A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty Nine
Josh walks into Company the next morning. Buzz is at the counter and when he walks in Buzz reaches for a coffee cup and the coffee as Josh sits down. "Morning, Josh." Buzz says, pouring the coffee. "You're up early for a Sunday?"
"Couldn't sleep." Josh says, taking a sip of coffee.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, I made an ass of myself last night at Lizzie's Halloween party. And now Reva's mad at me again."
"What did you do?"
Josh sighs and then says. "I overheard Jeffrey talking with is broker about Lewis Oil. Apparently he was able to get controlling interest in Lewis Oil and get it back from Spaulding. And I guess Jeffrey was waiting for approval from the SEC and his broker was telling him that they got. I overhead all of that and I confronted Jeffrey and then I tried to make Reva leave."
'Why would you confront him about that? From what I understand it's hard to get controlling interest back from one of Spaulding's companies and Lewis Oil was your father's company."
"I know. And I'm not even upset at him for doing it. It's my gut reaction to anything that Jeffrey does."
"But why, he's a good guy."
Josh looks at him and then he says. "He's my brother and I haven't admitted that to anyone including Reva."
"Jeffrey's your brother!" Buzz says, staring at him. "How is that even possible?"
"My father had an affair with his mother at some point. And during that time they produced Jeffrey. I'm not even upset about Jeffrey getting the company back, I'm not. I'm actually grateful."
"Did you tell Jeffrey that or even Reva?"
"I haven't seen Jeffrey since the party and I left before Reva was up. I'm a little scared to face her."
"Running scared is something you do quite well." Dj says, walking up to them. Josh looks at him. "Do continue. I am sure it'll be educational."
"It's a private conversation." Josh says, turning to face him.
"It wasn't so private between you and my mom."
"What happened between your mom and I was… there were extenuating circumstances that have been explained to you." Josh says, as Buzz walks away to take care of another customer.
"That's right, you were both too drunk to remember that you were married… to other people."
"You know, I'm not in the mood for your attitude today." Josh says, standing up. "I've got problems that…."
"Like father like son." Dj says, looking at Josh. "I guess cheating is genetic." He says, before he walks away.
When he leaves, Buzz comes back to the bar. "What was that about?" He asks, as Josh looks at him.
"It's a long and very complicated story. Could I get another cup to go?"
"Sure, and they're on the house. Go home and talk to Reva and then you might talk to Jeffrey too."
"Thanks Buzz." Josh says, taking the cup and then he walks out of Company.
Richard is in the back yard with Rj and Will. He's helping them practice when Cassie comes outside. "Richard." She says, holding up the phone.
"You guys keep practicing, I'll be right back." Richard says, walking over to her.
"Who is it?"
"Mr. Harrison." She says, as he takes the phone.
"Hello." Richard says, following her into the house.
"Mr. Winslow, I need to see you at the Beacon."
"Now?"
"Yes, we're looking over candidates for senior staff."
"I'm spending the day with my boys."
"We need to make these decisions as soon as possible, sir."
"I can't wait until tomorrow."
"Not if we want to guarantee that we put together the best staff before your opponent is able to."
"I don't have an opponent."
"You will as soon as the deputy mayor makes his announcement.
"When did he file
"Last Friday, and we want to make sure we get the best staff before he's able to."
"And this absolutely can't wait until tomorrow?"
"No sir, not in my opinion and that is what you're paying me for. The quicker we put a staff together the sooner we can start on our message."
"Alright, give me ten minutes." Richard says, as Cassie comes in from the laundry room. "I've got to go to the Beacon."
"Alright, will you be long?"
"No. I don't know. Tell Rj and Will that I will be back before dark."
"I will." She says, leaning over to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He says, releasing her and walking into the kitchen.
He opens the door as Will is coming in. "Daddy, we need you to help us." He says, looking up.
"I'm sorry, I've got to go."
