III

"Dad, you were pretty mean to that lady last night." Carl said from his seat at the kitchen table where he was eating a bowl of cereal, while Rick drank a cup of coffee at the counter.

"Well, if you haven't run off with a stranger instead of staying on timeout, then none of that would have happened at all."

Carl slurped up his milk and shrugged. "I guess."

Rick couldn't help but chuckle at his son's ability to bounce back from any situation. He watched the boy take his bowl to the sink, climb on his stepstool and begin to wash it.

"Before you got there she was really nice."

"I figured, your lips are still blue today."

Carl giggled. "Can I go out in the lobby while I wait for Sophia?"

"Sure, but don't bother any of the guests."

"Okay."

Rick watched as he ran off to the door that lead to the guest side of the lodge. He couldn't help but to think about the alluring woman he'd been drenched by last night. She was rather beautiful even though she was upset with him. When he looked up from his coat and caught sight of her he was spellbound but he couldn't stand there blubbering at her so he just doubled down on his stupidity.

He'd been having a bad day, Carl kept talking back to him after he picked him up from school then the frozen drink was all over him, compounding all the day's events. He really should have apologized since he knew she hadn't done it on purpose. Also since it was his sons fault she was in the shop in the first place. But it was too late now, she had stormed off to whichever hotel she was staying at in town. He had to forget about her and get back to his worries.

Rick finished his coffee and headed to the lodges kitchen. The resident handyman was in there tying up a trash bag.

"Earl, you know that's not your job. I was coming in here to handle that."

"It's no problem, I was just finished changing the fluorescent bulbs that blew, I had to put the box and wrappings in the trash. I might as well tie up the full bag, I'm not a monster."

Rick chuckled and patted his back. "Thank you."

"How did it go yesterday?"

Rick crossed his arms and sighed. "It didn't. They said the lodge was too big of a risk to give another loan."

"What? But the lodge has been doing business with that branch since it opened."

"I know but, what can I do?"

"We can go to another bank and get a loan from them?"

"Yeah, maybe…" Rick said while shaking his head.

"Oh no, Rick don't let this discourage you. This is just a minor setback." He said, trying to offer the man an encouraging smile.

"I don't know Earl…" Rick chewed his lip.

The older man walked over after he sat the garbage bag near the back door. "You know I used to have a drinking problem."

"Yeah..." sympathy was plain on Rick's face.

"I started drinking before my oldest Kenneth was born, I don't even remember when the first time I saw him was. I joined AA after that and got sober but, I relapsed when Kenny was two. Me and Tammy were barely making ends meet. I guess the stress of it all got to me."

Earl exhaled. "I had stopped at McDuffy's in town then picked Kenny up from the sitters who didn't want to hand him over, but I took him. She must've called Tammy and she pulled me off the road. I thought for sure she would be gone after that, instead she said I needed help. I never took a drink after that. We swore to stay together no matter what and that's what we would do."

Rick nodded. "I get what you are saying, this is an obstruction."

"Yes, but also we are family and committed to each other. We include you and Carl in our family, you're like a son and grandson to us. We will figure this out, okay?"

Rick's eyes welled up and he embraced Earl. They patted the others back before they separated, wiping their eyes.

"Where's Tammy?"

"She was making sure the cook had the breakfast buffet setup correctly this time."

"Was there something wrong with it again?"

"You know Tammy, she thinks the food should be put out in a certain order." the older man shrugged and Rick snickered.

"Well, he did forget that tray of muffins. I'll take them out, thanks Earl." Rick grabbed the tray that was covered in plastic wrap.

"Of course."

Rick carried it out and down the hallway into the banquet room. Some of the resorts guests had already ventured down to the dining area and were preparing their plates. As he made his way to the row of buffet tables, he looked over and couldn't believe who he was seeing.

It was the beautiful woman from last night in sneakers, tight yoga pants and a sporty fleece jacket that was partially unzipped to reveal her sports bra under it. Her body was lean and athletic except for her butt which was full and plump. Squeezable, was really the first word that popped into his mind. She was here at his lodge, but how? When?

