Flashback: Peter Belden's POV

"Wow? That's all you can say? Wow? Come on, Mart, I've never known you to be a single word kind of guy," twelve year old Bobby Belden teased his older brother. "Aw, quit your stalling, and just admit that you've been beat!"

"I…uh…wow!" Mart exclaimed for the second time.

Their parents laughed.

"I can't believe my little brother just beat me at Trivial Pursuit," Mart said with a shake of his head.

"Believe it, Old Man," Bobby bragged. "See what marriage has done to ya? Your brain's gone soft."

"Speaking of your sweet, new wife," Helen Belden said with a laugh, "when is she expecting you home, Mart?"

"Oh, she's out shopping with her mother, so I could stay gone for about a month before she'd even notice."

"Besides, she knows exactly where to find him, Moms. Until Di learns to cook better, he's not getting too far away from you. He's…uh…not in any hurry to cut those apron strings, if you know what I mean."

Bobby dodged the playful swipe his brother made at him, and the wrestling match was on.

"Boys!" Peter Belden bellowed from behind his newspaper. He had been patiently listening to the entire conversation and had anticipated their usual antics, but he was in no mood to put up with it tonight. A large investment had collapsed at his bank earlier that day, leaving him stressed out and irritable.

"Your father's very tired, boys," Helen quickly intervened. "Why don't you two come into the kitchen with me and get a drink. I have homemade lemonade, Mart."

"Nah, I really should go, Moms. Now that the storm is letting up a bit. I'm sure Regan will have Hallie back any minute now. I just stayed to make sure she was okay. I was worried when Honey said she'd never made it to Manor House."

Peter felt a gnawing feeling in his stomach growing at what Mart said. True, Hallie had told them earlier that she was going to the Wheeler's. And, according to Bill Regan, she had been caught in the storm somewhere out on the preserve. But, what he didn't understand was why Regan had taken his niece to Mr. Maypenny's cabin instead of Manor House. Surely she had been closer to the Wheeler's home than to the gamekeeper's cabin when he'd found her.

Something doesn't seem right, he thought to himself.

"Can you at least take Di some brownies? I made them because I knew Hallie was coming, but she hasn't touched a single one." Helen pulled her middle son into a warm embrace as he stood to leave.

"Yeah, she's been busy," Bobby snorted with his tone growing bitter in the last word.

His son's obvious disgust wasn't lost on Peter. What's that all about? He wondered.

"No thanks, Moms," Mart replied to Helen with a smile. "I'm sure Bobby can help you finish them off."

"Then, be careful, dear. And watch out for Regan and Hallie on the drive."

"Sure thing. Bye Dad!" Mart gently patted Peter on the shoulder as he passed where he was sitting in his favorite chair. The older man fought off the urge to pull his son into a tight hug and simply nodded a masculine goodbye. He didn't realize how much he missed his three older children until they came home to visit.

And that's when he sometimes wished they were all little once again.

My, how time flies!

After Mart's departure, Peter sighed and put down the paper he had been trying to read all evening. His heart was full of problems and heavy thoughts; so much so that he just couldn't seem to focus on anything. He stood and paced to the window to stare out at the slight drizzle that remained after the evening's heavy storm.

There's something strange going on, and I'm not sure I want to know what it is.

His mind was a blur of the day's events: Hallie coming all this way just to fly a kite Dan made, Hallie bringing home a wet and upset Bobby, Hallie suddenly skipping dinner to go to Manor House when Trixie wasn't even there, Hallie getting lost in the preserve and being picked up by Regan.

I know she's still grieving over that poor boy, but…something's very odd about all of this, he thought.

"Man! Mart didn't even help me clean up the game!" Bobby interrupted his thoughts with a childish whine. The blonde bitterly slammed the Trivial Pursuit board into the box and started scooping up the playing pieces with a scowl on his freckled face.

"Robert Belden," Peter admonished, "I think you need to watch your tone."

"Yes sir," Bobby mumbled.

"Bobby, sweetheart, wasn't there a program you wanted to watch on T.V. tonight?" Helen reminded him.

"Oh! Yes! I forgot! Quick! What time is it?"

Peter checked his watch. "It's ten to eight."

"I still have time," the boy whooped excitedly. He flew to put the board game back in its place and ran over to the television set. Peter had to laugh at the way his youngest son was always mesmerized by the mixture of funny home videos that aired weekly.

Who knew a bunch of clips of fainting groomsmen and dancing puppy dogs could keep a kid busy for a full hour!

Feeling the eyes of his soul-mate upon him, Peter turned to see Helen beckoning for him to follow her into the kitchen. He was grateful for her brilliant plan to get him alone.

She's such a gem!

Once they were in the kitchen, she wrapped her arms around his middle and leaned into his chest with a sigh.

"What is it, Peter? There's more on your mind than just your work. What's got you so upset?"

"I don't even know, Helen. But, I plan to find out."

"Is it Bobby? He's going through so much right now, dear. He doesn't mean to be disrespectful."

"No, no. It's not that. I understand it's hard for him. I'm sure it's nothing. I'm just… tired, I suppose. I'll feel less anxious once Hallie's back in for the night and we can all get some rest."

He kissed the top of his wife's head and held her at arm's length so he could give her a comforting smile. Still, she appeared to be just as worried about their niece as he was.

"You…you don't think she'd…do anything to…hurt herself, do you?" Helen asked him softly.

Now, that was a possibility he'd never even considered. The surprise must have shown on his face, because his wife quickly started to back pedal to hide her personal fears.

