Chapter 11
Jake watched Emily slurp noisily at her cereal, milk dribbling down her chin, while he waited impatiently by the toaster for his blueberry Pop-Tart, shoving his fists in and out of his jeans pockets.
Sara fed Gus waffles beneath the kitchen table, and the pug happily licked maple syrup from her fingers, eliciting sly giggles from her mouth.
Gwen swept through the kitchen like a tornado for a quick cup of coffee, brown eyes narrowing suspiciously at the guilty grin on Sara's sticky face.
"Mom," Jake made a last ditch plea, "do I have to go? It's only half a day. They can put my report card in the mail."
"I'm not falling for that one again, Jake," Gwen warned with a raised brow.
"You have to admit, Babe," Hank grinned as he joined his family in the kitchen, "Siberia was a stroke of genius for an 8-year-old." Spurred on by his wife's dismissive eye roll, Hank gave his young son his full attention. "Too bad they don't give out grades for recess, huh?"
"Daddy," Emily tucked a tangled strand of long brown hair behind her ear, "will you make my hair all pretty today? I want three ponytails," she enthused, brown eyes bright with excitement. "With all different colored bows."
"A three pony-tailed rainbow," Hank considered then nodded his head with a grin. "Gotcha!"
"Hank," Gwen chided, wincing slightly when the hot coffee scalded her tongue.
"Careful," Hank advised, taking her coffee mug from her and setting it on the kitchen counter. "Did you know some idiot sued McDonald's because their coffee was hot? These things are common sense. Steam usually denotes there's heat somewhere." He slipped his arms around her waist and winked at her teasingly. "You look a little tired. Did somebody keep you up all night?"
Jake didn't have to fully understand the import behind the words to catch the tone of voice, and his young face twisted into a grimace.
Emily, on the other hand, was focused on one thing and one thing only. "Can we go to McDonald's for dinner?"
"Aunt Grace is making us dinner," Gwen answered distractedly.
Beneath the kitchen table, Sara's hand paused halfway to Gus's open mouth, and maple syrup pooled on the tile floor as she repeated Emily's request more plaintively, "Can we PLEASE go to McDonald's for dinner?"
"Would you listen to that?" Hank chuckled. "You threaten them, and suddenly, they're polite."
"Sara, you're going to make Gus sick," Gwen scolded, and Sara reluctantly plopped down into her chair. "Emily," she explained patiently but firmly, "Aunt Grace is cooking dinner for the whole family, and she expects us to be there."
"Okay," Emily shrugged nonchalantly, picking up her spoon and slurping once again at her now soggy cereal.
"Jake," Gwen looked over Hank's shoulder at her son, taking his silence as a sullen protest to being forced to go to school, "I'm leaving this house in five minutes. If you're not ready…"
"Yes, Ma'am," Jake muttered at her stern tone of voice. Jeez, first his mom was being gross with Dad then she was just plain mean. Parents, he sighed, tossing his Pop Tart into the trash on the way out the front door. He wasn't hungry anyway. He opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat, dutifully buckling his seatbelt and waiting for his mom.
"Mom means business this morning, Girls," Hank said in a stage whisper.
"I'm helping Daddy clean out his office today," Gwen admitted morosely.
"Having second thoughts about working for Boy Wonder?" Hank cracked.
"I'm not working for Ethan," Gwen stifled a smile at the moniker. "I'm working WITH Ethan, and it's going to take a bit of adjustment. I think I'll manage though."
"No late nights," Hank made an attempt to be serious but ruined it with the sly smile lurking in his brown eyes. "I don't want you to be tempted."
Laughing, Gwen pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and hugged each of her daughters goodbye before heading toward the front door and the rest of her day. "Try to stay out of trouble. At least for today. Do you think you can manage that?"
Three nearly identical faces gave her their most innocent looks.
Needless to say, being the intelligent career woman, wife, and mother she was, she wasn't convinced.
MJ wasn't talking, wasn't eating his morning muffin, wasn't giving his aunt Paloma a second glance. He didn't even acknowledge Beth when she walked up to their table, a pleasant good morning on her lips and a steaming coffee pot in hand.
Miguel had a feeling he knew why. Accepting his refill of coffee from Beth with a smile, he glanced at Joshua, also uncharacteristically quiet this morning in Paloma's lap, and began to speak. "Boys, Abby…"
"I wan' Bee," Joshua interrupted with a pout, crossing his little arms over his chest and looking at Miguel with accusing dark eyes.
Paloma raised a brow in question, running a soothing hand over Joshua's shoulders.
"She didn't come home last night," MJ frowned, kicking his book bag with his feet. "What did you do?"
"I didn't DO anything," Miguel answered him. "Abby has a home of her own, MJ. She doesn't live with us. She's just been staying with us while she…works out a few things," he finished awkwardly. He wasn't good at this. How did he make them understand? They were so young.
"She likes us, Dad," MJ insisted. "She wouldn't leave. Did she call? Something happened."
Miguel looked to Paloma for help, but regretfully, she didn't have anything to offer. "Abby's a grownup, MJ. She doesn't have to call. I'm sure she had some things to take care of."
Stubbornly ignoring his dad's words, MJ pulled his backpack onto his shoulders, announcing, "I have to go to school." He waited, expressionless, tableside.
Miguel stood up and pushed his chair back. "Okay. Paloma, do you mind staying here with Joshua while I walk MJ to school?"
Paloma opened her mouth to answer, but MJ didn't give her the chance.
"No, Dad. I want Aunt Paloma to take me."
"MJ," Miguel started to protest.
MJ was already halfway across the Book Café when Paloma placed Joshua safely in Miguel's arms, kissing them both on the cheek. "It's okay. I'll take him."
"But you don't even know where the school is," Miguel shook his head.
