The condensation on the mirror is wiped away as he swipes his hand back and forth in an uneven pattern across the slippery plain. A smile comes to his face when his eyes catch on her reflection as she stands still under the stream of water coming from the showerhead. Her head is leant back as she rinses her hair of the conditioner she applied as he was getting out. Her hands are up on her head with her elbows pointed towards the ceiling for a moment – giving him the chance to take in the flawless silhouette of her body. He turns around and leans into the vanity as his eyes immediately travel down from the slopes of her chest all the way to her feet and back up. The glass of the shower is opaque with steam but does little to hide her naked figure – every smooth curve outlined beautifully. The faint swell of her belly is barely noticeable when she's dressed but now, having an almost unobscured view of her – well them - has him staring at the place where their baby is slowly growing and it makes his smile widen. Watching over her as she finishes her shower routine has him debating playing hooky so he can go back in by her. But the decision is made for him rather quickly as his girlfriend turns the water off and opens the shower door just enough to snag her towel from her hook on the wall.

"Hey, I thought you had to go." She smirks as she walks out with the towel in her hand as she dries her hair a little.

"I do. I uh…I just got distracted." He shrugs with a faint blush on coming to his face as he reaches out and pulls her into him until they're flush against each other – the only barrier between them is the towel wrapped around his waist. The hand that he doesn't have settled against the small of her back comes to rest on her hip with his thumb gently stroking the side of her abdomen. She bites her bottom lip just a little while looking up at him and then as she glances down at her belly.

"Did you hear that munchkin? Your daddy thinks we're distracting." She murmurs with her free hand moving to lay next to his, between her side and her bellybutton.

"More like fascinating." He corrects himself and her head snaps back up at that. A smile brakes out on her lips before she's leaning in to attach them to his. Then they're going about their routines to get ready for the day and soon enough he's heading downstairs for some coffee and a small breakfast.

He fills the coffee machine and goes to get a cup while he waits – throwing away the film from the new tin of coffee in the process. The lid lifts as he presses the petal of the stainless steel garbage can and that's when he sees it. His eyes zero in on the name of the recipient and then the sender. It instantly makes his blood boil and his thoughts race as he waits for his girlfriend to get downstairs - more patiently than he thought he'd manage in such a situation.

"I'll make you something that you can take with you." She says in a sing-song voice as soon as she walks into the kitchen. But he shakes his head at her causing to stop in her tracks and lips purse in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Were you going to tell me?" He asks.

"About breakfast?" She jokes with a smile coming back to her face. "Isn't that what I just did?"

But Jay's expression remains stern and she sighs. "Tell you what babe?"

He just tosses the opened letter onto the island closer to her. She instantly looks defeated with her shoulders slumping forward and the pout returning to her face. "Jay, I-"

"What could he possibly have to say to you?" He interrogates as if she really did something wrong and she looks down – her emotions fluctuating from sad to angry and back.

She begins to answer his question after a beat. "He asked for me to come see him but-"

"And you were going to go?" He cuts her off again and it makes her heart pound with frustration.

"I-"

She cuts herself off when she hears his cold, short laugh. "I thought we passed this."

"Passed what? The attack? My dad dying? Or you almost dying?" She yells back.

"This selfishness Erin, the lying and hiding stuff like this from me. But since you brought it up, you do realize he was part of that, right? His family attacked ours – killed your dad and tried to kill us. Charlie's dangerous – he always has been."

"Really? I guess I didn't realize. Thank you for reminding me of that." Her voice is laced with angry sarcasm and she can see he doesn't appreciate it. But she ignores that annoyed look on his face and continues trying to explain. "I didn't lie and I wasn't hiding anything from you."

"Well it doesn't exactly seem like you were planning on telling me either." He gestures to the letter still on the counter.

"Because I threw the letter away?" She snarls.

"No, because you got it and read it yesterday or maybe even before that without mentioning it to me." He snaps and she shakes her head.

"So you just assume that I wasn't going to tell you at all?" She questions rhetorically but before he can respond his phone rings.

"I have to go but if you were really considering going remember to think about the baby." He nods at her belly where she's currently resting her right hand.

"They may be growing inside of you but I put them there – they're half mine. And though Charlie's in jail, I don't like the thought of you – much less my baby being anywhere near someone like him." He concludes before he's answering his phone and grabbing his hat on his way out the door.