"But you promised to help us practice." Will says, as Richard bends down.
"I've got to go to the Beacon and take care of some business. I will be back as quickly as I can." He says, as Will nods. Standing up, Richard walks out to his car as Will goes into the house.
Jeffrey is coming downstairs as Sam comes in from outside. She has a set of work gloves in her hand and he asks. "What are you doing?"
"I've been cleaning up the yard before it gets too bad."
"You don't need to do that. I'll find someone to come and take care of it."
"Why pay someone to do it when I can?" She asks, walking towards the kitchen
"Because you're pregnant and it's too much work for you and I'm not good at it."
"I'm pregnant. I'm not dying." She says, opening the refrigerator and getting out a bottle of water.
"Sam."
"If you're worried about me doing too much, it'll go much faster if you help me." She says, as she opens the bottle and takes a drink.
"I'll help, but when we get through. You're coming inside and you're spending the rest of the day on the couch, no arguments."
"Fine, let me go to the bathroom and I'll be out to help you." She says, leaning up to kiss him before she leaves the kitchen.
Walking down the hallway to the powder room as he walks over to the door and slips a jacket on, she hears him open the door as she walks into the bathroom. A couple minutes later, she walks out of the bathroom. When she opens the door, she hears the mower start. Looking up, she stands there and watches him as he starts mowing the leaves. Closing the door behind her, she walks over to the steps with her hands on her hips and he looks up and smiles at her. Slowly she walks down the step and over to him as he turns the mower off. "This wasn't what I had in mind when I said if you help it would get done faster."
"I know but you go to admit that it will get done quicker this way and it's better for the yard and environment."
"Oh, so now you want to go green." She says, looking at him.
"No, I want you to remember that you're pregnant and take it easy."
Shaking her head, she sighs before she says. "Alright, I'll go inside and I'll let you handle the back yard and cleaning it up."
"Good, go watch a movie and I'll be through with this in no time and then we'll both hang out on the couch?"
"I'm going to watch the game."
"The Bears will win." He says, with a grin.
"Is there anything you want for supper?"
"Whatever you want to fix is fine." He says, leaning over to kiss her. "I love you."
"I love you too. Go to work and I'll be waiting inside." She says, turning for the house. He watches her until she's inside before he walks over to the mower.
Josh walks in the front door as Reva is coming out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand. Closing the door behind him, he turns to face her. "Hi." She says, walking over to the couch. "I was surprised when I woke up and you were gone."
"I couldn't sleep." He says, following her over to the couch and sitting down beside her. For a moment, he watches her. "I'm sorry about last night." He says, as she looks at him. "It was a knee jerk reaction to anything Jeffrey does."
"Why?"
Josh looks away for a moment and then he looks at her. "I see HB cheating on Ms. Sarah and I react to that."
'It's not his…."
"I know it's not his fault. But when I see him I see proof that HB cheated at least twice on my mom and probably more times than that."
"So insisting that you didn't want Jeffrey to know that truth because you were afraid that I would run off with him wasn't the truth."
"No, it was. I was afraid of that. But on a deeper basis, I didn't want to face the fact that my dad wasn't faithful to my mom, just like I haven't been faithful to you."
"You've always…."
"No, I haven't. I have a son, a child by another woman."
"You were both drunk and you thought I was dead."
"We were drunk and I did think you were dead, does that excuse me?"
"Does it excuse me? I was married to Richard while I was your wife. We had a son too. At least you tried to find me, I accepted Richard…."
"You accepted Richard because you didn't remember us, me."
"What's done is done. We can't go back and change it so rehashing it does us no good." Reva says, putting her coffee cup down.
"I'm sorry I tried to make you leave last night."
"You already apologized for that."
"I know, but I want you to know that I am sorry. I wasn't really mad at him. In fact, I was more than a little jealous. He accomplished something that Billy and I never attempted something I should've thanked him for."
