Author Note: So much thanks to Amy because without her, seriously I would not have figured out stuff for these last two chapters, or seriously like most of this fic. She asks the questions I totally never think about. I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter, so please don't be afraid to let me know.

-the sky turns dark-

She was gone.

She was probably on a plane by now.

Lucas poured another glass of whiskey, downing it as he watched the minutes ticking by on the clock on his desk.

What if she didn't come back?

What if he never saw her again?

No if she didn't come back he was going to get on a plane to New York, throw her over his shoulder and bring her back here. He would toss Dave in an ocean of corn chips if he had to. Lucas would call all cave man if he had to.

He didn't know how many drinks he had. He didn't care.

He was numb and that was all that mattered as the time ticked away. He saw the headlights of Zay's truck coming down the driveway. He staggered over to the window, watching as the truck parked and Zay and Gigi got out. He could hear their voices cutting through the late night, early morning air.

"Why are you always such a jackass to Deacon?" Gigi accused Zay as they stood outside the truck.

"I'm not." Zay shrugged, "He's a jackass to me."

"No, he isn't Zay." Gigi took a step towards Zay, "What is this really about? You've been kind of an ass about Deacon since my birthday. Are you jealous?"

Zay took a step back, "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because Deacon has what you don't; me."

"You're Lucas' little sister, you're basically my little sister." He reminded her, but he knew he was lying. He didn't know when, he didn't know how but somewhere along the line he'd stopped seeing Gigi as a sister, and saw her as a woman.

Gigi stepped towards him, backing him up against the truck, her hands on either side of him as she looked into his eyes. "Stop lying Zay."

"What is it you want from me Gigi?" He was a dead man if Lucas ever found out about this.

"This" her lips met his in a hungry kiss as his arms wrapped around her, and they reverse position, he now had her pinned against the truck.

Lucas took the final sip of the whiskey left in his glass before he went back to the chair. Riley had been right.

Riley was always, right wasn't she?

He looked at the clock again, realizing she was probably in New York by now, probably crawling into Dave's bed, touching him, making love to him.

He poured another glass, downing it all at once.

He'd been so close today, he'd been touching her, feeling her, hearing her. She wanted him.

Why did he have to be so fucking noble he threw the glass against the wall, not even a half a moment later the door opened, the hall light flooding into the dark office, and Zay's silhouette filling the space.

"What the hell man?" Zay took in Lucas in front of him, drunk, the bottle of whiskey almost empty.

"She's gone." Lucas spoke out loud, a sob bubbling up from deep inside of him.

Zay was at his side, forcing Lucas to sit up. He'd never seen Lucas this broken before. "Where did she go?"

"Home." He reached for the bottle only to have Zay snatch it away from him.

"You're cut off. You need to go sleep this off." He shook his head.

Lucas didn't budge, he just kept crying, his words stringing together, "what if she doesn't come back."

"Riley wouldn't leave us in the middle of the campaign unless it was an emergency." Zay told him as he pulled his friend up to his feet and started trying to get him to walk to the door. "She'll be back."

"But she's going to leave again." Lucas reminded Zay once they were at the stairs and he sat down.

Zay sighed, "I should let your drunk ass just sleep on the stairs."

"She was the one from Vegas." Lucas sighed between his tears.

"I know man, I know." Zay got him onto his feet again and up the stairs, just barely making it to Lucas' room.

"You knew?"

"I suspected." Zay was sure that Lucas wouldn't remember this part of the conversation or much of anything in the morning. "Sleep, and then when your sober we can talk."

"You sleep in your room and Gigi sleeps in hers!" Lucas sat up, trying to keep his arm steady as he pointed to the different rooms before falling back on the bed.

Zay nodded before going into the hall, where Gigi was coming out from the bathroom, "Lucas is, beyond drunk."

"Why, where's Riley?"

"New York, I don't know. I'll call Maya tomorrow and find out what's going on." Zay rubbed his eyes.

Gigi nodded, "I'm sorry about outside, I shouldn't have done that. You're just looking out for me, and I keep misinterpreting it."

"Deacon is a good guy." Zay admitted, "You two are good together from what I've seen."

"Thank you." Gigi went to her door, "What would make Riley leave? Do you think she was running from Lucas and her feelings, or something else?"

"If Riley was going to run from Lucas, she would've done it in July. I'm sure it was an actual emergency." At least he hoped it was, after seeing Lucas just now, Zay wasn't sure he could ever pick of the pieces of his friends broken heart if he had to.

"Zay talked to Maya" Gigi told Lucas when she brought him a cup of coffee late the next morning. "Smackle called Riley back for something, she doesn't understand the details, but Riley should be back in Texas in a few days."

