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Chapter 11: Visiting Cards

Eric's fingers moved deftly across the keyboard as he an email to his assistant, thanking him for sending over the documents he needed and instructions on what still needed to be done. He hit send with a satisfied nod and checked the time, noting that he had a few more minutes before his video call with his COO. A knock on the door got his attention and he looked up to see a young brunette dressed in the Guardian's uniform step into his office.

"What is it Charlie?" he asked the young woman.

"Mr. Collins and Mr. Collins are here Sir. They are meeting with Commanders Corbett and Stanton at the moment."

"Thank you. I will join them after my call."

"Yes Sir, however Mr. Collins Jr. asked me to give you this. He said it was really important and he needed your input," she added, sliding a folder onto his desk.

He stared at the blank folder on his desk and looked up at her. He had seen Wes that morning and he hadn't mentioned anything. Also, he usually brought important documents himself so that he could press for an opinion immediately instead of waiting, like a normal person. Sending something through one of their officers was strange, unless...

"Thank you Charlie, I will take a look at it."

She nodded and left closing the door behind her. Eric glanced at the clock, since he still had time he slid the folder towards him and curiously opened it. His lips promptly formed a scowl as he rolled his eyes at the contents. Only Wes would think a guest list for the inaugural gala was 'really' important. Personally, he thought a press conference was more than enough but Wes loved a good party and there was no winning against the father-son tag team when it came to something like this.

Nonetheless, he scanned the list, the Mayor and his family making it to the top, along with various businessmen and prominent city officials. It was a long list and among them names that had become fairly familiar since they arrived, the Truman family for instance and the Earhardts of course.

His eyes lingered on the name Rita Earhardt for a moment and he couldn't help but think about the ostentatious woman he had come to know. His first impression of her was that of a silly woman with an archaic mindset and a desperate need to impress. But he could say the same for several other women he had encountered that night. Kim and Leelee of course had a lot to say on the subject declaring her a gold digger looking to pawn her daughters off on the wealthiest men she could find. Eric found his cousins' comments harsh at the time but had seen enough to agree with them to an extent. Sadly in their world it was not a rare occurrence.

If Rita Earhardt was trying to be subtle about the fact that she was trying to pair up Wes and Jen, she was failing, and how. Two days after the incident at the race track Jen was feeling much better and with the all clear from the doctor to move around a little the two sisters thanked them for their hospitality and help but decided that they would take their leave. Taylor was fine will calling a cab but her father had insisted on driving down to get them.

To everyone's surprise their mother had joined him. One would imagine that as her mother she would have been happy to see that her daughter was alright, however her initial expression of joy quickly morphed into disappointment. She had a soft conversation with Wes repeatedly thanking him and his sisters for all their help - brushing off Wes' attempts at insisting that Taylor was the one who did the most - and expressing that she was worried that Jen's condition was worse than it looked and even though the doctor said it was okay she was afraid that moving her was not in her best interests.

Being the gentleman that he was and blinded by his affection for Jen it was clear that Wes was going to insist that Jen stay at the beach house as long as needed. Thankfully Taylor had the sense to intervene. "Wes, we appreciate everything you've done. It was really thoughtful of you and your family, of course. Thank you. However, it's time we went home. Jen's fine, it might take a few days for her to get back on her feet, but she can rest up at home. We've intruded long enough. Believe me you don't want to deal with the two of us being cooped up together too long. And please don't mind my mother, she likes to fuss."

"Are you sure that's alright?"

"Positive, she'll recover a lot quicker if she's in her room and not keeping you guys from enjoying yourselves while you're here. She feels guilty enough as it."

That did it. Much to her mother's chagrin Taylor had instilled in Wes the confidence that it was best for them to leave. Jen and her father conveyed their gratitude to all of them before he helped her to the car while Taylor pulled their mother along, still favouring one foot but hiding it perfectly from everyone else. She surprised him though with a soft smile before getting into the car.

Two days later, on returning to Turtle Cove Wes insisted on visiting Jen and his sisters followed suit and somehow they'd dragged him along as well. Jen it turned out was completely recovered though she had to move around with a crutch for support. But she was her happy and cheerful self looking forward to returning to work soon. They spent some time with her in her room, Leelee and Kim fussing over her and chatting away about all they had done in Blue Bay Harbour with Wes joining in too. Sensing he wouldn't be missed, Eric excused himself and sought out the other injured member of the Earhardt family, finding her on the back porch immersed in a thick book.

"How's the ankle?"

Startled by the sudden interruption, she jerked forward and fumbled with the book, almost dropping it. She whipped her head around but her almost fearful countenance relaxed when she saw it was just him. "It's fine, almost good as new," she grumbled.

"Did you get it checked out? Pretending that you're fine can't be good for it."

He watched as she shifted, sitting upright and removing her injured ankle for the chair it was resting on. She scowled up at him in warning and set her book aside. "I'm grateful for what you did, but I can take care of myself," she insisted.