"I'm not the one you owe an apology too." She says, as he looks at her. Suddenly he stands up. "Where are you going?"
"Do you feel like taking a drive with me?" He asks.
"I supposes do. I'm not really dressed to…."
"We're not going anywhere special, well it is special, I think it's time we went o Jeffrey and Sam's house."
"You want to do that?" She asks, as she stands up
"Yes." He says, turning for the door.
"Alright, let me brush my hair." She says, walking towards the stairs.
"Reva, you look fine."
"I'll only be a moment." She says, as she climbs the stairs. She's back less than five minutes later. "Okay, let's go." She says, reaching for her purse.
He holds the door open for her and then follows her out of the house, closing the door behind them.
Jeffrey finished the backyard within a couple hours. Going inside, he pulls his jacket off and hangs it up before he walks over to the couch. "It's fin…." He looks down and realizes that she's asleep. Smiling, he pulls the throw down from the back of the couch and lays it over her. For a moment he stands there, watching her sleep before he leans over and softly kisses her cheek. Standing up, he walks upstairs.
A couple hours after he came inside, Sam wakes up. Sitting up, she first realizes that the games over with and second that she can't hear the mower outside. "J." She calls, looking around.
"I'm in my sturdy." He calls back.
Pushing the throw back, she gets up. Stretching before she walks down the hall to his study. He's at his desk when she reaches the door. "When did you finish?"
"A couple hours ago."
"I wasn't going to fall asleep." She says, as he gets up. "What are you doing?"
"Just going over some stuff for City hall. I can finish it at the office." He says, walking around his desk. "We had a late night last night and you were up early, so it's good that you fell asleep."
"You promised to watch a movie with me."
"No, I told you to watch a movie and when I got done we would hang out on the couch." He says, wrapping his arms around her.
"Well, I have a movie we can watch, if you want to." She says, laying her head on his chest.
"Which one?" He asks.
"Umm, it's a new one."
"Sam, which one?"
"It's the one that I wanted to see in the theater but we were to busy to go. It's on pay-per-view now so I rented it."
"So it's a chick flick. Alright, but next time I get to pick the movie."
"Are you hungry?"
"No, I ate the rest of the pizza, sorry." He says, releasing her. He turns to leave the room. She follows him.
"It's okay, I'm not that hungry. I was going to fix some soup but I can fix it tomorrow night for supper." She says, as they walk into the living room.
"I'll pop some popcorn and we can snack on that." He says, as she walks over to the couch.
"Okay." She says, picking up the remote as she sits down. A few minutes later, he sits down beside her with a bowl of popcorn.
Richard walks in the door after spending the afternoon at the Beacon with Mr. Harrison, discussing the campaign. Closing the door behind him, he hangs his coat up before he walks into the living room. "Daddy, you're home." Will says, getting up to meet him as he walks over to the couch.
"Yes." Richard says, sitting down next to Cassie.
"You didn't come back to help us." Will says, crawling onto Richard's lap as Rj looks over at him.
"Will…" Cassie says.
"It's okay." Richard says, laying his hand on her thigh. "I know I didn't come back. The business I had to take care off took longer than I thought it was going to, but I'll be here tomorrow when you get home from school and we'll practice then, alright?" He asks, as he looks at Rj.
"Alright." Will says, settling into Richard's arms.
"Rj, it that okay?"
"It's fine." Rj says, looking at him.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to practice with you."
"We practiced together." Rj says, sitting up. "Will did really good."
"That's great."
"I think it's time you both get ready for bed. It's almost bed time." Cassie says, getting up. Richard releases Will and he slides off his lap as Rj gets up. "I'll be back down." She says, following the boys upstairs as he nods. Sighing, he closes his eyes as he lays his head back.
The credits are rolling as there is a knock on the door. Jeffrey gets up as Sam leans forward and put the popcorn bowl on the table before she turns to see who's at the door when Jeffrey opens it. "Josh, Reva." He says, in surprise as Sam gets up.