"It'll be an adventure," Paloma smiled down at him and her little nephew. "I've been meaning to walk around and explore this strange little town anyway. You're not going to take away the first real chance I've had, are you?"
"Do you have my numbers if you get lost? What about change?" Miguel asked, jamming his hand into his jeans pocket and coming up empty. "Take my cell. It's outside in the car…" Positioning Joshua on his hip, he moved toward the door but stopped when he felt his sister's hand on his arm and heard the soft sounds of her laughter.
"You know I've always wondered," Paloma said, "what having a protective older brother felt like. Now I know."
"Yeah, well," Miguel responded with a rare grin, "Wait until Luis is the protective older brother. You don't know the real meaning of the word. You laugh now, but…" he trailed off, his brown eyes drifting to the Book Café entrance when the tinkling of the bells captured his attention.
And a pretty green-eyed blond, Paloma thought, wondering about the girl and her seemingly easy ability to wrangle a genuine smile out of her brother. Her curiosity was further piqued when the blond approached them with a question that seemed to be on everyone's lips this morning.
"Where's Abby?"
Curled in the oversized armchair beside her bed, Abby indulged Lucky's wishes to be scratched while indulging herself and gazing at the beautiful male that still slept amongst her rumpled sheets, his dark lashes resting against his cheeks and her pillow clutched in his arms.
Nick sighed, sweeping his arm out to gather Abby close to him once again and opening his gray eyes when he came up empty. Rolling over onto his back, he flung an arm behind his dark head, blinking against the sunlight that spilled in through the windows. Regret flickered in his gray eyes when they finally found and focused on her. "Last night didn't change anything, did it?"
Tucking a heavy strand of tawny hair behind her ear self=consciously, Abby tried to lighten the heavy mood that seemed to have descended on the room. "I promised not to hate you again 'til tomorrow. It's tomorrow." Sensing she'd failed miserably and her words were really bordering on morbidly wrong, Abby tried to make amends, admitting on a weary sigh, "I don't hate you, Nick. You know that. Better than anyone." She looked away awkwardly when his legs shifted underneath the sheets, affording her a view that brought memories of the last night rushing back all too clearly. Dammit, insanity is what always happened whenever she let her heart overrule her head.
Nick studied her silently, looking for signs of the woman he'd comforted last night, the woman he'd made love to last night, wrong or right. All signs of vulnerability were carefully hidden along with any indications of her feelings. He wanted to apologize for taking advantage of her the night before, but he stumbled over the words. "Abby, I'm…"
"Don't say you're sorry to a hormonal pregnant woman." Abby's smile was forced, and she couldn't meet Nick's eyes as he clutched the sheets around his waist, throwing his legs over his side of the bed. She heard the floorboards creaking under Nick's weight, but she didn't look up, resolutely staring into Lucky's eyes and tickling her nails under his chin as he purred appreciatively. "The sex, uh…it was good. Almost like you meant it."
Nick tamped down the anger he felt building inside of him, kneeling down in front of the armchair and plucking the purring, piteously protesting bundle of fur from Abby's lap. Willing her to look at him and read the truth in his eyes, he rest one of his hands on her bare knee. "I've always meant it, Abby. It's never been JUST sex between us, and you're wrong if you keep believing that."
Closing her fingers over Nick's hand as he moved to cup her jaw in his palm, Abby replied, "Am I?"
MJ's school wasn't that hard to find, and after safely depositing her young nephew in his capable teacher's hands, Paloma's 'adventure' as she had called it officially began.
Though not a booming metropolis, Harmony had its own quirky charm with its population of everyday folk and eccentrics sharing the same sidewalks.
Paloma's curiosity propelled her feet toward the Youth Center, and she regarded the front doors with a tiny smirk on her lips. Theresa's letters had romanticized the place, boisterously exclaiming it was the birthplace of Luis and Sheridan's fated love. Her sister had always had a certain dramatic flair, Paloma smiled, mounting the concrete steps. Pausing at the top step, she tried the door, and finding it unlocked, cautiously stepped inside.
The bleachers were rolled back against the wall in the gymnasium, and all the lights were turned off save one, illuminating the basketball goal at the far end where a bare-chested man bounced the orange globe in his hands, lifting it and taking a shot. The ball circled the rim before falling to the floor, missing its mark and eliciting a slight grunt of annoyance from its handler.
Paloma's smile gave way to soft laughter when the man tried to kick the ball away, missing yet another mark.
Broad shoulders tensed at the noise and silver eyes sought her out in the shadows. He seemed poised to speak, but the sudden illumination of the gymnasium changed his mind.
"Boy's never been much of a basketball player," T.C. Russell chuckled, setting the stacks of boxes in his arms down in the floor and rubbing his hands together as he came to stand beside Paloma. "But Luis seems to think he's on his way to becoming a damn fine police officer. Work your magic, Sugar Bear. It's all yours. Noah," T.C. nodded in Noah's direction. "Make yourself useful. Help these pretty ladies help Sheridan out."
"Hi, Paloma," Simone smiled as she breezed past en route to what Paloma assumed to be her sister-in-law's office.
"Paloma? Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald?" T.C.'s reaction was borderline incredulous. "I haven't seen you since…Wow. It's been a long time. Martin and Pilar must be happy to have you back home."
"Actually," Paloma began.
"Paloma's just visiting, Daddy," Simone interjected.
"Just visiting?" T.C. scoffed. "That's what Whitney says. If you ask me…"
"She's not asking you, Daddy," Simone interrupted her father with a gently reprimanding tone then looked to Paloma in apology. "We're getting the Youth Center ready for the kids. It's the last day of school, and a lot of them don't have anywhere else to go while their parents are at work. And since Sheridan and Luis just brought Hope home, we thought we'd help them out. You're welcome to join us if you'd like."
"The help would be appreciated," T.C. agreed, waving Noah over and dropping a set of car keys into his open palm. "I left some equipment outside. Do you think you could get it for me?"