"Like you've been doing so far?" he shot back.

"Exactly," she countered.

Eric was taken aback by that declaration and the fleeting glimpse of emotion that passed through her eyes. He didn't quite know what to make of that remark but his curiosity was pricked."Why are you still hiding it?"

"I... that's really none of your business."

Their verbal sparring match was interrupted when they heard voices floating out the door telling them that the others were heading downstairs. Eric held out his hand to help her stand but she ignored it and jumped to her feet with an indignant huff. But it appeared to be too much for her injured foot and she stumbled, falling right into him. They stood still for a moment, her head against his chest and his arms around her, one at her waist and the other at her elbow. She pulled away quickly and looked up him as he offered her a smirk. Her cheeks turned a furious shade of red and she pushed past him walking back into the house. He followed her into the living room where her mother was already talking up a storm.

"I really can't thank you enough for what you did for my Jen. This sort of thing rarely ever happens to her, she's not the least bit reckless. But she does have a lot of patience, being stuck upstairs all day can be tiresome but she never complains. Something I wish my other girls would learn from."

Eric thought he saw her eyes briefly flicker towards Taylor but if the blonde noticed, she ignored it.

"She is very lucky to have such wonderful friends like you," she continued. "I hope you plan to stay on in Turtle Cove, I know Jen would love that."

That particular statement caught Eric's attention and he hoped Wes answered with caution. Rita Earhardt might be a silly woman but she knew how to get the answers she wanted. Wes thankfully had the good sense to say neither yes nor no. "To be honest I'm not very good at planning things. Work of course is a factor but I usually act on a whim so I can't say how long I'll be here. Though Turtle Cove is fascinating."

"You're extremely trusting, aren't you?" Taylor commented.

Wes was taken by surprise as he turned to her, "I'm sorry?"

"It's just that being whimsical is not a quality that people usually broadcast."

"Taylor!" her mother chided.

"You have a point," Wes countered, relaxing a little at her causal tone. "But I prefer being myself. I'm not really good at hiding things."

She smiled. "There you go again."

"Taylor!" her mother hissed again but went ignored.

"But I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Not one to be ignored like that Rita raised her voice a tad higher as she turned to Wes asking him how Turtle Cove compared to Angel Grove. Always the charmer Wes simply said that there was no place like home, but now that he was in Turtle Cove he wasn't quite ready to leave. Though it seemed to please his audience, Leelee, who had until that moment been immersed in her phone piped up to turn the question on him.

"What do you think Eric?"

He sighed and shot a quick glare at his smirking cousin but with Wes, Taylor and her mother looking at him expectantly he couldn't dismiss her as he would have liked to. "It's a little old school for my taste but it does have certain… intriguing qualities," he offered, his eyes meeting Taylor's and earning a quizzical glance.

"I beg your pardon," Rita screeched, narrowing her eyes in a reproachful glare. "Just what do you mean by that?!"

"Mum, cool it. Eric just meant things are a slower here compared to Angel Grove or Silver Hills. Which you have to admit is true, this place is more like a big town than a city sometimes," Taylor tried to appease her mother, but her efforts were only met with a glare.

"That's…"

"Mom… mom… you'll never guess what…"

Marah and Kapri ran into the doorway bursting with excitement but stopped short when they realised they had company and all eyes were on them. "Oh… sorry, we'll come back later," Marah apologised, tugging on Kapri's arm to pull her away.

"Nonsense dear, what did you want to tell me?"

The two girls shared a look of concern but Eric's eyes immediately flew to Taylor who was watching them curiously, as if this behaviour was not common.

"Girls?" their mother prompted.

"It's nothing really…" Marah began.

"We saw Alex in town," Kapri all but yelled.

"Alex Drake?" Taylor repeated, her tone almost scathing.

They nodded simultaneously and turned to their mother whose only reaction was to say that it was wonderful news and she had to give his mother a call. It had been so long since he was home. Taylor's eyes narrowed as they turned to her mother who was oblivious. But her sisters seemed to understand what was going on and excused themselves before scampering away.

"Who's Alex Drake?" Kim asked Taylor, but it was her mother who answered.

"Oh… just an old flame of Jen's," she said casually, oblivious to her daughter's lips tightening and Wes stiffening. "It was a long time ago, High School really, but they were quite close. There was a time when we thought they would get married someday. But we haven't really seen him since he moved to Austria… no Australia on work. He must be visiting his parents, he always was such a sweet boy."

Eric didn't really remember what happened after that except the subject was changed and Taylor didn't say very much. They'd left soon after with a much quieter Wes. It was clear that Jen Earhardt was not just a pretty face to his cousin but while Wes was an open book, Jen was not.

The beeping of his laptop drew him out of his reverie. He dropped the folder aside and with it all thoughts of the Earhardt family as he straightened up and answered the call. It was time to work.

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