A Love Story

19)

Zach had never been such a wonderful sight as he was when he waltzed into the Fusion offices, bearing two bags of Chinese take-out and offering nourishment. And, despite Kendall's best attempts to play casual, he picked up on the shaky air of his wife. Even as she mocked his new coat, he picked up on Lavery's shape, hovering nearby, his eyes on Kendall's form.

He finally got his chance to get her out of the offices by bringing up the fact that he needed her input at the casinos… that was, technically, true. He wanted her there, at his side, even if it just meant her signing papers. She practically dragged him out with her, diving right into the passenger seat of his Rover and buckling herself in.

Leaning over her to set the food at her feet, he caught a hint of her perfume, something different than usual, something that made him think, instantly, of springtime, something light and airy and, leaning back into his seat, he just slightly turned his head, managing to breathe in her scent one last time before sitting back.

Kendall didn't talk the entire ride to the casino, just sat in silence, arms wrapped around herself and staring out her window blankly and damn it, he didn't like when she acted like this. As soon as he stopped the car, she was gone, already heading right into his casino, leaving him to bring in the food.

By the time he got to his office, she was sitting across from his desk, and, spotting him, she snapped, "Tell me you're at least smart enough to have picked up extra fortune cookies."

"Of course." He knew that look in her eyes and he hated it; crossing past her, he set the bags on his desk, pausing for a moment to soothe the violent surge of fury Lavery's look had caused… yes, her and Lavery had been intimate, engaged even, but that gave him no right to look at her like that. He had a right to worry about her, worry about how Lavery treated her… she was his wife, if only in name only.

Turning around, he caught her staring at him; when she caught his glance, she looked away, and he noticed, with an odd feeling in his stomach, that her hands in her lap where twisting the fabric of the dress. Deciding to let her pretend he didn't notice the slight flush of pink in her face, he went back to the food.

By the time he handed Kendall her Styrofoam plate of Chinese, she was calm and composed and, for some reason, Zach was thankful… but when she took the plate, he found to his dismay that her fingers brushed his and, startled, he turned his back on her at the tingle the touch caused.

The two stared at opposite sides of the room and, if he wasn't so confused, Zach would have found it all funny, the two of them, acting like teenagers in a drive-in… it was nonsense… of course it was…

Cady had fallen asleep in mid-bounce and was currently passed out on the couch… leaving Diana with the chance to figure out what that woman was doing with Mr. Chandler. She didn't know why the sight of the girl irritated her to no end but she knew, for sure, that she had to protect JR from that woman… JR… what a silly name…

She looked up into the closet, above his hanging suits, hands on her hips and contemplating ways to get up there… what she wouldn't do for an extra five inches right now.

Looking around, her eyes fell on the box at the side of the bed, and, sheesh, it was like it was calling her. Kicking off her shoes, she pushed it towards the closet with one foot; when it got there, she cautiously tested a bit of weight on it. Finding it sturdy enough, she stepped up, and instantly spotted the slight line of a box up there, right at the top of the closet.

Getting a hold on it, she tugged and it slid obligingly, until she could get it down and hop down to the floor. There, she studied her treasure, a medium-sized box with a single line of tape across the top, holding it closed… damn… tape. She tilted it, and heard… paper? Paper… why did he have a box of paper?

Another twist and there was something else… a thump, something large… a box in a box? Frowning, she lowered the box, her blue eyes attempting to see through the cardboard. Needless to say, it didn't work and, after several more minutes of contemplation, she pushed the box back up into the closet and pushed the other box back beside the bed, sighing.

The drawer! Kneeling, she yanked the drawer by the bed open, pausing for a moment to consider her finds… pen, planner… planner? She lifted it, testing its weight for a second before taking a seat on the bed and cracked it open, finding almost every page for the next three months completely filled with a tilting, looping script.

Meeting with someone named Kendall for quite a few lunch and breakfasts… needed to go by some gallery for lunch with an uncle… dinner with another uncle and an aunt… she found an intriguing spot on a page in the middle of March, a birthday had been marked and then crossed over repeatedly…

She turned it over and then paused, stilling as she pressed her fingers down harder. Yes, definitely a lump there. She pressed, finding the slight lift beneath the back flap and flipping it to the back, intrigued. Two small rectangles feel out, tumbling into her lap. Setting the planner aside, she shifted attention to the photos, two of them, both apparently well-loved to judge by the slight wear around the edges.