"Anything else, Coach Russell?" Noah asked, his silver eyes studying Paloma intently while he waited.
"I think that's it," T.C. answered. "Can you think of anything, Sugar Bear?"
"Daddy, I'm an adult," Simone protested. In the same breath, she added, "Paloma, would you mind helping Noah? Thanks."
Noah chuckled at her dazed expression, offering his hand. "Welcome back to Harmony."
"I take it you haven't heard from Abby either," Katie commented as she joined Miguel and Joshua at their table.
Beth appeared beside them, coffee in hand, but both of them politely declined her offer, and she made her way back to the front counter, stopping and chatting pleasantly with her customers on the way.
"She didn't come home last night," Miguel responded, sobering when he realized how dangerously close his feelings were to MJ's feelings where Abby was concerned. He hadn't realized just how much he and the boys had grown to depend on her just being there in the few short months' time she'd been staying with them.
"She had her appointment yesterday," Katie reminded him in a soft voice. 'She was supposed to call."
Lifting Joshua from his lap and pointing out the newly arrived Sam and Grace, Miguel made sure his son reached their side safely before he turned back to Katie, resuming their conversation. "Something must have happened with Taylor," Miguel broached the possibility. "What?"
Katie struggled to wipe the smile off of her face. "You're all so protective of her. I'm sure Abby doesn't share my thoughts, but I think it's sweet."
Miguel shrugged uncomfortably. It hadn't always been this way, back when Kay first welcomed the self-proclaimed crazy lady into their lives. In fact, he was man enough to admit to the fact that Abby used to scare him senseless. Kay's death and his and Abby's shared devastation had woken him up in a sense. "She grows on you."
Smiling openly, Katie agreed. "Yes, she does."
"You're not worried about her anymore," Miguel guessed, aiding Joshua as he struggled to climb back into his lap.
Katie waved at Sam and Grace as they approached the table before fixing clear green eyes on Miguel's face. "No. Maybe the good doctor's finally wised up and kidnapped her. They both need a good slap of reality."
As they shared conversation and coffee with their in-laws (in Katie's case, future in-laws) Miguel watched her, a slight smile on his lips.
Calmly laying Nick's hand down, Abby tugged the sweatshirt that engulfed her petite frame down lower in an effort to cover herself. She already felt like a raw, exposed nerve when she was in the man's presence, no need to be practically physically naked as well. Unable to stop herself, she touched her thumb to the corner of his generous mouth, sighing resignedly when he pressed a soft kiss to her flesh. "Be honest with me," she pleaded, hating the pathetic sound of her own voice.
One of Nick's hands idly caressed her thigh while the other lifted to her face, cupping her jaw. Encouraged when she didn't again try to remove it, he spoke softly but earnestly, "Last night was me being honest with you the best way I know how." Abby tried to look away from him, but he wouldn't let her, grasping her chin tightly in his hand. "Saying the words won't convince you now. Not when you're dead-set against believing them."
Wrapping her hand around the hand that held onto her so tightly, Abby looked at Nick with unflinching hazel eyes. "Why did you kiss her?"
Quickly recovering from the shock her question aroused within him, Nick said simply, "It was goodbye." He watched her face, waiting for a reaction, but there was none. Looking at her almost sheepishly, he admitted, "You were right. You DO scare the hell out of me. One wrong turn, and we're a train wreck waiting to happen."
"Thanks," Abby muttered sarcastically. "Every girl should be so lucky to hear those exact words at least once in her lifetime." She pushed his hand away from her face angrily. "I never took you for such a coward…"
"I could say the same about you," Nick didn't back down. "Why are you so afraid to open your eyes to the truth?"
"What makes saying three little words so terrifying?" Abby shot back heatedly. Her hazel eyes sparked at him hotly, and a small smile of twisted triumph caressed her lips as she watched the angry throb of the small vein at his temple.
Nick shook his head at her, climbing to his feet and beginning to pace the room. This very moment the woman was about 95 % guts, 4 % hormones, and 1 % common sense, and her heart was even worse for the wear than his was. He admired her courage, but he couldn't change who he was just because he wanted to. Already he'd made so many mistakes. He wanted to take his time so he wouldn't make the biggest one: losing her. "We hadn't known each other two, three months before we were sleeping together, having sex every night. What makes you so sure you love me? What makes you so sure this thing between us is real? Why are you so willing to risk it all?"
Springing from the armchair in a rage, Abby marched up to him, hazel eyes flashing as she shoved him in the chest furiously, sending him tumbling to the bed below with her astride him. "Never just sex, huh? You, you bastard," she screamed, balling her hands up into fists. "I've told you things I've never told anyone. You got to me by pretending you cared. I don't know if this 'thing' we have," she spat, "was ever really REAL, but you could have fooled me the night we conceived this baby. But then you've fooled me all along," she swallowed past the lump in her throat, pushing her hands against his chest so she could get up. "Right now I wish I didn't love you," she cried as Nick rolled them over so that his face hovered over hers.
"It was real, Abby," Nick promised as his lips brushed against her forehead and placed her hand over her womb where their baby grew, covering it with his own. "It IS real, frighteningly real and so worth it we can't let anything mess it up."
"Avoid the train wreck," Abby whispered, biting her lip when his hand trembled over hers. "How are we going to do that?"
Kissing the tip of her nose and standing up, Nick held out his hand to her. "Become friends."
"Which one do you think I should wear, Mom?" Ali quizzed Sheridan from the doorway of Hope's nursery, holding up two dresses. "The pink one or the white one?"
Sheridan secured the tape on Hope's diaper before looking up. Biting her lip as she considered the two choices Ali'd given her, she glanced down at her cooing younger daughter before answering, "Neither. It's a party, and you don't want to worry about keeping your clothes clean. Pick something more comfortable."
