Note: Next chapter! Enjoy :-) xx.

Chapter 9: The Wrong Pair

"You still want me to leave?"

Reba looked beside her, into the eyes of the man she'd just been making love with for the first time. She smiled, though her eyes did reveal a hint of sadness, as she said: "I think you should stay….

"So do I." He pulled her closer to him before nuzzling her neck, inhaling the scent that was so common for Reba; he loved it. She sighed in content, enjoying his body against hers before saying: "Don't you think this is wrong, Brock?"

He shrugged. "Probably. There are some things we need to talk about though… Maybe it will make you feel less guilty?"

"How is something gonna make me feel better, you moron… I did the same thing to a friend that has hurt me so bad. In fact, it's still hurting me! How is anything you're about to tell me gonna make me feel better? You idiot…" She sat up and looked at him with a glare, Brock noticing the fire in her pretty blue eyes.

"Stop freaking out, Reba, listen to me first, will you?" He sat up straight as well and gave her a stern look, which she answered through raising her eyebrows before saying: "Okay. Spill."

"Barbra Jean left this afternoon with Cheyenne, like I said. It was kind of unannounced to me which I really wasn't too happy about since I needed to have a conversation with Barbra Jean. I told her that, and she just told me to quickly tell her what was going on… So I did. I told her that I didn't think our relationship could be save through therapy, that I was done with us… Then Cheyenne barged in and we really didn't have another chance to continue our talk. But I think she got the main message."

Reba looked at Brock, wondering how he was able to talk so calm about his stranded marriage. Despite being sure about divorcing Jack, Reba still had been overwhelmed with sadness during that period. She felt as if she had failed. "Doesn't it hurt… To know that you couldn't make your marriage last forever?"

When Brock looked into her eyes, it saddened him to see the pain in her own eyes, knowing Jack was the cause of it. He cupped her cheeks with his hands before saying: "Not anymore.. It did, when it all started crumbling down. I am already on perfect terms with this decision, I… It just doesn't hurt anymore. I feel bad for Cheyenne… But it's not healthy for her to grow up in a family that doesn't work."

Reba nodded, knowing she would never be able to fully understand Brock's thoughts, yet tried her best. She pecked his lips before saying: "Let's sleep… We both have to work tomorrow. And a billion things to discuss as well."'

Barbra Jean had been calling her house phone over four times the next morning, trying to get to Brock. He wasn't answering his cell phone and Barbra Jean was getting worried. Why wasn't he answering his phone? It was past eight in the morning, he was usually long up by then. She really wanted to tell him about Cheyenne being a finalist!

She decided to call her friend, hoping Reba knew more about her husband. Perhaps his cell phone was broken?

Back in the suburbs of Houston, the loud ringing of the phone made Reba slowly open her eyes. Was that her phone ringing? Her head was a bit foggy, reminding Reba of the amount of wine she'd been drinking the night before. It wasn't until then that Reba noticed her head was resting on a small chest and that there was an arm draped around her belly. Fuck.Reba immediately cursed herself for cursing like that.

She blushed when the memories of the night before crossed her mind, remembering how absolutely perfect it had felt to make love to Brock for the very first time. Reba turned her head, trying to erase Barbra Jean out of her mind. Which was exactly what happened when she saw it was already past eight in the morning; she and Brock both had to be at work in a little over thirty minutes!

Reba turned herself, trying to shake Brock and wake him up. No luck so far, though. She thought for a minute, until deciding that perhaps kissing was a better way to wake the man. She hesitated a bit before moving her lips to his, gently massaging them, waiting for Brock to respond, which he did within seconds. Reba took the opportunity to enjoy their kiss for a bit before breaking it, finally seeing eye to eye with a just woken Brock who murmured: "Well, good morning to you too."

"Hey… We have to get up, it's past eight."

Brock yawned. "Oh… You don't just want to take the day off and stay in bed?" He draped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug as Reba chuckled, trying to worm herself out of his arms while saying: "We can't, Brock. Come on, let me go… I'll make some coffee."

They were both dressed in ten minutes, though Brock got downstairs a few seconds before Reba. He was the one putting on the coffee machine when he noticed a light shining on Reba's phone, telling him she had a voicemail message. "Reba… You've got a voicemail!"

She walked down the stairs as she replied: "Press play, will ya?"

Both were about to grab their breakfast when a familiar voice made both of them freeze. Reba, hey, it's me… Barbra Jean. Hey, Brock's not answering the phone.. You know if there's something wrong? Tell him I called, okay? Cheyenne's a finalist in the pageant, isn't that great? Gotta go now, love you Reba!

Reality hit Reba like a knife. Hearing Barbra Jean's voice made Reba feel as if she was back in reality again, as if the night before had been a dream, a fantasy. She looked at Brock, suddenly feeling as if her air supply got cut off. Oh God; she as going to hyperventilate.

Luckily, Brock noticed her sudden panicked face and immediately grabbed a plastic back, setting her down on the couch before taking place next to her and handing the bag as he said: "Breath… Slowly. In, out… Come on, you're doing good." He rubbed her back slightly, trying to calm her down, sensing that the voice of Barbra Jean had made her realize what exactly had happened the night before. Despite his explanation about him definitely wanting to file for divorce, he did understand her being upset.

It took Reba a while to steady her breathing, and she was glad when she was able to remove the plastic bag from her mouth, her face red from effort. She looked at Brock, a hint of embarrassment showing on her face as she said: "Sorry 'bout that."

