Authors note
This is a sort of sequel to my story Jack's Birthday. The prolog was suppose to be in the other story, but it got too long. So I decided to skip it and use it here to start this story.
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Jack and Mel met up with Julia at the Fitches.
"I don't know how I can thank you for yesterday. Preacher gave me the numbers. It was a big success. You made the same amount in one day as we do at a two week period."
"Oh, I don't know how many people you usually have, but it was a lot of them. And as I said yesterday, very friendly and kind people. I think they tipped more than they should have."
"Here. I want you to have some of the earnings." Jack handed her an envelope.
"You don't have to pay me. I was helping out Mel."
"You worked all day long. You deserve them more than I do."
"I can't accept it." Julia still refused to take the envelope Jack was holding out.
"I insist."
"So do I."
"I do even more." Jack said with a big grin on his face. One Mel knows all too well.
Julia looked at Mel. "Is he always this pig-headed?"
"Yes, when he is on your side, it's good, but if you are on the other side, it's not that great. It's one of his qualities that I have mixed feelings about." Mel smiled at Jack.
"Look, Jack. It's not only small town people that help out friends without expecting anything in return. We city folk can also do that. I was helping out Mel. End of story."
"I respect and understand that. Helping Mel is something I love to do. But I counter and throwing justice into the picture. It's a lot of money I didn't earn myself, so it's not something I can keep with a clean conscience."
"It's not my restaurant, so my conscience doesn't allow me to keep it either."
Julia and Jack stared at each other. No one backed down."
"Okay, Jack. This is my final offer. The only way I will take money from you is if you make a reservation and dine at my restaurant."
"Sounds like a compromise I can live with." Jack said with a big smile.
"But if you are thinking you can are gonna leave all that cash...Julia nodded to the envelope...as tip, we will have another go at this battle. And then we will be in my home court."
Jack smiled an even bigger smile.
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Mel stood looking out over the now frozen lake and the surroundings covered in snow. It was magical in the winter too. Mel was waiting for Jack to come over. They are going to drive down to LA, where they are going to celebrate New Years Eve at Mel's friend Julia's restaurant. Mel is looking forward to show Jack around as he has been doing with her. Take him to her special places, visit Joey and the kids. She also looks forward to eat some sushi, that's the only thing she misses from living in the city.
She heard Jack's car drive in and walked towards him.
"Hey."
"Hey." Jack took out his bags and put them in Mel's car. They greeted each other with a kiss.
"Are you ready to hit the road?"
"Yes."
"This is the closes I have been to ride in a sports car."
"It's not a sports car."
"It's a BMW, right?"
"Yes, but not the way I drive it isn't."
"Well, then maybe I have to do something about that when it's my turn to drive."
"Oh no. Don't you dare."
Jack smiled. "You know, that's the wrong thing to say in this situation. Now I have to do it."
"No, you don't." Mel kissed him.
"Okay, maybe I don't after all." Jack got rewarded with a smile and another kiss. "Let's go."
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Jack stood on the terrace looking out over the ocean.
"It's not the three stars view you have with mountain, forests and water. But it's beautiful, isn't it?" Joey asked as she walked out on the terrace.
"Yes, it is. This city life I could live with, it's peaceful here, not like downtown. I forgot how busy and noisy big cities are, that I don't miss at all."
"Yeah, here in the outskirt of the city suits me better too. We were willing and had the money to pay the higher price for peaceful and tranquility. Speaking of noise, so sorry for all the questions and the loud sound level in general my kids generated."
"It's alright. They haven't seen their aunt for a long time and they got excited. I understand that, if I had to stay away from Mel for that long I would do the same, be all over her and not letting her go out of my sight."
Joey smiled at that. "Still, they the expression to be badly brought up and they are old enough to call her if they want to talk."
"It's fine. I need the practise."
"Yeah. Mel told me the twins have been born. How are you feeling?"
"Well, I have mixed feelings. The good part is that everything went well, both mother and the babies are healthy. The bad part is that Charmaine and Todd are, as I suspected already started limiting my time with the twins. I have only seen them twice. The legal process has started, so we will see what happens."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you win. How is this affecting Mel? She isn't telling me much on this subject."
"She has been supporting and encouraging me from when we found out it was twins. But we have broken up twice already because of it too, so honestly I'm terrified that it could happen again. Then of top of all that I am feeling guilty for wishing so many times why it couldn't be Mel that was the mother instead of Charmaine."
