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Standard disclaimer.

After a visit to the doctor this morning, Mrs, Jones was comfortably set up in the living room on the sofa, her leg propped on the recliner.

Mercedes made them quesadillas for lunch, then did puzzles with her, until she said she was tired and wanted to nap.

She brought her a blanket and pillow and Poker settled in next to her, on the sofa, the two of them snoozing comfortably together, while Mercedes did dishes and worked on some of the paperwork, for tonight's committee meeting.

She wasn't sure, if she was more excited about getting an update on the progress of the town-square, or hanging out with Sam, who she hadn't seen in several days.

She'd been busy with a slate of doctor visits for her mom, and he'd been in Tulsa, at some of his shops, dealing with some personnel and inventory issues.

He'd called and texted her every day though, giving her a rundown of his day, asking about hers, and always making sure to inquire about her mom.

After she finished the dishes, she peeked in on her mom, who was still napping.

That gave her time to finish perusing the paperwork, making sure to note some items she wanted to bring up on the agenda tonight.

Then, she started chopping vegetables for the stew, she intended to cook for dinner.

By the time her dad came home from work, her mom was awake, so he helped her into the shower and then her pajamas.

Mercedes served dinner, and they spoke about the morning's doctor's visit.

"The doctor thinks I'm healing very well," her mom said.

Mr. Jones looked over at his daughter. And Mercedes said,

"It's true. He went over reports from the therapists and the nurses. She's a model patient, recovery wise...even though she's cranky about having to stay home."

"You would be, too, if you had to stare at the living room walls every day," Mrs. Jones said.

Mr. Jones gently squeezed his wife's hand.

"It's not forever, Marlene."

"No, it's not. The doctor promised he'd do an X ray next week. If the bones in my leg look good, he said he'd fit me with a walking cast, and we can start walking therapy."

"That's very good news," her Mr. Jones said. "I know how much you want to get up and move around."

"Like you wouldn't believe, David."

"I want that for you, too, Mom," Mercedes said. "My fingers are crossed."

"I'm going to work hard on therapy the rest of the week. I want that walking cast."

"We'll be dancing together in no time," her Mr. Jones said.

And Mercedes smiled. She'd like to see that.

"Oh, by the way, I have a committee meeting tonight," Mercedes said.

"And will you be going out with Sam afterwards?" her mother asked.

"I...don't know. I'm not exactly going out with him."

Her mother waved her hand.

"Whatever it is you young kids call it these days. Anyway, you two should go out. There's no reason you should be stuck in the house with me all the time. Your dad and I will be fine here. Go out and enjoy yourself. I've always liked you and Sam together, honey. I don't know why the two of you broke up in high school, but I sure am glad you're seeing him again."

"Me, too," her dad said.

Mercedes blinked.

She had no idea her parents were even aware she was seeing Sam.

So much for thinking she was doing this under the radar.

Pretty soon everyone would know, because, while her mother was housebound, she definitely had a phone...and a computer...and she used them a lot to talk to her friends.

Who talked to their friends. And so on.

After dinner, she did the dishes and dashed off to take a shower.

As she left the house for the committee meeting, she waved goodbye to her parents, who were settled in the living room with a movie.

Her heart skipped a beat, when she saw Rhonda parked in the lot of the community center.

'Ridiculous. It was just a meeting, not a date,' she thought to herself.

But when Sam came outside to greet her, she couldn't help but notice his smile, or the way he walked, or the way he'd unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and shoved them up his arms.

He'd worn jeans today, and damn, he always looked so good in jeans.

"Hi," he said, taking the folders from her hands, as she got out of her car.

"Hi. You're here early."

"So are you."

"Yeah, I had a busy day today," he said, as they walked side by side towards the community center. "I wanted to get a head start scanning through the agenda."

"I went over it today," she said.

He held the door for her, and she stepped inside. No one else was there yet.

"Yeah? Any ideas?" he asked.

