Several days later…

Tommy…

"I'll be back in a little bit." Tommy stated simply as he edged past his family toward the door with his keys gripped tightly in his hands. He hated when they all ganged up on him like this—taking residence in his Montana home as if he hadn't purchased it just so he wouldn't have to stay with his parents.

"You're not engaged, are you?" His grandmother asked as he rolled his eyes. When had 'I have a friend coming to visit' become 'I have a fiancé coming to meet the family?' But that's the way his family worked. They tended to misinterpret things just for their own amusement—as if his life wasn't full of enough juicy tidbits to keep them gossiping for a lifetime. Mix his Italian relatives and his French relations and you had a bomb ready to explode.

"She's been talking a lot with him over their emails." His sister, Maddie, inserted into the conversation as if she were the authority on all things that went on inside his bachelor pad. Tommy just shook his head and sighed before heading out the door towards the truck he had been driving lately. At least it was not raining outside.

"Just don't have me married with grandchildren, a dog, and a little white picket fence by the time I get back, would you?" He threw over his shoulder as he went. His brother chuckled as his mother fanned her face with her hands as if she were about to faint. They loved to aggravate him with their dramatics. He could already hear his mother quoting her favorite lines from 'Gone with the Wind.' Tom couldn't help it. He grinned as he turned back toward them only long enough to shout.

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" He uttered as the rest of the family laughed. Yep, bless his little puppet's heart. He was about to drag her into the eye of a hurricane.

Jude…

The airport seemed cramped as I shoved through the crowds insistently—feeling Mason move along beside me with unbridled curiosity. We had flown into Montana only five minutes ago and I was antsy to the point of feeling jittery. Mason had to keep stomping on my toes to keep me from hyperventilating.

"We should just go now. This was a very bad idea." I exclaimed weakly as Mason pinched me harshly between the shoulders. Damn, the boy was being fierce.

"I finally get in a state where wearing my cowboy hat is as much a fashion icon as it is a statement and you want me to turn around. Nope, don't think so sweetheart. Now, let's find lover boy and get on with this." Mason grumbled as I took in a deep breath. Too bad planes couldn't turn around in mid-air. I needed the call button for Batman or something. Anything would work right now. God, this was such a stupid, stupid idea. Mason suddenly stumbled next to me, and I had to grab onto his arm to keep us both from falling as he choked on his own breath. What was wrong with him? I patted him on the back to help him with his coughing fit.

"Are you alright?" I hissed as he pointed shakily over at the edge of the crowd. I looked up with trepidation only to feel my whole world crash down at my feet. It wasn't. It couldn't be. Oh, but it was. Tom Quincy in the flesh like a figure that had just arisen from the grave to haunt me. I almost tripped as I stared at him. Oh my God! A thought hit me, and it almost made me fall to my knees. He couldn't be the one. But it did make sense didn't it? It also made my heart go cold. Of all people.

"You need to do something, Jude. Anything. Okay, breathing would be really good right now." Mason uttered as I finally took in a deep breath before stumbling forward. I would not let this get to me. It was too late to turn back now—too late to pretend that Tom didn't mean more to me now that I knew all of those things about him because the truth was he did mean more to me after our talks than he had before when I had just been infatuated by my producer. Jesus! Life could just be plain cruel. I walked over to him slowly—edging behind him enough that he wouldn't see my approach. I stared at him a moment as I stood behind his casual stance. He exuded power, and I watched as several women glanced at him when they walked by. He could take any one of them home that he wanted to. I wonder how he would feel when he found out it was me.

"Tom." I whispered as I watched his posture stiffen. I guess it was a good thing he hadn't forgotten my voice. And I could have sworn he quoted something from that Clarke Gable Movie Gone with the Wind as he slowly turned around.