A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Ninety Eight
Jeffrey is coming downstairs as Sam comes out of the bathroom. "Did they say anything else about Alan?"
"Only that sentencing is scheduled for next week."
"You're worried about something?"
Jeffrey looks at her for a moment. "I'm probably being paranoid."
"Who was to that told me to trust my instincts?"
"I did." Jeffrey replies, as someone knocks.
"That will be Billy and his crew."
"It's Saturday."
"I forgot to tell you that I talked to Billy and I asked him if he could speed the project up. William will be up here in a few days and the sooner the loft is done, they'll be able to move in."
"If we're able to move into our house."
"We'll be able to." Sam says, as the crew knocks again.
"Go get dressed and I'll let them in."
"We'll talk about this later."
"Yes, go." Jeffrey replies. Sam goes upstairs as Jeffrey goes to the door. Opening it, he lets them in. "Would you mind sitting up down here?" Jeffrey asks, as some of the crew head for the stairs. "My wife is still upstairs getting ready."
"Of course, Mr. O'Neill."
"Thank you."
The crew goes to work on the downstairs plans while Jeffrey goes into the kitchen. Sam comes downstairs about five minutes later. "Good morning, gentlemen." She says, walking towards the kitchen.
"Good morning Mrs. O'Neill." They reply.
"They seem friendly." Jeffrey says, pouring a cup of coffee."
"I met most of them yesterday." Sam says, as Jeffrey turns to leave. "Where are you going? I thought we were going to talk about Alan."
"It's nothing to talk about."
"Come on." Sam says, taking his hand.
'Where are we going?"
"We are going to have breakfast and you're going to tell me what is worrying you." Sam says, grabbing her purse. "We'll be back later" She calls to Billy's crew.
"Yes ma'am." They reply.
'They really are friendly with you."
"Are you jealous, Mr. O'Neill?"
"Should I be?"
"Come on, let's go." She says, closing the door behind them.
About ten minutes later, they walk into Company. "Good morning, Buzz." Sam says, as they walk to a table.
"Good morning to you." Buzz says, following them to the table with cups for coffee and cider.
"Thanks Buzz." Sam says
"You're welcome." Buzz turns to Jeffrey. "Did you hear about Alan?"
"Yes, I heard the new this morning."
'I never thought I would see this day. And I would be willing to bet neither did Alan."
"You guys treat him like a God or something. He broke the law, if you do that enough you will get caught." Sam says.
"A lot of people have tried to bring Alan down, including myself. He has always managed to slip away." Jeffrey says.
"But not this time." Buzz says.
"You're right, not this time." Jeffrey says, taking a sip of coffee.
"So are you here for breakfast?"
"Yes, breakfast, give me my usual." Jeffrey says.
"Coffee and Danish." Buzz says before turning to Sam. "And what would you like Sam?"
"You're going to eat more than that. He'll have eggs and bacon. He wants the eggs sunny side up and the bacon lightly cooked. And I'll have the short stake, bacon and juice." Sam says, as Jeffrey simply looks at her.
"Alright, bacon and eggs and a short stake with bacon and juice." Buzz says, leaving with a smile.
"You just completely changed my order."
"Are you going to tell me what has you worried?" Sam asks, ignoring his comment.
"It's nothing….
"Stop stalling and tell me."
"Alright, it's like Buzz said. Alan spent his life thinking he would never get caught. Now that he's been convicted, he's going to be desperate to stay out of jail."
"And desperation causes people to do things. You think he's going to try to do something possibly escape."
"Or he could try to do something else."
"What are you thinking?"
"Who did you say that Alan reminded you of?"
Sam pauses for a moment and then says. "My father, he reminds of my father.
"And what would your father do in this situation?"
"He could do any number of things, including blackmail and bribery. You think he'll try to blackmail or bribe the judge."
"We don't know, but we should be prepared, just because, Alan's been convicted." Jeffrey says, as Buzz walks up.
"You're absolutely right Jeffrey. We shouldn't count Alan out. I've seen him stop through the cracks too many times to count." He says, putting their food down before them.
"So what are you going to do?" Sam asks, as Buzz goes to take another table's order.
"The only think I can do is ask Chris to limit the people allowed to see him."
"Do you think that's enough?"
"It's all we can do." Jeffrey says.
"And sentencing will be next week, so it's not too far away."
"But even after sentencing we have to be prepared and watch out for everything. Remember, according to Alan, Phillip is still alive."
"And Alan isn't above using him to escape prison." Jeffrey says, reaching for his wallet and the check. "I'll see you at home."