Peering over the edge of Hope's changing table, Cristian regarded Sheridan with solemn brown eyes. "Why can't I go to Ms. Kinsay's party? You and Hope are getting to go."
Cupping Cristian's trembling chin in her hand, Sheridan gave him a gentle smile. "You weren't in Ms. Kinsay's class, Sweetie. And besides…you'll have a party all your own next year that Ali won't be able to come to."
"But I'd want Ali to come," Cristian insisted.
Hugging Cristian to her with one arm, Sheridan cradled Hope's wiggling body close with the other. "I know," she said, urging him to take a seat in the rocking chair beside Hope's crib. "Hold her careful like I showed you," Sheridan reminded him as she placed his little arms around Hope's dimpled body and crossed the room to scour the closet for a suitable outfit.
Hope's face scrunched up fretfully, tiny fists reaching for Cristian's hair. Her blue eyes welled with tears as her arms continued to flail in the air, and she pushed her feet against Cristian's palm.
Returning with Hope's clothes, Sheridan crouched before the rocking chair, carefully slipping the dress of palest pink and lace over Hope's dark-curled head and praying the act wouldn't work her daughter into a crying rage. When only a few fat tears escaped and Sheridan realized she was getting better at dressing a baby that absolutely hated to be dressed, she and Cristian shared a smile over the avoided disaster. "Maybe you and I could so something special soon. Just the two of us. Would you like that?"
Cristian's grin made the cheerful yellow of the nursery even brighter, revealing his missing baby tooth. "Yeah."
"That's it," Sheridan ruffled his dark hair lovingly. "It's a date."
True to his word, Hank delivered on his promise to Emily, and when the little girl scampered through the front door of the Book Café on the heels of her sister, rainbow ponytails bobbing in her excitement, Beth could only laugh.
Hank sauntered up to the front counter and requested a copy of the Harmony Herald with a quirk of his dark brows, immediately turning to the classifieds and scanning their pages while keeping his other eye peeled out for his young daughters, seated at a table a couple of feet away.
"You missed the family reunion. Grace and Sam just left out of here on their way to the Youth Center. They took Joshua, Miguel, and Katie with them," Beth informed him.
Hank crumpled the paper in his hands and tossed it toward the small waste basket hidden behind the counter. "We're headed there. Just stopping by to let the girls fill up. Grace is making dinner tonight," he said by way of explanation. "Sar, Emmy, give me your orders," he called over his shoulder.
"Gwen truly is an amazing woman," Beth smirked as she removed a fudge brownie for Sara and dropped a handful of bubblegum into Hank's palm for Emily. "Putting up with you…"
"I'm not so bad," Hank grinned. "You have to admit I'm easy on the eyes," he winked.
"I doubt that'll save your butt when Gwen finds out you've been plying them with sugar all day," Beth answered him, eyes twinkling merrily. "Can Divorce Court be that far off?"
"I always knew you wanted me for yourself," Hank grinned back at her.
The halls of the school were bustling with exuberant children as Sheridan wheeled Hope's stroller toward Ms. Kinsay's classroom.
Ali shadowed her mother, her blue eyes cast downward. She stumbled into Sheridan when they paused outside of the closed door, biting her lip when she heard the muted sounds of celebration within. Her small hands trembled with uncertainty when her mother took them in her own, and her eyes lifted reluctantly at the touch. "Mommy, I don't know," Ali shook her head worriedly, "what if…"
Sheridan gave Ali's hands a gentle, encouraging squeeze. "Did I tell you how pretty you look today?" She cupped her palm around Ali's cheek with a smile. "Your daddy loves you in that color blue. Your daddy loves you in every color," she laughed softly. "Just like I do."
Ali's smile was tremulous at best, and her hands fidgeted nervously with the heart-shaped locket at her throat.
"You know," Sheridan offered, "we could go see Daddy at the police station. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. We could pick up Cristian and lunch and make it a day, but first you really should apologize to Ms. Kinsay and explain why you won't be able to make it to her party. I'm sure she'd understand. Of course, she'll be disappointed, but I'm sure you'll see her around next year."
"It won't be the same," Ali muttered.
"It won't," Sheridan agreed, unbuckling Hope and lifting her out of her stroller when she started to fuss. "I don't think your sister likes all this noise. Maybe it's not a good idea to stay for the party."
"But it's different noise," Ali insisted, smoothing the wrinkles out of the soft baby blue fabric recently clutched in her hands. "Roo would like Ms. Kinsay. And Lissy. And Ella and Tyler…Mommy," Ali gathered in a deep breath and a bit of courage, "I think I want to stay."
"Your choice, Sweetie," Sheridan held in her smile, smoothing a hand over Hope's wispy dark curls. "I'm just the transportation." Her comment earned a giggle from Ali, and Sheridan let her smile take free reign over her face, causing more than a couple of passers-by to pause in the hallway and admire the picture the trio made. "We can always have ice cream with Daddy after the party."
"Pinkie promise?" Ali grinned.
"Pinkie promise," Sheridan wrapped her pinkie around Ali's.
Hope gurgled happily when Ali's fingers skated over her tummy.
They entered the classroom together to an excited chorus of "Ali!"
While Hank, Sam, and T.C. enjoyed the unenviable job of cleaning out the Youth Center's locker rooms, Grace instructed Simone and Miguel where to hang each and every decoration.
Theresa and Katie brainstormed for ways to safely and painlessly remove the purple bubblegum from Emily's hair in Sheridan's office.
And in a quiet corner by themselves, Noah and Cristian took turns teaching Joshua how to dribble a basketball.
Paloma watched them with a tiny smile on her lips, glancing back every few seconds at her unrepentant 'prisoner.' So far, Sara'd shown not one iota of guilt for putting several wads of bubblegum into her sister's hair.