"Close your mouth before the drool spills out." he was surprised by Tammy who came to stand next to him while he gawked.

"I wasn't-" he stuttered.

"Yes, you were. She is stunning, you should go talk to her."

"W-What? No, I can't." he stammered out.

"What do you mean you can't? You are a lonely widower and-"

Rick turned to look at Tammy. "Lonely widower?"

She just smirked and shrugged.

"I was going to say I can't because last night in town, we had a run in that didn't go very well."

"Well here's your chance to apologize, offer her a muffin." Tammy placed a hand on his back and gently shoved him forward.

He faltered in his step by fought his nerves and walked in her direction. Her back was now turned to him as she chatted with another guest but just as he got closer the conversation must have ended because she turned around. Her eyes popped open in shock then her mouth dropped into a frown. She looked down at the tray in his hands and back to his face before she attempted to walk off. He approached, blocking her way to the buffet.

"Good Morning."

She just glared at him so he continued.

"I…I'm sorry about last night."

She still didn't say anything but crossed her arms pushing up his ample breasts. They were on partial display and Rick had to battle to keep his eyes locked on her face.

"It wasn't your fault what happened to my coat and you were just trying to look out for my son. I really should be thanking you."

"You should." she tried to go around him but he side stepped to stop her. "Can I go have breakfast?"

"Yes, would you like a muffin?"

"No, I would not." he let her escape but followed her to the table, placing the muffins down near the bagels so he wouldn't gain Tammy's ire too.

"Thank you." he implored.

"Carl's welcome." she fixed her plate as he followed her. "Do I have to call hotel security?"

"You could but Lew works for me so…"

She turned to look at him. "What do you mean he works for you?"

"This is my lodge, I own it."

She didn't even acknowledge what he'd just said, she just began to walk to a table. He found himself trailing her again. She sat at a table with two other women and they looked up at him.

"Good Morning." he greeted them.

"Good Morning." they said back but their faces were questioning what was going on.

"I'm Rick Grimes, I just wanted to say hello and make sure your stay here was going well."

"It is, I'm Yumiko, this is Andrea and that's Michonne." he couldn't help but catch the way she subtly glared at the woman who introduced them.

"Well, thank you for stopping by but I don't need an audience while I eat." Michonne informed him.

"Uh, sure thing. Enjoy your day ladies."

"You too." Andrea replied as he backed away.

Rick went back to Tammy, who was holding in a laugh.

"You really messed up with her. What exactly did you do last night?"

"The usual, I screwed up." he pinched the bridge of his nose.

After the friends completed their breakfast, they went to Andrea's room to get ready for a quick call from Gregory before it was time for their yoga class. They all sat on the bed with the IPad setup and ready for the FaceTime call. Once the device rang, they all took deep breathes and Andrea slid the button to accept the call.

"There goes my dream team!"

"Hi, Gregory." they all responded as enthusiastically as they could muster.

"I expect to see good things from you all."

"Gregory, we've only just-" Yumiko started to say before he cut her off.

"How do you think I built all of this?" he gestured around him even though they couldn't see it. "I picked the right people for the job, I'm good at this. I don't get hung up on the details."

"Yes but-" Michonne started to explain.

"You see what I have here. What I built." he continued his usual grandstanding.

"Yes." they all shook their heads instead of speaking so they wouldn't accidentally tell him what they really thought.

"Guess who's here in my office…Negan Smith!" Gregory announced rather giddily and a man they were all familiar with came into view.

The trio sat up straighter surprised by the client's presence.

"Well, hello ladies." Negan announced with a devious smirk on his face.

Andrea jumped in to speak since he was her client. "Hello, Mr. Smith. You didn't have to visit the office for an appraisal. I will be formulating an updated dossier for your assistant once I've returned with the details I discover on this inquest."

"I'm sure but once I saw the three little birdies that Gregory has out there scouting, I just had to get personally involved. In fact, when you get back from the trip, I'd love to sit down with Ms. Hawthorne and go over some things. See what we could work out." Negan grinned.