The first was a shot of a baby, dark-haired, dark-eyed, peering at the camera from over the edge of a play yard, grin plastered across her face, one hand stretched out in a gesture that was clear… 'pick me up'… love, pure and simple there, on that face as she stared at her photographer.

But it was the other picture that caused her reaction. She shoved the photos back into the book, dropped the book into the drawer and slammed it shut before leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. She froze there, finding JR watching her, one eyebrow raised. "What are you doing?"

She stared at him, studied the eyes, watched the way he reached down to brush some of Cady's hair from her face and tug the blanket over her up higher. "Um… I was just checking to see if you're bed was made up."

He just stared at her and, finally she looked away, folding arms over her chest shakily. "Who was that man? The one in the lobby?"

"He… he was just someone I used to know… don't even think about him right now, okay? It's too much stress on your heart." When she nodded, he gestured vaguely towards the bedroom. "I can drive you back home in about an hour, okay? Right now, I just want you to stay here and relax, read a book, order some room service."

"JR?"

He paused a few feet from the door, turned with an amused look and a light smile. "Yeah?"

"How did you know about my heart problems?"

"That's complicated… I'll be back in a while okay?" And then he was gone, quietly closing the door behind him and leaving her alone with that picture.

He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and trying to ease the fury coursing through his veins. The door to his office was locked, and before he'd turned away from it he'd checked it. The last thing he needed was Greenlee bursting in, wailing on about how he only had eyes for Kendall.

She always sounded surprised by that, didn't she?

She shouldn't be, not really. They both knew the truth, that, both fortunately and unfortunately, he only had eyes for Kendall. Always had been that way and no marriage was going to change that… even if she had married that bastard. Again, that anger increased, all but buzzing beneath his skin.

Jesus… Ryan reached up, rubbing his face and attempting to ease his rage as he kicked absently at his desk. It wasn't supposed to be like this… not after all this time and these last two years he'd been planning… he'd had it all laid out, all planned out, had accounted for every glitch that he had foreseen…

But not this glitch… not this twist… he'd laughed off the rumors, laughed even as he'd felt the clock ticking down. How could she do this? How could she marry him? How could Kendall do this to him!

He opened his eyes, looked down at the paper spread out on his desk, and studied the black and white image of Kendall and Zach. They were standing together, far too close together, and she was grinning at something he was saying. Bastard.

With a groan, he started tearing at the paper, fingers tearing it into pieces that lifted off on small drafts of air and they would probably ruin his suit but why the hell should he care? He could get another suit, but Kendall was one of a kind.

Jumping up, he started tearing even more, throwing shredded pieces away from him and he shook the remains of the paper around, not caring how bad the office was… bastard… he'd had it all planned out! He'd had it set up! How dare that son of a bitch get into this! Growling, Ryan flung what was left away, watching as it hit a wall and then crumbled there at the floor…

Slater… this was his fault… everything came down to Slater… that son of a bitch… groaning, he spun and kicked savagely at the desk, and then kicked it again, harder, wishing it would hit back… Slater… son of a bitch… well, fine, okay, Slater wanted Kendall?

Ryan knew that look on a man's face, knew the way Slater was beginning to stare at Kendall when he thought no one was watching… fine, he wanted Kendall… well, the bastard had to go through Ryan to get her and, as far as Ryan Lavery was concerned, Zach Slater was a dead man.

Micaela looked up from her book at the second knock, realizing with a twinge of guilt that she'd completely blocked out the first one. Tucking the bookmark back into the pages, she set aside the book, rolling off the bed and heading for the door, tugging her clothes down as she did.

Se had just barely opened the door when he strode right past her, stopping in the middle of the room and turning to face her with a rather blatantly annoyed look. "Gee, come right on in, Mr. Chandler," she chirped, and let the door close, leaning back against it as she stared at him standing there reminding her, once again, of a spoiled child.

"I spent all that time trying to get you a room and, all of a sudden, boom, you get one?"

"There was a cancellation. Buddy. Believe it or not, not everybody is out to get you… even if it feels like it." When all he did was glare more, she sighed, shaking her head tiredly. "Look, I left you alone… and I didn't even come back to ask for extra treatment."

"But I bet you still want a plane ride home, don't you?"

"Well, I wouldn't object if you offered."

"You're a real sweetie, you know that?" At her grin, he gave her an odd look and, then, yes, his lip twitched, just the slightest bit and she felt pleased with herself. He sighed, reached up and rubbed his neck, and she rolled her eyes, wishing he'd just go find himself a masseuse and get himself straightened out right.