"Why can't I take my time-out under the bleachers?" Sara whined. "This is boring. YOU'RE boring," she grumbled, sticking her tongue out at Paloma in disgust.
"Time-outs aren't supposed to be fun," Whitney said, taking a seat at Sara's side. "Apologize to Paloma."
"I'm sorry," Sara muttered. "But you're still boring."
Paloma looked to Whitney with laughing brown eyes. "Is she always this bad?"
"Nope," Sara cut Whitney off before she could answer. "I'm worse."
"Is it any wonder we stopped at three?" Hank groaned as he plopped down beside his young daughter. "Sar, play nice."
"Nice is boring, Dad," Sara frowned. "Like her," she pointed at Paloma.
"Don't take it personally," Whitney leaned down to whisper to Paloma, a smile tugging at her lips. "She thought I was boring at first."
"I still do," Sara stated with brutal honesty.
"All right," Hank grabbed his daughter by her shoulders, steering her down the bleachers. "Since a slap on the wrist isn't good enough for you, it's time for some community service. To the bathrooms, Kiddo."
Paloma and Whitney watched them leave, identical expressions of dismay on their faces. Finally, Whitney broke the silence. "Kids can be tough critics."
Paloma simply nodded in agreement.
At the Seascape, Shane held Ivy's seat out for her. As soon as she was seated, he took the seat across from her, his expression bordering on grim.
Seemingly oblivious to Shane's black mood, Ivy flashed a bright smile at the flustered young waiter, handing the menus back to him once she'd ordered appetizers for both her and Shane. "I think things went well, don't you?"
"Hotchkiss's daughter is quite the businesswoman," came Shane's only comment.
"Ethan and Gwen have always worked beautifully together," Ivy said. "They nearly married you know," she paused to take a sip from her wine. "I can't help but wonder how different things would be. Don't get me wrong. I like Beth, but…She and Ethan are more like friends than two people in love."
Shrugging noncommittally, Shane said, "Ethan seems pretty happy with the choice he made to me. Why can't you leave it at that?"
Shaking her head, Ivy replied, "Contentment and happiness are two very different things, Shane. Ethan's content with Beth."
"Sometimes contentment is better than the alternative," Shane answered her, tugging uncomfortably at the tie that felt like a noose around his neck. He was lying about his feelings on the matter, and Ivy knew it. He could tell by the expression on her face. "This isn't working for you anymore, is it?"
"I care for you, Shane," Ivy answered haltingly. "We've had fun, but…"
"We're not going any farther," Shane cut her off. "I get it, and I really can't say I'm surprised. It's been a long time coming." He unknotted his tie and his fingers worked the top two buttons of his shirt free as he stood up slowly, pushing his seat back. "I'm still searching for forever, and forever's already passed you by, hasn't it Ivy?"
"It doesn't have to pass you by," Ivy looked up at him with blue-green eyes that were full of regret. "Promise me you won't let it. We can still be friends," she suggested.
"I won't," Shane promised. "And as for us being friends…that depends solely on you. If you continue to choose to hurt my sister to further your own agenda…Abby comes first with me, Ivy. Remember that," he told her, taking his leave without a second glance.
The waiter returned, arms laden with their orders, but Ivy sent him away, her appetite gone. Nursing the glass of wine in her hands, she made a vow of her own. "Ethan comes first with me."
Beth felt a chill travel up her spine as she gazed up at the stern likeness of Alistair Crane. She hugged her arms around her waist comfortingly. His eyes were so cold.
"Kinda intimidating, ain't he?" Chad commented, holding out an apologetic hand to steady Beth when she whirled around. "Still have a hard time believing the old bastard's my grandfather sometimes."
Nodding unconsciously, Beth couldn't take her eyes away from Alistair's portrait. "You're nothing like him," she reassured him. "Neither are Ethan and Sheridan."
"You knew the old man?" Chad remarked with interest.
"Knew of him," Beth corrected him. "As ridiculous as it sounds, I resented him for the way things ended between Luis and me. And after hearing about the horrible things he did to his own children…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ramble."
"No harm," Chad gave her a friendly smile. "Ethan's helping Gwen move a few things into her new office. I can take you to him if you want."
Shaking her head, Beth turned down his offer. "He's busy, and I need to get back to the Book Café. Luis promised to drop by and update me on the investigation into the break-in."
Falling into step beside her, Chad mused, "I still can't believe they didn't take anything."
Bent at the middle with his hands resting on his knees, T.C. panted from exertion, shaking his head at the knowing look on Sam's face. Straightening, he wiped the sweat from his brow with the towel Sam offered him and said, "Two old men like us have no business out here on this basketball court. We're just embarrassing ourselves."
"Speak for yourself. COACH Russell," Sam grinned, sounding a little winded himself. He leaned heavily against the wall and looked to the front entrance where the first trickle of children had already begun to arrive. "Looks like we've been spotted," he chuckled when a boisterous little trio sprang forward in a race to see which one made it to their side first.
"Remind me to thank your wife," T.C. retorted. Pushing himself forward, he greeted the kids. "Who wants to play some basketball?"
Three little hands shot up eagerly, and Sam started to laugh in earnest at the look on T.C.'s face. "Show them what you got, Coach."
With one last scribble of her red crayon, Emily held her newest masterpiece up for Cristian to admire.
Ever the little gentleman, Cristian politely told her, "It's pretty." After a beat of silence, he looked at her with a befuddled expression and asked, "What is it?"
"From the horns, I'd say it was Sar," Hank quipped, pausing to kiss the top of Emily's mussed brown head. Crouching down in front of the pair, he greeted Cristian. "How's life as a big brother, Cristian? Hope's sure something, isn't she?"
"She cries a lot," Cristian admitted. "Daddy says she's stubborn just like Mommy."
"What does Mommy say?" Hank grinned.
