"You need to get out of those wet clothes," Michaela said to Sully as she handed him a towel.

"I don't have any extra clothes," Sully told her, and when he saw the worried look on her face, he added, "And I can't exactly sit out here in my underwear... or naked."

"No, you can't," Loren growled.

"I have plenty of blankets," Michaela said, "You can wrap yourself up in one until your clothes dry."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at her daughter's suggestion of this man sitting naked in the living room but wrapped in a blanket. She knew Michaela was infatuated with him, but that shouldn't make her immune to common sense.

"I'll be fine just as soon as I get this fire started," Sully said, pushing up his wet sleeves and drying his hands and arms. Then he put the towel on top of his drenched shoulders, under his soaking wet hair, "Did you find any old newspapers or junk mail?"

Elizabeth felt relief wash over her, because at the very least, Sully retained some sense.

"I don't have any old newspapers, but I have junk mail and a couple of old magazines," Michaela told him and turned to go back to her kitchen to retrieve the items.

"That'll work too," Sully mumbled to himself.

The reason why he was so wet was because he'd ran to his truck to retrieve a couple of items he'd kept there in case of an emergency. The power in Michaela's home had not gone out yet, but it had flickered a few times so Sully thought it would be best to get a fire started. The fire would provide both warmth and light if there was a power outage.

Unfortunately, Michaela didn't have any wood, or even any matches or lighters in the house. Thankfully, Sully kept some matches and a duraflame log in his truck in case of emergencies. He ran out of the house, despite Michaela's protests, in the pouring rain and ran back inside again with the items that he needed.

"Do ya need any help, Sully?" Loren asked.

"I got this," Sully said, gesturing to the fireplace, as he got down on his knees, "but I need your help keepin' the little ones calm when the thunder crashes real loud."

Loren nodded and then returned to his spot on the sofa next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth had Brian on her lap and Colleen snuggled against her.

"You wanna sit on Grandpa's lap?" he asked Hanna who was standing in front of him but staring at Sully. He could tell that she wanted her daddy but was hoping he would make a suitable second choice.

Hanna wasn't as frightened of the storm as Brian and Colleen, because she had been through storms before. However, she was only two years old, and she didn't enjoy storms, especially the loud sound of thunder crashing.

Hanna eyed her grandfather strangely at first but decided she did want to sit on his lap and walked toward him and waited for him to lift her up. Loren smiled warmly and lifted the little girl up. Once she was situated, he wrapped his arms around her and held her as she watched her father.

"These are all the candles in the house, Dad," Zachary said, a little wary of what his father's reaction would be. Then he set the candles down in front of his father.

Sully looked at the candles and willed himself not to shake his head. These were not emergency candles, these were fruity or perhaps flowery, he didn't know which, scented candles that Michaela had never lit, but used to decorate her home.

"They'll have to do," Sully said with a shrug. Then he saw one candle that looked different than all the others. He picked it up to get a better look, and then figured it was for Christmas because it had Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus on it.

"That's my Holy family votive," Elizabeth said when she saw Sully with her candle in hand, "It's not a real candle, it's an LED light. I turn that on for my late husband every night."

Sully was about to give the candle back to Elizabeth, when she said, "Perhaps it's a good idea for you to turn it on now. We can use all the help we can get during this storm."

"Yes, Ma'am," Sully said and placed the candle back with the others.

Then Matthew came from the staircase and set down one large iPad and 2 iPad minis next to Sully.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Those are our flashlights," Matthew said, "Those are all the flashlights in the house except my mom's phone."

"Okay," Sully answered with a nod and suppressed a dry chuckle. No matches, no lighters, no firewood, no emergency candles, no flashlights…

He made up his mind that he was going to stock Michaela's house full of these things. Once the storm past and the stores reopened, that was the first thing he was going to do. If another storm hit, and he wasn't around, he wanted to ensure her safety and the safety of her children.

"Here is everything I have," Michaela said with a tray filled with junk mail, including old ads and some old magazines and catalogs. She set down the basket on the fireplace hearth.