Michonne had to fight to keep her face straight, the other ladies did as well. "I will have my clerk check my schedule to see whether I'll be available for that once I return."

Gregory jumped in. "Well, you do that Michonne. Mr. Smith here is one of-"

Negan eyed him and he backtracked. "He is the top priority. So you will meet with him as soon as you return."

"I look forward to it." Negan's smile was wider than the Cheshire cats.

"Okay, Sir." Michonne responded.

"I'm looking forward to hearing all about what you've dug up for me." the slick man smirked.

Gregory turned his device back towards his face. "Thank you ladies, it's been a good talk." Then the chat ended abruptly.

"What the hell, I'm the attorney that covers his dealings and he wants to see you?" Andrea complained then her friends glared at her.

"That's not the point." Yumiko corrected.

"Oh sorry, he's a pig. They are both assholes. We are going to figure out our plan before you have to deal with him." Andrea corrected.

"I think we should begin with strictly online work, no physical office so we can meet remotely with our clients over Zoom and travel to them when necessary. It will save us lots of money on renting an office space in the city." Michonne suggested.

"That makes sense and we wouldn't be limited in the clientele we could take on by locale. I have a list of our regulars that we worked with before coming to Barrington. Hopefully, they will be willing to take a chance on us again. Any leads on investors Andrea?" Yumiko inquired.

"A few I'm considering, but I think they would want majority ownership and that won't work for us. I'm still investigating but I'm confident."

"Good, we should meet tonight to plan out further details for our startup." Michonne stated but her two friends eyed each other. "What?"

"We both kind of, have plans?" Yumiko responded.

"Wait, we came here to work on this venture. And now you two want to run off, for what?"

"Spenser and Magna signed us up for a campfire outing." Andrea replied.

"It's kind of a…couple thing." Yumiko grinded her teeth together.

Michonne huffed. "Fine, I'll just strategize, write up some proposals and be ready to pitch them to you both tomorrow."

"Why don't you come? You suggested this weekend to relax, we feel bad leaving you behind to work alone." Andrea fretted.

"Yumi just said it's a couple thing. I'm not going to be the sixth toe."

Andrea contemplated. "I know! What about that guy, Rick? He followed you all around the buffet this morning and he's pretty cute."

Michonne rolled her eyes and climbed off the bed to stand. "Pass."

"Why?"

"Remember the guy I told you about last night?" they both nodded before realization struck them.

"But he did come to apologize." Yumiko reasoned.

"Too little, too late. And I just gave him the cold shoulder, what would I look like asking him out after all of that?"

"Like a woman trying to get laid..." Andrea said under her breath even though they could both clearly hear her.

Yumiko lightly wacked her arm even though she held in a giggle. "Look, you came to decompress and there's no better way to do that then with a massive orgasm."

Andrea laughed while Michonne's jaw dropped. "I'm not going to sleep with that man."

"No one said anything about sleeping. We know you, you avoided looking at him like he had the plague. You are clearly attracted to him."

Michonne opened her mouth to rebuke the statement but his twinkling blue eyes, full bottom lip and chiseled jaw returned to the forefront of her mind. Hate fuck, popped in her head. But the way he was forceful with her made her imagine him in control and bossing her around. She could let her walls down and enjoy taking direction from him as he... She shook the errant thoughts from her head. But it was too late, she realized as her friends smiled at her, leaning their bodies towards her in anticipation.

"No!" she waved her hands back and forth.

"Yes!"

Michonne shook her head side to side to make her point but they nodded theirs up and down while their smiles widened.

"Michonne, loosen up a little. You're here for the weekend and you are allowed to have some fun."

"Ride that cowboy!" Andrea clambered off the bed and pretended to be riding a bull, waving her hand in the air for the full effect.

The trio laughed before Michonne slightly sobered. "I'll consider it but in the meantime, let's go to yoga. I definitely need to unwind now."