"Not that I've seen anything that makes me think she would. It's just…well…you heard what your brother said about her being too depressed to even get out of bed. I worry that she's not taking care of herself. She got in town early this morning, and to my knowledge, she hasn't even eaten a bite all day!"

"And with your cooking to tempt her, that is a tragedy," Peter teased as he bent to kiss her. He wanted to lighten the mood a little so he slowly started to lead her in a waltz-like sway with his cheek pressed to hers. "Don't trouble yourself, my darling," he whispered. "I'll worry enough for the both of us."

"Hmmm, for some reason that doesn't seem to comfort me much."

Their personal conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of an approaching horse. Exchanging knowing glances, the loving couple pulled apart and moved toward the back door to greet their coming guests.

But, neither of them was prepared for what could be seen through the window of the kitchen door.

Having already dismounted and attempting to assist Hallie down from the horse, Bill Regan was pulling the young woman close by the waist. Her eyes were locked onto his, and she clung to his arms as if she were desperate for his touch. They didn't kiss, but they didn't have to. Anyone watching them could have known by their expressions that something so deeply intimate had already been shared between them.

The scene made something inside of Peter explode with rage.

How dare he? She's too young! Too vulnerable! He's taking advantage of her grief!

Before Helen could stop him, he threw the door open, stomped down the steps of the back porch, and stood before them with his hands on his hips in anger.

"Thank you for bringing Hallie home, Bill," he growled, "but I think you should go now."

The two young people had already moved apart, yet Hallie seemed defiant in her stance.

"We need to talk to you and Aunt Helen, Uncle Peter," she said with a strong voice. "It's very important."

"I don't think I want to hear it, right now," Peter said cooly. He was trying very hard to keep his voice down so as not to attract Bobby's attention from inside. He also didn't want to get into a heated shouting match with the young groom whom he still respected, despite his current suspicion of his intentions. "We can discuss this another time. Bill, goodnight. Hallie, come inside."

"Mr. Belden…please…" Bill began.

"Perhaps, you really should go, Regan," Helen interrupted with a kind voice. She rushed to put a motherly arm around Hallie and tried to steer her toward the porch.

"No, Aunt Helen! You don't understand! This can't wait! We need to talk to you tonight."

"Oh my God, you're pregnant," Peter let out in a huff. He felt the weight of his thoughts pulling down on him even harder as he voiced them aloud. So, he's why she's been coming so often in the past few months!

"Now, just hold on a minute!" Regan stepped forward angrily, still holding his horse's reigns in his hands. "You thinking that I could be so foolish and careless is one thing, but for anyone to assume such things about Hallie….well, that's something I just won't stand for!"

"Excuse me?" Peter stepped closer.

"You heard me, sir. Hallie is a respectable girl who would never do anything to dishonor herself or her family. I won't stand by and let you insult her this way. She's done nothing to warrant your distrust!"

"And, what am I to think of the two of you…just now…making goo goo eyes in the moonlight and hiding out alone at Maypenny's when you could just as easily have taken her to Manor House to wait out the storm? Huh? What am I to think of that, Bill? I can tell by the way you look at each other, something happened tonight. You can't lie to me! So, don't talk to me about trust!" Peter felt the anger in him rising higher and higher. He promised his brother Harold he'd look after Hallie whenever she was with him, and he wasn't about to let him down now.

"You want to know what happened tonight?" Hallie stepped between her uncle and her new love. "I discovered that my heart didn't completely die when Dan did. I learned that I was worth a second chance at happiness, and I'm ready to take it. It was nothing more than some candid confessions and a kiss by the fire, but it set me free from a prison of hurt! Is that so scandalous? Is that so wrong?"

"I think we should all go inside and talk this out calmly," Helen tried to inspire peace once more.

"There's nothing to talk about," Peter stated severely. "Hallie, whatever you think you feel right now is understandable, considering your loss, but you're too young and too mixed up. This isn't right, and it's over."

"Too young? She's twenty," Bill sputtered. "And, nothing's happened that you should worry about. I swear to you, I'd never…"

"I said it's over!" Peter shouted. "Now, get inside, young lady!"

"Oh, good grief, Uncle Peter. I'm going. But, only because I respect you. I'm not a child, you know. What Bill and I decide to do about our relationship is our business. And, we aren't going to do anything stupid, either. You're just going to have to get used to the idea. We're meant to be together. We know that now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not."

She moved closer to Regan and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"I'll call you tomorrow," she said quietly.

"I'll be waiting," Regan whispered.

The vulnerable look that momentarily penetrated the young man's angry glare when Hallie was near caused Peter's heart to lurch in his chest.

They don't know what they're doing. Neither one of them is ready for this. They'll only hurt each other more. I can't let that happen! She's been through enough already.

After Hallie and Helen had slipped back into the farmhouse, Peter gathered as much calm as he possibly could and tried once more to protect his brother's only daughter.

"I would appreciate it if you did not speak with Hallie again during her stay here, Bill. I think it's best…for both of you."

He prepared himself for the angry argument that would follow his request, but it didn't come.

Instead, much to his surprise, Bill Regan seemed to wilt like an overheated flower. The young man's face reminded Peter of the crushed look Dan Mangan had given his uncle just after the boy had saved Bobby and Trixie from a catamount and Bill had accused him of wielding his switchblade against the Belden children (when he had, in fact, been attempting to use it to protect them). The intense look of hurt on Bill's face now was too much for Peter to take.

"Don't look at me like that, Bill. You know this just cannot be."

"All I know is…I…I love her," Regan said softly.

And, without another word, he climbed back into his saddle and spurred his horse off at an alarming speed toward Manor House.