Disclaimer:
The following story is completely fictional. It is merely the work of an over-active imagination from the mind of a bored and stressed author. I have no affiliation with A&E or the Chapman family because seriously, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this ;)
Chapter 27
Leland watched her throughout the drive, seeing her apprehension as they approached Maui's place. Brielle wanted the kids to like her so badly, and he had been nervous about it himself but realized he was worrying for nothing. She had a knack for kids for some reason or another, they just loved her. He hadn't been lying when he'd told her how his kids would react and he thought Dakota would take to her in record time.
Leland reached over and set his hand on her knee, squeezing gently when she looked over at him. He felt her tense as he pulled into the driveway but stopped her from getting out of the truck. She sighed and nodded at him when he looked at her questioningly. The door opened for them before they even approached the walkway.
"Hey, Leland."
"Hey, Maui. Sorry I'm a little late…"
"Oh, no problem. And you must be Brielle," Maui said, stepping out to shake her hand and then hugging her. "You're famous. I feel like I've known you forever, Leland just couldn't shut up about you."
"Maui…" Leland tried, watching Brielle's expression go from surprised to curious.
"I'm sorry, I'm probably scaring you. He thinks so highly of you…"
"He called before we got here, didn't he?" Brielle asked bluntly and when Leland sighed she knew her answer before Maui even spoke.
"Oh, you're good. Sorry if I scared you to death. So, I'm Maui," she said, motioning them in and wrapping an arm around Brielle's shoulders as she led her inside. "Sorry about the living room; the boys had a strange sugar rush before you showed up."
"No problem. I've had to baby-sit his siblings, big and small. This is nothing," Brielle said with a hesitant laugh.
"Relax, sistah. If Leland trusts you enough to be a big part of the boys' lives, I trust his decision in that. Dakota? Cobie? Daddy's here," Maui called, pulling Brielle into the kitchen to give Leland a chance to tell the boys about their visitor.
"Thank you for trusting me. I know the boys are his world."
"You don't need to thank me."
"I don't want to intrude and have you feel like I'm taking over as their mother."
"Oh, don't worry. Like I said, Leland's talked about you for years. I knew at some point he would want you to meet them."
"Daddy!" Brielle looked up from the drink Maui handed her when she heard the little boy's voice.
"That would be Cobie," Maui whispered as they heard Leland laughing.
"Hey there, buddy! Have you been good for your mother?" he asked, his tone slightly threatening.
"Yes, dad. We've been helping her clean the kitchen after dinner and our rooms."
"Good boys. Now, remember that friend I always talk about?"
"That one in the picture?" another, slightly older boy's voice asked and Brielle blushed at Leland's words.
"What picture?" she asked Maui as she was pushed gently towards the hallway.
"Yes. Do you remember her name?"
"B… B… um, Belle?" Cobie asked as Maui and Brielle entered the living room. Leland was kneeling on the ground in front of the boys who were facing away from where the girls had entered.
"No, it was Brielle, right, dad?"
"Right, Kota. Hey, Baby," Leland said, smiling as he stood up, holding out his hand for her.
"Are you dating?" the older boy, Dakota, asked, looking between the two of them.
"No, I'm just a very close friend of your dad's. I've known him since I was about your age," she told him; walking over to take Leland's offered hand.
"Oh. You look very pretty, Miss Brielle." Leland couldn't hide his laugh at the look on Brielle's face as she knelt down.
"Thank you, Dakota. That's very sweet. Please call me Brielle, okay?"
"Okay."
"And would you have said that I was pretty if I was your daddy's girlfriend?" She saw Dakota hesitate as he seriously thought about what she had asked him.
"Dakota!" Leland scolded, slightly embarrassed but Brielle just laughed.
"He's just being honest. Besides, I remember his father doing something similar when he was younger."
"I like you," said the younger one shyly, peeking out from behind his brother.
"Thank you, Cobie! Hey, what do you say to a piggy-back ride?" she asked, holding her hand out to him. Leland smiled warmly as Cobie took Brielle's hand and he helped his son onto her back.
"Have fun at the fair guys! Kota, please be nice?" Maui asked, leaning over to kiss her son who scowled at her.
"I'll be nice."
"Ready boys?" Leland ran out after Dakota as Brielle carried Cobie out to the truck and buckled him in before hopping in the passenger seat next to Leland. "So how have you guys been? School okay?"
"We've been good."
"Any homework?"
"No, mom made me finish before you got there."
"Great! So, what time did she say we had to be back by?"
"She said 10 at the latest."
"Awesome!"
"How old are you?" Brielle asked with a laugh and Leland only smiled at her.