Sully, who was still crouched down, turned his attention to the task at hand, which was to start a fire. The first thing he saw in front of him was a wicker basket full of fake flowers in a squeaky-clean fireplace.

"Have you ever used your fireplace before?" he asked as he removed the wicker basket, though he already knew the answer. He placed the duraflame log inside the fireplace and then reached for the tray of paper that Michaela had just brought to him. He grabbed a small stack of junk mail and began tearing it to shreds and filling the fireplace up with it around the log.

Once he felt that there was enough fuel for the fire, he first lit the duraflame log, and then he lit the paper around it to really get the fire going. Next, he switched on Elizabeth's LED candle and set it on the hearth. He decided it was best to not burn any of the other candles unless the power truly went out.

"What do we do now?" Michaela asked him.

"We just wait out the storm," Sully answered.

A few hours had passed, and Elizabeth was sitting on the sofa working on her cross-stitch pattern. She was working by candlelight, because the power had indeed gone out. On either side of her were Brian and Hanna. Both toddlers had fallen asleep, because it was way past their bedtimes, and they couldn't stay awake any longer.

Elizabeth was pleased that the sound of the rain and thunder had not yet woken either of them up.

As she worked on her cross-stitch, Loren was teaching Zachary, Matthew and Colleen how to play Crazy Eights. The kids originally wanted to play Uno, but Matthew couldn't find the Uno cards, so Loren said that he could teach them how to play a similar game with a deck of regular cards.

Colleen put down the last card in her hands on the discard pile.

"Looks like you won that round!" Loren said with a laugh, earning groans from both Matthew and Zachary.

Colleen cheered and hugged Loren, "Thank you for teaching us this game, Mr. Bray. I love it!"

"Anytime," Loren said happily. He was very much enjoying his time as a grandfather, to not only Zachary and Hanna, but to Matthew, Colleen, and Brian as well. He was really liking Colleen. Her pure excitement when she won reminded him so much of Abagail when she was a little girl.

Loren looked up and saw Matthew and Zachary pouting, and said, "Oh, come on, Gentlemen. Everyone loses to their little sister at some point in life. I've lost to your Aunt Olive many-a-time."

"Let's play again," Zachary suggested.

"Yeah, we need a chance to get even," Matthew added.

"Watch me beat their butts again," Colleen murmured to Loren.

Loren laughed and said, "I like the competitive spirit around here," as he shuffled the cards and laid them out so everyone could draw a card.

Then suddenly the thunder crashed loudly, and a frightened Colleen threw her arms around Loren's waist.

"Remember what I told ya about the thunder," Loren said as he hugged Colleen, "It's miles away from us and won't hurt us."

"Are you sure?" Colleen asked.

"Yes," Loren answered with a chuckle, "It's just a loud noise and it ain't nothin' to be afraid of. Now sit up and let's play."

Colleen let go of Loren and sat up to continue their card game.

They all picked one and set out their cards in front of them. Then they determined that Zachary had the lowest card.

"Your turn to deal," Loren told his grandson.

While the group of four was playing their card game, Matthew asked, "Do you know any other card games that you can teach us, Mr. Bray?"

"Yes," Loren answered, "Do you know how to play Go Fish?"

"Yes," the kids answered in unison.

"Most children know that one," Loren said, "How about Old Maid?"

"I do," Zachary announced, "I played that with Nana before."

"Nana?" Loren asked as he played, "I thought Snowbird went by Grandma."

"She does," Zachary said.

"Then who are you talkin' about?" Loren questioned his grandson.

"Um… Dad calls her Miss Ilsa," he answered, realizing that he may have made a mistake by bringing up Nana.

"Miss Ilsa?" Loren said, shaking his head until it hit him who she was, "Are ya talkin' about Hank's grandmother?"

"Um…" the young boy didn't know how to answer.

"Sully lets ya see her?" Loren questioned, fighting to keep his anger in check, "How long has this been goin' on?"

"She went to Mom's funeral," Zachary said.

"I remember," Loren answered, wanting him to continue.

"She asked Dad if she could come see me-" he told his grandfather.