After yoga was over, the girls went back to their individual rooms to shower. Up next was horseback riding which Michonne was looking forward to, but Andrea and Yumiko said they were too sore to even attempt the activity so they would attend a mindfulness workshop instead. So Michonne dressed in thick leggings, a heavy sweater, puffy vest and riding boots then ventured down to the lobby to head over to the barn. But once she got out of the hotels front door and rounded the building she saw someone else she'd met last night.

"Carol?" the woman walked over to her.

"Hi, Michonne, right? How's the retreat going?"

"It's really just begun but it's good so far. We just finished a great yoga session. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I supply the pastries and desserts here. I run a small farm with my husband but I have to do something when the produce isn't growing in the winter."

"Makes sense. Just surprised you are doing business with this owner."

"Why?"

"He's an ass is all." seemingly on queue, the man in question came into view with another taller man, headed to a van parked nearby.

Carol chuckled. "Rick's not so bad. You've just got to give him a chance, you may be surprised."

Michonne looked over to see him talking to the other man as they carried boxes inside.

"If you say so."

Carol looked to be deciding what to share before she went on. "After his wife died, he could have left and sold this place but he stayed, keeping the staff employed. That's got to count for something."

"His wife died?"

"Yeah, a few years ago in a car accident. He raises Carl with the help of the town. He's just going through a tough time right now so maybe give him a second chance."

"I guess."

"Here, try one of my beet cookies." Carol raised the container in her hands.

"Beets?" Michonne raise an eyebrow.

"Don't knock it until you try it." she popped the lid and Michonne reluctantly reached in to take one.

She looked it over, sniffed it before taking a bite. It was surprisingly delicious.

Carol grinned at her reaction. "Good, huh?"

"Yes, these are amazing."

"See you can judge something that you've had a bad experience with before, then you give it another chance and it turns out to be great." Carol beamed.

"I get it." Michonne smirked.

"Let me get back to unloading these, I'll see you around Michonne."

"Thanks, Carol."

The grey haired woman smiled and toted her tray inside while Michonne carried on to the barn, finishing the cookie.

Everyone who was present for horseback riding had to participate in a short training and sign waivers of liability before they were given gear and assigned horses. The group was told to use the buddy system for the ride and Michonne looked around as everyone started to pair off. She saw Gabriel, the bald timid guy who she met yesterday at the ice breaker, shyly smile at her and go to take a step in her direction before he was intercepted by the artsy woman, Jadis. She grabbed his arm and whisked him away, even though he continued to glance regretfully at Michonne over his shoulder.

"Remind me to thank her later." Michonne mumbled to herself.

"Thank who?" A familiar southern voice startled her, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

"What the hell?" she clutched her chest and turned around to see Rick stood behind her.

"Sorry." he looked truly contrite.

"Can I help you?"

"I was actually thinking I could help you." he muttered.

"How so?"

"You need a partner; I'll ride with you." Rick motioned to the horses.

Michonne was all ready to turn him down but the previous conversation with Carol and not to mention the one with her friends came rushing back. She couldn't help but to look him over, his dark wash straight leg jeans showed off the sexy curve in his legs. He wore a plaid button up shirt with a puffy vest over it like hers. She noticed his dark curls had glimmers of medium and light brown tones in them when the sun reflected off of them.

"I suppose you would be the best teacher since you do own the place."

"You'd think." Rick tilted his head and snickered.

Something about that slant of his head inexplicably turned her on. "Fine, let's do it."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, lets ride."

He laughed outright then.

"You know what I mean." she stuttered.

"Don't quit now, you can get one more in. Something about bareback."

Michonne couldn't help but chuckle too. "Anyways, let's go."

As the alluring woman walked ahead of him to grab her riding gloves, Rick couldn't help but to catch a peek at her assets again. He was happily surprised that she'd agreed to allowing him to be her partner. He was all ready for the rejection so he nearly did a little dance when she accepted. But he controlled himself in more than one way, he could feel the sexual desire taking hold of him whenever she interacted with him. It had been quite a while since he had met someone that provoked such a carnal physical response from him.

