Second of two chapters uploaded today...
Chapter Twelve: Back in Harmony
Two Weeks Later"It's nice to be home, with the girls." Gwen sighed happily as she and Kieran climbed out of the car, and then opened the back doors to get Sarah and Jane out. "I loved being in Ireland, meeting your family, and spending a week in Paris too, but I missed them so much."
"Me too." Kieran dropped a kiss on Jane's head as he held the toddler in his arms. "What do you two say? Did you miss us too?"
"Yes!" Sarah and Jane chorused, smiling. Sarah wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and Gwen squeezed her back, secretly grateful for the eagerness with which her daughters had greeted her. Deep down, she'd been nervous that after two weeks with Theresa and Ethan, the girls wouldn't want to come home. But she needn't have feared..they'd been as happy to see her as she had been to see them.
Walking into the house, both girls immediately raced into their bedrooms as if they hadn't been home for years. The ensuing thumps and bangs told Kieran and Gwen that they were probably emptying their toy boxes on the floor, searching for dolls or games that they'd missed. Gwen sighed. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. It's too soon to go back into disciplinary mode. Do you want a snack?"
"Oh, there's nothing good in the refrigerator." A familiar, and entirely irritating voice came from the top of the stairs. Gwen looked up to see Rebecca, in a tight fitting red sweater and black skirt, descending the staircase. "I think we should order out." She beamed a smile at her seething daughter.
"Mother! What are you doing here? I had the locks changed - how did you get in?" Gwen felt the beginnings of a headache.
Rebecca smiled widely. "I had them changed again. The locksmith was very...accommodating."
Gwen groaned. "Again I ask - why are you here? Don't you have a home of your own?"
"Well, that's a nice way to talk to your mother. I missed you and the little rugrats. I wanted to see you, and it's not like you ever call and let me know what you're doing." Rebecca was pouting now, and shooting sly looks under her eyelids to see if her guilt trip was working.
It wasn't. Gwen opened her mouth again to tell Rebecca exactly what she thought of her act, but Kieran gently touched her shoulder. "Leave it, love." He whispered. "You know, I think she's a bit lonely." He walked over to Rebecca. "Did you miss me too, Mother?" He shot her a bright grin.
Rebecca's own smile faded. "Oh, it's you. I was hoping for some unfortunate accident to get you out of my daughter's life, but no such luck." She sighed and flopped down. "So are we ordering dinner? I'm starving."
"You're not exactly welcome-" Gwen started again but once more, Kieran stopped her.
"We'd love to have you stay, Rebecca. In fact, why don't you spend the night? You can stay in the guest bedroom."
"Are you insane?" Gwen whispered under her breath, looking at her husband in horror. What was he up to? Kieran wasn't even looking at her...he was waiting for Rebecca's response.
"Well...I did have plans with Javier. I met him at your wedding - he was one of the waiters. Talk about service with a smile! But I suppose I could clear my social calendar and spend one night with my family..and the interloper." She gave Kieran a cold look, but he just grinned in return. Rebecca sighed in irritation and flounced up. "Well, if neither of you are going to do it, I'm going to order out. Hope you all like Chinese." She left the room in a haughty huff.
Gwen turned to Kieran, rolling her eyes. "Honey, have you lost your mind? What are you trying to do? She hates you and as long as she's here, you're going to have to put up with her insulting you and trying to come between us."
He shrugged sheepishly. "I have to admit, Gwen, I feel sorry for her. She must be lonely. She's a joke to most of the people in this town, and the ones that are at all courteous to her are only pretending because of her money. Despite her plethora of boyfriends, she has no real love in her life, and she is a part of our family. She'll come around...I've never met a woman that didn't end up liking me eventually."
"Oh, so this is a challenge and my mother is just another conquest to you?" Gwen teased. "Should I be jealous?"
"Absolutely." Kieran leaned forward and kissed her. Gwen wrapped her arms around him, melting into his embrace as the kiss deepened. Neither one of them heard Rebecca re enter the room.
"The food will be here in-oh, would you two stop? Some of us have standards, you know."
"Since when?" Gwen asked in astonishment.
"Class standards, I mean." Rebecca sniffed huffily. "I may have given a fisherman or two somewhere to dangle his bait, but I don't take them home afterwards, much less marry them. How far my own daughter has fallen." She gave a dramatic sigh and pulled a lacy handkerchief out of her cleavage to dab her eyes.
