It was Sunday morning and time for breakfast.

"Hunter James, if you don't want to go hungry, you better get down here to breakfast!" Elizabeth yelled up the stairs. She was forgoing her usual five mile run so she could have breakfast with her boys but Hunter was taking forever.

Finally, he ran down the stairs and sat down, his hockey helmet on his head.

"Um, bud? No helmets at the table," Jack told him.

"I need to make sure it still fits. You keep saying I'm growing like a weed."

"Yes, but it's not necessary to test your helmet at the table. Please take it off."

"But, can't I…"

"No, sir."

Hunter sighed, and slowly, like the speed of a sloth, unbuckled the chin strap. Then, keeping his eyes on his parents, he lifted the helmet up.

"Hunter!" Elizabeth gasped. "What did you do?"

Jack snorted and then bit his lip. Elizabeth touched his partially clipped hair. "I wanted to do it myself. I used Dad's cutter thing and I thought I could do it. That thing cuts really good!"

Jack laughed this time. Elizabeth glared at him, stopping him. "Why did you want to cut your hair? I thought you wanted to be cool like those hockey players and let it grow." She loved his curls.

"I did but then Josh and Keith said I look like a girl. I'm not a girl!"

"That wasn't kind of them to say that, but, love, you should have told me you wanted to cut your hair. Now, we may need to cut it pretty short to fix this."

"Not too short! Come on, I need to be cool, Mom."

"I will try. Now let's eat our breakfast and get on with our day."

Partway through the meal, Lee knocked and stuck his head in the door. "Morning?"

"Hey, Lee. Come on in."

"Am I early? I though you wanted me here at eight, Jack."

"You're on time. We are eating late. Want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure. I'll get it." Lee helped himself as they finished.

"Go for your run, Thornton?" Lee teased her.

"Nope. Sunday's my day off. Did you go?"

"Nah. Rosie had me over at the crack of dawn to look at flower arrangements. I, for one, don't have a clue about them so I have no idea why in the world she keeps trying to get my opinion. Isn't that something you are supposed to be helping with, Beth?"

"Well, yes but have you met me? I know less about flowers than you. I'm sticking to smiling and nodding when she gives me the dress I'm supposed to wear and throwing the bridal shower."

"How do you throw a shower, Mom? I don't think you can lift them."

Elizabeth laughed. "A bridal shower is a party, Hunter. Doesn't have anything to do with an actual shower."

"Oh."

Elizabeth started clearing the table. "So what are you and my handsome husband up to today, Lee?"

"We are going to frame the gym and office downstairs, from what I'm told."

"That's wonderful! I cannot wait to see them finished."

"Me either, that being said, I'm super grateful for the distraction from wedding chaos." Lee headed down the stairs and then yelled back up. "Oh! Rosie wanted me to remind you and Jack about cake tasting tonight. It's at seven. We could do dinner before, if you want."

"Yay!" Hunter said with a fist pump to the air. "Does that mean I get to go to Grammie and Pop's?"

"Yes it does."

"Everything is awesome," he sang at the top of his lungs as he ran up the stairs.

Jack stepped close to Elizabeth, backing her up against the counter, his hands on either side of her hips. "So just us tonight, huh?" he asked, kissing her softly. "I like that idea."

"Me too. Doesn't happen often."

"Nope." He kissed her again and then walked away. "Looking forward to it."

She blushed and turned back around. So was she.

"Mom! Can you fix my hair now? Please!"

"Give me five minutes, Hunt."

"Ok."

DOWNSTAIRS

"Wow, man. This place is a good size for what you're building."

"Yeah. I think so too. Thanks for helping, Lee. I could do it myself or ask Tom, but it would take forever. If you and I work on it as much as we can, it shouldn't take longer than a month, tops."

"Glad to help. Anything to pass the time."

"Let's get this framed out and then drywall up. Do you think a half bath makes sense in this corner?"

