour or so. Now that we were standing together though, waiting for the train, I wanted that hour back.
"Well…" he began, but then didn't finish.

"I hope you have a great trip." I told him and despite my sadness, I meant it.

"I hope I do. I'm kind of afraid of what they'll think of me."

"They'll love you." I replied. "How couldn't they?"

His hands were in his pockets and he hid his fear with a sheepish smile. "Well, they obviously didn't think too much of my old man."

I lifted a hand and let my fingertips glide over his cheek and into the short locks of his hair. "Don't think like that. They really will love you, just like we do."

"We?"
I giggled, "You know I love you."

"Say it then."

"I love you."

As if it came straight out of a movie, the train whistle sounded and the conductor could be heard down the platform, shouting a stereotypical "All aboard!" Danny pulled me to him fast, wrapping his arms around me, burying his face in the amber curls of my hair.

"I love you." He whispered and though it was muffled I could easily hear and feel the affection in his voice. I knew he was just as in love with me as I was with him. We hadn't been a couple for long, but the years of friendship before worked to our advantage. I could almost hear his thoughts for myself. As he pulled back and gave me a final kiss, deep and searing, ignoring those around us who might gawk, I could feel his unspoken words of good-bye in my heart, promising his love for me and promising to come back to me soon.

I watched him get on the train and gave him a final wave before the door closed, but couldn't bear to watch it leave. I turned my back to it as the wheels began to turn and went back into the station and walked quickly through it and out to the parking lot to where Rafe was waiting in the car. He watched me as I got in and shut the door. The engine was already running, but he made no attempt to put the car into gear.

"Don't be mad at him, Rafe."
"I'm not."

"He had to do this. You would have done the same."

"Yeah, I know." His fingers drummed on the door in thought. After a moment he said, "Are you okay with it?"

I looked out the window. I could see the train pulling out of the station and focused on it for a moment, feeling not only the dull sadness in my heart, but also the excitement for Danny. Family was needed, it was important part of life. Family is what keeps you strong when all other things fail. For so long, even while his father was alive, Danny had never known that comfort. Now, hopefully, he would. "Yeah, I am." I finally answered, turning to him with a smile. "This is a good thing, a great thing. We should be happy."

He nodded and then moved the gear stick and put the car into drive. The moment felt bittersweet. I wasn't looking to the time ahead without Danny, but I knew he would come back to me, to us, soon.