"That's enough of that." Kieran moved away from Gwen and over to his new mother in law. He took the handkerchief out of her hand and tossed it behind him. "All you're doing is alienating your own daughter, and I know you don't want Gwen out of your life. Besides, you and I are going to get along wonderfully." He took Rebecca's reluctant hands in his. "Do you like to dance, Mother?" His eyes sparkled wickedly.
"Yes...no...what are you talking about? And stop calling me Mother...it makes me nauseous." Rebecca looked at him suspiciously.
"My whole family loves to dance." Kieran pulled Rebecca along behind him, flipping a switch on the stereo in the corner. A lively Irish number filled the room. "Like this." He put his arm around Rebecca's waist and took her other hand in his. Rebecca yelped in surprise as Kieran spun them both and began dancing her all around the living room. At first she struggled, but after a moment she started to relax. Gwen watched in wonder as Rebecca actually started to smile, as much as she tried to hide it.
"I suppose I have to admit you are rather charming." Rebecca murmured as they continued to dance. "Maybe I can see why Gwen is attracted to you."
"Gwen is in love with me. And married to me." Kieran corrected as he continued dancing.
Rebecca heaved a sigh but said nothing - a vast improvement, in Gwen's opinion.
Kieran watched her expression, amused, as her eyes glided along his chest and up his arms, lingering on his muscles. "Rebecca, have I ever mentioned that I have a brother? Two of them, in fact."
"Oh really?" Rebecca failed miserably at trying to hide her interest. "Do they, er...look like you?"
"Better." Kieran grinned.
"Oh my!" Rebecca's face flushed. "It's too bad they're in Ireland."
"Yes, well, it turns out they're quite eager to see Harmony. In fact, they should be here in a few weeks. I was hoping that you'd be willing to help us show them around."
There was no pretense about Rebecca's smile now. "Well, they are family...sort of. And no tourist should see Harmony without my ahem personal touch on the experience." She stepped back from Kieran. "You know, I feel the need for a shower...a rather cold one. Let me know when dinner comes." She hurried up the stairs without a backwards glance.
Kieran winked at Gwen and she couldn't help but laugh. "That was progress, I have to admit. I'm very impressed."
"I'll show you progress." Kieran pulled her close again and began to nuzzle her neck. Just as Gwen was about to purr, the doorbell rang. She swore under her breath, which made Kieran laugh heartily as he went to open the door. "Gwen, can you hand me my wallet?" He pulled the door open, then stopped. "Never mind, it's Noah. What brings you here?" He slapped the other man on the shoulder, ushering him inside.
"It's ours, Kieran!" Noah was clearly too excited to be bothered by social niceties. "The Blue Note...the owner accepted our offer."
"Are you serious?" Happiness lit up Kieran's face. "Did you hear that, Gwen? I'm not a fisherman any more...I'm a business owner!"
"That's wonderful!" Gwen gasped. "I can't believe it!"
"Can't believe what?" Rebecca came back down the stairs in a new yet equally tight fitting outfit, her hair damp. "And why is your husband dancing a jig with Noah Bennett in your living room?"
"Sit down, Mother, and I'll tell you all about it." Gwen patted the sofa beside her, deciding if Kieran could hold out a hand to her mother, so could she. Maybe all of them could be a family after all...a twisted, dysfunctional family, to be sure, but really - was there any other sort?
The next morning:
Crane Industries-Theresa's Office
Theresa tapped her fingers impatiently on her desk as she looked at the clock. Gwen was due there any minute. She sighed as she looked at the large manila envelope on her desk, its seal broken. The contents inside had both relieved and unsettled her, but she wasn't the only person it would affect. "It kills me to admit it, but right now, Gwen is the only other person in this whole town who will understand what this means." She shook her head, and just then Gwen walked in the door.
"I got your message, Theresa. What's going on?" She took a seat across from her, looking at her warily.
"It's this." Theresa picked up the envelope and headed it to Gwen. "That private investigator that I hired was here this morning. This is his final report on Jesenik, Claude Moreau...and Alistair."
Gwen froze in the process of pulling out the stack of papers. "Theresa, Alistair is dead." She lowered her voice. "He is dead, isn't he? I mean, he has to be."
"They never found his body." Theresa shrugged, feeling the apprehension crawling up her spine. "I want to believe that he'll never be back but..."