"And Sully said yes," Loren finished his sentence, "How many times have you seen her since your mother's funeral?"

"Maybe three or four times," Zachary explained, "She doesn't come by very much."

"What do you two do when she comes to see ya?" Loren inquired, "Other than playin' cards."

"Most of the time she tells me how much my father loves me and that he wants me back when he gets out of… you know…" Zachary said.

"You got another eight," Loren said to Colleen, trying to lighten the mood, "You're such a good player."

Colleen smiled at Loren. Loren smiled back and kept playing as he thought about the situation carefully. He went from angry at Sully, and a little jealous of Ilsa, to worried. He didn't like what she was telling his grandson one bit. He hated to admit it, but Sully was doing a good job raising Zachary. He wanted to know what exactly was Ilsa's plan? Was it to get Zachary to want to leave a stable situation to live in an unstable situation with a man who did a terrible job with him and that was before he went to prison for killing his grandmother? Hank was serving a ten-year sentence anyhow. He'd served six years already, but in four years' time, Zachary would be fifteen, and almost grown. Why would he want to live with Hank then?

Elizabeth was indeed working on her cross-stitch, but being in the same room, she could hear every word that Loren and Zachary were saying to one another. She pretended that she wasn't listening, but she was, and their conversation just added on more particulars that she planned to discuss with her daughter at a later time during her visit.

"I ain't wearin' that," Sully insisted. He'd accompanied Michaela to her bedroom because she insisted that they find something dry for him to wear.

"It's the only shirt I own that may fit you," Michaela explained.

"It's hot pink," Sully said, crossing his arms in front of him.

"It's dry," Michaela said, holding the shirt out to him, "Your pants aren't that bad, but your shirt is still wet, and I don't want you to get sick."

Sully let out a sigh as he began to unbutton his wet shirt.

"We'll hang it by the fire so it dries properly, and then you can put it back on," Michaela said, wanting to make him feel better about it.

Sully took Michaela's large, hot pink, volunteer T- shirt that she was given to wear at a hospital event in Boston. He put it over his head and then squeezed his arms through the sleeves. The T-shirt was a women's large, and it was very loose and baggy on Michaela; however, on Sully, the shirt made him look like he belonged in an old Right Said Fred music video.

"It fits!" Michaela cheered happily.

Sully's eyes went big as he said, "No, it doesn't."

"It's a little snug perhaps," Michaela said.

"It's a muscle shirt," Sully countered and crossed his arms again.

"This isn't something for you to wear every day. It's just a temporary solution until your shirt dries," Michaela insisted.

Sully entered the living room with his arms crossed over his chest and had a seat on Michaela's chaise longue.

The first person to notice his new attire was Elizabeth. She simply looked in his direction, let out a sigh, and then returned to her cross-stitch.

"Wow, Sully, you look so pretty," Colleen, the next person to see him, said honestly and innocently. She loved the pretty pink hue of his shirt.

"Thank you, Sweetheart," Sully said with a nod.

The next people to look were Matthew and Zachary who immediately burst into laughter.

"Nice shirt, Dad," Zachary managed to say between laughs. He and Matthew couldn't control themselves and kept laughing.

Sully simply growled and then uncrossed his arms and recrossed them again. He looked silly and he knew it, so there was no reason for him to get on the boys for laughing. He just had to suck up his embarrassment.

Finally, it was Loren's turn. Sully braced himself for what he was about to say.

Loren stood up from his card game and approached Sully. Instead of saying something sarcastic, he simply patted Sully a few times on the back, as if he was giving him his condolences.

"You let your woman dress ya, I see," Loren stated with faux solemness in his voice, "It happens."

Here it comes, Sully thought to himself.

"My daughter didn't dress ya like that did she?" he asked.

"What?" Sully complained.

"It is quite the fashion statement, I must say," Loren continued.

"It ain't a fashion statement," Sully told his father-in-law.

Before Loren could respond, Michaela entered the living room with a small collapsible drying rack. She set it on the fireplace hearth and placed Sully's wet shirt on it.

"Not only will the shirt dry much faster, but it will be toasty warm when you put it back on," Michaela said happily, "I have something else for you."