"I know I'm a sweetie, and, while I enjoy being reminded of this fact, I get the feeling that wasn't a compliment."

"It wasn't."

"I'm sorry."

"That's really nice of you to say, but it doesn't—"

"Help," she finished softly. "It doesn't help what you feel, nothing I could say could help that… but I'm saying it anyway because… that was just nasty. And I was completely in the wrong. You didn't deserve to be attacked, not like that."

"No, I didn't." He hesitated and then sighed, continuing to work at his neck and she wanted to smack him slightly, maybe smack him into healthiness. "Look, I'll let you hop a ride of the Chandler jet back to Pine Valley, but… just stay out of my way from now on, okay?"

"You got it." she leaned away from the door, stepped aside and reopened it, watching as he headed to it… and picking up, with a flash of interest, the slight limp as he walked past her; leaning against the door, she chirped after him "Take care of yourself, Chandler."

His answer was a slight wave of one hand as he turned a corner.

He got back to the room to find a bottle of quality Whiskey sitting on his desk with a note that suggested he numb himself down for tonight. If he hadn't recognized JR's familiar scrawl, he'd have known who his mysterious gift-giver was. Yet, right now, he needed some numbing down.

His coat was laid out on the bed and, quietly taking a seat at the desk, Tad calmly, carefully opened the bottle, filled up the glass and easily drank it down, grimacing at the burning in his throat. He poured another, tossed it back and this one made a difference when it came to that hole inside.

"Heaven help me, I've just forgotten every woman I've ever met."

Yeah, and it had stayed like that, hadn't it? Through how many divorces and affairs? Snorting, he looked at the clock, rolled his eyes at the time… he could tell the time… he definitely needed more booze. He took another glassful, and this time it was strong enough to make him cough.

"If you ever told me that you were having my baby, I'd be the happiest man on Earth."

Oh, yeah, that had gone well! He hadn't taken the stork's visit well and what did she do? She ran off to Switzerland… then she ran off the road! Except, oh, wait… had she actually gone off the road! Ugh… he needed more booze, man. Couldn't JR have brought him a beer hat? He always wanted one of those…

Oh, yeah, definitely more booze!

"The fact is, I never stopped loving you. Not for one, single, solitary minute."

Oh, yeah, and he showed that so well, didn't he? Cheating on her… oh, yes, Liza! And Liza was such a doll wasn't she! Eh, she was a vindictive, selfish, nasty bitch… but what else was new? Hmm… maybe he should tell Adam where Colby was… he got his daughter back, maybe Adam should get back his… too bad he could no longer find Colby.

That bitch ran off, leaving Tad to deal with dealing with… who? Tad looked down at his glass, blinked once and then remembered. Liza! That bitch Liza! Oh… that bitch… bitch… standing, holding his booze like a treasured lover, he slowly eased his way towards the bed. He sat on the edge, swallowing painfully, grimacing.

"Your mother would be so proud of you."

"Yeah, but would she be proud of you?"

Tad shuddered, hiding his head in one hand… shit…

"Yeah, but would she be proud of you?"

No, never… she'd never be proud of this… not his Dixie. Tad groaned, stretched out, pulled the pillow over his head… oh god, what was he going to tell her? What was he going to say? What could he say? Oh god…

He lay on the bed, not sleeping, staring up at the ceiling and feeling so very alone… Mom was gone, back at her home and Cady was with her and, yet again, for another night, he was completely and totally alone. The pain in his back and hips were gone, the pain in his knee was eased… but he still ached.

JR sat up, stood and left the bedroom, leaving his shoes sitting by the bed as he went out to find something to do.

This was usually the time Bess—Miranda—would be up, fussing and wanting an extra hug and cuddle to fall back asleep with… she wasn't here though, not in his arms, murmuring until her eyes closed and her form relaxed against him… he was alone.

The phone rang and, calmly, he answered with a quiet "JR Chandler speaking"…

"JR?"

"Diana?" He was suddenly alert, suddenly awake and, straightening fully, he gave her his full attention. "What do you need? Did something happen?"

"I just… do you have a few hours to talk with me? I really need to talk."

"Um… I'm not sleeping… I'll come right by."

"Good… thanks…"

AN: I wasn't reviews! Give me reviews! Gimme, gimme, gimme! I need them! Give me opinions people! What you like, what you don't completely love! Reviews! Sorry, but I'm a bit starved for reviews this week… I need some extra love!