"He won't be." Gwen's voice was firm. "Remember what the medical examiner said. They may not have found his body, but there was enough blood left behind, blood that was DNA tested and matched to him, that he couldn't possibly have survived."
"I guess a five story fall into a rock quarry will do that to you." Theresa murmured.
Gwen shot her a furious look. "Does the phrase 'never speak of this again' mean anything to you?"
"How can you just act so casual about what we did?" Theresa's voice rose and Gwen glared at her.
"Because he deserved it, Theresa! You know it, and I know it. We did the right thing, and I'd do it again. Now, can we please drop it?"
They were both silent for a moment as Gwen's eyes perused the contents of the report. "This is great, Theresa! Why were you so upset? Look at this - the P.I. says that three of the Jesenik guards are also unaccounted for - their bodies weren't found, and they weren't among the ones arrested. He thinks that they are the ones who found Alistair's body and sold it on the black market. That makes total sense-there are plenty of people who would have paid to see proof of his death. That's it, Theresa, it's over." Relief flooding her, she sat back.
"Turn the page." Theresa said quietly.
Frowning, Gwen flipped it over and read the other side. "Oh."
"Yes, oh. One of those missing guards had a brother. A brother whose body was found in the remains of the dungeon, with a knife in his chest. Sound familiar, Gwen?"
Gwen looked at her apprehensively. "Theresa, you don't think...look, he probably never even knew how his brother died. Is that what you're worried about, that this missing guard knows it was..." She stopped herself before the words came out. "That this guard thinks that you may be responsible?"
"It was in the papers there, Gwen. All of it was. The authorities concluded that the guards were probably fighting among themselves and that's how that one died, but you and I know the truth. Gwen, I want it to be over. I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night any more, feeling his hands all over me and then seeing..." She shook her head. "I don't want to be afraid anymore. I'd love to believe this is all coincidence, but I just don't know." She sighed.
"Theresa, it is over. You have to believe that, or it will drive you insane. You know what this is, don't you? It's guilt, making you paranoid. Let it go! It was self defense - I was there, remember? And as far as Alistair..." She broke off again. "Let me put it this way. I honestly believe that he is dead. There is no way he could have survived that fall. But if somehow he managed to live he'd better never show his face around here again, because if he does I'll personally make him wish he was in hell where he belongs. Are you with me on this, Theresa?" She looked steadily at the other woman.
Theresa nodded. "I'm with you."
"Good. Now is there anything else in this report I should know about?"
Theresa sighed. "It just clears up some of those things that we were wondering about. Like the body in Sarah's grave - Shilah Landry. She did die of natural causes...Alistair had nothing to do with it. It was a coincidence that the coroner took advantage of. Alistair paid him a huge amount of money to fake the autopsy and take care of making Sarah's death look real. Anyway, her family knows the truth now, and Shilah's back home, buried in a proper grave now with her own name on the headstone."
Gwen sighed and shook her head. "Thank God...I was so worried that Alistair had an innocent baby killed just to put in Sarah's grave. I'm so glad that wasn't true, but I feel terrible for that family."
"I do, too, but I've made sure they're taken care. Not that money makes up for it, but it was all I could do." Theresa took the report back and turned another page. "And Claude's death was also blamed on the guards...the authorities have concluded that there was an uprising in the manor, prompting him to set off the bombs."
Gwen hid a smile. "And how much money did it take to make them conclude that, Theresa?"
Theresa finally managed a smile. "A lot, believe me. But it was worth it. This could have destroyed Rina's future, and she and her family had been through enough. And she saved us...it was the least I could do. Now she's here, going to college, and living with Mama...in my old room, actually. She's happy, and she deserves to be."
"Yes, she does." Gwen was quiet for a moment as the memories came rushing back. Shrugging them off, she turned to Theresa. "Speaking of happiness, how are things going with Ethan?"
Theresa raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What do you mean? There's nothing going on with me and Ethan!"
Gwen snickered. "Touchy, touchy. I didn't say there was. I was just wondering how he was adjusting to being back in Harmony." She smiled innocently.
"Oh." Theresa blushed. "It's like he never left...mostly. The children love having him back."
"And you do too, don't you?" Gwen watched her carefully.
"It's um... nice." Theresa struggled to hide her blush. "You know, for the kids. We've done a lot of things with them, trying to help them adjust. It's going to be a little odd when he moves out of the mansion - I guess we've all gotten used to having him around."