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to Chris."
"It's Saturday, J. Will he even be in the office?"
"I don't know. But I can see."
"Alright, I'll see you at home. I'm going to go by our house and see how much work was done and what's left to be done."
"I'll see you at home then."
"And starting tomorrow I'm cooking you breakfast." She says, as he leans over to kiss her.
"I noticed you haven't eaten your bacon."
"I'm full." She says, as he kisses her again.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Jeffrey leaves, followed a few moments later by Sam.
Richard is in his study the next morning when Cassie comes back from taking the boys to one of their friend's houses. "Richard." She says, as she walks in. He's facing away from her, looking out at the fields behind the house. "Are you okay?" She asks, walking over to him.
"I'm fine." Richard replies quietly.
"Okay, do you want me to stay with you?"
"No, you can do whatever you planned to do."
"I was going to run over to the Beacon for a moment but I'm sure that Reva can handle…."
"Its okay, you can go over to the Beacon." Richard says his voice is slightly frustrated.
"I'll be home before noon and if you need me, call and I'll come home."
"I'll be fine. Go on to the Beacon."
She walks over to his chair, softly kissing the top of his head, she whispers. "I love you." Standing up, she walks out of the room. For a couple moments he sits there before he gets up.
She is about to walk out the door when Richard walks into the kitchen and says. "Cassie, wait." She stops and turns towards him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like I don't want you here, I do and I love you, the boys, our baby and our life."
"But you wanted to know about your mother and brother. I understand, Richard. I really do."
"I know you do. You understand better than anyone."
"She's a fool not to let you into her life."
"You have to say that, you're my wife."
"Wife, or not, you would be the best thing to happen in her life and her kids lives."
"I love you and I'll be alright, so I don't want you to worry about me."
"I'm going to worry about you if you're hurting, which you are."
"I will be fine. I promise I will."
"Just don't try to hide from me and we'll both be fine."
"Deal, now go to the Beacon and take care of that and don't worry about me." He says, leaning over to kiss her. Stepping back, he open the door and she leaves.
Sam is walking towards their house when a car pulls up beside her. "Mrs. O'Neill." A man says after rolling down a window.
"Who are you?" Sam asks, turning towards the car.
"I work for Mr. Spaulding and he would like to see you."
"Why?" Sam asks, walking over to the car.
"He didn't say. He only asked me to bring you to him."
"And if I refuse to go, never mind." Sam says, reaching for the door handle. She opens the door and gets in.
A few moments later, they pull up to the police station. Sam follows the man into the station and then waits as he speaks with one of the officers. After a couple seconds, it's obvious there is a problem. "Officer." Sam asks, stepping up.
"Mrs. O'Neill." The office replies.
"I'm here on behalf of the mayor, now if you want to call him and trouble him or…."
"You can go back." The officer says, moving to let Sam and the man back to see Alan.
Alan is alone in a cell towards the back of the jail. He looks up as Sam and the man walks up. "Well done, Brooks." Alan says, glancing at the man before he turns his attention to Sam. "Mrs. O'Neill, it's a pleasure to see you again. I'm sorry it has…."
"What do you want Mr. Spaulding?"
"Yes, you seem the type to come straight to the point."
"So, what is the point?"
"I want you to speak to your husband and persuade him to speak with the judge about my sentencing. I am an old man Mrs. O'Neill and prison would be very hard for me, even lethal."
"And what could I possibly say to him."
"Jeffrey is quite in love with you. He would do whatever you asked of him."
Jeffrey is walking through the station when the officer that Sam spoke with sees him. "Mr. Mayor." The officer says.
Jeffrey looks up. "Hello, Officer Clark." Jeffrey says.
"Sir, I thought you might want to know that your wife is downstairs with Mr. Spaulding."
"She's what! Why?"
"She arrived with one of the Spaulding attorney's sir and said she was here on your behalf.
"How long has she been down there?"
"Only about ten minutes, Sir."
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, turning away. He heads downstairs.
"…there are two things you are forgetting Mr. Spaulding. You don't know me and you don't know my husband. We can't be bought or persuaded to do anything we don't feel is right. You broke the law. You got caught and you were convicted. Now you will be sentence and there is absolutely nothing I could say to Jeffrey to convince him to speak to the judge on your behalf. Secondly, what would I get out of helping you? You don't have anything that I want." Sam says, as Jeffrey walks up.
"What are you doing here?"
"Mr. Spaulding wanted to see me, so he sent this man to come get me. I came of my own free will." Sam says, as Jeffrey walks up to her.
"Can you wait for me upstairs?"
