Chapter Eight- Reba Meets Someone New

It had been several months since the passing of her mother and Reba was finally starting to get back into the somewhat normalcy of her life. She had met someone new and was starting to fall for him. Van had been injured and lost his football career, so he was home more with Elizabeth. That gave Reba the chance to finally do something for herself, to finally be happy.. not trying to fill the needs of everyone else in her family.

"Kyra? Make sure you keep an eye on your brother. Jack and I are going to dinner.. we shouldn't be too late." Reba called up the stairs after she finished getting ready for her date.

"Sure, Mom." Kyra hollered back at her.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Reba took one last look at herself to make sure she looked okay, then went to answer the door.

"Hey, Reba. You look great! Ready to go?" Jack greeted with flowers and a kiss.

"Oh, Jack... these are beautiful! Just let me go put these in water and then we'll go."

Jack nodded and sat down on the couch, where Jake was watching television, while Reba took the flowers into the kitchen. "Hey, Jake. What are ya watching?"

"Batman."

"Very cool."

"Ok, I'm ready to go." Reba said as she came out of the kitchen. "Jake, don't stay up too late.."

"Bye, Mom." Jake interrupted, not taking his eyes from the television set. He was really into his program.

"Kyra's upstairs if you need anything."

"Ok.. bye Mom."

(Later that evening, on the porch...)

"I had a wonderful time with you tonight." Jack said, wrapped his arms around Reba's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I had a great time with you too." Reba replied and turned to kiss him. She could feel herself falling hard for this man, but was scared to let herself go furthur in the relationship. She felt that she was going to lose him.

"Let's go inside... We need to talk."

Reba opened the door and found Jake laying asleep on the couch, with the television still on. Jack scooped him up in his arms, then turned to Reba. "I'll take him up to bed, then we can talk."

"Ok." Reba replied, and Jack could sense the uneasiness in her voice. He gave her a reassuring smile, then headed upstairs to Jake's room.

Reba paced the livingroom floor as she waited for Jack to come back downstairs. When he did, he greeted her with a warm kiss. Reba pulled away, and sat down on the couch. She did all she could to keep her eyes fixed on something other than those amazing eyes, which made her heart melt every time she looked at him.

"Did I do something wrong?" Jack asked, a little concerned in how Reba was acting. He sat down next to her, grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers in hers. Her hands were like ice and she was shaking. She was also on the verge of tears.

"I can't be with you anymore."

"What?" Jack asked, the look of shock spread across his face.

"I'm scared, Jack. It hurt like crazy when Brock left me. I don't wanna go back to that."

Jack pulled her into a hug and began rubbing her back. "You don't need to be scared. I promise you, I'm all yours. I'd give the moon and the stars to be with you."

Reba smiled and Jack kissed the tear away from her cheek. A few moments later he whispered the words to confirm how devoted he was to her.

"I love you."