'I bet you have.' Gwen thought to herself with a smile. 'As for moving out, he's not going anywhere...at least not if I have anything to say about it.' She got to her feet, saying a polite goodbye to Theresa and heading out the door. It sounded like Ethan had made progress, if not much. But now that she was back, she could help, and she had every intention of doing so...
Whitney stepped into the elevator at Crane Industries, nervously adjusting her purse strap. She was supposed to meet Theresa for lunch, but being at Crane for the first time since the demise of her marriage was hard. She hadn't spoken to Chad in nearly three weeks, since she'd confronted him over his secret life and asked him to move out. He'd tried to call her repeatedly, left her messages, sent her flowers, but she just hadn't wanted to deal with him. Theresa had been so furious on her behalf that she wanted to fire him immediately but Whitney had refused to let her friend do that. For one, Theresa didn't have just cause to fire him and Whitney just didn't have it in her to ruin Chad's life, no matter how he'd treated her.
'Hopefully, he'll never know I was here.' Whitney murmured to herself. 'I'll just grab Theresa and we'll be out of here in less than five minutes.' Feeling relieved, she actually managed to smile as the elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors open-then the smile immediately disappeared as she suddenly found herself face to face with her wayward husband.
Theresa looked up in surprise as her door abruptly opened and Gwen re-appeared. "I thought you were leaving." Theresa frowned as she straightened up from where she'd been kneeling over her personal safe, putting away the investigator's report.
"I was." Gwen put her purse on Theresa's desk and sat down. "But I have some big news that I almost forgot to tell you about." She waited expectantly for Theresa to take her seat and then continued. "I wanted you to be one of the first to know, not because I consider you a confidant, but because I plan to work in threatening your life somewhere in the conversation."
Theresa inhaled deeply, praying for patience. "Alright, what is it?"
"Well..." Gwen smiled. Whatever it was, she was looking very happy about it. "Kieran and I spent a lot of time talking on our honeymoon."
Theresa couldn't suppress a smile. "If that's what you spent most of your time doing, you obviously don't know what a honeymoon is for."
"Stop interrupting." Gwen snapped. "Anyway, we decided that, a few months down the line, we're going to see a fertility specialist in NY. We've already consulted him over the phone and he's seen my medical records, and he thinks there's a small chance there's treatment that may help me get pregnant. But it is a very long shot, so if it doesn't work, we've already decided that we're going to have a baby via a surrogate." She narrowed her eyes and looked at Theresa sternly. "I think that you can understand how very important this is to both of us, and how nervous I am about it. I'm sure you will also understand that if I ever find you within twenty miles of my surrogate at any point, I will kill you and hide the body. Are we clear on this?"
"Gwen, what possible reason could I have to-"
"You don't have to have a reason. You're insane. Anyway, I'm not leaving until you swear that you will not do anything, not a single teeny, tiny thing, to interfere with my plans. Swear it, Theresa." Gwen leaned forward, her eyes fixed determinedly on Theresa's face.
"Alright, relax already. I swear I will not do anything to interfere with you and Kieran trying to have a baby." Theresa raised her hand, trying her best not to roll her eyes.
"Good." Gwen leaned back, breathing a sigh of relief. "And I'd appreciate you keeping this between us for now. Nothing's set up as of yet...we want to enjoy a few months of being newlyweds before we start bringing doctors and legal agreements in the mix."
"Of course." Theresa paused for a minute. "Good luck on everything, Gwen. I mean it."
Gwen looked at her in surprise. "Thank you, Theresa. Well, that's all I had to say so I guess I'll see you on Friday when you pick up Jane."
"OK..." Theresa started to say but then she caught sight of the clock. "It's past noon?" She stood up. "I'll walk you out...Whitney was supposed to meet me here. I'll bet she's waiting in the lobby because she doesn't want to run into Chad."
"Poor Whitney." Gwen sighed as Theresa locked the office door. "I still can't believe Chad would do that to her."
"Me either." Theresa's face grew angry. "And I have to see him every day...it's taken all of my self control to keep from pounding his head into the floor."
The two of them walked towards the elevator in silence-then stopped at the sight before them.
Whitney tried to walk around her husband, but Chad blocked her way.
"Baby, I'm so glad you're here." He smiled nervously at her. "We need to talk."