"Are you busy?" Josh asks, his tone quiet
"No, we were watching a movie."
"Oh, we're sorry to interrupt." Reva says.
"You're not, it's just finished. Come in." Jeffrey says, stepping back as Sam walks over to him.
"Josh, Reva." She says, looking at him.
"Hi, Sam." They both reply.
"Is there something wrong?" Sam ask, slipping her hand into Jeffrey's.
"No, we came by…." Reva says.
"I wanted to come by." Josh says, looking at them.
"You wanted to come by?" Jeffrey asks.
"Would you like to sit down?" Sam asks.
"Sure." They reply, following Jeffrey and Sam over to the living room.
"This is a beautiful home." Reva says, looking around. "It fits both of you."
"Ava and Sam decorated it." Jeffrey says, looking at her.
"You both did a wonderful job."
'Thank you." Sam says.
There are a few moments of silence before Josh looks at Jeffrey. "I wanted to come over to talk to you about last night."
"I'm not going to…."
Josh hold up his hand. "I'm not here to fight with you." Josh says, taking a deep breath. "I'm actually here to apologize to you."
"You want to apologize to me?" Jeffrey asks, glancing at Reva.
"Yes, I know that hard to believe but I am here to apologize. My reaction last night when I overheard you talking with your broker really had nothing to do with you, well it did, but it was more about what you represent then you, yourself."
"If it wasn't about me, then what was it about because as far as I know I've done nothing to you personally? I've given you no indication that I have any kind of interest in Reva besides the friendship we have. Marah and I have been over with and if I had known that she was my niece it never would've happened. I think you know that and Richard and Cassie have both forgiven me for the things that happened in San Cristobel, so I don't get your hostility towards me."
"You're living proof that my father never loved my mom."
"Josh, you know that isn't so." Reva says. "HB loved Sarah, you know that."
"He did, then why would he cheat at least twice on her? And it's more likely that he did it several times, if he loved her."
"We will never have those answers." Jeffrey says, as Josh looks at him. "My mother was one of the women that he cheated on your mother with. We will never know why. And I can understand how that affects you. But I'm not responsible for the decisions that our parents made, neither one of us are. I have questions too."
"Like what?"
"I will never know why she wouldn't tell me who my father was. I asked her many times and she would never tell me."
"Do you think I would've mattered?"
"I don't know. When she died I might've come looking for him instead of going to San Cristobel. Of course, if I did that then I probably wouldn't've been involve with the agency. I wouldn't have Ava and I never would've met Sam and we wouldn't be married and having a child together. So, who knows what would've happened."
"You're much more practical than I ever gave you credit for. I know I've been hard on you and for no other reason than I wanted to ignore the fact that our father was unfaithful to my mother."
"Did Reva have anything to do with this?" Sam asks. "Or was that an excuse?"
"No, she did. I was afraid they would end up together. Reva's been with every man in this family, besides Jeffrey. You can understand why I would want to keep her away from Jeffrey?" Josh asks, looking at Sam.
"I slightly understand, but I also know that Jeffrey loves me and I think you should've had a little more faith in her."
"I've never doubted that Reva loves me. I didn't trust him." Josh says, glancing at Jeffrey. "And that was what last night was about too. I don't trust you."
"But why? What has he done that makes you think you can't trust him?"
"He's Jeffrey O'Neill." Josh says, looking at her. "He has a reputation."
"A reputation he got protecting himself from losing me. I've known Jeffrey longer than any of you. His reputation was his way of coping with me being gone. Could you not see that?"
"I saw a man that pretended to be above conventional relationships."
"Because that's what I wanted the world to see." Jeffrey says, reaching for Sam's hand, squeezing it slightly.
"I came to say I'm sorry for last night and the last few months." Josh says, looking at Reva.
"Maybe we should go." She says, moving to stand up.
