Mike felt used. She was missing her boyfriend so she used him for some affection. He let himself think it was a good thing to feel the thrill of attraction again. Now, he regretted it.

THE RANCH

"Honey, we're home," Jack whispered, kissing her hand.

"Oh ok. I can't believe I fell asleep again."

"Maybe it's the tortellini and pickle combo." She laughed.

"Maybe or maybe just growing a human makes me tired."

"When do you think we should tell our parents?"

"We could have a dinner and maybe Skype my parents in?"

"I can invite Tom, Elisa, and my mom and Bill and then we'll Skype your parents."

"Sounds good. Let's do it tomorrow," she suggested.

Jack took his phone out and called Tom.

"Hello?" a feminine voice answered.

"Hi, is Tom there?" He put his phone on speaker so Elizabeth could hear too.

"One moment." They heard her yell for "babe" in the background.

"Hello?"

"Tom? Who was that?"

"A friend."

"That calls you babe?"

"What's up, Jack?"

"What about Julie, Tom?"

"Goodnight, Jack."

"Hang on!" Jack shouted but it was too late. The call had disconnected. Jack sighed and called him again.

"What do you want?" Tom answered.

"I want to know what's going on but I'm not asking again. It's your choice. Elizabeth and I want to invite you and Peanut to a family dinner tomorrow night. Seven o'clock."

"I can't Jack."

"Too busy for family now?"

"Jack…"

"I'm sorry. We hope you can make it. Have a good night."

After the call disconnected a second time, Jack stared at his phone and then looked at Elizabeth.

"What do you think is going on, Jack?"

"I don't know but maybe they broke up."

"Maybe."

"That would explain Julie and Mike tonight."

"What about them? Julie said they're just friends."

"Babe, you were asleep but they were looking mighty cozy on the couch."

Elizabeth opened her door and got out, wondering why Julie hadn't told her that Tom and she broke up. It was the only explanation.

When they got inside, Jack built a fire in the living room and Elizabeth texted her parents to let them know she would Skype them the next night.

Jack called his mom next.

"Hey, son."

"Hi, Mom. Elizabeth and I want to have you and Bill over tomorrow night for dinner. Are you busy?"

"Nope. What time?"

"Seven."

"Ok, see you then."

THE NEXT EVENING

Tom didn't come but Charlotte and Bill showed up as planned. Elizabeth cooked a roast chicken with Brussel sprouts and garlic mashed potatoes. For dessert they were having ice cream sundaes.

"So when is the big day?" Jack asked his Mom and Bill.

"We decided we would have a wedding this summer at the lake," Bill offered. "Is July 30th good for you both?"

"Its great," Jack told them.

"Bill's house has a huge window overlooking the water. We will do it there," Charlotte said.

"That sounds wonderful," Elizabeth told them.

After they talked more about the wedding, Elizabeth set up her laptop on the table.

"What are you up to, sweetheart?" Charlotte asked her.

"I'm going to Skype my parents." Charlotte watched her intently as she connected to the Wi-Fi.

"Hi, Bethie!"

"Hi, Daddy. How are you?"

"Just fine. It's good to see your face."

"You too. I miss you."

Jack moved his chair next to his Mom and turned the computer slightly. "Jack! How are you, son?"

"Perfect. It's good to see you."

"Hey, Dad, where's Mom?"

"Here, Beth. Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi, Mom." The enormity of the wonderful news they were going to share mixed with missing her parents brought on the tears. "We are having dinner with Bill and Jack's Mom."

"That's nice, dear. It seems so long until Christmas when we see you again."

"Well, I don't think we will be able to make it. Would you and Daddy consider coming here?"

"Oh, I thought you told your father you were coming."

"I did but I don't think I'll be able to travel when I'm due January 1st." She smiled at the computer and over at Charlotte and Bill, waiting for their reaction.

"Oh, well, I'm disappoint….wait! What? Due?"

"Yeah. We're pregnant."

"Oh! Beth! That's wonderful! I wish I could hug you."

Charlotte jumped up and hugged them. "I'll do it for you, Grace."

LATER, IN TOWN

Mike walked down the sidewalk toward The Bean. He had started sleeping at dispatch again. To him, sleeping in the home he had shared with Renee after letting himself start being attracted to Julie, made him feel guilty.

He walked in the door and almost collided with someone. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"It's ok." Julie stared up at him, her blue eyes pleading. "Mike, it's good to see you."

He turned and walked out, unwilling to let himself go backward.

"Mike, please." She followed him out the door. "Can we talk?" She followed him down the sidewalk.

"You have a boyfriend."

"I do, but…"

"That's all there is to it. You should have told me that from the beginning. It wasn't fair to keep that from me."

"No, it wasn't fair. I'm so sorry." He nodded.

"Have a good night, Julie."

"Mike, can we just start over?"

"No. If you still have a boyfriend, we cannot start over."

"Can we be friends?"

"I don't know, Julie."

"Let's just have coffee. That's it. I want us to be friends."

He couldn't deny he needed a friend but she had already basically lied to him. He didn't think it was wise to even be friends, even if she was Jack's wife's sister. Nevertheless, he agreed. "Just coffee."

"Great."

He shoved his hands in his pockets in case she got the wild idea to hold his hand again, and turned back to The Bean.

Once they sat down Julie looked at him. "I want to explain, Mike. You must think I'm a horrible person."

"Not horrible. I just don't understand. Yes, please explain."