"No, we don't." Whitney frowned. "I didn't come here to see you. Theresa and I are meeting for lunch, so please get out of my way." She tried again to move forward but Chad again blocked her way.
"Whitney, please! Just give me five minutes, that's all I ask."
Whitney glared at him. "I gave you way more than five minutes, Chad. I gave you my heart, and my hand, my trust, and my life. And you threw all that we had on the ground and stomped it into dust. For what? For hookers, and internet tramps, and cheap motel rooms. How could you? How could you do this to me? How could you do this to Miles?"
"I never wanted to hurt you." Chad's eyes filled with emotion. "I swear I didn't. I tried to stop so many times and I just couldn't. It's an addiction, Whitney-it's a sickness. I couldn't control it."
Whitney stared at him, eyes flashing. "Maybe not. But you could have gotten help. You have resources, and support-you could have gone to a psychologist, you could have checked yourself into a clinic, you could done so many things. Above all, you could have been and you should have been honest with me. Not only have you broken my trust and ruined our marriage, but you've exposed me to God knows what. My mother had to run every nearly every test known to man on me-do you know how humiliating that was? Thank God I'm alright, but what if I wasn't? Did you ever even think about that, Chad, or were you too selfish to care?"
"I did care...I swear I did. I hated myself for what I was doing to you." Chad's voice cracked. "I was just so ashamed...I couldn't reach out for help. I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing. So I just kept telling myself this is the last time...it will never happen again. Please, just give me another chance. I'll do anything you want-I'll get help, I'll stay home every night, I won't make a move without you. Baby, please!"
"Do you want a marriage or a jailer?" Whitney scoffed. "It is not my job to help you get well. You should have been a man and done that yourself, and not just for me. So that you could stand to look at yourself in the mirror and so you could be the father that your son deserves. But no, apparently it's my job to prop you up and force you to take care of yourself. I don't think so. Our marriage, it's over." She started to walk away but Chad grabbed her arm.
"No, Whitney, i don't accept that." Chad said through gritted teeth as he held her in his hard grip. "I won't let you just walk away. You have to-"
At that moment, Theresa and Gwen came around the corner. They froze for a moment as they saw the tableau before them, then both women raced forward. Chad found himself under a sudden bombardment of blows as Gwen and Theresa whacked him around the head and shoulders with their handbags, shouting at him to let Whitney go.
"Stop..ow! Dammit, would you two knock it off? I was just trying to talk to...ouch!" Chad cried, trying to shield himself from their anger.
"Theresa, Gwen, it's OK, really." Whitney stepped away from Chad. "He wasn't trying to hurt me...he just doesn't know when a conversation is over-among other things." She shot him a scathing look.
Gwen and Theresa reluctantly stopped hitting Chad and went to stand next to Whitney, shooting Chad looks of deepest loathing.
"Damn!" Chad swore, straightening his shirt and feeling his head gingerly for lumps. "You know, I think I liked it a lot more when you two were fighting all the time, before you became friends and teamed up to become the Queen Bitches of Harmony." He glared at Theresa and Gwen, whose mouths fell open.
"Take it back!" They both cried at the same time, looking at him in horror.
"You are bitches!" Chad snapped. "I'm not taking it back."
"Not that!" Theresa gave him a cold look. "The part about us being friends. We're not friends. I can't stand her and Gwen hates me too, right?" She shot Gwen a look, and the other woman nodded.
"Absolutely. I'd dance on her grave if I could." Gwen said firmly.
"Whatever." Chad shook his head. "All I know is if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck." He looked at Whitney. "This isn't over."
"Oh please, say that again." Theresa moved towards him, raising her handbag once more, but Whitney pulled her back.
"It's OK, Theresa. I can handle him. Let's just go, OK?" Turning their backs on Chad, the three women walked off.
Once they reached the lobby, Whitney and Theresa said a quick goodbye to Gwen and headed to the cafe across the street.
"Are you OK, Whit?" Theresa looked cautiously at her friend.
Whitney sighed, but then smiled. "I am, actually. I feel like I finally stood up for myself and called him on a lot of his shit. I know this is going to be hard, but at least now I know I'm strong enough to handle it."
"Good for you." Theresa smiled at her friend, squeezing her hand as they entered the building and took a seat at a table. She looked curiously at Whitney. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Whitney couldn't help but giggle. "You should have seen your face when Chad said that about you and Gwen being friends. And her face too..." She started to laugh.