"Love you too." Erin huffs to herself as she leans back against the counter and combs her finger through her wet hair. Her mind goes over how quickly their morning changed – how good it started and the way it turned out. She feels tears pricking the back of her eyes replaying his words and how upset he is with her.

The grip he has on her arms is sure to leave bruises as he shakes her back and forth – her feet lifting off the ground ever-so-slightly. Jay drops the lead in his hand before rushing to grab the closest thing that can be used as a weapon which happens to be a shovel. Then he's storming towards the old car Erin and her boyfriend are standing in front of.

The shovel in his hand is swung with ease – flipping it so the metal hits the ground and scraps against the gravel a little before he lifts it. He swings it slowly again with the head lightly hitting the scumbag's leg.

"What the fuck pretty boy?" Her boyfriend yells as he flips his shaggy, black hair out of his eyes.

When the hold on Erin's arms aren't released Jay doesn't say anything and swings the shovel a little harder this time – knocking the other guy on his ass. The dirt creates a cloud around him as he cries out in pain and scrambles back to his feet.

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Charlie snarls while Jay looks over at Erin who's holding her arms across her chest and adverting her eyes to the ground.

"A smart man would be." Jay nods as he takes a step forward, still not taking his eyes off Erin – at least not for another few seconds. "But then again you're neither smart nor a man, so I'm going to say no." He adds with a smirk as he switches to looking at the guy in front of him. That's when he launches himself at Jay but the latter dodges him. Jay lands the first hit – the shovel having been throw off to the side – choosing instead to defend himself with his fists.

"You're going to regret that." Charlie warns as he limps and retreats to his car and drives off, leaving nothing but a wall of dust in his wake.

"Are you ok?" Jay asks as he moves over to her.

She shrugs off his hands and walks to the main house.

"You're welcome." He sighs as he goes back to the stables, picking up the shovel on the way.

She storms after him with that but he doesn't notice – at least not until she slamming the barn door shut behind them.

"You expected a thank you for that?" She snaps at him and he looks a bit taken aback at first before hesitantly nodding.

"Well you won't get one from me – not when you shouldn't have done that."

"No, he shouldn't have put his hands on you."

"Why do you even care?"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Why do you all of a sudden care? He's my boyfriend not you Jay and I don't appreciate you stepping in like that – hurting him."

He snickers at that because he doesn't think she could possibly be serious. But when she glares at him, he knows he read into the statement and her emotions wrong.

"Hurting him? What about you? He was literally shaking you." He argues and she scuffs at that.

"I went against him. I was the one that was wrong."

"That doesn't give him the right to hurt you Erin."

"Oh, because everyone is supposed to be as perfect as you and your girlfriend, right?"

"Don't drag her into this. This isn't about her or me."

"Why not? You want to insert yourself into my relationship but I can't comment on yours?"

"It's not the same and you know it. Allie is a good person, he's not."

"You don't even know him."

"I know enough. Like how he's a junkie – a predator who's taking advantage of someone who's what ten years younger than him?...But more importantly I know you and I know you shouldn't be with a guy like him."

"So what are you suggesting? That I break up with him? Sit here by myself? Become a nun?"

"You have other, better options Erin. You should be with someone that you can tell your dad about; a guy that your mom would have approved of." Jay suggests and she shakes her head with tears in her eyes.

She takes a step back and sniffles a little – not having expected an undercut like that.

"Well if it wasn't obvious before it's more than obvious now."

"What's that?"

"That you don't know me anymore. Because if you did you would know I don't have other options Jay. There are no other guys that can stand to be anywhere near me. No other guy wants me with all my baggage. No one pretends to care or distracts me from the pain like he does - at least not anymore." She looks down with those last few words before she leaves – letting the door shut quiet behind her this time. And it's those words that resonate with him because though she didn't say it directly, he knows that she's referring to how their friendship has changed since he started dating Allie and even more after she met Charlie.

The wind is blowing hard against his face as his horse continues to pick up speed in pursuit of the group ahead of them. The frightened herd of horses not too far away are kicking up dust and dirt as they try to break free from the group of men and unfamiliar horses around them. He should be focused on stopping the criminals from getting away and crossing the river that's the border to Canada. But he hasn't been able to get his mind off his girl and their topic of rather heated discussion before he left this can't stop himself from thinking about how she hid the fact that she received a letter from her ex asking her to visit him while he awaits his upcoming transfer from the county jail to state prison after his sentencing for the attack on the Voight Ranch.