"He and I have been dating since September. Everything was going well until we got back from Jack and Elizabeth's wedding. He started acting funny, wouldn't return my calls. We haven't seen each other in over a month. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder if he is seeing someone else."

"Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?"

"I just saw how sad you were and I wanted to be with someone that wanted to be with me too. I wanted to feel better. I'm sorry, Mike. If I could go back and do things differently, I would."

"I'm trying not to live in the past, myself. It's not easy."

"You mean with Renee?"

"Yeah. The guilt is killing me right now."

"Why do you feel guilty, Mike?"

"It doesn't really matter." He sipped his coffee and stared at the dark brown liquid. He wasn't going to tell her that his guilt involved his burgeoning feelings for her.

"It matters to me."

His eyes met hers. "Julie, I can't go down this road with you. It's too much right now."

"Friends, Mike. That's all."

BACK AT THE RANCH

"I think I am going to go see Tom tomorrow," Jack told Elizabeth.

"Did you want some company?"

"Normally yes, but I am thinking our conversation might not go well. I don't want you to have to be in the middle of it."

"Are you going to talk to him about Julie?"

"Yes. Something is going on with him. You heard him on the phone."

"I should talk to Julie, then."

She grabbed her phone off the bedside table and texted Julie. "Hey, wanna come over 4 lunch 2morrow?"

"Sure. I'll b there noon."

"Ok, we will have a nice chat over lunch," Elizabeth told Jack before she turned over and shut her eyes.

"Hey, don't I get a kiss goodnight?"

She turned back toward him and smiled. "Sorry, babe." She kissed him and turned back over.

Jack lay awake most of the night thinking about what he would like to say to Tom. What he wanted to say and what he should say were two different things.

….

Jack drove to Idaho, planning his conversation, deciding he didn't want to meddle in Tom's life, he just wanted to make sure he was ok and that he wasn't making horrible decisions. If he was making bad decisions, he knew it wasn't up to him to change them.

When he pulled into the driveway of Tom's ranch, he was relieved to see only one vehicle and it was his. He certainly didn't want to have an important conversation with Tom's "friend" there.

"Uncle Jack!" Elisa greeted him at the door.

"Hey, peanut! I missed you so much."

"Me too but where's Aunt Beth?"

"She had some things to do, but she wanted me to give you hugs and kisses." He kissed her all over her face putting her into a fit of giggles. "There. Considered yourself loved by Aunt Beth."

"And you?"

"Of course." He kissed her once more. "Where's your Dad?"

"Inside."

"Let's go see him."

As they walked in, Elisa jumped up next to Tom on the couch. "Daddy! Look who came to see us!"

Tom looked over and stared. "Jack."

"Tom. How are you?"

"Fine."

"It's been a long time since you came to see us so I thought I would come to you."

Tom nodded. "Hey, sweetie, can you go play? I need to talk to Uncle Jack."

"Ok, Daddy. Uncle Jack, will you play tea party with me later?"

"Absolutely, peanut."

"Cool!"

Tom stared at his hands for a moment. "I know that you are just trying to help, Jack…"

"No, actually, I miss you and I'm worried about you."

"Why?"

"You seem to be keeping to yourself a lot."

"Yeah."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Did Julie send you here?"

"No, and I am pretty sure she would be mad if she knew."

"When you called the other night…I swear she is just my friend."

"But you want her to be more." Jack could see it on his face. The man was always easy to read in person.

"Yeah."

"What about Julie?"

"We've been drifting apart since your wedding."

"She said you haven't spoken in weeks or seen each other either. That is how you drift apart."

"I don't love her, Jack. Not like I should and your wedding and the way you and Elizabeth are together…. I tried really hard, mostly for Elisa, but I don't want to settle when someone else might be out there for me."

"Don't you think you should tell Julie these things? It isn't fair to leave her guessing what's going on."

"I know. I just don't want to hurt her. Even though I am not in love with her, she still means a lot to me."

"If she means a lot, you need to talk to her." Jack stood up to go see Elisa.

"Yesterday, we told Mom and Bill and Grace and William our news at dinner. I wish you could have been there."

"What news?"

"Elizabeth is pregnant. She's due in January."

"Congratulations, Jack. That's wonderful news."

….

LATER AT THORNTON ACRES

Jack walked into the house and smiled. He heard Elizabeth singing along to the music from her phone as she cooked something that smelled wonderful.

She slid a mostly roasted pork tenderloin back in the oven, completely unaware that Jack was watching from the doorway.

When she turned around to grab a spoon she stopped and smiled. "Hi, cowboy."

"Hey, beautiful."

She walked over and kissed him. "I missed you today."

"Me too." She had a look on her face, happiness but also laughter. "What?"

She bit her lip before speaking. "Well, did you see Elisa today?"

"I did."

"Did you by any chance play beauty shop with her?"

"I did, why?"

"Ok, first of all, I love that you let her do whatever she wants to you, but did you look in the mirror lately?"

"No." He went into the bathroom and looked at himself. "I guess that explains why people were giving me funny looks at the gas station."

Elizabeth giggled. "I think you look beautiful."

"Uh huh. Glitter eyeshadow and all?"

"Mhmm. Why don't you take a shower? By the time you're done, dinner will be ready."

He took her hand and led her closer to the shower. "Wanna join me, Mrs. Thornton?"

"Kinda."

He pulled her in for a long kiss, slipping his fingers underneath the edge of her t-shirt. "How about now?"