"That Daddy has no idea how stubborn she really can be," Cristian divulged, "and he's only shooting himself in the foot." His dark brows furrowed with confusion, Cristian posed a question that had Hank alternately choking with laughter and embarrassment. "What's a libido?"
Leaving Beth at the front counter to discuss the break-in with Luis, Chad strolled over to the table in the back, currently occupied by three, make that four, giggling blondes and a cooing brunette. "Ladies, may I take your orders?"
Sheridan smiled brightly at her nephew while the girls made their requests. "Shouldn't you write that down or something?" she teased, blue eyes dancing as he squatted down to greet Hope in her stroller.
Smirking as he stood back up, Chad replied, "I'm good." Turning to Ali with a grin, he asked, "How was the party, Squirt?" The nickname sent Lissy and the little blond proudly sporting a pair of pink glasses into a fresh round of giggles, and Chad and Sheridan shared an amused smile.
"It was the best," Ali gushed happily.
"Tyler asked Ali to go out with him," the little blond with the pink glasses provided helpfully. "He's the cutest boy in our class," she told Chad excitedly.
"But he's not as cute as Jake," Lissy interjected. "Everybody knows Jake and Ali are going out anyway," she argued. "They're practically married, Ella."
Chad looked over at Sheridan who was trying her hardest not to laugh then back at Ali who now wore a pretty pink blush on her cheeks. Chuckling, he teased her further and the pink blush seemed to travel all over her body, "Ali's taken. I can vouch for that."
"Ali, Ali!" Ella stuck her hand up in the air, waving it in a near-frantic fashion. "Me and Lissy HAVE to be in your wedding."
"Wedding?" Luis walked up to them. "Sheridan," he entreated, "clue me in here."
"Hi, Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald," Ella squeaked, blushing furiously. Clutching Lissy's hand, she looked over to Ali, and, rapidly fanning her other hand in front of her face, squealed, "Oh my gosh, Ali, your dad is so hot!"
With visions of a mini-Hank taking his precious AliCat away from him and on a honeymoon no less, Luis was oblivious to the cause of his wife's utter loss of composure and the three giggling little blondes joining her. "She's only nine."
Leaving them to fill their orders, Chad mentally added a coffee for Luis. He sure as hell looked like he needed the jolt of caffeine to restart his heart.
Miguel sighed heavily as he stuffed the letter from MJ's teacher back into its envelope and tapped the envelope against his knee.
Taking a seat beside him on the bleachers, Katie stilled the nervous motion by placing her hand over his and gently taking the envelope from his fingers. Arching a golden brow at him, she waited patiently for him to respond.
Rubbing his hands over his face tiredly, Miguel muttered, "MJ's teacher thinks it might be better if I held him back a year."
"May I?" Katie indicated the envelope in her hands. At Miguel's nod, she withdrew the sheets of paper and scanned through them. "His grades were already dropping before?" Katie looked up, searching Miguel's face.
"He has trouble paying attention in class," Miguel admitted. "She wanted us to have him tested for ADHD, but then…the accident happened, and for a while there, I wasn't much of a father."
"You were a little lost," Katie took his hand in hers and gave it a compassionate squeeze. Her green eyes softened as she gazed into his sad dark eyes. "But you're finding your way back now. And so are MJ and Joshua," she spoke with quiet confidence. "You're too hard on yourself."
"I'm not hard enough on myself," Miguel declared. "What am I going to do about MJ?"
"You'll do what's best for him," came Katie's simple answer.
"That has all the makings of a Lifetime Movie," Abby commented dryly on Katie and Miguel's apparent heart to heart.
Hank turned around slowly, his dark eyes drawn to her chest.
"Just like a man to look at a woman's breasts first," Abby scoffed goodnaturedly, standing tall under Hank's quiet scrutiny.
"It's a little hard to notice anything else," Hank answered her. "Did you know you had the word 'BRAT' stretched across the front of your chest?"
"I have one at home that's much more appropriate, but I didn't want to corrupt the innocents of Harmony," Abby told him, fishing for a smile. When it didn't appear, she sighed, hazel eyes boring into brown apologetically. "Would it help if I promised to name you the godfather?" When she saw a hint of a twinkle in his eyes, she mock-groaned, "Spare me the Brando and Pacino impersonations, okay?"
The corners of Hank's mouth twitched, but he stayed mum.
"I'm sorry you didn't find out from me first," Abby grew serious. "But that bitch had it coming. She's lucky I didn't go all kung fu on her Sumo ass."
Finally, Hank laughed, sliding his arms around her waist and tugging her into a bear hug. Giving her tawny ponytail an affectionate tug, he looked into her sparkling hazel eyes and grinned, deciding to make light of the situation instead of voicing his misgivings of Taylor for the millionth time. "Godfather has a nice ring to it, but I think we should go with the more traditional Uncle Hank. What do you think?"
Dragging her feet dejectedly and wearing a black scowl, Sara followed Grace into the kitchen.
Stealing a covert glance at the petulant child, Grace smothered a smile. Contrary to popular Harmony belief, she wasn't blind, and she'd picked up a few things along the way raising three children. While Hank hadn't meant for Sara to view her early departure from the Youth Center with Grace as a punishment for her various misdeeds of the day, it was more than apparent the child did. Grace couldn't help but find a little bit of humor in the situation. Kay had always felt the same way, and, much like Sara was now, more than made her feelings known without uttering a single word. Crossing the kitchen to the refrigerator, Grace opened the door and withdrew the casserole she'd prepared earlier that morning. Pulling out a couple more dishes and setting them on the counter, she tossed a question at her young niece. "Sara, what do you think we should have for dessert?"
Sara's small shoulders lifted in a shrug, and she walked over to the kitchen table where she plopped gracelessly into one of the chairs. She tugged at one corner of the red-and-white checkered tablecloth, resolute in her decision to ignore Grace.
