Staring at the dwindling closet space in front of him, Leo frowned slightly. It was later that same day, and he just now gotten around to putting away the Christmas gifts that he had received from Guy. The majority of which had been clothes and various accessories as all of Leo's things were back in Pine Valley. After hanging up one last pair of black leather pants, he sighed in relief as he realized that everything fit had fit nicely. Slowly walking over to the bed as his legs were now in walking casts, Leo had to chuckle at the one present that hadn't been clothing-related. Apparently, Guy had caught on to the fact that Leo had to stumble his way through speaking French, so he had given the younger man a book on learning the language.
Hearing a knock on the door behind him, Leo turned around. Carlos walked in, baring a slight grin on his face. After shutting the door behind him, the Latino man leaned up against the wooden door.
"Just seeing if you've recovered." Carlos smiled as Leo sat down on the bed.
"Yeah." Leo replied with a chuckle. "God! I haven't been that hung-over in awhile!" He shook his head. "Not since Greenlee and I got locked in that wine cellar a few years ago."
"I don't think I've ever been that hung-over before." Carlos said, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed. "And it's going to be awhile before I am again!" As the two men shared a laugh, he looked sincerely at Leo. "I sure am going to miss you, du Pres."
"Miss me?" Leo asked, looking questioningly at Carlos. "Where you going?"
"I've stayed too long." Carlos replied, looking at the floor. "Apparently, rumors are already beginning to fly back home that I'm in Europe someplace." He sighed slightly. "It won't be too long before they find out that I'm here."
"Damn." Leo remarked, shaking his head. He looked sincerely at Carlos. "Where you going to go?"
"I don't know." Carlos shrugged. He then grinned slightly. "Obviously, somewhere not in South America or here in Europe."
Looking at the floor, Leo sighed as he tried to think of places that Reyes could go to. It would have to be someplace where he wouldn't stand out too much. A smile crossed his face as he realized the perfect solution to the problem.
"How about Pine Valley?" Leo suggested, looking at Carlos.
"Pine Valley?" Carlos repeated puzzled, "Your Pine Valley?"
"Yeah." Leo nodded.
"Are you sure about that?" Carlos asked, looking at Leo. "I mean, the guys who are after me are very dangerous, Leo."
"Pine Valley's seen worse." Leo assured, thinking about his mother.
"But if they were to follow me there…" Carlos pointed out as Leo held up a hand.
"Pine Valley is probably the secrecy capital of the world." Leo said, "If you're not safe there, you're probably not safe anywhere." He smiled at Carlos. "It's the perfect place for a man on the run!"
"And I guess the fact that I would be able to keep an eye on Greenlee is just cake to you?" Carlos smirked.
Upon hearing what Carlos said, Leo froze instantly. He hadn't thought about the fact that if Carlos went to Pine Valley, he would able to keep an eye on Greenlee first hand. It was now definitely the perfect place for Carlos to go. His brown eyes met those of Carlos.
"I hadn't thought about that." Leo admitted, "But it is an added perk."
"I thought your two brothers were taking care of that though." Carlos pointed out.
"I can't be sure that those two aren't in prison at any given moment." Leo remarked. As memories of his brothers played in his head, he smiled fondly.
"Wouldn't Greenlee find it a bit odd if some stranger took an interest in her out of the blue?" Carlos asked, "I mean, she might think that I was in love with her or something."
"That's perfect!" Leo exclaimed, jumping into a standing position.
"What?" Carlos replied, puzzled.
"We make Greenlee fall in love with you." Leo said, rubbing his hands together. Realizing how much it reminded of when Vanessa used to scheme, he stopped instantly. "It's the only way you'll get close enough to protect her."
"Okay." Carlos smiled, "So, genius, how do we make Greenlee fall in love with me?"
"That's the tricky part." Leo sighed, laying back on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling as his mind swirled about different ideas. It would be difficult to get the still-grieving Greenlee to fall in love with anyone, but a complete stranger? That might be nearly impossible even for the man who knew her better than anyone else. As nothing came to him, he sighed deeply.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Leo and Carlos (who had reluctantly officially agreed to go along with the idea) were still clueless as to how to make Greenlee fall in love with someone. Absentmindly staring into his French book, Leo, who was laying on his stomach on the bed, scratched his head. Carlos was leaving in a week and they needed to have a plan by then. Depressed, he let out a huge sigh.
