After work that night, Jack texted Elizabeth. "You awake?"

"Yes. Where r you?"

"Leaving work. Do you want company?"

"Where's Harper?"

"With my parents."

"Sure. You can come over."

"B there soon."

Elizabeth was relieved once again that she would be seeing Jack very soon. She didn't trust that Ray wasn't going to just stop by again.

She saw his truck pull in so she walked over and unlocked the door. "Hey."

"Hey, Blue Eyes. Are you doing okay?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I heard you had a visitor."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Ray stopped by to see me at the station tonight." They walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Why?"

"He wanted to make sure that I knew where I stood with him and you, for that matter."

"I don't understand."

"He told me that you two had a chat."

"We did. He just showed up, no warning again. Knocked and then walked inside."

He resisted the urge to remind her to lock the door. She wouldn't take that very well.

"He said that you want what's best for Dylan and that meant him being back in your lives."

Elizabeth laughed and then looked at Jack. He wasn't laughing. "What else did he say?"

"He was very certain that you and he were going to be getting back together."

"Jack, you know that will never happen, right? I would never go back to him." He stared at her for a moment. "Jack?"

"Yeah. I guess I knew that...I just.."

"He abused me! I came here to Hyannis for a reason, Jack." She shook her head and fought her tears. "I can't believe you even thought for a moment that I would go back to him."

"Blue Eyes…"

"No, I need you to go, please. Honestly, I thought you were my best friend." She stood and started walking to the door so he followed her.

"I am. Elizabeth, I did trust you. I knew you wouldn't be going back to him. I told him that too but I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure he wasn't trying to force you into anything or threatening you. Please..."

She nodded and wiped her tears with her fingers. "I'm sorry that I assumed the worst."

He gently moved forward and pulled her into his arms. "You are a smart, strong woman, Elizabeth and I do trust you to make the right decision for you and Dylan."

"That right decision doesn't involve me getting back with Ray, I promise."

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad."

He looked down at her, his Elizabeth, and got lost in her eyes. She had a vulnerability there, but also, he could see trust and that was good.

His fingers squeezed between hers as his head tilted down ever so slightly to the right, bringing his lips dangerously close to…

***"'Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)

Here comes the sun, and I say…" ***

Elizabeth stepped back as he pulled the ringing phone from his back pocket and frowned. "I should…" he motioned to the door.

She nodded and locked the door behind him as he walked to his truck. She was disappointed. She didn't want to think that it was the lack of a kiss and the interruption that caused it, but it was and she didn't know what to do about it.

…..

In the truck…

"You're coming to town, Ash?"

"Yes. I miss Harper."

"When do you get in?" He wasn't ever going to deny her a visit with Harper. He believed that every little girl needed her mother so if Ashley was willing, he was too.

"On Sunday afternoon. Maybe we can have dinner?"

"Ash.."

"As friends, Jack. I don't have a hidden agenda with you or anything."

He hesitated for a moment and then agreed. "Dinner will work but with Harper too. Since she's the reason you are coming, right?"

"Yes. Thank you. I will see you Sunday then."

"See you then."

When he hung up, he debated whether to text Elizabeth about the phone call, or at the very least apologize for the interruption. In the end, he just headed home and went to bed.

Sleep didn't come quickly though. He couldn't stop thinking about how close he came to kissing his blue-eyed best friend. It was kind of ironic that his ex-wife was the one that interrupted them.

Saturday went by fast, he worked most of the day and still hadn't texted Elizabeth. He didn't know why he wasn't telling her about Ashley coming but he hadn't. The important thing was she was coming to see Harper and that Harper was okay with seeing her.

Sunday evening came and Jack and Harper were getting ready to go to dinner. When Harper came out of her room, she sat on the couch to wait for her dad.

She was nervous. It had been months since she had seen her mom and it didn't make sense that she was coming to town to see her. She called every other week and they spoke for about ten minutes. She seemed like it was a chore or a duty rather than actually wanting to speak with her.

"Harp?"

She looked up. "Yeah."

"What's wrong? You look upset."

"Nothing."

He sat next to her and looked into her eyes. "You nervous?"

"I just don't know what the point is. I'm sure she doesn't even want to see me."

"Babe, she told me that she misses you."

"I don't believe that. Do you?"

"I don't know. I hope that it is true. I don't know why else she would visit."

…..

At the cottage, Elizabeth was typing away emails and finishing paperwork for the school.

"Did you get your homework done for tomorrow, Dylan?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should see if Harper and Mr. Thornton want to go out to eat," she suggested, wanting to see him after a few days of radio silence.