Lucas didn't speak, his head hurt, his eyes hurt like they had never hurt before.

Gigi handed him some cucumber slices, "Put these on your eyes. They'll help. Zay says you were crying legitimate tears last night."

He obeyed his younger sister, closing his eyes and putting the cucumber over them.

"The way I see it, you've got two choices here Lucas. You can either stay in bed, drinking whiskey, listening to Taylor Swift, The Dixie Chicks, whatever sad music you have on your iPod, or you can sober the fuck up, and figure out how you're going to finally get the girl."

"Bed, Whiskey, silence." His voice hoarse as he spoke, not moving.

Gigi shook her head, "Whatever, I'm going to see Deacon." She watched her brother for a moment, she had never seen him like this before, and she never wanted to see him like this again. She left him alone and silent, hoping he would clear his head.

Lucas didn't say anything, he just wanted to be numb, to feel nothing, he'd been better off before Riley came back into his life.

No that was a lie and he knew it.

It had been torture so far, pretending they were together, but not being together. He couldn't do it anymore. If she came back, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself unless she asked him to.

He drifted in and out of sleep most of the afternoon and early evening. His dreams all of Riley, some where they made love, some where he confessed his feelings for her, others where she ran away, back to Dave, never looking back.

Just as the sun was setting he got out of bed and went into the bathroom turning the shower on. He stripped out of the clothes he'd been wearing since the day before. The clothes he'd worn when he kissed Riley goodbye and confessed to her that he remembered what happened in Vegas.

The spray of the shower hit his skin as he started crying again. He wasn't used to reacting like this, he didn't know how he was supposed to handle it.

All Lucas knew was that the next time he saw Riley he was going to throw her over his shoulder and make love to her. Even if he had to go to New York to make it happen.

Zay had said she'd be back, he wouldn't lie about this, not now at least. So, Riley would be back, and when she got back, Lucas knew what he was going to do.

It would be risky, and in the end, he would still end up heartbroken, but if she accepted the change he proposed he could at least live in the fantasy until she left. He could look back on the next couple of months with Riley and he already knew they would be the best of his life.

He turned the shower off, drying his body quickly before he pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and went back to bed.

It might not be a perfect plan, it might sound ridiculous to most, and maybe it wouldn't work, but he had to try something, anything, didn't he?

On Monday morning when Lucas finished his house calls he stopped at Casey's before going into the office. He was sitting at the counter when the overly floral scent sat next to him.

All he wanted was coffee, maybe some hash browns now that his stomach was settling. He didn't want to deal with her of all people.

"Where's Riley, you two missed church yesterday. Have a fight and she ran back to the big city to find some other man?" Dixie gave Lucas a sympathetic look, while trying to hide her hopeful grin.

Lucas took a sip of his coffee, "She had to go back to New York to deal with a client crisis. She'll be back Dixie."

Dixie dropped her hand to his thigh, letting her red finger nails trail north, "You know if you are ever lonely at night Lucas, I could keep you company."

Lucas gently picked her hand up, he knew people were watching as he placed it on the counter, "Dixie, have I ever accepted that invitation in the last how many years? Not once. Do you know why? Because I love Riley, she's the woman I am going to be with, and if I'm not with her, I'm alone."

Dixie chewed the inside of her cheek as she studied him for a moment as she stood up from the stool, "You say that now, but when that stuck-up bitch doesn't come back because she's landed some lawyer to fuck her instead."

"That's my future wife you're talking about Dixie." Lucas' voice was louder than he expected.

Dixie went pale, "You're engaged?"

Lucas sat up and smiled as he looked around the diner, "Yeah, I proposed to Riley on Saturday, just before she got called away to deal with a client crisis."

"Congratulations Lucas!" One of the old men who hung around all day long told him.

"Thank you," He knew he was a dead man, especially if she didn't come back, but well she put this whole thing into play.

Dixie grabbed her purse and went out, no way in hell was she going to allow that New York Bitch to marry the man she'd been after all her life.

Zay watched as Lucas came into the bar, be poured a ginger ale and put in front of him. "So, I hear your engaged."

Lucas sighed, "Word travels fast."

"Well Dixie bitched to Gloria May, and well everyone heard within a half an hour." Zay looked around, "How are you going to explain this to Riley?"

"Dixie got under my skin, Riley will understand. Right?" He took a sip of the ginger ale. "She's coming, back right?"

Zay pulled out his phone and pulled up the text he had from Maya, "Per our favorite spitfire and I quote, Riley wrapped up her business with IRSM. As far as I know she plans to return to Texas. Then Maya goes into how she's currently yelling at Charlie for something he did with Dave."

Lucas felt his right knee bouncing, "So she finished with Smackle and what flies out tonight?"

