Lucy watched silently as Tim wrapped his arms around an older woman, hugging her tightly for several minutes. She watched as they pulled apart and the older woman glance her way with kind eyes and a gentle smile. Lucy felt her heart pound when Tim glanced her way with an encouraging grin. She sucked in a breath as he held his hand out for her to take.

She smiled as she approached, taking Tim's hand and gripping it like a life line. Tim's voice was gentle and hopeful as he introduced her to his mother, "Mom, this is my wife Lucy," he turned kind eyes to her and smiled softly, "Lucy, this is my mother Sandra."

Lucy grinned and stuck out her hand for her mother-in-law to shake, but was surprised when she was pulled into a bone crushing hug. Her southern accent heavy and her embrace welcoming, "Nonsense with the handshakes dear, we're family after all," she pulled back and took in the woman who had captured her son's heart and smiled, "It's finally nice to put a beautiful face to the name."

Lucy grinned and glanced at Tim before turning back to his mom, "It's nice to finally meet you too."

Sandra glanced between the couple and motioned for them to come inside. Tim breathed in deep and stepped into his childhood home for the first time in almost ten years. He looked around the foyer and grinned when he noticed that nothing much had changed. The coatrack he had made in middle school still hung on the wall: the same family pictures told the same story to any visitor that walked through the halls. Tim slowly made his way up the stairs into his old bedroom to place their luggage at the foot of the bed. He felt Lucy behind him stand hesitantly in the doorway.

Lucy scanned Tim's old room with interest. She grinned at the baseball and football trophies lining the shelves, the old baseball cap hanging on the bedpost, and the old football jersey hanging on the wall. She slowly moved into the room and began circling it slowly, wanting to take it all in. She smiled gently at the pictures on the dresser: Tim dressed in a baseball uniform, his longer hair peeking out from underneath his ball cap; His wide grin as he stood next to a bullpen, his black cowboy hat dangling from his relaxed grip. She stopped at a picture of Tim dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt standing next to a pretty blonde, not too much younger then him. She had eyes that matched Tim's, her hair hung in loose curls with flowers in her hair; they both were grinning into the camera as the girls head leaned on Tim's shoulder.

Lucy picked it up before turning to Tim with a small smile, her mind already coming up with scenerios of first loves and serious relationships. She smiled softly as she asked about the girl in the picture, "First love?"

She was surprised to see Tim blink quickly as if trying to push back tears. She bit her lip as she placed the frame where she found it. She shook her head and moved to run her fingers through Tim's hair, "Never mind."

Tim moved them to the low bed and sat down, bringing Lucy with him. He grinned as she moved to sit on his lap, but his eyes moved to the dresser on their own accord. He sighed, resting his head on Lucy's shoulder, his voice soft in the large room, "It's my sister Elizabeth; we all called her Izzy, or at least I did," he gave a low chuckle before continuing, "She absolutely hated it."

Lucy sucked in a breath, wanting to tread carefully, "What happened to her?"

Tim sighed, knowing that this question would come up and he'd have to tell her. He tried to ignore the flashbacks and breathed in deep as he turned sad eyes to Lucy, "She was involved in a car accident fifteen years ago. She had just turned sixteen; she was new at driving and didn't know the back roads too well yet."

Lucy blinked quickly and had a feeling there was more to the story, but didn't want to push the narrative too much. She ran her fingers through Tim's short hair, trying to silently let him know that she was there. They sat in silence until there was a soft knock on the doorframe. They both turned to see Sandra in the doorway.

Tim closed his eyes briefly and buried his head in Lucy's hair before turning to his mom with a grin, "Just telling Lucy about my days as an athlete."

Sandra grinned and shook her head, "I'd rather hear about those days then that danged rodeo circuit you was involved with."

Lucy rose an eyebrow at her mother-in-law's distaste for the rodeo and turned back to Tim. He grinned as he gently pushed her off his lap to stand, "The rodeo was fun, mom."

"I bet it was with all those awards you got with it, but the last run nearly got you killed."

He sighed, not wanting to tell Lucy everything in one day so he tried to grin and change the subject, "Good thing I'm just a cop now; no chance of bull horns to the chest. Or any other vital organ."

Sandra just rose an eyebrow before shaking her head, "I put dinner on the stove about an hour ago, and it should be ready soon."

Tim watched as his mom walked away and sighed before turned to glance at Lucy, "She hated the rodeo."

Lucy tried to put herself in Sandra's shoes and felt fear clench her chest when she thought of her future kids getting involved in something dangerous. She shook her head and rose an eyebrow, "She's your mom; of course she's going to hate something that could potentially kill you."

Tim grunted before slowly making his way downstairs into the dining room. His mouth began watering as the smells of homemade cooking filled his senses; he had a weakness for his mom's noodles and bread. He slowly made his way into the kitchen and eyed his mom grabbing a large pitcher of sweet tea. He reached out to take it with a small grin, "I'll take the tea to the table."

He ignored his mom's quiet laugh as he sat the pitcher in the middle of the table. He moved back to the kitchen and glanced around. He smiled at the chicken décor, thinking about how 'country' it was. He cleared his throat and leaned against the door jam, feeling Lucy behind him quietly. He glanced around again before his voice broke the silence, "Is dad going to be home anytime soon?"