"Sure, nice talking with you, Mr. Spaulding?"
"Mrs. O'Neill." Alan says, as Sam leaves.
When Jeffrey is sure she's out of the way, he turns to Alan. "Do not contact any member of my family Alan, either through yourself or one of your employee's. You will be sentenced and you will be sent to prison. I don't care how much you try to worm your way clear." Jeffrey says, turning to go.
"It's nice to see you do have a heart Mr. O'Neill. I wonder what you would do if something accidentally happened…."
Jeffrey takes step towards Alan's cell. The man that brought Sam to the station steps towards Jeffrey. Jeffrey glances at him as Alan raises his hand. "If you order one thing to happen to anyone I know. You will answer to me personally, Alan. I know how to do things to people. You remember that. Also remember that I have the full cooperation of the US government. Things can happen and no one will know about it. Is that understood, Mr. Spaulding?"
"Clearly, you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I only meant to…."
"I know exactly what you meant. If Sam so much as gets a scratch on her and it's under suspicious circumstances, I will assume that it is because of you. And I can reach you much easier in jail than you can ever plan to get to us, remember that, Alan." Jeffrey walks away.
Sam is waiting when Jeffrey comes upstairs. "What happened? Did he…?"
"Come with me." Jeffrey says, walking into one of the empty interrogation rooms.
For a moment, Sam watches him and then she follows him. He opens the door and she goes inside. Closing the door before he turns to her, she starts to say something and he holds up his hand. "Did you not hear me this morning?" He demands, his hand are on his hips.
"Of course I heard you, that's…."
"And yet you went to see him, why?"
"He sent someone to bring me to him and…."
"He sent someone after you and you simply got in the car and went."
"Yes, I got in the car and went because…."
"Did you even think about what could've happened?" Sam doesn't answer immediately. "Well, did you?"
"Are you going to let me answer without interrupting me?" Jeffrey doesn't answer but crosses his arms and after a few seconds she says. "Yes, I realized what could happen, but I thought the risk was worth it." Sam says, holding up her hand to stop his interruption. "I thought if I went to see him I would be able to tell you what he was planning."
Jeffrey sighs, before he puts his hands back on his hips and says. "I know we were not able to convict him on anything violent, but he's already killed at least once that we know of. He's possibly ordered or arranged more. He's cornered and he knows it."
"And I'm not a helpless woman. I am a trained Federal agent."
"You're a trained Federal agent that is pregnant with my child." Jeffrey says, finally raising his voice.
"Don't you, yell at me Jeffrey O'Neill! I was trying to help you." Sam says, finally loosing her temper.
"Help me! You knew I was worried about what he would do and you played right into his hands."
"And do you want to know what he wanted or am I too inept to tell you that."
"You're not inept Sam. I would trust you with my life. I won't, however, let you put yourself in a situation that endangers your life or our child's."
"You're acting like I did this to be completely selfish. I was trying to help you." Sam says, walking over to the door.
"We're not done. Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving before I do or say something we'll both regret. When you're ready to listen, I'll be happy to tell you what Alan asked me." She says, opening the door and leaving.
Jeffrey stands in the middle of the room for several moments before he walks over to the door. Pulling out his phone, he dials the number for a cab. After arranging for a cab to pick Sam up, he leaves the police station.
Reva walks into Cassie's office about an hour after she gets to the Beacon. "Good morning, sis." She says, walking over to her desk. "Here are yesterday receipts and copies of deliveries. And I wanted to give you a heads up before the front desk told you." She says, putting down the file.
"You switched rooms with Ava. You don't have to clear everything with me Reva. If switching rooms with Ava solved the problem I'm fine with it." Cassie says, picking up the file.
"Okay."
"So you left without saying good-bye or goodnight the other night."
"I thought it was time to go. Did you stay long after I left?"
"No, we left right after you I believe. Richard said you were talking about you and Josh."
"We were."
"Have you spoken with him?"
"I ran into him at Company the other day. He attacked me and Buzz for discussing the issue and I stormed out. I never realized how sanctimonious he is, along with judgmental."
"Reva, come on. You knew who and what Josh's personality was a long time ago."
"Okay, maybe I did."
"So, what's changed?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'm tired of being the one that always seems to be the one to cause problems. Maybe I feel like Josh is blaming me for Jeffrey being HB's son."
"I don't believe he blames you."
"You don't know how he's been, the looks in his eyes when I tried to talk to him about Jeffrey. It's like he knows that I've betrayed him and I haven't even done anything. I've never even come close to being with Jeffrey. It's never been an option or opportunity."