It's taken multiple reminders from Kevin to bring Jay back to the job they were brought here to do. This time though the sound of gunshots are what has him snapping back to the present. His eyes scan the men on both sides of him first – wanting to make sure the team of livestock agents haven't been hit before looking ahead and seeing them nearing the river – with one of the men holding a gun straight up in the air. He can see the stolen horses already crossing the water and the thieves not far behind them but stopping in the middle of the stream when they are met with the Canadian border patrol and police. Jay gets his horse to pick up speed again and manages to get in front of the criminals. The warning from one of the Canadian officers can faintly be heard by Jay as his horse's two front feet step onto the bank of the other side of the river for a brief moment. He gets him to back up into the river and pulls his gun to get the thieves to move back into Montana.

"Get the fuck back." He orders as he sees the last man once again stop short of the river bank of Montana. Jay watches closely as he eventually moves forward but as soon as Jay gets out of the water – the other man turns around and tries to run for it again. But Jay grabs his rope - quickly twirling the loop over his head a couple times before tossing it at the thief and pulling him backwards off his own saddle so that he falls into the water. Jay ties the end of the rope to the horn of his saddle and gets his horse to walk backwards – dragging the man back onto US land. Kevin walks over and handcuffs the man who's yelling out in pain from the rocks and woods that scratched and scraped the skin of his back.

"Can you send them back over, please?" Jay asks politely as his fingers curl over the top of his Livestock Agent Kevlar vest with his arms resting in the shape of a W against his chest and abdomen – his eyes taking in the stolen horses still huddled together across the river.

All of the officers look at the man in the center as he has his horse move forward a little and the officer shakes his head. "We'll trade them for the thieves."

Jay shakes his head back immediately. "That's not going to happen, they're wanted for several jobs over here."

"They're wanted here as well." The officer argues and Jay just sighs – not really willing to delay this process anymore – especially since they still have to identify the horses and reunite them with their owners before any of them can go home. He can feel himself become more frustrated with that thought but manages to remain calm for the time being.

"They're going to prison either way and from the way they fled from us it seems they're more afraid of paying for their crimes over here than there." Jay says and the other man that he's talking to ponders for a moment before nodding at the other officers and then they're moving the herd back over. Jay nods his head in a silent thanks and then clicks his tongue and presses his heels into his horse's side to get him to move.

"If you need to get home to-"

"Let's just get the horses to their owners and then we can get back to the ranch." Jay interrupts before Kevin can even finish what he was about to offer. They quickly get back to where they've set up a temporary corral – guiding the herd in. While the rest of the team takes the thieves into the station. The horses are scanned for microchips and photographed before the owners are notified that their animals have been recovered and being told where to pick them up. Before long there's only four left, all mares – one of which is noticeably pregnant. Jay looks them over again – taking in how unkempt they appear. They're unhinged, frightened and anxious in a way that tells Jay these animals aren't like the others.

"They still won't let me near them to scan for chips and I checked the stolen and lost reports and they don't match any." Kevin says as he comes to stand next to Jay again.

"And they're not going to." Is Jay's response and Kevin just looks from the horses to his friend and boss with a confused expression on his face. Then seconds later a large grey and black stallion emerges from the trees to their right. It's the mustang Jay took care of for most of the year but hasn't seen in months – since the night of the attack. Jay sees him first and nods his head in the horse's direction to get Kevin to look. The mares still in the corral start to move a little more frantically as if they're trying to find a way out. Not wanting any of them to get hurt in their desperate attempt to free themselves – especially the pregnant one as she bashes into one of the panels, Jay walks over to the gate and opens it for them. Smiles come to both men's faces as they step back and give the mares space to run out. The stallion trots halfway to them before stopping and sticking his nose up in the air a little with his upper lip rising – seemingly to sniff out his family before he continues trotting towards them. Each of the mares greet him in their own ways and then they're running for the trees – the mustang looks back at Jay and Kevin for a moment before following the mares and disappearing from sight.

After a few more minutes, Kevin and Jay begin packing up the metal panels of the corral and their two horses before heading back to the ranch.