"Definitely. She would love that but I'm not a plumber. You'll need to get a pro in here for that."

"My dad can do it. I think I'll surprise her with the bathroom."

"Jack." Lee stopped hammering and looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Will you be my best man?"

"Sure."

"Good. See, in my opinion, you saved Beth. From her grief mostly. I've never been more grateful to you."

"She saved me, Lee. I needed her and so did Hunter. Sure, we were getting by but, let's just say, I'm grateful that I decided to break the law that day."

"You know you're talking to a cop, right?"

"Nah, right now you're just my friend."

UPSTAIRS

"Not too much, remember?" Hunter sat on the toilet bouncing his legs, apparently nervous.

"Hunt, listen. I'm doing the best I can but you need to hold still. Bouncing doesn't help at all."

"Sorry." She used scissors to clip away the longest curls so they matched the ones he had tackled himself. Then she took a bit off his neck and used the clippers on the sides.

When all was done, he looked pretty cute. She handed him a mirror. "Ok, what do you think?"

"Eh, not bad," he said with a grin.

"Not bad, huh? Not bad? I oughta arrest you." She picked him up and hung him upside down from his legs.

"For what?" he said, giggling loudly.

"Um….hmmm. Let me think about it a minute."

"Think faster! I ate breakfast, you know!" he said, still laughing.

"Good point." She turned him right side up. "I got it. Cutting your own hair without a license."

"Do you have a license?"

"Well, no, but I didn't cut my own. Just yours."

"Are you really gonna arrest me?"

"No. But I need you to tell me next time if you want a haircut. Don't touch Daddy's clippers." She stood and looked at him, hands on her hips. "Deal?"

"Deal."

"Good boy. Now go pack your bags for tonight, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am." He ran toward the door and then turned around and ran back. He threw his arms around her waist and smiled up at her. "Thank you for not arresting me."

She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead. "I should just because you're so cute."

"You're silly. You can't arrest someone for that otherwise you would have gotten dad a long time ago." He'd heard her tell him he was cute a hundred times.

"Too true. Smart boy. I could arrest you for that." She pretended to think about it.

"For being smart? You're silly. I'm gonna go pack now."

"Ok, thank you, bud."

…..

Early that afternoon, Charlotte and Tom picked up Bruce and Hunter for the night and Elizabeth and Jack got ready for their cake tasting double date with Lee and Rosie.

"You look amazing, Beth." Jack was dressed in a gray button down, open collar, and black dress pants. She had chosen a slightly above the knee, navy sundress with huge pink flowers and spaghetti straps. It was hot out and she knew it showed off her long legs which Jack seemed to admire.

She shook her head at herself. Dressing for her husband more than for the occasion. She had definitely changed.

"So do you, love. Almost enough to make me shirk my MOH duties and stay home," she told him with a alluring smile.

"Really? Hmm. What can I do to push you over the edge?" He stepped close and grabbed her waist, gently pulling her hips toward his. "Maybe…"

"Yooohooo!" Rosie called from downstairs.

"Well, so much for that idea," Jack said, kissing her cheek. "Let's get this over with."

"I'll be down in a minute."

He nodded, took one last "head to toe" gaze of his sexy wife and then left the room.

…..

They sat in the bakery after eating a delicious steak dinner at The Bistro, downtown Philly.

Elizabeth had intentionally only eaten half her food so she'd have enough room for cake.

She felt Jack's fingers on her thigh, inching her hem even higher. She looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "Behave yourself," she whispered in his ear.

He laughed and pretended to look at the dozen cake choices in front of them, while keeping his hand right where it was. He wasn't a huge fan of cake. He'd rather have cheesecake or ice cream, like at their wedding.

"Ok, let's get started," Rosie told them.

She dug into the lemon cake with lemon curd and lemon buttercream frosting. "Too much lemon for my taste."

"Well, you can add blueberries to the filling. Its seems perfect for a summer wedding," Elizabeth told her.