"They have plans," he told her, still watching TV.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Harper's Mom is in town."

"Ashley?"

"I guess," he said with a shrug.

She sat silently for a moment, feeling something. It almost felt possessive, jealous. But that was crazy. She didn't own Jack. He was free to spend time with anyone he chose.

"Let's go to the diner. I need some ice cream."

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh, what?"

"What flavor?"

"Chocolate."

"Mom, why not just tell Mr. Thornton you like him?"

"He's my friend, Dylan."

"If you say so, but I've seen the way he looks at you and you guys were holding hands."

"I'm going to go change and we can go, okay?"

"Sure but you look fine."

She looked down at her jeans and t-shirt and decided he was right. She didn't need to impress anyone. "Okay then, let's go."

They arrived at the packed diner a little later. They waited about five minutes and then finally found a booth to sit in. Elizabeth went all in and ordered a bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and a chocolate shake with two cherries. Dylan raised his eyebrows at her order and then laughed.

"You hush," she said with a stern look that gave way to a smile.

"I'll take a grilled cheese and chili fries," he told the waitress.

As they waited for their food, they chatted about making another bowling night with the Thornton's.

"Hi, Dyl! Hi, Ms. Thatcher!" Harper greeted as she walked up to their booth.

"Hey, Harp," Dylan said. "Want to eat with us?"

"Can't. I'm with my parents. Just headed to the bathroom." Elizabeth looked where Harper gestured and she saw them. Ashley was gorgeous. Perfect blond hair, perfect makeup, thin, dressed well. Now she wished she had changed and done her hair.

"Mom," Dylan said after Harper walked away.

"Yeah."

"You're much prettier than her."

"I should have changed," she muttered.

She looked at Jack's table again and fought the urge to leave. Ashley placed her hand on Jack's, leaning close to him.

"Let's just go. I don't want to be here tonight." She looked at the waitress who was approaching with their food. "I'm sorry. Can you box this up? I'm not feeling well."

"Of course."

Ten minutes later, they were on the road again, headed home, Elizabeth fighting her tears.

"Mom, just tell him. I know he likes you too. I can tell. And you are a much better mother than Harper's mom."

"Thanks, baby. Why don't we watch a movie when we get home?"

"Okay."

...

Ashley was getting remarried, of all things. And she was moving out of Texas to Savannah, Georgia. She wanted Harper to be present at her wedding, which was next summer, and maybe even spend Thanksgiving and get to know Adam, her fiancé.

When Harper had gone to the bathroom, she complimented Jack on his parenting, telling him Harper seemed happy, well-adjusted, and more mature than the last time she had seen her.

He didn't know what to think of anything she had mentioned except he did agree that Harper was happier, even if a bit moody.

"Earth to Dad…."

"Huh?"

"I asked if you had seen Ms. Thatcher and Dylan at the diner. They were sitting across the room."

"They were there?"

"Yes. They left pretty quick though."

So, more than likely, Elizabeth had seen him and Ashley and probably wondered why he hadn't told her about the visit. "Great." Now he really needed to talk to her.

…..

Jack laid awake in his bed well into the night. He felt desperate to talk to Elizabeth and straighten everything out. He should have told her Ashley was coming into town. It was as simple as that. Why hadn't he? Mostly, it was that Ashley's presence took him off guard. He didn't have feelings for her anymore. Not in a romantic sense. He was happy for her that she was moving on and wished her all the best. Now more than before he wanted to do whatever was needed to make a future with Elizabeth. It all seemed too good to be true. Especially now that this misunderstanding loomed over them.

He'd sent her a text before going to bed that night, but she had yet to respond.

"Come on Elizabeth. Just reply." Suddenly he worried something was wrong. What if Ray had shown up and something happened to her or Dylan? Even though it was probably just the late hour talking, he needed to know for sure that she was okay.

At the cottage, Elizabeth had spent the past couple hours in and out of sleep. Regardless of whether she was awake or not, her thoughts rested on Jack. He made her happy, so much happier than she could remember feeling in a long time. She'd told herself over and over again that she didn't want a relationship, and had no room or desire for one in her life.

"Who am I kidding?" She growled and climbed out of bed. She went out into the kitchen for a glass of water. Leaning against the counter she thought about all her memories with Jack, both new and old. After all the years and all she'd been through, Jack was still in her heart. He'd probably always be there.

"If he's going to be with Ashley again, I can't stop him. She's Harper's mother. If she wants a chance, I have to let that be okay."