Her hands run over her belly as she takes a break from going through the office of her dad's house. It's daunting and tedious deciding what to keep, donate, or throw away as she stands at the closet that houses an assortment of binders, books, boxes and photo albums. She takes a steadying breath as her eyes travel down starting at the overhead shelf that seems to be about two feet out of her reach. She wants to get to whatever's up there but she doesn't trust herself on a step stool with how dizzy she's been so she makes a mental note to ask Jay to come over and get those things for her at some point. Then she's taking in the items stacked in areas that she can reach, and she sets back in, grabbing a box and walking with it over to the leather chair in the corner. She plops the box down on the ottoman and decides to get another one before settling on the chair and making herself comfortable with her legs coming to cross beneath her - the baby bump that is starting to form in her midsection grazes her inner thighs as she leans forward a little. The tears that have been in her eyes since Jay found the letter from Charlie – the tears that have fallen a couple times since she started going through her family's belongings are making themselves known as they crest over her eyelids – threatening to fall again as she reads different letters and notes written in both her dad and mom's hand.

This room has been the most emotional for her, trudging up different things – some of which she's never even seen before – things that aren't materialistic but instead have deeper meaning. She thought she missed them – her parents and brother before but this – the pictures and handwriting are bringing forth all different sorts of memories – good and bad. The process is reopening wounds and tearing into scars – both old and new. It makes her regret not accepting Jay's repeated offer to be here with her to help – not just physically but emotionally too – him knowing it'd be hard for her. But she stubbornly declined every time because she didn't want to be a burden and take him away from his work for something she could do. She realizes how ridiculous that sounds – knows he loves her – not to mention she's currently carrying his baby. Which is why she's reminded herself that he'd be even more upset than he already is with her over the whole Charlie thing if he found out why she declined his offers to help clean out her childhood home. She's also reasoned with herself that the higher levels of hormones surging through her body and the fact that she's exhausted - reverting back to tossing and turning throughout the night, for the last several nights since she received Charlie's letter hasn't helped with the onslaught of emotions either.

She's not sure how much longer she stays there taking out the contents of the two boxes before deciding what to keep or not. Of course the photo albums along with a couple handwritten letters or notes from her parents to each other, her or Justin are placed into the box on the ottoman while the rest is thrown into the one of the floor labeled discard. Once she's finished doing that she stands and picks up the box on the ottoman, leaving the other one on the floor – just wanting to go rest until Jay gets home so she can try apologizing to him again. As she walks into the hallway Poppy gets up too and follows Erin, the young dog waiting patiently by the front door as her owner places the down in favor of getting her jacket and boots on. She opens the door before picking the box back up and then she's stepping onto the porch. The bottom of the box gives out just as she makes it down the stairs of the front porch. She groans and squats to pick everything up – unaware that she's being watched by someone exiting the stables.

"Hey, weren't you asked to finish mucking the stalls before Jay gets back?" Adam asks and the new guy doesn't answer or even acknowledge the other man as his eyes remain on Erin.

"Who is she?" He asks and Adams follows his line of sight.

"It doesn't matter who she is because she's off limits." Adam says but the younger man doesn't seem to care.

"I'm going to go help her." He says back as he sets the rack down to rest against the outside of the stables.

"No, you're going to finish the task you were asked to do hours ago while I go help her." Adam corrects him who rolls his eyes ignoring what he was told and goes to help the hot women before him.

"Looks like you could use some help." He says as he takes the last few steps and comes to stand right next to her before squatting down and picking up a few things. She looks up at him but quickly looks back down and she fixes the bottom of the box so she can place the items inside it again.

"Thanks." She whispers as she takes what he picked up and puts them in the box too. She stands up as the guy stays in his spot and takes in her backside while she bends at the waist to once again pick the box up – neither of them noticing Jay pulling up in the truck and seeing the whole thing.

"I'm Harvey, my brother-in-law got me this job and I was a little hesitant at first but had he mentioned getting to see someone as fine as you I wouldn't have thought twice about it." He says confidently as she turns back to face the cabin.

"I know who you are Harvey, you're Hailey's little brother. I used to help babysit you when she couldn't." Erin tells him and he just looks at her confused – wondering how he could forget someone that looks like her.

"I don't remember that." His eyebrows furrow as he tries to remember what she's talking about.

"You were still pretty little the last time I saw you." Erin chuckles lightly and he nods.

"Well I'm not little anymore." He shoots back and Erin recoils with disgust at the smug grin on his face.

"Since you have time to flirt with my girlfriend, I'm assuming you finished cleaning the stables and have time to unpack the trailer and get both mine and Kevin's horses set up with fresh water and feed." Jay interjects as he walks over to them and takes the box from Erin.

"I umm…I thought? You're his girlfr-?" He stumbles over his words and Erin nods to answer his unfinished question.