"A couple. I also drove by the town-square today. The new fountain is in. It looks amazing."

"I saw that, too. Mavis called to complain about the dolphin."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with the dolphin?"

"Nothing. It's a replica of what was there before, everyone signed off and agreed to it. But if it was up to Mavis, we'd have a bust of the mayor in the middle of the damn fountain. So she'll find something to complain about."

"Whatever. It looks awesome."

"Oh, and before everyone gets here..." he said.

He pulled her into his arms and laid a hot, hard kiss on her.

Suddenly, agendas and dolphins and fountains were forgotten, as she fell into the kiss, wishing they didn't have this damn meeting tonight and could go somewhere and explore this kiss a lot further.

Even though the kiss was laced with passion, and he ran his hands over her back, it was over all too quickly, and he took a step back.

But the fire lingered in his eyes.

"We'll take that up later," he said.

"I'm making a note at the bottom of my agenda."

His lips quirked.

"You do that."

"I just will. In the meantime, I'm going to start making coffee."

"I'm actually surprised Mavis isn't already here doing that. She wouldn't want to miss out on any gossip," he said.

Mercedes giggled.

"We beat her to the punch. And we got a kiss in as well."

He moved over to the sink and helped her, filling the large coffeepot, while she put the ground coffee in.

"In fact," he said, "Since no one's here yet..."

He cupped the back of her neck and slid his lips over hers. She put the coffee down and moved into him, grabbing on to his shirt to deepen the kiss.

Until someone cleared their throat and she heard the click of heels on the hardwood floor.

"You two should get a room."

When they broke apart, Mercedes smiled at Chrissy.

"Why, when it's so spacious here?" she asked playfully.

Without breaking stride, Chrissy made it over to the coffee station.

"Good point, since you have the table. And the floor. And don't forget the stage."

"I like the way you think, Chrissy," Sam said.

Mercedes laughed.

"I just started the coffee," she said.

"It could have been done already, if the two of you weren't engaged in a hot and heavy make-out session."

"Oh, but we've only just gotten started," Mercedes said.

"Don't make me smack you upside the head with the coffee creamer box. Those who are getting some, shouldn't lord it over those who aren't."

Since Sam was busy talking to a couple of the others who'd just come in, Mercedes walked away with Chrissy.

"I find it hard to believe, that someone as beautiful and funny and as smart as you, isn't seeing someone on a regular basis," Mercedes said.

Chrissy shrugged, then snatched one of the cookies Mavis had just brought in.

"I'm picky. Besides, I know all the men in Hope. I went to high school with most of the guys my age."

"There's always Tulsa. Or online dating," Mercedes said.

She snorted.

"Tried that last one. Major fail. Men lie on those dating sites. They say they have burgeoning careers, when really, they're still living with their parents, or they're flat broke and can only afford a night out at the nearest McDonald's. Or they tell you they've been focusing on their careers and that's why they're still single in their thirties, when in reality, they've been divorced twice and are paying child support for four children."

Mercedes sighed.

"What's so difficult about being honest?"

"I have no idea. I'm brutally honest," Chrissy stated. She offered Mercedes a flat gaze. "Maybe, that's why I don't go on a lot of dates."

Mercedes looped her arm in Chrissy's.

"I think you have a lot to offer, and if men can't see that, it's their loss."

"Right. And in the meantime, I'm the only one in town not getting laid, whereas, you've been back for a month and you've landed one of the hottest guys in Hope."

"Why didn't you ever date him? Or did you?" Mercedes asked.

"He's not my type. He's too nice."

Mercedes laughed.

"So you don't want a nice guy?"

"I wouldn't say that. I like nice guys just fine."

Mercedes shook her head.

Chrissy was confusing as hell. Maybe she didn't know what kind of man she wanted. Or maybe her standards were too high.

Because, as she looked across the table at Sam, she realized there wasn't much wrong with him.

He was hot, sexy, funny, had a great job, and was a good person.