"Do you live in Kona?" Dakota asked as he watched Brielle with his dad.
"No, I live in Honolulu with your Uncle Duane Lee."
"What about when my dad is in Honolulu? Do you guys sleep together?" Brielle blushed and laughed nervously, sending a look towards Leland.
"Sometimes I go and stay with your grandparents."
"So you do sleep together?"
"In the same house, yes. Kind of like a sleepover. This one time I even talked your uncle into camping out, so we made a tent in the living room with the couch and chairs."
"Mom never lets us do that," Cobie said, pouting slightly. Brielle turned to look at them, thinking something over.
"Hm… how about this? We ask your mom if we can have a sleepover sometime and then you guys come to your dad's or grandparents' place and we can make a tent in the living room. Sound good?" Both boys nodded, though Cobie was obviously a bit more excited than Dakota.
By the time they arrived at the fair, both boys were bouncing up and down in their seats and Cobie almost pulled Brielle over when he tried to run off after she set him down. Leland laughed as Cobie pulled Brielle to the first ride he saw, begging her to go on with him. She glanced at the ride quickly and decided she would survive so she let Cobie pull her into the line as Dakota and Leland went to stand in line at another ride. Leland caught Brielle's attention and motioned where he would be before she nodded. Dakota waited patiently for his dad to catch up and when he did, Dakota looked up at him.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Kota?" he replied, paying for their tickets.
"Do you like Brielle?"
"Of course I like her," Leland told his son, not quite catching the meaning behind the question.
"No, I mean the way you liked Lily." Leland stopped in his tracks and looked down at his son, wondering if Maui had something to do with it.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I heard mom talking to Auntie Lyssa and Lyssa said you were too pigheaded to admit you liked Brielle."
"Lyssa said that, did she?" he asked, making a mental note to have a talk with his sister later.
"Yeah. But if you do like her, it's okay with me."
"Really?"
"She's really nice. She makes you happy. And she is pretty." Leland watched his son climb into the seat on the ride with a startled look on his face. How could a 10-year-old boy have figured that out?
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, Brielle and Leland taking the kids on separate rides and sometimes going together. When the boys finally finished with the rides, Leland drove them to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Leland let Brielle slide into the booth first but before he could move in after her Cobie ran forward and crawled over to lean against Brielle. She laughed and Leland knew she was happy that both boys liked her.
Once dinner was finished, they piled into the truck again and went back to the beach for the fireworks. Leland drove past the area where a large group of people had already started to gather. Dakota and Cobie were arguing in the back about who would sit where for the show and Brielle was turned around in her seat, trying to get them to compromise.
She didn't pay attention to where they were going until she noticed the trees they were passing. She frowned and sat up, sending Leland a curious look. He smiled to himself but didn't say anything to her. Brielle let out a loud sigh to let him know she was annoyed but he continued to keep his mouth shut. She started to pout but they broke away from the trees, coming out by a secluded part of the beach.
"Okay boys, where are we going?" Dakota reached over the seat and pointed out where he wanted to go and Brielle rolled down the window to enjoy the warm salt-tinged ocean air. Leland backed the truck up so the bed was hanging over the sand before the boys scrambled to get out of the truck.
"Come on, dad!" Dakota whined, pulling on his dad's arm. Brielle pulled out the blankets as Leland brought out the cooler with drinks and snacks.
"Where do you want to sit, Bri?"
"Right here," she replied, tossing two blankets in the bed of the truck and spreading another out on the sand. She settled herself on the blanket while Leland made sure the boys were okay before he sat down next to her.
"Dad, Kota took my juice!"
"I did not!"
"There's more in the cooler. Keep arguing and I'm taking you home." Brielle lay back on the blanket and laughed when Leland shook his head with a sigh. "I wonder where they get it from."
"You and your brother were like that when you were younger."
"I know."
"You guys are still like that."
"I… hey!" They shared a laugh as Leland reached into the small cooler next to him and pulled out two bottles of Corona.
"Oh, no. I'm done with alcohol for a few days." He laughed at her but put one bottle back and pulled out a Diet Coke for her.
"Well, there goes my plan for the night. Thanks," he joked, to which she rolled over and laughed at him.
"I'm not even going to ask." Leland smiled down at her before they both turned their attention to the fireworks when they started. Brielle laughed at the kids when they cheered during the show and didn't notice Leland watching her out of the corner of his eyes. He could see the lights reflecting in her eyes and smiled at how his kids' enthusiasm shone in her.
Cobie started jumping up and down as the finale started, making Dakota roll his eyes but he shared in his brother's excitement.
"Belle, are you watching? This is the best part!"