"Maybe she's just getting things figured out in the city. She'll call before she flies back."

"Like wedding planning?" Lucas looked around, "You think she's taking a few days to do that kind of stuff?"

Zay sighed, "She's either up there right now planning a wedding, or she's packing up everything to move down here to be with you, I don't know man. I can never figure you two out."

Lucas didn't say anything as Zay went to help someone on the other end of the bar for a minute before he came back.

"Lucas, if you want to know when she's coming back, why don't you just call her?"

"What if she's, you know" He picked up a corn chip.

Zay nodded, "You need to tell her you love her."

"I know" Lucas sighed, "What if this is what she want's?"

Zay took the chip from Lucas, "Dude, I've seen the way the two of you are together, I've seen the way she looks at you, this isn't what she wants. Just don't be an ass, and find a ring for her that she's not allergic to."

"I've got one, I just hope it fits." Lucas confessed.

Lucas went out on the house calls Tuesday morning, helping Asher deliver a foal but he slipped right after and had to go home to shower and get fresh clothes.

Every time he went through the house it felt so empty without the sound of Riley moving around, doing chores, making lists, humming old Britney Spears songs to herself.

He'd told himself if she wasn't back by Friday he was going to call, and if she was staying in New York he was going to get on the first flight out.

He quickly jumped in the shower, trying to rid himself of his clumsiness from earlier when he heard the doorbell being rung repeatedly with urgency. He turned the water off, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his body loosely as he ran down the stairs.

He swung the door open, holding his towel in place before groaning, "What are you doing here?"

Dixie pushed her way in through the door, "Riley not back yet?" she giggled, "Oh Lucas, come on, you know you're just dying to have me. If you really plan to marry Riley, take me now."

"What part of this is never going to happen do you not understand?" He rolled his eyes before he realized she was undoing the tie on her dress.

Dixie let her dress drop to the ground, revealing her white bra and panties, "Lucas you're a man, you've got needs, I'm a woman, and I can fulfill your needs."

"Get dressed Dixie, go call Dylan, I hear he fulfills your needs well enough." Lucas backed away from her. "I'm engaged to Riley, you need to leave."

Dixie picked up her dress, and moved to the door, holding it in her hand as she let her finger run down his chest, "One day Lucas, you're going to want me, and it'll be too late."

"I am never going to want you." He was exasperated, why could this woman not understand this? "Go away, and if you try this again I'm calling the Sheriff to have you arrested."

Dixie leaned in close to him, pressing her lips to his cheek, "I dare you to get me in a pair of handcuffs."

Lucas pushed her away and slammed the door.

Dixie giggled as she shimmied into her dress, not knowing that Gloria May was in the driveway snapping a picture with her phone, trying to decide if she should text it to Riley or not.

"So," Gigi sat next to her brother at the bar after putting his dinner order in front of him, "You're engaged huh?"

"How mad do you think she'll be?"

"She won't be." Gigi shrugged, "But I also heard Dixie has gone into overdrive trying to get you."

"I told her I'm calling the sheriff if she pulls another stunt like this morning." Lucas shook his head, "Imagine Riley's reaction."

Gigi stole a fry from the basket, "Dixie should be glad Riley wasn't here, or well we'd be bailing Riley out of jail."

"She's feisty, and terrifying like her mother." Lucas felt his stomach flip, "Her parents are going to kill me when this is all over."

"So, you going to give her that ring you've got stashed in your sock drawer?"

"Gigi, I don't go through your stuff. Aren't you too old for this?"

"I'll always be your annoying little sister." She stole another fry.

"With that" Lucas cleared his throat, "You and Deacon, is that getting serious?"

Gigi shrugged, "I don't know, I like spending time with him, he's good to me, I still have a few years of college left."

"And he's not a full Veterinarian yet." Lucas reminded her, "You don't have to settle down right now, you know, that, right?"

"I know, I guess, I just thought I knew what I wanted, but I'm starting to see that there is a lot more out there than I realized." Gigi looked around, "Have you called her yet?"

"Not yet." Lucas sighed, "I mean if something changed she would call right, like if she and Dave ran off and got married."

"You're an idiot." Gigi shook her head, "It would serve you right if she did up and marry him. But she would be miserable."

"Come on, they're engaged."

Gigi shook her head, "Yeah, but apparently so are you."

By Wednesday night the only thing Lucas wanted to do was go home, drink his weight in whiskey and find the courage to call Riley. Instead he had to go a meeting for the alumni association for the high school home coming in October.

He sat at the table, drinking his bottled water and chatting with the school Principal when Dixie came in, taking the seat next to him. He didn't hide it when he rolled his eyes as she tried talking to him. "Dixie, I'm sorry that you want my attention right now, but Mr. Clark and I are having a conversation."