"Il ne va pas bien?" Guy asked from the doorway. (It doesn't go well?)
"Ce qui?" Leo asked, looking at his father, who sat down next to him. (What?)
"Your studying." Guy replied, nodding at the book.
"It's not that." Leo said, closing the book. He also got into a sitting position.
"What is it then?" Guy asked. He was clueless as to what Carlos and Leo were planning. "Were you thinking about home again?"
"Sort of." Leo shrugged.
"I wish that you could be there, my boy." Guy replied sympathetically. "I really do." He brightened slightly. "But Carlos informed me today that he is going to go to Pine Valley, so you will be able to get news from there."
"Did he tell you anything else?" Leo asked, wondering if Carlos had informed Guy about their scheme.
"No." Guy said, shaking his head. He also eyed Leo suspiciously. "Is there more?"
After Leo told him about the idea of having Carlos fall in love with Greenlee, Guy remained silent and stroked his chin thoughtfully. Watching him, Leo really wished that his father would say something. He seemed to give off physical signs that he disproved of the notion. The brown haired, brown eyed man swallowed hard as Guy looked at him.
"You are your mother's son, Leo." Guy remarked with a slight grin.
"What?" Leo exclaimed, wondering if he had just heard Guy right. He stared in disbelief at his father. "Please tell me that you didn't mean that as a compliment."
"I didn't." Guy assured, slightly shaking his head.
"Good." Leo said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I only meant that you seem to have inherited her knack for coming up with wild schemes." Guy replied, gesturing with his hand.
"I guess I don't need to ask what you think about my idea." Leo chuckled, gathering what Guy thought from his use of wild. "I guess this is where you tell me not to go forward with it."
"Well," Guy sighed, "I wasn't going to say that, but I wasn't going to let you believe that I thought it was a good idea either."
"I suppose that this is the point where you tell me why it's a bad idea." Leo replied, looking at Guy.
"No." Guy said with a smile. "I'll let you try to figure out why on your own." He patted Leo's shoulder. "Me telling you would be the easy way out, and not the best."
"Okay." Leo said while racking his mind, trying to think of reasons that it would be a bad idea. The only one he could think of would be that the plan would work too well, and Greenlee would be unwilling to leave Carlos for him when and if he did return. However, the more he thought about that one, the more impossible it seemed to be. He knew that he could never really love another woman besides Greenlee, and she was probably the same way with other men.
But, what if Greenlee was furious with him upon finding out the truth? What if she wouldn't appreciate Carlos and Leo tricking her into falling in love again? What if she never forgave the pair of them? Leo shook his head. This possibility was a little harder to dismiss than the last one, to say the least. However, Greenlee had to understand his intentions. She just had to!
"You know," Guy pointed out, interrupting his thoughts. "it would be bad for Carlos to contact you directly with information. It might throw them onto your exact location. It would be best if you had a third party involved."
"That's true." Leo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Where am I going to find one though? You won't do it."
"I won't?" Guy asked a bit surprised.
"I do." Guy agreed with a nod. "But I never said I wouldn't help you if you needed it." He smiled at Leo. "Carlos will contact me with the information, and I will tell you what he said. How about that?"
"Sounds good." Leo said smiling.
"Well," Guy said, getting up. "I'll leave you to your studying, or, more accurately, your pretending to be actually reading that book." As Leo stared agape at him, Guy chuckled. "We parents tend to know these things, Leo." His smile suddenly faded. "If only I had been around while you were growing up, you might have…"
"I thought we agreed a couple of months ago not to dwell on that." Leo reminded.
"We did." Guy nodded, "However, that doesn't mean that I can't have regrets about what might have been."
"You and me both, Dad." Leo replied with a smile.
"Don't stay up too late." Guy said, playfully tossing Leo's hair before leaving the room.