"You don't have to convince me Reva. You need to convince Josh."
"I have tried. He will not listen to me. He absolutely refuses to believe that nothing will ever happen between me and Jeffrey."
"I don't know what to tell you. I really don't." Cassie says, picking up the file.
"So, what's going on with you?" Reva asks, sensing that there's a problem.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because you have that look on your face when you're worried about something, it's the same look you had when Richard accused you of cheating on him with Rourke."
"He hasn't accused of cheating again, has he?"
"No, of course not." Cassie says, looking at Reva.
"But something happened with Richard."
"Alright, something happened. Yesterday we went to see the wife of Richard's brother, the one that was killed by Camille."
"Okay, I didn't realize you knew where she lived."
"Richard asked Noah to use the agency to find her. Noah called over our honeymoon and told us that he had found her and gave Richard the number she had given to the agents to contact her. She wouldn't agree for Richard to see her kids, but she agreed to talk to him, so earlier this week, he called and he made a lunch date with her at the Lakeview in Oakdale. She lives there. The lunch was yesterday."
"And judging from the look on your face, the lunch didn't go as planned."
"No, it didn't. She came to the lunch and we talked and after we explained what happened with Edmund, William, Will and Camille, she decides that it's too dangerous for Richard to have any contact with her or his brother's kids. I know she lost her husband because of what happened with Camille in San Cristobel. But Richard has absolutely no responsibility with what Camille did."
"Of course, he doesn't. He was a victim himself."
"She seems to blame him and me too. And she's refusing to have any contact with Richard because of it. When Richard found out he wasn't Charlotte's son, he was devastated. He never let it show because he had to be strong because of Edmund and then the accident and thinking that our baby died and then my kidnapping and then he freed that island and the presidency."
"I know Cassie."
"He never got to grieve for a way of life he had been raise to believe he was a part of. And then we moved to Springfield after William took over the throne again and he was almost killed in the accident and spent the last five years in a coma. And now, he finds out that not only the woman he thought had died right after his birth was alive but that he also had a twin brother that he never knew about. And the woman that gave him life, died right after his brother was killed. He didn't get to know either one of them and the only connection he has to him is refusing to have anything to do with him."
"She won't even talk to him."
"She told him not to contact her. That was after Richard explained that Camille was no longer a threat to her or her children."
"And she still refused."
"Yes."
"Is Richard going to follow her wishes?"
"I assume that he is. He's at the farmhouse right now. He's sitting in his office staring out at the field behind the house. I truly think he's lost Reva and I don't know how to help him." Cassie says, looking at her.
"The only way you can help is to be there for him, listen to him and let him deal with this on his own. Richard's a strong man, he'll figure out what he needs to do."
"Maybe you're right, but I hate to see him in pain. It nearly kills me."
"I know. I feel the same way with Josh. Even when I absolutely want to throttle him, like now. I know that he's hurting right now too and I want to help him."
"Maybe you have to do exactly what you're doing Reva. Let him come to you."
"I'm doing that, but it's hard to be away from him when I know there is absolutely no reason for us to be apart but his stubborn and pigheadedness."
"I have faith that he'll realize he's wrong and he'll come back to you. Listen, I want to look over these receipts and deliveries so I can get back to the farm."
"Are the boys home?"
"No, they are staying the night with one of their friends."
"Then go home, these files will be here Monday. I think Richard needs you to be there."
"Maybe you're right." Cassie says, standing up.
"I'll handle the Beacon." Reva says, following Cassie out of the office.
When the cab pulls up beside Sam, the driver rolls down the window and says. "Mrs. O'Neill, your husband sent me to take you home."
Sam looks at him for a moment and then decides to go ahead and take the cab. Walking over to the car, she opens the door and gets in, closing the door behind her. About ten minutes later, the cab pulls up to the loft. "How much do I owe you?" Sam asks.
"Your husband already paid for the fare." The cab driver says, as Sam opens the door.
"Thanks." She gets out and goes into the building as the driver pulls away. After leaving the police station, Sam had started to walk towards the loft completely forgetting about going to their house and seeing about work that needed to finished there. When she sees her car, she remembers and considers going over there, but then changes her mind. She walks into the loft a few moments later. Most of Billy's crew is there working when she comes in. "Hello, Mrs. O'Neill." The foreman says.
"Hello." Sam says, looking around at the men. She turns to the foreman. "Could you possibly go home for the day? I'll make sure Mr. Lewis pays you for the full day."
"Mr. Lewis said that you wanted the project finished a.s.a.p."