The younger guy whispers an apology to both of them before scurrying back to the stables. Erin chuckles at the how quickly Jay scared him away from her. "Hailey's going to be pissed that you scared off her baby brother on his first day."

"I think she'll be more pissed at him for hitting on you on top of not listening and not doing what was asked of him." Jay counters and Erin shrugs.

"He said he came over help me pick up this stuff." Her eyebrows knit together and a confused pout comes to her face – one that's not much different from the look she had this morning. But this time she can't stop herself from smirking – letting Jay know that she knows very well that Harvey had other motives for walking over to her.

Then she continues. "Hailey and Mouse asked for a job for him to keep him out of trouble-"

"Exactly, they want him to stay out of trouble and they're not going to let him just walk away from this job because I embarrassed him in front of you." He reasons and she nods in agreement before leading the way to their house. He momentarily pushes how he left things with her this morning out of his head as he can't help checking her out in a way that's not much different to how Harvey did – admiring how the tight black fabric of her pants is hugging her legs and ass. He clears his throat as she begins slowing down so they're walking side-by-side.

"I'm sorry." She murmurs almost inaudibly as the wind picks up and the first snow starts to fall. The words of why she's apologizing are left unsaid because he knows it's not about Harvey – it's about this morning. He's just about to give her a response as he sets the box down on the entryway bench when Adam comes rushing over to their front door.

"Hey Boss, the kid said you told him to bring Red out?" Adam asks Jay who steps back out onto the porch.

"No, I told him this morning to leave that horse alone." Jay grumbles, already knowing his mood towards Hailey's younger brother is about to worsen.

"What's wrong with Sarge?" Erin questions from her spot inside the house, causing both Jay and Adam to look over at her.

"He's just been off after the night of the attack." Jay answers simply, and she nods, knowing he means the horse – her dad's favorite – has changed since her dad was killed.

"Can you just reiterate to him to leave that horse alone and I'll come take care of Red in a little bit." Jay says to Adam who nods but doesn't leave.

"I'm sorry I know you had a long day but the kid is stuck in the stall with a very pissed off horse. We tried letting Red out, but he won't let any of us near him – especially the newbie." Adam counters and Jay sighs in exasperation and frustration.

"If this kid makes it through the day, remind me to fire him." Jay huffs as he looks back at Erin and leans in to place a kiss to her forehead – her eyes closing with the contact.

"I'm sorry." He whispers to her and she nods – recognizing that he's not referring to the fact that he has to leave again but that they have to put they're conversation on hold.

"I'll be right back." Jay murmurs to Erin before he's following Adam to the stables. He hears the door close but doesn't realize that she's decided to come with even as they get to the barn.

He immediately gets to work trying to calm the horse down, but like Adam said, the large animal's not having it as he whinnies and kicks the walls of the stall. Harvey is practically crying in the corner of the stall which only serves to make both Jay and Red more irritated.

"Shut the hell up." Jay snaps at Harvey as he thinks of how to get the younger man out without any of them getting hurt.

"Do you think he'll let Erin handle him?" Mouse asks - recalling how Red got like this the other day and calmed down for Hailey when she was here.

"I don't know, but I'm not putting her in there with him like this." Jay all but snarls because he's angry that the new hire – Hailey's brother – didn't listen again and this time put himself in danger. Then he thinks of Mouse's question further and tells himself that he wouldn't want Erin in with a horse as big as Red or as unpredictable as he is right now, before finding out she's pregnant, so he's certainly not putting her in harm's way now.

"It's just that he was like this the other day and let Hailey put a lead on him and walk him to a corral." Mouse reasons - none of the men realize that Erin's just a few feet away.

"And I wouldn't have agreed to Hailey going in either." Jay bellows, causing the horse to become even more agitated and that's when Erin steps forward.

"It's worth a try, Jay." She states and he just shakes his head because he couldn't disagree more and he's surprised to hear her say that.

"No, it's not, Erin. I don't need to remind you of why we can't risk it." He objects immediately as she takes another step towards the stall and he does the same.

She doesn't pay him any mind and instead reaches out to pet the distressed horse's face.

"Hey Sarge." She says calmly, and the horse's breathing quickly – almost instantly begins to slow.

"Sarge?" Adam questions once the horse is quiet and calm.

"His full name is Red Sergeant, my dad just always called him Red. But I've called him Sarge from the beginning." She smiles sadly when the horse rests his head against her chest and abdomen - his nose pressing her shirt in and showing the slight roundness of her belly. It's a sight that has some of the tension in Jay's shoulders melting away but it's short lived.