After Guy left, Leo put his textbook on the nightstand and crawled into bed. Before he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts turned back to the Greenlee situation. What if putting her through what they planned did make Greenlee hate him and Carlos? Sitting up again, Leo reached under his pillow and pulled out the picture of Greenlee that Carlos had given him for Christmas. As he sat in silence and stared into his wife's beautiful brown eyes, Leo suddenly felt as if Greenlee would understand that he did what he had to do. Feeling reassured, Leo slipped the picture back under his pillow and went to sleep.
To be continued....
Hearing a knock on the door behind him, Leo turned around. Carlos walked in, baring a slight grin on his face. After shutting the door behind him, the Latino man leaned up against the wooden door.
"Just seeing if you've recovered." Carlos smiled as Leo sat down on the bed.
"Yeah." Leo replied with a chuckle. "God! I haven't been that hung-over in awhile!" He shook his head. "Not since Greenlee and I got locked in that wine cellar a few years ago."
"I don't think I've ever been that hung-over before." Carlos said, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed. "And it's going to be awhile before I am again!" As the two men shared a laugh, he looked sincerely at Leo. "I sure am going to miss you, du Pres."
"Miss me?" Leo asked, looking questioningly at Carlos. "Where you going?"
"I've stayed too long." Carlos replied, looking at the floor. "Apparently, rumors are already beginning to fly back home that I'm in Europe someplace." He sighed slightly. "It won't be too long before they find out that I'm here."
"Damn." Leo remarked, shaking his head. He looked sincerely at Carlos. "Where you going to go?"
"I don't know." Carlos shrugged. He then grinned slightly. "Obviously, somewhere not in South America or here in Europe."
Looking at the floor, Leo sighed as he tried to think of places that Reyes could go to. It would have to be someplace where he wouldn't stand out too much. A smile crossed his face as he realized the perfect solution to the problem.
"How about Pine Valley?" Leo suggested, looking at Carlos.
"Pine Valley?" Carlos repeated puzzled, "Your Pine Valley?"
"Yeah." Leo nodded.
"Are you sure about that?" Carlos asked, looking at Leo. "I mean, the guys who are after me are very dangerous, Leo."
"Pine Valley's seen worse." Leo assured, thinking about his mother.
"But if they were to follow me there…" Carlos pointed out as Leo held up a hand.
"Pine Valley is probably the secrecy capital of the world." Leo said, "If you're not safe there, you're probably not safe anywhere." He smiled at Carlos. "It's the perfect place for a man on the run!"
"And I guess the fact that I would be able to keep an eye on Greenlee is just cake to you?" Carlos smirked.
Upon hearing what Carlos said, Leo froze instantly. He hadn't thought about the fact that if Carlos went to Pine Valley, he would able to keep an eye on Greenlee first hand. It was now definitely the perfect place for Carlos to go. His brown eyes met those of Carlos.
"I hadn't thought about that." Leo admitted, "But it is an added perk."
"I thought your two brothers were taking care of that though." Carlos pointed out.
"I can't be sure that those two aren't in prison at any given moment." Leo remarked. As memories of his brothers played in his head, he smiled fondly.
"Wouldn't Greenlee find it a bit odd if some stranger took an interest in her out of the blue?" Carlos asked, "I mean, she might think that I was in love with her or something."
"That's perfect!" Leo exclaimed, jumping into a standing position.
"What?" Carlos replied, puzzled.
"We make Greenlee fall in love with you." Leo said, rubbing his hands together. Realizing how much it reminded of when Vanessa used to scheme, he stopped instantly. "It's the only way you'll get close enough to protect her."
"Okay." Carlos smiled, "So, genius, how do we make Greenlee fall in love with me?"
"That's the tricky part." Leo sighed, laying back on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling as his mind swirled about different ideas. It would be difficult to get the still-grieving Greenlee to fall in love with anyone, but a complete stranger? That might be nearly impossible even for the man who knew her better than anyone else. As nothing came to him, he sighed deeply.
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Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Leo and Carlos (who had reluctantly officially agreed to go along with the idea) were still clueless as to how to make Greenlee fall in love with someone. Absentmindly staring into his French book, Leo, who was laying on his stomach on the bed, scratched his head. Carlos was leaving in a week and they needed to have a plan by then. Depressed, he let out a huge sigh.
"Il ne va pas bien?" Guy asked from the doorway. (It doesn't go well?)