"No problem. You sure you can get to work like this?"

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah, no problem… I just.. I just freaked out. Hearing Barbra Jean…. It just made me realize what exactly I'd done… What we've done. We need to discuss this later today, Brock."

"Yeah, okay. Okay." Brock looked at Reba, trying to get into her head, seeing if he was able to see what she was thinking, or to see how she felt. The only thing he saw in her eyes though was guilt. Lots and lots of guilt.

"Are you sure mom won't mind?"

"Of course not baby, I'm very sure."

Kyra looked at her father with pinched eyes, not sure if she really should tell her dad where the emergency-key of their house was hidden. Despite her dad insisting her mother wouldn't mind telling him, Kyra had a feeling her mom would be trying to find a new spot for the key if her dad would know about it. She eventually gave in and said: "It's behind the painting next to door."

Jack looked behind the painting Kyra was pointing to, not surprised to indeed find the key. He was surprised his daughter had been so hesitant in telling him about the key; apparently the young girl did sense that the relationship between him and Reba was far from good and normal.

They entered the house, not surprised Reba wasn't there yet; it was only four in the afternoon. She was still at work. He wanted to talk to her though, and not about Kyra. He wanted to talk about them. He took off his shoes, placing them next to the front door, before walking after Kyra, who was yelling about him having to see her room.

Reba was nervous when she got out of her car, not really sure why that was. She knew she had to talk to Brock that night, and she had no clue of the way she was supposed to handle it. Was she in love with Brock? Her head told her it was way too soon to actually be in love with her neighbor. Her heart however told her she was indeed in love with him, in a way she'd never loved a man before. But then there was Barbra Jean… She'd slept with Brock before he'd finalized his divorce to Barbra Jean. Despite the bad words and bad habits from Barbra Jean, Reba nevertheless felt extremely guilty towards her friend. Reba knew how it felt to be cheated it on, and it definitely wasn't a good feeling. Perhaps she should tell Brock she couldn't be with him until his divorce was final?

Deep in thoughts, Reba entered her living room, noticing the pair of men shoes standing next to the door. Had Brock found her spare key and let himself in?

"Brock?" She looked inside the living room and peeked into the kitchen, not seeing him there. "Brock? Are you upstairs," she hollered, wondering where in the house the man was. Reba got distracted when she noticed some envelopes on her doormat, picking them up and looking through them. A bill, a promotion folder from the supermarket nearby, a bill, another bill… Nothing fun.

She then heard some stumbling on the stairs, realizing Brock had been upstairs. She wondered what made him think he was allowed to just enter her house without her permission, and even more, her bedroom. If that had been where he'd been, though Reba couldn't think of another place in the house he'd wanted to be. Reba started talking before seeing him, slightly annoyed with his behavior. "Brock, how the hell did you get in here? Didn't I tell you to get here later tonight, as in dinner time, to discuss… Well, everything? I.."

Reba looked up when she noticed Brock hadn't yet said a word, a very unusual thing for the usually very talkative man. Her mouth fell open when she noticed it wasn't Brock standing in front of her and that, in fact, it was Jack. Who was looking very handsome. Reba couldn't prevent a small shade of red gracing her face as she said: "Jack? What the hell are you doing inside my house?"

He couldn't help but smile, sensing he hadn't been allowed to hear what he had heard say before as he said: "Reebs! Hey. I got in with Kyra, she showed me where the key was. She showed me her room, we were playing Candy Land. I heard the front door, then I heard you yell.. I decided to get down."

"Ah." Reba nodded cursing herself for not realizing the shoes next to the front door had been Jack's. "Well, Jack.. I appreciate it that Kyra stayed with you last night, I'm sure she had a great time. I'd appreciate it if you would finish that game with Kyra and leave."

Jack was disappointed with Reba's words; he'd hoped she would let him stay for a while or at least talk to him as if they were more than two people exchanging their child. It felt so cold. "Reba… I had hoped we could talk for a bit."

Talking, talking… Reba had enough talking to do later on, and she definitely didn't feel like having a heated discussion with Jack before that. She shook her head. "No. I already have plans and I don't feel like talking to you."

"And you do feel like talking to Brock?" Jack raised his eyebrows, wondering what the earlier words Reba had uttered about Brock meant.

Reba gave him a glare. "Finish your game with Kyra and leave."

Jack knew there was no sense in arguing with Reba and nodded. "Okay. Fine. But I want you to tell me what the deal is with that Brock guy first. I have a feeling something's going on and I need you to tell me what."

"Jack… You have nothing to do with my personal life anymore, stay out of it!"

"Well, since Kyra's constantly talking about her awesome neighbor… I suggest you tell me exactly what the deal is between of the two of you."

Reba pinched her eyes, not sure where Jack was referring to. She was about to say something back when her front door opened again, and Brock walked in. He could immediately tell the two other adults were having an argument. He sighed, before saying: "What's going on?"

Jack was about to tell Brock that perhaps he could shine some light on their situation when Kyra busted down the stairs, smiling widely when she saw Brock. "Hi Mr. H!" She hugged the man, who happily hugged the little girl back before saying: "I think this isn't the time to discuss this… Is it?"

Note: End of chapter 9... Does Jack know something's blooming between Brock and Reba? And why is Jack trying so hard to be a good man to win Reba back? More coming in the next chapter guys :) . I hope you liked it, please let me know. xx.