Smirking at the thought that the Cranes and Lopez-Fitzgeralds didn't have a monopoly on the trait of stubbornness, Grace doggedly continued the one-sided conversation. "Noah says he and Katie want you and Emily to be in their wedding. Sounds exciting."
"I don't want to wear a stupid dress," Sara muttered under her breath, twirling the salt shaker between her fingers. She snatched it up when it toppled over, sneaking a peek at Grace before sweeping the tiny white crystals off of the table. "Weddings are dumb."
Arching an auburn brow at that comment, Grace decided the sentiment could ring true to a child such as Sara, who'd just as soon wear her T-ball uniform to church as a dress every Sunday. "Your cousin Kay always thought that too until she married Miguel. I think weddings are nice," she commented, setting the timer on the oven. "Someday you'll feel the same way."
"I won't," Sara vowed, shifting in her seat to get a better look at what Grace was doing when she took a package of Oreos out of one of the cupboards. Her brown eyes widened when Grace opened the package and took out a handful of cookies, crumbling them into a bowl. Without noticing she was doing it, Sara slid out of her chair and made her way across the kitchen to Grace. Clambering onto a barstool, she peered into the bowl of crumbled cookies and back at Grace's face, frowning, "What'd you do that for?"
"Because it's fun," Grace answered her with a straight face, picking up a spoon and mixing up something in a second larger bowl. "You want to do it? Go head," she encouraged, nudging the package of cookies toward Sara along with the smaller bowl.
Sara took the cookies from Grace suspiciously and experimentally crushed one, sending crumbs everywhere. When Grace didn't immediately tell her to clean her mess up, she grabbed handful after handful of cookies and crumbled with gusto. She loved making a mess!
When Sara was finished, Grace helped her pour the cookie bits into the larger bowl and instructed her to start mixing again while she retrieved the vital last ingredient to their little mishmash from the cupboard.
Sara eyed the bag of rainbow colored gummy worms with undisguised interest. "What are you going to do with those?"
Grace smiled. "You'll see."
"God help us all when her hormones REALLY start going haywire," Abby nodded in Ella's direction. The giggly little blond vaguely reminded her of an overly excited toy poodle or Pomeranian. Actually, she reminded her of Theresa after too many drinks. "Jeez, she's making me dizzy."
"You okay, Tink?" Hank immediately placed a protective, supporting hand at the small of Abby's back.
"Maybe you should lie down," Miguel said, looking concerned as he gently took her arm and started leading her toward Sheridan's office.
Smirking, Abby looked back and forth between the two men and swore, "Damn. If only the thought of either of you naked in my bed didn't make me want to crack up."
"As in 'haha' or 'I'll never teeeelllll'?" Hank grinned. "On second thought, forget I asked that question. Neither response helps the already bruised ego."
Miguel shook his head slightly at them, and Abby stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek with a tender smile. "You're great guys," she said. "Both of you."
"And that should make me feel better when you've already insulted me?" Hank continued the light teasing.
"Don't be insulted," Abby replied, tongue in cheek. "You're my very own Will."
"Grace's Will?" Hank's grin faltered. "Tink, you're killing me here."
"BEE!" Joshua raced to Abby, latching himself firmly onto her legs. "Uh," he held his arms up.
Abby glared at Miguel when he stopped her from picking up Joshua, lifting the toddler himself. "Hand him over. I've missed the little monkey."
Miguel refused, ignoring the way Joshua whined and stretched his little arms out reaching for Abby. "MJ got too heavy for Kay to lift when she was pregnant with Joshua, and Joshua's at least a year older than MJ was."
"He can't weight twenty pounds dripping wet," Abby protested with an exaggerated roll of her hazel eyes.
Hank didn't help her argument, commenting, "You're a lightweight, Tink. I could easily toss you over my shoulder right now and carry you ten blocks."
"Will ya shut up, Bennett? I know the height on your driver's license is wishful thinking," Abby shot Hank a meaningful look.
Realizing the pair could easily trade barbs for hours, Miguel solved the dilemma with a simple, logical suggestion. "Sit down and hold him."
"Thanks, Miguel. You're a fledgling Einstein," Abby beamed, taking Joshua from his arms before he could stop her and striding over to the kiddie-size table Simone and Paloma had set up a few feet away where she claimed one of the miniature chairs as her own. She bounced Joshua on her knees, making him giggle, before pulling him close in a tight hug and kissing his dark head.
Beside Hank, Miguel sighed and wondered aloud, "What are we going to do with her?"
Hank responded, "That's a question I've been trying to figure out for years."
"It's like an out of control family reunion out there," Luis joked as he shut the door to Sheridan's office softly, taking every precaution to avoid waking the little sleeping beauty in the corner.
Slumped in her stroller with drool dribbling down her sweet chin, Hope was the picture of a tiny angel.
Luis had a feeling though that the third time was the charm. He and Sheridan finally had the little hell raiser that destiny had dictated they'd be blessed with sooner or later. His gut told him Hope was going to give him far more gray hairs than Ali's little romance with Jake. Or maybe not, he decided as the returned thought of his AliCat growing up sent another pang coursing through his belly.
Sliding her arms around Luis's waist and tucking her blond head against his strong shoulder, Sheridan sighed, the small sound signaling both her exhaustion and contentment just to be in his arms. Raising sparkling blue eyes to his beloved face, she said, "I know exactly what you're thinking, Buster. It's not a thought scarier than death."
"We're never going to have another peaceful night's sleep again," Luis declared.
Luis definitely had Pilar the worrywart's genes, Sheridan decided with a small laugh. She knew he wasn't just talking about the present; she even had a niggling sense he was right. She preferred a little optimism, though she couldn't help teasing him. "I think I read somewhere that fathers of daughters live shorter lives. Higher incidence of stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, things like that…"
Luis acknowledged her teasing with a helpless smile and pressed his lips against her temple as he backed them both toward the chair behind her desk. The chair squeaked beneath their combined weight as Luis pulled her into his lap and muttered against her golden brow. "It'll be like raising you."