Rick followed her, watching as she rubbed the side of Sunday, the dark brown horse she was allocated and whispered to it. Her comfortability let him know she had some experience with horses before.

"Hey, Rick you riding today?" asked Aaron the horse trainer.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've done anything fun. Tammy says I need to relax." Rick raised a hand.

"Sounds good, I'll get Blade." Aaron smiled then jogged inside.

Rick walked over to Michonne who looked down at the stirrup. "Need some help mounting?"

"I think I do, I'm used to having a block to step on." she placed her hands on her hips and bit her lip, sending chills straight to his groin.

"Grab the reigns with one hand, place your left leg in the stirrup then use your right leg to push off the ground. It's important to place your right hand on the other side of the saddle so some of your body weight is over there and you are balanced. I'll give you a boost."

She easily accepted his instruction, again shocking him. He moved in closer and watched as she lifted one shapely leg high into the strap. She bounced a few times before she raised herself up and he tactically placed his hands on her thighs to gently push her higher. She gracefully swung her leg over, sat on the horse, adjusted her position and slid her foot into the other stirrup. Once she was comfortable, she turned to Rick with a bright teeth displaying smile. He was nearly floored by the fact that he'd not only gotten his hands on her willingly, but to be the recipient of a joyous expression instead of the attitudinal ones was gratifying. He didn't have too much time to bask in it as Aaron returned with his brown horse with the white patch on its face.

"Thanks Aaron." Rick patted his horses side and smiled, realizing he did miss the majestic animal. He quickly and smoothly mounted her and rubbed her mane.

"If you had a hat, you'd look just like the Marlboro man." Rick looked over to see Michonne simpered at him and he blushed.

"We should catch up with the group." he kicked off to hide his bashfulness and his horse began to step forward. Michonne's followed his at first until she gave it a small tug and Sunday came to parallel his horses position.

They rode in comfortable silence as they neared the back of the party but they kept a little distance between them. Rick didn't want to disturb her taking in the landscape with the awe inspiring mountain backdrop that still captivated him. But he couldn't help but look over at this woman and her regal beauty as she rode confidently. He pictured her strong legs straddling him before she glanced over at him making him quickly face forward.

"So what did you mean when you said Carl knew this town better than other people?" Michonne asked distracting him from his thoughts.

"This is where his mother's family is from."

Her eyes bulged. "Oh- I didn't mean to bring that up. I…heard she passed."

"It's okay, how'd you know?"

"Carol, kind of told me. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, but it's been some time now."

"How long? If you don't mind me asking." she nearly whispered.

"Three years."

"Oh."

"That surprises you?"

"Only because you still wear your ring."

Rick held his hand up and glanced at the band. "Yeah, I never really saw a reason to remove it."

They rode on further before she remembered what they had been speaking about, before this touchy subject.

"Oh, so you aren't from here?"

"No, I'm from Georgia. We moved here when Carl was a baby."

"Wait, you are from Georgia?"

"Yeah, is that so hard to believe." he glanced at her questioningly.

"No, actually. Your accent makes sense now."

Rick chuckled. "Is that so?"

"I'm from Georgia too."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I just lost my southern twang over time, not that it was as prominent as yours. Plus, in my experience it didn't go over well for me in the job market. Trying to get a job as a lawyer in a big firm in New York, people somehow assume you are less intelligent with a Southern accent. Add being a woman and Black to it, just made it damn near impossible to be taken seriously."

"You seem very capable to me."

"Thank you, if that was a compliment." she smirked.

"It was." he smiled.

They rode on a little more before he spoke up.

"If I may ask, what are you doing at this retreat? You don't really seem the type."

Michonne snickered. "That's because I'm not. My friends and I needed a break from work but now this has partly turned into it."

"How so?"

"My friends and I are attorneys and we kind of told our boss we were coming out here to scout for a client so we could get the days off. He decided to pay for some expenses so now he has expectations. He's asking questions and there actually is a client that's interested in expanding his hotel and hospitality properties."

