She had told him one more time and then it would be over. She should have known that was a lie. Two days later found them in her bed once more, and two months later found them in her home office for a quickie while the kids and his wife were watching a movie in the house. They were getting risky, she had to admit, but she couldn't keep her hands off him.

They re-entered the living room, Brock holding a stack of papers he 'needed from her office.' They stayed calm and collected as they resumed their seats. Brock wrapped an arm around Barbra Jean, who was seated on the couch, and Reba sat in the chair with Elizabeth upon her lap.

"Mom, are you okay? You look a little flushed." Cheyenne's inquiry brought her out of a fog, quickly.

"Yeah, Mrs. H. you look like you've been yelling." They laughed, but she could barely muster a smile. It made her uncomfortable to lie to her family, but it would be much worse if she told the truth. The truth wasn't even an option.

"I was yelling, at Brock. Have I ever told you he's an idiot?" Conversation tapered off quickly enough, and they finished watching the movie, never making eye contact.

Cheyenne and Van took Elizabeth home leaving the remaining family members to chat in the living room. Henry was asleep against Barbra Jean's chest and Reba couldn't help but smile at how sweet the two looked. Kyra's words brought the sweetness of the moment to a crashing halt.

"Mom, can I talk to you about something important?" She and her daughter were loading the last of their dishes into the dishwasher, giving them a bit of time alone while Brock and Barbra Jean badgered Jake about a bad grade he got on his report card.

"Of course. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I just need to ask you something." She could tell her daughter was nervous, and she began getting flashbacks of when she found out Cheyenne was pregnant. She had no idea how close she was to the truth. "Okay, I'm just going to say it…" She took a deep breath and Reba prepared for the worst. "My friend Joanne, well, she just found out she's pregnant."

"Oh, honey, that's terrible. What's she going to do?"

"Well, she doesn't have the money for an abortion so I was wondering if you…"

"No."

"Mom, just hear me out."

"Kyra, there is no way in hell I am giving a seventeen-year-old girl money for an abortion." She stood and began pacing, sorting the situation through her mind. "Wait, it really is your friend and not you?"

"Of course it's not me." She paused for a moment, looking her mother in the eyes. "She's thought about this a lot, I promise she has. She should be here in a little bit; we're going to go out tonight. Just talk to her. Listen to her. Please."

"No, honey, this is a place for her parents to step in, not me." She returned to her seat at the table. "They need to sit down and talk this through before making a decision this big."

"Her mom can barely afford their apartment since her boyfriend left, let alone a baby. And, besides, he only left because she was going to tell."

"Tell what?"

"Well, it's his baby…and it wasn't her choice." Reba's heart sank. She had seen situations like that on television talk shows and the news, but it had never existed in her life. It made her feel sick, and she could only imagine what Joanne must feel. "She doesn't want her mom to know. Don't you understand why?"

"I do understand, but…" She shook her head as Kyra took her hands in her own. "Okay, your dad has a friend in Austin that we knew in college. He runs a clinic there. I won't give you any money, but I'll have your dad make a call. But I want you to drive her there and home."

"I will. Thank you so much, Mom." She leaned forward and they hugged, feeling much closer than ever before. Reba held back tears as she watched her daughter walk out the back door. She couldn't believe what she was doing; she hadn't been herself in a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cheyenne entered her mother's house after her doctor's appointment to hear shouting from the kitchen, her parents. They were obviously angry, in a heated confrontation, but she hadn't heard them yell so loudly since before they separated. If she had to think, it wasn't usually so bad then. She stopped next to the kitchen entrance to listen, feeling curious all of a sudden. It wasn't often she saw the more personal side of her parents' personalities. She usually only saw a side reserved for parenting.

"You can't expect me to make a call like that! How could you tell Kyra I would?"

"I told you what happened! How could you not make that call?" She slammed her hand against the counter as she yelled, her temper boiling. She tried to make the situation clear to him, but he didn't understand. And then, to top everything off, he was angry with her for even considering helping a teenager get an abortion. It seemed unthinkable to him.

"It's an abortion, Reba, not a trip to the damn grocery store!"

"I know exactly what it is!"

"Well, of course you do!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He rolled his eyes, tossing his hands in the air.

"You're the reason we ever met this guy in the first place!"

"Exactly; which means I know what she's going through!"

"Your situation was different…"

"Because, yes, Brock, I slept around! I don't need you to tell me the whole fucking story over and over again! I just need you to make one phone call, what's so hard about that?"

"You're helping a seventeen-year-old girl make the same mistake you did!"

"I wasn't…" She took a deep breath, calming herself. Her hands were shaking, and her ears were ringing with anger. "She did not make the decision to have sex, her mom's boyfriend did. If we can help her we should."

"It's wrong. It isn't our place to interfere."

"Please don't get me started on why we aren't the people to determine wrong from right." He met her pleading eyes, sighing. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, especially when he knew how close the cause was to her heart.

"I'll make the call."

"Thank you." He nodded and patted her arm before leaving through the back door. Reba sighed and took a seat at the island counter. Cheyenne took that as her cue to enter, smiling as if she hadn't heard anything at all; when in reality the conversation took her breath away.

"Mom, I brought over my sonogram picture." She smiled and tried to hand her mother the tiny piece of photo paper, but she didn't take it. Cheyenne frowned; she knew she'd been caught.

"How much did you hear?"

"A lot, I guess." She sat in the chair next to her mother, feeling the need to be close to her. She looked up and met her expectant, blue eyes. "How old were you? Will you tell me about it?"

"Nineteen." She sighed, never having wanted to tell anyone the story. Besides Lori Ann and Brock, nobody else knew what had happened so long ago, not even her sister. "It was before I was with your dad. Lori Ann and I were at a party; I got really drunk and ended up going home with a guy I just met. I found out I was pregnant when your dad and I became a couple."

"I can't believe it. It doesn't sound like something you would do."

"I panicked. Mama would have killed me, Daddy would have killed him, and I was too selfish to think clearly." Cheyenne took her mother's hand in her own, smiling at their conversation. She knew that Reba didn't want to go into too many details, especially since so much time had passed. So, she began to change the topic, hoping to keep it light.

"I feel really close to you, Mom. I like it."

"I'm not sure I do just yet. Don't tell anyone about this, not even Van."

"Are you kidding? Van can't be trusted." They laughed, feeling the lightness of a new conversation taking way. And that was that.

"So, where's that picture of my new grandbaby?"