"Erin." Jay warns – becoming even more tense after she asks for a lead, and Mouse looks back and forth between Erin and Jay.

"I'm not going in with him, Jay." She defends as she runs her free hand down her belly and cups the bottom of her tiny bump as she looks at her boyfriend – her silent way to tell him she's thinking of their baby too. He nods hesitantly and watches as she clips the rope to the horse's halter. But he continues to stay close – ready to step in between his girlfriend and the horse in the event that something sets the latter off again. His eyes remain trained on her as she moves Red over to the other side of the stall and away from the door. She continues quietly shushing the animal before nodding – signaling to Jay to get Harvey out.

"Do we have any treats?" Erin asks as she looks around at the guys and Mouse nods before grabbing a bag from the shelf near the door of the tack room.

"Thanks." She murmurs to their friend after he hands her a few of the treats for the horse.

"I uh…I think I should be thanking you." Mouse adverts his gaze when Erin looks at him before he continues.

"My wife would have killed me if her brother had been hurt or worse in there." He quips – his words getting the rest of them to laugh except for Harvey.

"Glad you all think it's funny." Harvey mumbles while Adam, Mouse and Kevin continue laughing.

"It's funny because you're fine and it's true." Erin notes as she looks back at Sarge. Harvey looks around at the rest of the guys – trying to find someone to lash out at before he focuses in on Erin. A figurative switch flips in his head as a sinister smirk pulls at his lips, an angry and mischievous glint to his eyes and his fists clench as he steps towards her – the easiest target in the room. He's embarrassed and not thinking rationally – maybe not at all – just wanting to take out his frustration the way his dad did on him and his siblings growing up. His tunnel vision kicks in and he doesn't see anyone but Erin until Jay comes to stand between them and places a hand on the younger man's chest – pushing him back and effectively stopping him from getting any closer to her. But Harvey steps forward again – his foot pressing onto one of Poppy's paws causing her to take a break from her growling and snarling to let out a loud yelp before she too, goes back to protecting Erin.

"If you don't walk away right now I'll make you wish we'd left you in with the horse." Jay advises, once again pushing him back and Harvey gives Erin another glare before backing away. He looks like he's going to say something else for a moment but he decides against it when he looks at Jay still standing in front of Erin. But he does mumble something incoherent as he walks out of the barn. Jay shakes his head and goes to get fresh shavings for the stall while Erin stays with the horse at the other side – allowing for Mouse and Jay to make quick work of spot cleaning Red's space and laying down more bedding. Adam brings in food and water for the horse and then closes the door. Erin waits to unclip the lead from Red's halter until she hears the click of the door latching.

Erin sets the rope down as she takes a seat on the bail of hay in front of her. She's still feeling rather uneasy with how Harvey changed once he was let out of the stall – that wild look in his eyes is one she won't soon forget.

"Babe." Jay says to get her to stand up before he asks all three of the men in front of him if they can close up the stables to which they nod before Jay's placing a hand on the small of Erin's back and guiding her out of the stables.

"I was thinking about him – the baby after I opened that letter." She breaks the silence between them as they step inside their house. They both takes off their boots before turning to face each other. "I was thinking about how scared I've been because I'm finally starting to feel happy and excited for us to be a family. And how terrified I've been that'll take just one bad thing to take away the good of this." She takes his hand and places it on her belly.

"I'm sorry babe." He says sadly, refusing to meet to her eyes in that moment – instead finding comfort in where their baby is nestled inside of her.

"I was going to tell you, but I realize now that I should have told you right away." She whispers as she cups his jaw and runs her thumb over the facial hair there.

"I shouldn't have assumed you wouldn't. I guess I was just taken aback and angry that he even reached out to you." He glances up at her then, their eyes immediately locking.

"It's ok." She smiles sadly and he shakes his head because he's not going to let himself off the hook that easy.

"The letter was almost thrown away without me opening it but I was curious to know what he had to say. I was never going to go, see him though." She elaborates and he nods as he pulls her into him. He apologizes again and she does too before he leans in for a kiss – one that's quickly reciprocated and deepened.

"I love you." He whispers in her ear as he places another kiss there and then pulls away and she repeats his words back to him. Then he's going upstairs to change in something more comfortable and she's moving into the kitchen to throw their dinner in the oven before discarding the letter again. Both of them completely unaware of the danger lurking just outside the house.