Next was Devil's Food cake with Chocolate Ganache. Elizabeth took a small bite and closed her eyes. Chocolate was her weakness and this was heaven. "Good?" Jack whispered in her ear, teasing her ear with his warm breath. She immediately got goosebumps. The man was playing with fire.

"Beyond good."

"Maybe I should try it," he mentioned. She picked up a small bite with her thumb and forefinger and placed it in his mouth. "No wonder you like it. It's like a chocolate explosion."

"Mmhmm." She looked at his lips, wanting to kiss off that tiny bit of frosting that his tongue had missed. She forced herself not to though.

"Too much chocolate," Rosie said after taking a bite.

The next few choices included red velvet with cream cheese frosting, which was believe it or not, too red, Coconut and Lime which tasted like a tropical island somehow, and White chocolate with raspberry filling which was not it either.

"Sweetheart, there are only two choices left," Lee told her.

"This one," Elizabeth told them. "This you will love, Rosie."

Vanilla cake with mocha cream filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. Simple and classy. It seemed to be what she was wanting at her wedding.

"Its perfect!" Rosie told them after one bite. "I knew I picked you for a reason, Beth."

Elizabeth laughed. "I'm glad you like it. It seems like you, and that mocha flavor is amazing with the vanilla cake."

"You like it, honey bunny?" Rosie asked Lee, tapping his nose with her fingertip.

Jack snorted and Elizabeth smiled. Lee ignored the snort and just concentrated on Rosie.

"Whatever you want is fine. I just want you to be happy."

Rosie smiled and kissed his lips. "You're so good to me. I'm so excited! Now, tomorrow flowers will be ordered and Tom is coming over to show me examples of pictures."

"Tom's going to be your photographer?" Jack asked. "That's great. Ours turned out nicely."

"They were perfect," Elizabeth mentioned. "Especially the candid shots." They had a black and white one on their mantle. It was in the church, after the wedding. Jack and Elizabeth were only looking at each other over Hunter's head, but he had captured that love between them. They hadn't known he was taking it at the time and that's what made it so special.

As they made their way home, their minds were definitely taken back to their own wedding. "Babe? You ever wish we hadn't rushed?" she asked quietly.

He looked at her quickly and then grabbed her hand. "Not for a second. Do you?"

"No. Not really."

"But maybe a little?" he asked gently.

"I know the reason we did it so quickly and of course Hunter is that reason, but we didn't get to do things like cake testing and flower arrangements."

"Yeah. Maybe not but our wedding was pretty spectacular, don't you think? I'll never forget how you looked, walking toward me that day. I've never seen you look so radiant and at peace. It was perfect, in my opinion."

She squeezed his hand. "It was. I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I don't regret doing it fast. We did what was right for us."

Her words reminded him that they had only had a weekend honeymoon. He would definitely have to fix that. Maybe for their one year anniversary, they could go back to Bowman's and take a week and possibly, because it would be a year, make a baby. "Perfect," he thought to himself. For now though, he'd enjoy the night ahead of them. Any evening with the house all to themselves.

…..

On the other side of the busy city, the younger of the Thornton brothers weaved his motorcycle through the packed city streets. He'd missed having a bike when he was abroad. Now that he was planning on sticking around for a bit, he used some of the money made off his last dangerous assignment to buy it. He'd been like a kid on Christmas morning ever since.

He couldn't explain it, or say when it happened but somehow, Philly had become home again. Maybe it was partially because of his reconnecting with Jack, but he also suspected it had something to do with the beautiful redhead he was meeting tonight.

Parking outside the old Jazz club he unfastened his helmet and descended the stairs to the sublevel club, following the sound of saxophones and trombones. It was dark inside and a lot bigger than he thought it would be. As he looked around he was beginning to wonder how he'd ever find her.

"Tom!" Julie rushed over from a nearby table. "So glad you're here!"