She pouted, sitting back in her seat waiting for the others to show up.

Throughout the meeting, Lucas could tell Dixie was pouting, plotting, he could only imagine what she thought was going to happen.

"Now, we're going to have the bon fire after the pep-rally on Friday night." Mr. Clark explained as he looked around the table, "Saturday is of course the game in the afternoon, and then the dance on Saturday night, which is basically everyone in town. We are hoping to have a silent auction, and perhaps some other fundraisers that evening to fund the field trip to Washington DC for the seniors, and the spring musical."

"I'm surprised we need more fundraisers after how much Lucas went for at the auction in July." Dixie rattled her pen between her fingers.

"With the wonderful donations from the bachelor auction we're able to fund the athletic program and the fall theater production." The Principal looked to Dixie, "You're always welcome to make a donation that doesn't involve trying to get a date with Dr. Friar."

"Now Peter" Dixie leaned forward across Lucas towards the Principal, "You know I do my part."

Lucas tried to lean away but if he went any further back he would fall over and maybe flip the table top. He threw his hands up, "Do you not understand personal space Dixie? You might want me all up in yours, but I don't want you in mine."

Dixie sat up and waved her hand, "Oh Lucas, please we all know you wouldn't mind me being all up in your space."

Lucas pushed his seat back, "Actually I do mind, I'm engaged and yet it's like you don't care because you want me, but you're never getting me. Even if I wasn't engaged it will not happen. It didn't happen in high school, it didn't happen in college, it hasn't happened in all these years. I'm not into you." He looked around the room, "I'm done for the night, before I say something I'll regret."

Dixie shook her head, "Kiss being mayor goodbye."

Lucas stopped at the door and looked back, "I don't think you have the pull you think you do, and if you do, then this town needs me as mayor more than ever."

Lucas parked his truck behind the SUV, rubbing his eyes as he grabbed his keys and went into the house. He went straight to his office and pulled out the bottle of whiskey and the last glass he had. He took a long sip as his phone started to ring, his heart skipped when he saw that it was Riley. "Hey" he answered as quickly as he could.

"Hi" Her voice was soft, "So um, since like mid-day Monday my phone has been blowing up with messages about my engagement."

Lucas downed his drink, "I um, so I was at Casey's, trying to get something to eat before my afternoon appointments, and Dixie had found out you were out of town, and it was like open season. It just came out, and next thing I knew everyone in town heard."

Riley giggled, "I'm not mad, she has a way about getting under my skin, I think you've noticed."

Lucas poured himself another drink, "Well, being engaged is not stopping her."

"Let me guess, you slipped during a house call, came home to shower, and Dixie caught you in a towel and somehow ended up in her white bra and panties on the porch."

He closed his eyes, "Actually yeah, how the heck did you know that? I did threaten to call the sheriff on her if she came on the property again."

"Good to know, and Gloria May was coming to drop something off, and well she witnessed you throwing Dixie out. She thought something had happened, but I know you wouldn't do anything with Dixie, plus apparently, she later bitched that you didn't touch her."

He could hear water splashing, "Where are you?"

"In the greatest bathtub in the world, a nice bubble bath sounded like a good idea after I've been driving for the last three days."

Lucas picked up his glass downing the rest as his mind immediately placed Riley in his tub upstairs as he picked up the bottle as he left the office, "Tell me about this tub."

"It's big enough for two very tall people to stretch out in, has jets, looks out to an amazing view."

He was halfway up the stairs when he stopped, "Sounds wonderful."

"It would be even better if you were in it with me."

He was outside his bedroom now, "Riley, I, when you come back, I don't know if I can continue to be noble."

"I never asked you to be noble."

"I know but, I can't stop myself from wanting to be with you, and I think, no I know you want to be with me." He opened the bedroom door and put the bottle down on top of his dresser before refilling his glass. "Be mine until you leave."

She was silent for a moment, "I will."

"You will?" He was stunned, he hadn't expected her to say yes.

"Yeah, where are you?"

"In my room, getting ready to take a shower, why?"

"Just curious what you were doing."

"Drinking whiskey, getting naked." He chuckled hoping to tease her as well as she was teasing him.

"Did you bring the bottle upstairs?"

"Yeah, I did, why?" He had just his boxers on as he took a final sip from his glass.

"I could use a drink."

Lucas had his back to the bathroom door, "I would love to bring you a drink, if you were here." He pushed the door open before he went in, the room smelled fruity like Riley, it had the glow of candles lighting it when it should be dark. He slowly turned around towards his tub, bubbles and the most beautiful woman in the world filled it. "Riley?"