"What do you have?" Sully inquired, getting a little uneasy.

Michaela had also brought one of her hair towels downstairs. She placed it on Sully's head and twisted his hair into it. Then she fastened the back of the towel to the front button, "That's much better," she said and kissed his cheek.

"Yes, much better," Loren agreed with a truly amused look on his face. He smiled at Sully, and Sully shot him a death glare.

"Do you need anything else?" Michaela asked.

"No, I'm fine," Sully said, giving her a warm smile.

Michaela glanced in her mother's direction and saw that the two little ones were asleep on the couch, "I think I will just go and get some blankets for them."

When she left the room, Loren teased in a low voice, "Gonna let her paint your nails too?"

"She's just takin' care of me," Sully insisted.

"She is doin' that, I suppose," Loren agreed, "I hope this experience teaches ya that ya need a sensible haircut, instead of that long hippy hairdo that ya usually wear."

While Loren and Sully were going back and forth, someone knocked at the door.

Sully made a move to get up, but Loren stopped him and said, "I'll get it. We don't need ya scarin' whoever is on the other side of that door."

When Loren answered the door, Reverend Timothy Johnson was standing on the other side of it with a wet umbrella at his side.

"Reverend," Loren greeted him.

"Hello, Loren," he said, sounding a little shocked, "I wasn't expecting to find you here."

"We were celebratin' Thanksgivin'," Loren explained, "This ain't my house, but I'm sure our hostess won't mind if ya come inside."

"Thank you," Tim said as he entered Michaela's house and then Loren closed and locked the door behind him.

"I'm glad you had the sense to carry an umbrella. I don't think the good doctor has any more pink shirts to offer ya," Loren joked at Sully's expense.

"Hell…Oh...," Tim said with wide eyes when he saw Sully.

"Happy Thanksgivin', Tim," Sully said.

Michaela returned to the living room with two of Brian's blankets. She used one to cover Brian and the other to cover Hanna.

"Reverend Johnson," Michaela greeted when she saw that Tim was standing in her living room, "I wasn't expecting you."

"Ma'am," the reverend greeted her. He immediately became giddy when Michaela entered the room. He smiled widely and his cheeks turned pink, "It's the job of any good shepherd to check on the newest members of his flock, especially when it's their first time experiencing one of our storms. I didn't realize you had company; I was expecting you to be on your own."

"Hi, Reverend!" Colleen greeted.

"Hello, Colleen!" Tim greeted back. Then he turned his attention back to Michaela and said, "I was expecting the children to be fast asleep too."

"Thank you for checking on us," Michaela said warmly, "Please stay until the storm passes."

"I'd love to," Tim answered.

"Let me introduce you to my mother," Michaela said, "This is Elizabeth Quinn. Mother, this is Reverend Johnson."

"It's nice to meet you, Reverend," Elizabeth greeted him and extended her hand.

Tim shook it, and greeted her, "It's nice meeting you too, Mrs. Quinn. I'm pleased to have extended members of my flock to look after."

Elizabeth's immediate thought was that the reverend was a nice and courteous man, but this flock nonsense that he kept going on about was exactly what it sounded like, nonsense. This man came over because he had obvious and likely lustful feelings for Michaela, and he wanted to see her. He believed that she'd be alone and that the children would be in bed, so he could act on his hot-blooded passions. Knowing Michaela, she likely wouldn't have thought about it that way.

There was another person in the room who did think of it that way, however, and that person was Sully. He had the same sense that Elizabeth had about the reverend suddenly appearing in the middle of the storm, thinking Michaela would be by herself. He remembered his first meeting with Michaela and how it was evident that Tim had the hots for her. It appeared that he still had the hots for her and wanted to make a move. Sully was none too pleased about that.

To be continued. Please review. =)

What do you think will happen between Sully and Tim? Should Loren confront Sully about Ilsa and tell him what she has been saying to Zachary?

A/N.: Hello everybody! I'm Back! My surgery went well, and I am back at work. Thank you for all of your well wishes. I hope you still like the story and want to continue reading it.