"Of course! Any excuse to see you." He meant it. They were still just friends, but if that detail changed into something more it would be alright by him.

She lead him over to a table with a few other friends, mostly couples.

"So this is the mysterious Tom?" one woman said. "We were beginning to wonder if you were real."

"He's real!" Julie gasped. "What, you thought I just made him up?"

"Kind of!" she laughed. "We've been on Julie's case to get out there and date again for a while but she's refused. Then suddenly your name started getting brought up and she's been happy as a clam. Personally I wondered if she was just trying to tell us to back off."

Julie wished the club's floor would open up and swallow her whole right then and there. Tom was completely unphased.

"We meant well, Julie, I'm sorry." Her friend reached out, grabbing her hand.

"I know, and I get it. Lay off now, alright?" she whispered loudly.

Tom laughed and took a couple steps over to where the other men were standing. One, tall curly haired man leaned forward and introduced himself as Nick and handed him a drink. "You got here in good time. Some of those guys at the bar have been eyeing Julie since she walked in."

"Is that so?" Tom subtly shifted his gaze towards the bar. Out of the two dark figures, one looked familiar, though he couldn't place him. Regardless, he suddenly felt very protective of Julie as he gently slid his hand to the small of her back.

Taken by surprise, she turned suddenly to look at him.

"This okay?" He asked so only she could hear.

"Perfect." Suddenly she was incredibly thankful for the darkened room. It hid her deep blush well.

Over the past few months she and Tom had been spending a lot of time together. She tried desperately to remind herself that they were just friends. It was get increasingly harder with each passing day.

She knew he was tumbleweed. Here one day and potentially gone the next. But in so many other ways they seemed perfect together. Nothing like the other men she had dated.

The more she watched Elizabeth with Jack the more she wanted what they had. That kind of love that filled a room and made it clear to anyone around that you belonged with that person and no one else. With Tom's arm around her now, she felt that. She belonged with him.

After a round of drinks and appetizers, Tom invited Julie for a spin on the dance floor. The band had just shifted to a nice slower rhythm song. Just right for them, he thought.

"Your friends told me you were attracting some attention earlier." Tom grinned down at her.

Julie decided to take a leap, see if his little move earlier meant anything.

"I only had hopes of attracting one man's attentions tonight. You think I succeeded?"

"If you're referring to me, the answer is yes. You have been for a while now."

"Seriously? Why haven't you said anything?" She laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Tom shrugged, "I don't know. It's complicated." He wrapped his arm around her, holding her a little closer. "I'm not the kind of guy that enters into long term relationships. Never cared to really. Now that I finally do it's with my brother's wife's sister?"

"Goodness, when you put it that way…" she laughed. "I adore you, Tom. You're everything I was looking for and a whole bunch of wonderful surprises. I know you still travel for work some and I won't try and stop you. Just… I don't know, come home to me?"

Tom gazed down at her beautiful eyes.

"That's the best offer I've ever had."

"So it's a deal?" Julie giggled.

"It's a deal."

She jumped up and down, hugging him tightly. Tom swore to himself he wouldn't let her down. Somehow he knew she was going to be it for him.

"So I guess this means we're an item now?"

"I do believe it does."

"Does that mean I can finally kiss you?" Tom wiggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to explode in a fit of laughter. His favorite sound.

"Or I could just kiss you!"

"As long as one of us does, and soon. I've been thinking about those lips of yours for months now," he whispered. With that confession out in the open, he lowered his lips to hers, touching them softly. Pulling back he smiled warmly.

…..

From the bar, Nate Tolliver laughed as he watched the woman his friend had been eyeing all night repeatedly and tenderly kiss another man on the dance floor.

"Told you she was out of your league."

"Wouldn't have been if I had a proper wing man. You're horrible." TJ Murphy, Nate's long time friend from NY City spoke.

"No way man, this is not my fault. Just to show my sympathies for the matter, I'll buy you another drink."