"Ce qui?" Leo asked, looking at his father, who sat down next to him. (What?)
"Your studying." Guy replied, nodding at the book.
"It's not that." Leo said, closing the book. He also got into a sitting position.
"What is it then?" Guy asked. He was clueless as to what Carlos and Leo were planning. "Were you thinking about home again?"
"Sort of." Leo shrugged.
"I wish that you could be there, my boy." Guy replied sympathetically. "I really do." He brightened slightly. "But Carlos informed me today that he is going to go to Pine Valley, so you will be able to get news from there."
"Did he tell you anything else?" Leo asked, wondering if Carlos had informed Guy about their scheme.
"No." Guy said, shaking his head. He also eyed Leo suspiciously. "Is there more?"
After Leo told him about the idea of having Carlos fall in love with Greenlee, Guy remained silent and stroked his chin thoughtfully. Watching him, Leo really wished that his father would say something. He seemed to give off physical signs that he disproved of the notion. The brown haired, brown eyed man swallowed hard as Guy looked at him.
"You are your mother's son, Leo." Guy remarked with a slight grin.
"What?" Leo exclaimed, wondering if he had just heard Guy right. He stared in disbelief at his father. "Please tell me that you didn't mean that as a compliment."
"I didn't." Guy assured, slightly shaking his head.
"Good." Leo said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I only meant that you seem to have inherited her knack for coming up with wild schemes." Guy replied, gesturing with his hand.
"I guess I don't need to ask what you think about my idea." Leo chuckled, gathering what Guy thought from his use of wild. "I guess this is where you tell me not to go forward with it."
"Well," Guy sighed, "I wasn't going to say that, but I wasn't going to let you believe that I thought it was a good idea either."
"I suppose that this is the point where you tell me why it's a bad idea." Leo replied, looking at Guy.
"No." Guy said with a smile. "I'll let you try to figure out why on your own." He patted Leo's shoulder. "Me telling you would be the easy way out, and not the best."
"Okay." Leo said while racking his mind, trying to think of reasons that it would be a bad idea. The only one he could think of would be that the plan would work too well, and Greenlee would be unwilling to leave Carlos for him when and if he did return. However, the more he thought about that one, the more impossible it seemed to be. He knew that he could never really love another woman besides Greenlee, and she was probably the same way with other men.
But, what if Greenlee was furious with him upon finding out the truth? What if she wouldn't appreciate Carlos and Leo tricking her into falling in love again? What if she never forgave the pair of them? Leo shook his head. This possibility was a little harder to dismiss than the last one, to say the least. However, Greenlee had to understand his intentions. She just had to!
"You know," Guy pointed out, interrupting his thoughts. "it would be bad for Carlos to contact you directly with information. It might throw them onto your exact location. It would be best if you had a third party involved."
"That's true." Leo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Where am I going to find one though? You won't do it."
"I won't?" Guy asked a bit surprised.
"I do." Guy agreed with a nod. "But I never said I wouldn't help you if you needed it." He smiled at Leo. "Carlos will contact me with the information, and I will tell you what he said. How about that?"
"Sounds good." Leo said smiling.
"Well," Guy said, getting up. "I'll leave you to your studying, or, more accurately, your pretending to be actually reading that book." As Leo stared agape at him, Guy chuckled. "We parents tend to know these things, Leo." His smile suddenly faded. "If only I had been around while you were growing up, you might have…"
"I thought we agreed a couple of months ago not to dwell on that." Leo reminded.
"We did." Guy nodded, "However, that doesn't mean that I can't have regrets about what might have been."
"You and me both, Dad." Leo replied with a smile.
"Don't stay up too late." Guy said, playfully tossing Leo's hair before leaving the room.
After Guy left, Leo put his textbook on the nightstand and crawled into bed. Before he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts turned back to the Greenlee situation. What if putting her through what they planned did make Greenlee hate him and Carlos? Sitting up again, Leo reached under his pillow and pulled out the picture of Greenlee that Carlos had given him for Christmas. As he sat in silence and stared into his wife's beautiful brown eyes, Leo suddenly felt as if Greenlee would understand that he did what he had to do. Feeling reassured, Leo slipped the picture back under his pillow and went to sleep.
To be continued....