"Mhm…"

"So now we have to come back to them with something."

"That's funny."

"In what way?"

"I just may be in the market to sell."

Michonne was confounded. "What, why?"

"You are a guest here and I probably shouldn't be sharing this with you but…I think I'm in over my head."

"You seem to be very capable." she threw his words back at him and they snickered.

"This was my wife's family's property. We came here to take over when her father got too old to run it anymore. He eventually passed then Lori and I did it together."

Rick reached down to pat his horse that neighed. "But once she died, it was all on me. I want to have this place for Carl's legacy but its proving more difficult than I expected." Michonne nodded her understanding and he continued.

"But now, I feel like I'm here just looking at ghosts of what could have been."

"You have a community that seems to really care for you two. I'm sure you will figure it out."

"Hopefully."

Michonne looked off into the sunset and Rick glanced at her. She looked so comfortable on the horse so royal and beautiful. He decided to acknowledge his previous behavior to her again.

"Umm, I'm really sorry about being an ass yesterday at the market."

"An ass, you? Noo."

Rick chuckled. "I wasn't in the best mood."

"That's totally understandable. We all have our days." she shrugged.

They rounded the bend that brought them back to the stables and Rick realized he wasn't ready for his time with her to end. She wasn't just a pretty face and he was actually enjoying her company but he didn't want to push it. He dismounted Blade while the steed slowly stepped and passed her reigns to a stable boy before he turned to help Michonne down. His fingers itched for contact as she stood, he reached up to grasp her waist supporting her as she climbed down.

Once she was safely on the ground, he stood very close behind her, hearing her exhale. His own breathing had accelerated as well and he smelled the sweet scent of her shampoo. It was only when she pivoted her neck to look at him that he realized he still held her. He dropped his hands and took a step back giving her space. He could have sworn that she looked disappointed before she turned away.

"Michonne!"

A couple he knew well, waved at her. It was Glenn and Sasha, they had taken their gear off already having been at the front of the pack and walked over.

"Rick? You rode with Michonne?" Glenn regarded him while Sasha coyly smiled.

"Yep, yeah. She was short a buddy."

"Well, that was sweet." Sasha added. "Why don't you join us for dinner, Siddiq is making his famous Guyanese dishes. Michonne won't mind if you tag along."

Sasha looked to Michonne who looked staggered so Rick jumped in to let her off the hook.

"I would, but I have to check on some stuff and things. Not to mention Carl." he sighed since he did have a child and a business to check on.

Again, he could've sworn Michonne looked let down before she stepped forward and handed him her gear. "Thanks for accompanying me. I'll see you around, I guess."

"You're welcome." he began to grin at her but she had already done a 180 and started walking back to the lodge with Sasha beside her. Glenn remained and glowered at him.

"What?"

"I know you are the owner and you should normally keep your distance from guests but that was a real dumbass move." Glenn patted his shoulder then jogged off to catch up with his wife and their new acquaintance.

Rick just stood there and watched them depart. "I screwed up, once again."

A/N***~~~Hey, I'm so behind on responding to reviews, sorry but I will get to them asap. The site was acting up and life just got in the way too.

Oh yes, to anyone that was thinking Glenn and Sasha? lol Maggie snatched him up so fast like damn nobody else got a chance lol But, I recently saw some pics of Steven and Sonequa on red carpets together (google them) and they look amazing together so… Glesha? Sashlenn? Who knows? lmao

So here's a nice long chapter to hold you over but I think I'll put the next chapter up now too or tomorrow. Plus, the Valentine's Day one-shot will be up Friday! Then I'll get back to Meantime, next week.

Thank You for reading my work for SIX months now! Crazy, right? And to Ringleader1010, you creating cover art for me and other authors is awesome! You have your own life going on and you still post those daily Andy/ Rick & Richonne pics to keep our TL's sexy. We all appreciate you *Muah*

Here's to Keeping Richonne Alive!