That was easier said than done and she knew it. The memory of Ashley's hand on his at the diner was like daggers in her heart.

"I'll have to cut ties. There's no other way. I can't be around him and not feel something for him. I just can't."

She placed her cup in the sink and headed back up the stairs to her room. She was almost to the top of the stairs when she heard her phone vibrating in the otherwise quiet house.

"Hello?"

"Elizabeth? Thank goodness, are you alright?"

"Jack? Yes, I'm fine. Are you? Why are you calling so late?"

"I, um, well I texted you but I never heard back."

"Oh, I'm fine. Just been a busy night."

"That's all?"

"Yup." Of course that wasn't all, but it was easier than asking "Why didn't you tell me your ex was in town and that you were meeting her and…." Yeah, this was easier.

"Harper said you and Dylan were at the diner tonight."

"Oh, yes. We were."

"You should have said hi."

"You looked busy."

"Not too busy for you." His statement was met with silence. "Elizabeth, about tonight and what you saw…"

"Jack, it's late. Can we talk about this later?"

"Sure. I guess."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Blue Eyes."

…..

The next day Elizabeth woke up feeling like she hadn't slept in a month. The first thing she did was turn on the coffee pot. Today was going to be a large cup of coffee day for sure. She put fruit on the table and pulled the cereals from the cupboard before going to wake up Dylan.

He was acting how she felt that morning. After trying three times to wake him up naturally and receiving numerous extremely annoyed and not pleasant requests to be left alone, she decided to be a little more diabolical.

Taking a small mixing bowl out of the drawer, she filled it with ice and headed back up.

"Last chance Dylan Christopher. 1… 2… 3…"

"Back off," he groaned.

"Alright. You asked for it." She gently poured the ice cubes on his exposed back.

"ARGH!"

Elizabeth bit her tongue to hold her laugh as her son leaped out of bed and danced around trying to get the cold ice as far away from him as possible.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. You were such a pill this morning."

"How is this the answer?" he pointed to the bed.

"Well, you're out of bed, aren't you? And now that the bed is wet, you're not going back to sleep."

He shook his head slowly. "Well played, Mom. Well played."

"Go take a warm shower. I'll have breakfast ready when you get down."

"Okay." He headed off to the bathroom while Elizabeth began cleaning up the ice and stripping the bed. "Did I say something mean in my sleep again?"

"Kind of, yeah."

He winced. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I know you're a sweet son when you're awake." She smiled. "However, I do think it's time we get you your own alarm clock. You're not a little boy anymore."

"Okay."

By the time Dylan made it downstairs, Elizabeth had put the cold cereal back in the cupboard. She placed a warm plate with eggs and bacon in front of him.

"Wow, thanks, Mom. Is this your apology for my wake up treatment?"

"I guess so," she laughed. "You forgive me?"

"I would have anyway, but the bacon is nice."

Elizabeth's phone dinged with a text. It was from Jack. She debated whether to answer or not. As much as she wanted to avoid the topic of him and his ex wife, she did care about Jack and didn't want to be rude.

"Who is it, Mom?"

"Mr. Thornton. Harper would like to ride her bike to school today and he'd feel better if she didn't do it alone."

"I'll ride with her." Dylan took a large sip of his juice. "I'll ride to her house and we can go together."

"You two will be safe? Ride from her house to school and back at the end of the day?"

"I promise it."

She turned back to her phone.

"Dylan will meet her at ur house in a bit."

"Thanks. I feel better about it now. You free to talk today?"

"I don't know. I need to check my schedule."

"K. Let me know."

After breakfast Elizabeth loaded up the car for work.

"Dylan, I'm putting the bike rack on the car in case you and Harper don't want to ride home later or the weather goes bad."

"Thanks, Mom." Dylan stood in the shed to the side of the cottage, checking the tires on his bike. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"If I see Dad ever when I'm biking, what should I do?"

Elizabeth hated that he felt the need to ask that question, but grateful that he was smart enough to think of it.

"You get someplace safe and call me right away. If you can't get ahold of me, you can call your grandparents or Aunt Vi."

"Or Mr. Thornton?"

She nodded, knowing that no matter what was going on between her and Jack, he'd always look out for her son. "Yes, or Mr. Thornton."

"Okay."

"Are you worried?"

"Not totally. I just figured if I knew what to do, and something happened, maybe I wouldn't be so freaked out about it."

"Smart boy." She walked over and gave him a hug. "I love you. Stop by the office and let me know you two have made it in, okay?"

"Can do." He put on his helmet and with a wave he was off.