"I'm watching, Cobie," she replied, glancing quickly over at Leland when he shifted slightly next to her. She caught him watching her and frowned at him curiously, silently mouthing 'what?'. He simply shook his head but he didn't look away, he couldn't look away. The lights from the fireworks and the light of the moon lit up her pale features beautifully against her dark hair and he wasn't sure how long he would be able to resist the temptation to kiss her. 'Oh, what the hell,' he thought, throwing all caution to the wind as he leaned over her.
"Brielle…" She looked up at him, slightly surprised, as she waited for him to finish his sentence. Instead, Leland slowly lowered himself until he claimed her lips in a gentle kiss, not pushing or asking for anything in return. Not knowing what else to do and slightly shocked, Brielle simply closed her eyes and let him kiss her, moving her lips shyly against his. She understood there was something different about this kiss than all the other ones they had given each other.
This was like the kiss they had shared when they first met up again at the club, not realizing who the other was. It was like the kiss they shared at Zanzibar's when she had unknowingly overstepped a boundary. But unlike those two there was hardly any alcohol involved. His Corona was sitting in the sand only about a quarter of it gone.
Leland pulled away from her slowly, watching her face for a reaction. She was confused, he had felt it when he kissed her, but he was slightly surprised that there wasn't another emotion, like anger or surprise.
"Dad, are you going to get that?"
"Get what?"
"Your phone is ringing." Leland quickly dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone, answering it quickly.
"Come on, boys. Help me get this stuff packed up," Brielle said, dusting herself off as she stood. Dakota and Cobie helped her load the truck up with all their supplies and she managed to get both boys into the truck with only a small fuss before Leland walked over.
"Did you like the fireworks, Belle?" Cobie asked her, trying to hide a yawn.
"I loved them. Thank you for allowing me to come with you."
"You're welcome."
"I'm really glad you came. You're a lot of fun," Dakota added, making Leland smile. "More fun than dad's other girlfriends."
"Dakota!" his father scolded but Brielle couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her at Dakota's words and the indignant look on Leland's face.
"I'm glad you're the only he's brought with us to the fireworks." Neither of the adults knew how to respond to that; Leland was slightly embarrassed and worried how Brielle would take it, especially after he had kissed her moments before and Brielle was completely taken aback by the boy's words and even more confused.
Both simply got in the truck and a slightly uncomfortable silence descended on them. The boys fell asleep on the ride back and to alleviate the slight tension Brielle turned on the radio, making sure the music was soft enough so as not to wake Dakota and Cobie. Glancing back at them, a small smile appeared on her face as she watched them silently.
"Do you like them?"
"How could I not like them? They're adorable and I can see so much of you in them."
"They really like you, too. I'm glad everything went well tonight. Dakota's given his 'Seal of Approval', so I think I'll keep you around," he laughed, trying to get her to laugh with him. He succeeded but he could tell it was slightly strained and he knew what it was from.
"Good. I've gotten used to the Hawaiian weather and I'd rather not go back to the cold of Colorado."
"Well, are you planning on staying here when we go for vacation?"
"No, I guess not," she sighed, smiling slightly.
"Hey, will you bring Cobie inside? I'll grab Dakota." Brielle nodded as they pulled up to Maui's, opening her door and reaching in for the sleeping boy. Maui met them at the door, silently leading Brielle to Cobie's room before she motioned to Leland. Brielle took it as her cue to leave and she went wordlessly out to the truck, nodding at Maui as she left. She didn't have to wait for long as Leland left the house a few minutes later and climbed silently into the truck.
He glanced over at her as she fiddled with the radio but couldn't figure out how to say what he wanted… no, needed to say to her. He wanted to apologize but didn't know how to say it without offending her or crossing any more boundaries than he already had. Leland waited until they had pulled up to his house before he turned to talk to her, only to find that she had opened the door and was on her way up to the house.
"There's nothing to talk about, Leland," she said, seeing the look on his face as she went up the steps.
"There is, though, Bri."
"No, there's not," she replied, spinning around only to find him right behind her.
"I shouldn't have kissed you like that."
"You know, you've been apologizing a lot lately."
"I know. It's just…" Leland broke off and studied her emerald eyes, trying to find the right words. "I'm just a little confused."
"Well, alcohol won't help you there."
"Point taken."
"I'm going to bed," Brielle told him quietly, looking away and reaching for the door.
"Good night, Bri," he said softly, watching her as she hesitated. He pulled her into a gentle hug and pressed his lips to her forehead before releasing her and watching as she went inside.
**A/N: If you would like photos, go to and search for 'dark-princess04'. Click on my name and go to the 'Right Here Waiting' folder for the pictures.**