"Well, it's horrible." Theresa said flatly as she picked up her menu. "We can't have those rumors going around about us - it will ruin our reputations."
Whitney continued giggling. "Have you ever heard the one about denial not just being that river in Egypt?"
"Very funny." Theresa looked over her menu at Whitney. "Can we stop talking about Gwen now? It will ruin my appetite."
"Fine." Whitney smiled sweetly. "Let's talk about Ethan."
Theresa sighed, burying her face in her menu. It looked like it was going to be a long lunch.
At that moment, Ethan himself was walking into Crane Industries. He stopped at the front desk. "Ethan Winthrop, here to see Sheridan Crane."
"She's expecting you." The receptionist smiled at him. "Go right up."
A few minutes later, he was walking into Sheridan's office. She looked up from the salad she was eating with a smile. "Ethan, please, have a seat."
"Working through lunch already?" Ethan indicated her salad with a smile.
Sheridan shrugged. 'Fraid so. Being the new CEO doesn't leave a lot of time for yourself. But since I still consider you family, I didn't think I had to be formal in your presence." She smiled. "Anyway, I wanted to meet with you about some of the new programs we're implementing here at Crane Industries. I think you might like to be a part of some of them."
Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "Sheridan, that's really kind of you, but spending the last year in Jesenik really killed my desire to jump back into the suit and tie and work in an office again."
"Exactly." Sheridan smiled and passed him a folder. "Your work in Jesenik was amazing. What you did for those people was above and beyond what anyone at Crane had expected, even Theresa. You completely turned around a devastated village which had lost a good chuck of its population in a horrible way. On top of the good you did, the positive publicity it generated for Crane Industries was priceless. Now you know I don't want to sound like it's all about headlines, because it's not, but you once had a dream about turning Crane into a company could do so much for the world. Theresa had that same dream, and so do I. That's why she put me in charge, but I need help. I need your help. I want to open a new division of Crane. The goal is to do what you did for Jesenik in places all over the world, and locally in the U.S. We want to take communities in need and turn them around. And I want you to be in charge of it." She sat back and surveyed Ethan with a smile. "So what do you think?"
Ethan couldn't speak for a moment as he looked through the contents of the folder. "This is incredible, Sheridan! It's the opportunity of a lifetime. I'd love to be a part of it but I can't leave my children again and travel all over the world."
"You wouldn't have to." Sheridan smiled, obviously having anticipated his concern. "You will probably need to travel from time to time, but the majority of the time you'll be here, overseeing every new project. You'll hire new employees and appoint some we already have here to be in charge of every new project and report back to you. And I think you'll agree that the salary is very generous, and believe me, you'll earn every penny. Plus the medical benefits and all the standard benefits of being a Crane employee, use of all facilities, including the daycare, meaning that you'll be very close to Jane throughout the day, just like Theresa and Gwen are."
"Theresa." Ethan frowned as the thought occured to him. "Does she know about this?"
"Of course she does. Theresa may have stepped down as CEO but she's still on the board and she also still holds veto or green light power over every major new project. She loved the idea, and of you being in charge."
Ethan smiled. "I can't believe it. This is amazing. It's like my dream job-I feel like I have to pinch myself to believe I'm awake."
"So you'll take it?"
"Absolutely." Ethan stood up and reached out to shake Sheridan's hand. "You have yourself a new employee."
After working out some of the finer details with Sheridan, Ethan walked out to his car, still feeling like he was on cloud nine. The last couple of weeks had been tough. After the flower disaster, Theresa had been polite, but distant, and he'd started to despair of ever getting close to her again. And since he was moving out of the Crane Mansion, he had been afraid that he'd lost his opportunity, but now, not only did he have his dream job, but he'd be working in very close proximity to Theresa. They'd see each other every day.
'But I don't want to blow it." He thought to himself. 'Every time I open my mouth, I seem to say the wrong thing.' As he drove, he thought hard to himself. How could he remind Theresa of what they once had without seeming like he just wanted to break her and Jared up, like it was some stupid competition between him and the other man? 'She has to know I'm serious, that I do love her, that I'm committed to making it work.' He sighed. This was turning out to be a lot harder than he thought, but he wouldn't give up. Not now, not ever. He would try anything and that meant...
'I can't believe I'm considering it.' He thought to himself. 'but I guess I am...it's time to give Dr. Love another try.'
To Be Continued...