"Yes, but right now. I want to be alone, so could you please have the men go home and I'll explain everything to Billy." Sam says.
"Of course, Mrs. O'Neill." The foreman replies. "Okay guys, we're leaving early today, so pack up your gear and clean up."
"Yes sir." They reply.
Ten minutes later they are out of the loft and Sam sits down on the couch. After about twenty minutes, she lays down on the couch, closing her eyes.
Jeffrey leaves the police station. Apart of him wanted to go home and talk to Sam, but maybe she was right. Maybe they needed to cool off before they said or did something they would regret. Getting into his car, he drives over to Beau's apartment. Knocking on the door, he waits for him to answer. When the door opens, Beau is surprised to see him. "Jeffrey, what's up?"
"I thought I would come over and hang out, maybe work on some new material."
"Okay, Max is at my mother's for the weekend." Beau says, stepping back to let Jeffrey in.
"How is he doing?"
"He's great."
"Have you heard from his mom?"
"No, not a word since she left. What's up with you?"
"Nothing really."
"How's Sam?"
"She's fine. We're busy getting the house ready and she's opened her clinic, so if you need a doctor…."
"Hopefully I won't need one but if I do, I'll keep her in mind. How's the baby?"
"The baby's fine."
"And you're okay from the wreck?"
"I'm great. I still have to go back to see the doctor in two weeks but I feel fine. Sam's still going to make me go though."
"I was surprised to hear about Olivia."
"That shocked us too. But she's left town. Ava is here with Emma. William will be coming to town in about a week so we're getting busy with that. She's engaged."
"He asked her to marry him."
"Yes, while she was down there the last time. So have you seen the new guy."
"We've been practicing and he's learned a lot."
"After the election I'll have more time for us to practice."
"I heard the announcement. You're not running for mayor again."
"Yes, I think I need to be available for Sam."
"And you've got to find you place in the Lewis family too." Beau says, looking at him."
"I've got a lot to work out."
"Is something on your mind?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Jeffrey says, sighing.
"Do you want a beer?"
"That will be fine."
Beau gets up and goes to get them both a beer. When he comes back he hands one to Jeffrey. "So, what's on your mind?"
Jeffrey takes a drink of the beer and then looks at Beau. "Sam and I had a fight earlier."
"You had a fight, about what?"
"Alan Spaulding of all things."
"Why would you have a fight about Alan Spaulding?"
"He was convicted yesterday and sentencing is next week."
"I heard the news last night. What does that have to do with you and Sam?"
"You know that we were hard pressed to get a conviction against him and I suspect that now that he's facing prison he's going to try everything he can, just like he did with the trial, to keep from going to prison. Sam and I were discussing that this morning over breakfast and I told her what I was worried about. I thought she understood the situation, but I left her at Company to talk to the DA to see if we could limit Alan's visitors. And after I'm finished with that, I'm told by one of the SPD officers that Sam's in the jail talking with Alan."
"Did you tell her not to see him?"
"No, not directly, but I figured she would realize that once I told Chris to only let his attorney see him she would know that I didn't want her to see him."
"Why do you possibly care if Alan sees Sam?"
"Alan was a bit taken with her when she first come to town. I figure he probably sees her as someone that doesn't really know who he is and he thinks he can manipulate her. He'll quickly find out that he can't."
"I still don't see the problem."
"Alan's a desperate man. Sam's pregnant and I don't want her in the middle if Alan tried to do something, either directly or indirectly."
"Did you explain that to Sam?"
"I usually don't have to explain anything to Sam. She knows what I am thinking. But to answer you're question, no I didn't directly explain that to her."
"So, let me guess, when you found out she was at the jail, you went down there and you dragged her out of there and she's mad at you for go all he-man on her."
"Something like that, although I didn't drag her out of there. I would never try to do that. I learned the last time I tried to go he-man on her."
"Obviously not." Beau says, looking at him.
"What are you saying? I shouldn't be upset that she went to do the exact thing I was worried about happening, especially when she's pregnant."
"No, you can be upset. But did you even let her explain why she went to see him. How does she know him?"
"She doesn't really know him. They met one time at a Spaulding event for Cedars. Alan was taken with her but Sam has no interest in him."
"So why would he contact her?"
Jeffrey pauses for a moment before he finally realizes the reason that Sam was at the jail and he realizes that she had tried to tell him what he wanted but he wouldn't listen. "Hey, do you mind if we practice later?"
"No."
"I'll see you later." Jeffrey says, putting the beer down.
"That's fine." Beau says, getting up. He follows Jeffrey to the door.