Laughing, Sheridan cupped her palm around his smooth jaw. "Is that really so bad?" When his only answer was a tiny smirk, she cried out, "Luis!"
Kissing her, Luis grinned, "I haven't tamed you yet."
When Katie came back to Martin wearing an apologetic smile, Martin nodded knowingly. Being careful to avoid Emily's blue paint-covered palms, he scooped her into his arms and carried her toward the locker rooms. "Come on, Lass. Let's get you cleaned up before your mother gets here."
Katie followed Martin, gently pushing a similarly marked Cristian forward. "I didn't have the heart to disturb them."
Martin set Emily on her feet in front of the row of sinks, leaning over her to turn on the faucet. Taking both of her small hands and a bar of hand soap into his own hands, he rubbed vigorously as the warm water poured over their skin.
"I wanted to look like Smurfette, Mr. Fitz," Emily told Martin.
"The Smurfs still come on?" Katie asked, biting her lip as she concentrated on removing the red paint from Cristian's palms. "Who'd you want to be, Cristian?" she inquired, meeting the little boy's repentant brown eyes in the reflection of the mirror.
"Cristian was supposed to be Clifford," Emily piped up for Cristian. "Mr. Fitz, are we in trouble with Uncle Luis? He's the police. If the paint doesn't come off, will I be blue forever? I'm hungry. If I apologize real nice, can I have a cookie?"
Chuckling at he dabbed a damp cloth at the blue spot on Emily's button nose, Martin took a few seconds to process her line of questions before answering. "I'm sure Uncle Luis will let you off with a warning this time, the paint's washing off, and Katie will get you both a cookie when we're finished here if you promise not to sneak into the finger paints again."
"I promise, Grandpa Martin," Cristian said solemnly as Katie dried his hands with a small hand towel.
"Me too, Mr. Fitz," Emily said, flinging her arms around Martin's neck and noisily kissing his cheek.
"Be on with you now," Martin smiled, shooing the two little ones and Katie away as he stood up. Looking into the mirror once they were gone, he raised his hand to the small speck of blue paint adorning his cheek with a chuckle.
Jake's confident swagger was suffering under the scrutiny of the giddy blond trio known as Ella, Lissy, and Ali.
Ella whispered something to Lissy, and the two girls looked at Jake and giggled while Ali just continued to smile at him.
Jake's curiosity was killing him, and he kept sneaking glances at the girls, his focus straying from the game of basketball at hand. It wasn't much of a surprise then when he looked up just in time to see the basketball flying toward his face. Stunned, he fell to a heap on the gym floor. When he blinked his eyes open a minute later, muttering 'ouch', all he could see were Ali's big blue eyes welling with worried tears.
"Jake," Ali shook his shoulder gently. "Jake, wake up. Are you dead? You just can't be dead."
Ella's and Lissy's faces loomed behind Ali's, but Jake focused his eyes only on Ali's sweet face. "Aww, Ali," he complained when she threw her arms around his neck, causing Dylan and a bunch of the other guys to snicker. "If I was dead, do you think I'd be talking to you right now?"
"Little Buddy's got a point," Hank agreed, parting the crowd that had gathered around his fallen son and striking out a hand. Jake took it, and Hank hauled him and Ali to their feet, grinning at the embarrassed blush on his son's cheeks as he tried to disengage Ali's arms from his neck.
"Dad," Jake gave Hank a pointed look.
"Come on, Ali," Hank took Ali's hand gently. "Just because Jake's not old enough yet to appreciate a pretty girl's concern doesn't mean I'm not."
Jake tamped down his guilt, puffed up his chest, and walked right up to Dylan, snatching the offending basketball from his hands and saying, "Game's not over." A guy had to save a little face.
Hank had put forth an admirable effort trying to lift Ali's sagging spirits after Jake's snub, but his attempts weren't all that successful, and Ali joined Martin, Pilar, and Cristian on the bleachers, stretching out her parents' stolen peaceful moments as long as she could.
Then Ella's harried mother had arrived to pick her up mere minutes after the incident, essentially leaving Lissy alone.
Completely relaxed in Abby's arms, Joshua snored lightly. The little table they were seated at was all but abandoned with the mass exodus of children following their parents' arrivals at the Youth Center, and Lissy easily found a seat.
"Boys are so stupid," Lissy muttered, tossing her long tawny hair over her shoulders as she glanced over at Abby.
Smiling inwardly at Lissy's protectiveness toward Ali, Abby commented, "Especially when it comes to girls. He really hurt her feelings, huh?" She knew Jake had only added insult to injury when he'd left with Emily and his parents to go home and get ready for dinner at Grace's without offering Ali an apology.
"He did," Lissy took the comment and run with it. "I was so sure Jake was different. Ali's always been his best friend."
Abby carefully shifted Joshua to the arm that wasn't asleep and looked into Lissy'z chocolate eyes before speaking, "Maybe now that he realizes she's more than his best friend, he's a little scared. Plus, he doesn't want to look like a sissy in front of all his other friends. Maybe he doesn't realize that's making him look like a jerk."
Lissy considered Abby's words for a moment then said, "I'm still mad at him for hurting Ali's feelings."
"You're a good friend, Lissy," Abby smiled at the little girl, causing her to smile back.
Lissy scooted her chair closer to Abby's, stopping abruptly when Joshua stirred slightly, murmuring, "Bee." Lowering her voice to a soft whisper as she watched Abby lovingly stroke Joshua's baby smooth cheek in a calming gesture, Lissy asked Abby a surprising question, "When are you and my dad going to go out again?"
Christopher echoed his daughter's question. "I'd like to know the answer to that question myself."
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