His mom sighed as she shook her head, "You know your father, Tim. Unless all the cattle and horses are counted for, he won't be home. You know how stubborn he is."

Lucy giggled and rose an eyebrow in Tim's direction, her voice teasing as she glanced his way, "That explains where your stubborn streak comes from."

Sandra grinned at her new daughter and nodded, her thick southern accent joyful at her son's expense, "You guessed right, Tim and his father are one in the same: both stubborn and straight laced. At least they both have good intentions and big hearts."

Tim rolled his eyes, before turning to Lucy to glare playfully, "Watch it, boot. I can still make you do pushups."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "You're not my TO, so you can't make me do anything."

Their quiet laughter was interrupted by the door to the back porch opening with a loud creak. The turned to see a tall man with gray hair and a thick mustache swoop down to give Sandra a kiss on the cheek. He turned his eyes to Tim with a quiet smile. Lucy noticed that Tim and the newcomer were about the same height and had the same eyes. She watched as the two men embraced quickly before turning to Lucy.

She grinned as Tim motioned to her with a smile, "Dad this is my wife Lucy; Lucy this is my dad, Henry."

Lucy was enveloped in a gentle hug and surrounded by a deep voice, "It's nice to finally meet you, Lucy."

She grinned and nodded, "You too, Henry."

Tim watched and rose an eyebrow as his dad hugged his wife. He glanced at his mom with a raised eyebrow, wondering why his dad was being so welcoming to someone he hadn't met before. She shrugged and turned back to the stove to turn it off.

After the food was served and everyone was settled around the dining room table, Henry glanced at his son with a grin, his voice deep and curious as he addressed his son, "So, tell me Timothy, what's brought you home after all these years? Finally tired of the big city?"

Tim cringed; he hated it when his dad called him 'Timothy'. He smiled and glanced between him mom and Lucy, finally directing his gaze to his dad, "I figured it was time to show Lucy where I came from," he shrugged and glanced at his mom with kind eyes, "I finally took time off work and I missed home too."

A small grunt was his response before Henry turned to Lucy with a small smile, "How did you two meet?"

Lucy slid her eyes to Tim briefly before grinning at his dad, "I met him through work actually."

Henry grinned with a raised eyebrow, "Ah, I like a woman who knows how to shoot a gun," he turned to Tim with a nod, "I think I like her."

Tim rolled his eyes and took a drink of his tea. He sighed as he sat through dinner, Lucy learning of his childhood antics through his parents. He grinned when his dad mentioned his old horse Blaze and all of the adventures they had together; from learning how to ride a horse to becoming a ranch hand for his dad. He had learned discipline and patience with the old horse, he had taught Izzy how to ride on Blaze. His smile slid off as he thought of his baby sister. He felt a stab in his chest when he thought of how much Lucy reminded him of Izzy. Both strong willed, stubborn, and fierce fighters.

He shook the thought of Izzy from his mind as he felt Lucy reach for his hand under the table. He grinned at her before turning to his mom with hopeful eyes, wanting desperately to speed up the dinner so he could show Lucy around the property, "Please tell me you made cherry pie."

His response was his mom placing a steaming pie in the center of the table.

After dessert he watched as Lucy and his mom stood at the sink, chatting and cleaning the dishes. He glanced at his dad before tidying up the dinner table. He was tossing the last bit of trash away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He met eyes that mirrored his own and glanced to the back door. He glanced back at Lucy still chatting and laughing at something his mom said before following his dad outside.

He took a seat on the top step of the porch as his dad leaned against the banister. His deep voice approving for once, "I really like her Tim; she seems feisty as hell," he paused as he glanced down at the wood underneath his feet before glancing back up at his son, "My only wish is that you would have came home sooner; ten years is too long. I know that you call weekly, but still, it's not enough."

Tim glanced out across the field and suddenly wondered why he stayed away so long. As he sat on the porch with his dad he made a promise to come home more. He watched the sun sink low in the sky, casting colors and shadows across the land he used to call home. He breathed in the clean air and tilted his head back, gazing at the trees.

His dad took a seat next to him and fiddled with the glass bottle in his hands before his deep voice broke the comfortable silence, "Tell me a bit more about Lucy: how'd you meet? Where's she from?"

Tim chuckled low as he thought of Lucy and how to describe her. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck before giving his dad the short version of how he and Lucy met; how she was a city girl born and raised; how she had a stubborn streak a mile wide; and how she slowly cracked away at his walls by her infectious optimism and kind heart. He blew out a breath when he was done and smiled softly when his dad nodded his head, an easy grin gracing his face.

"You sound like a school girl when you talk about her."

Tim shook his head and shrugged, "What can I say? She still has that effect on me, even after all this time."

A low hum was his response as his dad grinned and walked back in the house. Tim sat on the porch until the sun disappeared behind the trees, his ideas of showing Lucy the property on hold until morning. In his head he outlined the week and planned to take Lucy camping a night and take her to the rodeo at least once while they were in Texas. He glanced up at the stars that he hardly saw in LA and grinned, happy for once to be home.