"If we are being honest, so have I. I have also wished that it would be so much better if it was Mel. She was devastated when she lost her baby."
"Yeah, you know more details and how deeply she felt then, I only know what she told me and how sad she was when grief hit her. I hope so much that we will be blessed with a child, I will do whatever treatmeant she wants and for how long as she wants. She deserves to be a mother. We have this debate on fate and it would be a cruel fate if she wouldn't get a child of her own."
"She really deserves that."
"I will be devastated if I lose her, Joey. I love her so much. My life has never been the same since she walked into my bar. I didn't really know what love was until the showed me. I have never felt like this before."
"I can see it now. But I have to apologize for my attempts to get Mel to move back in the beginning. Pretty much every phone call we had I mention it and it was my intention when I came to visit."
"Yeah, she told me."
"So happy she didn't listen to me. She is so happy now and you two belong with each other. She loves you very much, Jack."
"I'm also happy she didn't listen to you." Jack smiled.
"The pot growers kidnapping her at gunpoint scared me. Thank god you were with her. I thought those days were behind us when she moved to a small town. When she worked in the ER, I was dreading that phone call saying something had happen. I got one of those and after that every time I know she had the ER shift my sleep was affected."
"Yeah, she told me about that incident."
"So I had to come to Virgin River to see if she was okay and as I said to convince her to come home. I thought I had better chance face to face." Joey smiled. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I would have done the same if one of my sisters had called me saying they had been kidnapped."
"I was also curious about you. Mel told me how you helped her and spend a lot of time together. I wanted to met the first man my sister ever talked about after Mark."
"Oh yeah? All good I hope."
"Yes, up to that time, I think the breakfast basket was a sweet thing to do for someone you just met last night."
"Well, the cabin she had to stay in was in bad shape, so I thought a little small town hospitality would cheer her up."
"The cabin yes, that is one of the most romantic things I have heard in a long time."
"I wanted Mel to stay."
"Yes, but it wasn't even your cabin and you paid for it yourself."
"The cabin wasn't suitable for living in and I know how it is to start a new life in a new place. How important it is to have a place you can call home. And because I really wanted her to stay." Jack smiled.
"And I wanted her to come home, but I'm so happy that you won." Joey smiled.
"There is one thing I have been wanting to ask you. When you came on your visit and we were at the bar, you said now I get it, when Mel introduced us. I have wondered what that meant."
Joey laughed. "I made an observation. I got why Mel wanted to stay. I saw why you got Mel's attention."
"Yeah? What would that be?"
"Well, my first impression of you was good-looking and funny. Adding that to the list with what Mel told me kind, friendly and helpful. That makes you a very loveable guy. Mel needs someone that can make her laugh."
"Yeah, Mel's laughter is like music in my ears. I do anything to make her happy. She is an amazing woman, I have never met anyone like her."
"I have to say for a man that says he hasn't been in love before, you certainly do such romantic gestures and things for Mel."
"It's easy somehow. All I want is to see her happy and keep her smiling. I love her so much. She means everything to me."
"You two are a lovely couple. I can see how much you love each other and I really like that you don't try to hide it. I will go and get Mel, relieve her from bedtime story reading, so you could have some alone time. My kids has hogged her enough for today."
"It's fine." Jack laughed.
"It's kind of you to say, but they totally hogged her and I do apologize." Joey said and walked inside.
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"Hey." Mel said behind him as she walked out on the terrace.
"Hey." Jack greeted her with a kiss.
"I'm sorry for disappearing all evening, they didn't want to fall asleep."
"It's okay. Joey has apologized enough. It game me time to talk and bond with your sister."
"Yeah?" What did you guys talk about?"
Jack smiled. "Mostly about you. How we started out as opposites in the matter of your existence in Virgin River. Me wanting you to stay and she wanting you to come home. We both agreed we are happy she didn't convince you to leave."
"That's make three of us then. I'm so happy that I stood my ground and defended my decision to move to Virgin River. Because if I hadn't we wouldn't have met and a life without meeting you is something I don't even want to think about. Or if I had gone home and not given us a chance to explore what was between us, miss what we have now, is also something I don't want to think about."
"Neither do I. But this going home, to visit your sister is always a good thing."
"Only if you go with me, or I would miss you too much." Mel said and put her arms around his neck.
"You know I do anything for you." They both smiled before they kissed.