Soon the bartender placed two more dark cold beers down in front of them.

"So tell me, how's the leg holding up?" Nate asked. "You took those cops on a nice chase the other day.

"I'll tell you what, I'm no spring chicken anymore." He laughed. "Those cops were good. Almost too good. Especially that chick. Since when are female cops so tough?"

"Bests me. I'm just glad you didn't get caught. Would have been bad for you for sure, but it would have set back the operation I'm trying to progress here."

"I get that. One thing though…" he took a sip of his drink. "You said the cops were looking into you for something not related to the ring."

"That's right."

"You working another angle or something? Cause I'll tell ya, that chick was serious on catching me. Seems like an awful lot for nothing."

"What can I say? Cops are bored around here." He took another gulp of his drink.

"Funny, Tolliver. But you know I wasn't born yesterday. We're friends, best friends. But if you want me putting my neck on the line you better tell me everything."

Nate looked around. "Fine. It's about Jamie and the kid."

"Your kid."

"According to the state he doesn't belong to either of us now."

"True. So what do you care? I remember when Jamie told you about the boy to try to get you to stick around more. It didn't work. So why are you risking your neck and mine for him now?" Nate ignored the question and watched the band in the corner play. "Tolliver?"

"It's complicated, alright?"

TJ shook his head. "Unbelievable. She's still got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"

"What do you know of it?" Nate said defensively.

"A lot, I bet. Let's see, I know you're working with Jamie now. Some sort of partnership." Nate nodded in confirmation. "And I know she wouldn't give a piece of the action away for nothing. Even to you."

"So what's your point?"

"So I asked around. Rumor has it, Jamie's boy, your boy, got himself adopted by some female cop."

Nate stared at the man. "Jamie asked me to watch him for her. Report back."

"Why? She's in for a good long while now. What's she gonna do? Spring loose and run away with him?" He laughed.

"Those were her terms. Keep tabs on the boy and she'd slowly work me into the fold."

"She could turn on you in a second."

"She won't."

TJ laughed. "Dude, that woman is trouble. I told you that when you got yourself mixed with her in the first place. She's a few somethings short of a set."

"I've got this. Trust me."

"You're playing with fire. A wild fire."

"She's not that bad. Besides, it's kind of fun. Seeing my boy."

"I thought you said he wasn't yours?" TJ laughed. "You getting soft?"

"Not soft, just curious. You know he looks like me."

"You got a picture, Mr. Spy?"

Nate pulled out his phone and opened up a picture he took of Hunter.

Tom casually looked over and felt his heart stop. He knew he knew the man from somewhere. He looked up again.

"There he is. My son. Told you he's as handsome as his old man." Nate laughed to himself.

"Nice!" TJ laughed. "Maybe we should bring him into the fold. We could always use an apprentice. Looks strong. We could raise him into a nice little thug."

...…..

Back at the table, Tom watched the two strangers at the bar. Something about the short curly haired man didn't sit well with him. As he watched the man laugh, it hit him.

"Hunt…" he whispered.

"Tom, you alright?" Julie asked, weaving her arm through his.

"I think so. Say, you want another drink?"

"Sure."

He kissed her cheek and headed up to the bar right behind the two men. He ordered the drinks then leaned back. Trying to act as if he paid no attention to them whatsoever, Tom pulled out his phone. He managed to get a picture of the curly haired man's profile. After that, he just listened. If this was in fact Nate Tolliver, the man who had been terrorizing his family, Tom wanted to do whatever he could to put an end to it. Hunter was his nephew. He would do anything for him.

"Let's get out of here." TJ said, laying a bunch of money on the counter. "I've got work to do."

"Yeah." He downed what was left of his drink. "What do you say I buy you a drink tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but lets go to O'Neal's. This place is too nice for the likes of us." TJ laughed.

"O'Neal's it is. Later man. Stay safe."