Any woman would consider herself lucky to have someone like him, to settle down with.

Not that she wanted to settle down with him...or any man. But if she was looking for a potential partner in life, she couldn't find much fault with Sam.

Something, she could now freely admit to.

"Ready to get started?" Sam asked.

Everyone took their seats, and he began the meeting.

As usual, he had great leadership abilities, something that always amazed Mercedes.

And as he led the meeting, she noticed he got things back on track, when someone strayed off topic, and he refereed any disagreements like a diplomat.

'Yep! One day, some woman is going to get lucky,' she thought.

When she had the floor, his gaze met hers and he smiled at her.

And her stomach tightened.

In her mind, she'd be long gone by the time a woman married him and made beautiful, blonde-haired or dark-haired green-eyed babies with him.

'It wouldn't matter,' she thought. 'He would be happy, and I will be content moving on with my life...somewhere.'

She almost lost focus just thinking about it, but rallied her brain in time, to sound like she knew what she was talking about.

They got through the meeting with a minimum of fuss, which was good.

Even Mavis seemed to be in a good mood, and didn't argue with their suggestions, including Mercedes' idea to erect a playground near the square.

The cost would be a minimal addition, and everyone approved.

She was happy about that, and could already envision children playing in the square.

The project was moving along, and she was excited about the way things were going.

Every time she drove through town, she saw progress, making her want to see the finished product, especially in the spring and summer, when it would really be used by the people of Hope.

Of course, next spring and summer, she wouldn't be here to see the new town-square in action.

She was going to miss out on a lot, because, she was leaving, as soon as her mother was capable of taking care of herself again.

That kind of sucked, but it was the life she'd chosen, and she wasn't going to deviate from it.

Staying here in Hope, just wasn't an option for her.

If she started caring about everything that was happening around here or about the people...she looked across the table at Sam...she might feel like staying.

And that just wouldn't do.

It was much easier to stick with the plan...stay only long enough to get Mom right again, then take off.

She liked her life the way it was. It was a life she was used to, one she could manage.

A life that couldn't hurt her.

Right now she was having fun.

It was light and easy and she was enjoying spending time with her family again.

She was enjoying this newfound sex with no strings with Sam. And as long as she kept it a temporary thing, she could handle it.

Making it any more than that, would only lead to heartbreak.

She had faced heartbreak once, and it had nearly brought her to her knees. She'd never do it again.

"That wasn't too painful, was it?" Sam asked, as they got out of their seats and grabbed another cup of coffee.

"No, actually, it went better than I expected. Especially the playground part."

He lifted the cup to his lips, took a drink, then nodded.

"Me, too. I thought for sure Mavis would balk. But she didn't. In fact, she agreed it was a good idea."

Mercedes turned and leaned against the sink.

"I wonder what's up with that."

"I wonder what's up with her. Usually she stays and endlessly gossips, 'til everyone does their best to make an escape, but she's already grabbing her coat and leaving," Sam said.

"Hmm. Maybe she has a boyfriend."

He studied Mavis' escape.

"She has been divorced for several years, but I can't imagine who'd be willing to put up with her," he said.

Mercedes laughed.

"There's someone for everyone out there, you know. Even for Mavis."

"I guess you're right." He pushed off the wall. "How about we go get something to eat."

"I ate dinner before the meeting."

"Okay, then. How about you come with me and watch me eat something? You can get coffee and dessert...if you want."

"I had all those cookies," she said.

He rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to ask you out, Mercedes. Are you trying to tell me, you'd just like to go home?"

Why was she being so difficult?

Maybe she'd spent too much time thinking during the meeting tonight.

And too much time pondering her relationship with him...and all the things that couldn't happen between them.

But that was the future, and this was the present, and she wasn't going to let anything stand between spending time with him right now.

"No, of course not. I'd love to watch you eat."

He laughed.

"All right, then. Let's go.

Stay Safe!