"Since you're here, would you like to see the rest of the house?" Sam asks. Reva looks at Josh.
"We would love to see the rest of the house. I'm sure it's as beautiful as this is." He says, looking around the living area.
"We'll show you around?" Jeffrey says, getting up with the rest following him. "This is the living room and kitchen. Down the hall are the powder room and my study." He says, walking down the hallway and showing them the powder room and study.
They turn and walk back towards the living room, following Sam. "Upstairs are the bedrooms and master suite." She says, leading them upstairs. "These are the guest rooms." She says, walking over to the other side of the hall. She shows them both rooms with Jeffrey standing behind them. "They both have on suite bathrooms and then down here is the master suite." She says, walking over to a set of double doors. Opening one, she walks in so they can see the master suite. "And it has a on suite bathroom as well."
"Where is the nursery?" Reva asks.
"It's through there." Sam says, pointing to a door across from the bed. "We haven't really done anything with it, yet."
"Well, when you do. If you want some help, I'll help you."
"Thanks."
"Jeffrey, where are your guitars?" Josh asks, as they walk back downstairs.
"Right now, they're still in the back of my car from last night. I'll need to get them in before we go to bed." He says, looking at Sam. She nods. 'Where are you going to practice, or are you keeping the loft?"
"I gave the loft to William and Ava. The next project is to rebuild the garage. And I'll have a rehearsal space above the garage. I have to get with Billy about those plans."
"Would you mind if I look at the garage?" Josh asks, as they reach the living room.
"No, I don't mind." Jeffrey says. "Do you want to go with us?" He asks, turning to Reva and Sam.
"No." Sam says, as Reva shakes her head no.
"Then we'll be back in a little bit." Jeffrey says, turning for the door. Josh follows. Jeffrey pulls his jacket on as Josh opens the door.
A cold gust of wind blows in and Sam shivers. Jeffrey quickly closes the door, as Sam says. "I think it's going to be cold tonight."
"I think so too." Reva says, as they walk over to the couch. She sits down on one end while Sam takes the other.
"So, how did you get him to do this?" She asks, looking at Reva.
"I didn't do anything. He decided on his own to come over."
"Out of the blue, he decided to come over here?"
"Well, no we were talking about last night and he was apologizing about trying to force me to leave with him. And he was explaining everything that he said here and I told him that he needed to say all that to Jeffrey. So he decided to come over."
"Do you believe he means what he said, that he's sorry?"
"I think he does. I'm not sure what's going to happen from here, but I think he means what he says. He's been softening towards Jeffrey for a while now."
"I understand that it's hard for him to accept that his father cheated on his mother, believe me I understand that. But Jeffrey's not responsible for what his father did and Josh has to realize that."
"I think he does. Can I ask you something?" Reva asks, looking at her.
"Okay?"
"Did your father ever cheat on your mother?"
"No, my father was a pastor. He didn't do that."
"But he did something." Reva says, looking at her.
"I understand how Josh feels about finding out that HB had another son and leave it at that." Sam says, getting up and going into the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"
"No, thank you." Reva says watching her walk away. Getting up, she follows her. "You weren't close to your father."
"My father made it very hard to be close to anyone."
"You said you understand how Josh feels about finding out that HB had another son, how is that?"
"I simply meant that I understand how he feels thinking his father was one thing and finding out that he was something totally different." Sam says, as Jeffrey and Josh come back inside each of them carrying a guitar. Reva and Sam turn to them.
"Thanks for helping with the guitars." Jeffrey says.
"Are you sure you don't want to get the amp?"
"No, it'll be alright in the car. The weather affects the guitars more." Jeffrey says, hanging up his jacket. "Just put that guitar down here." He says, pointing to where he put the other guitar. He walks over to the couch, sitting down next to Sam. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing important." Sam says, as Reva gets up to let them have the couch as she goes over to Josh.
"We were talking about our parents."
"What about them?" Josh asks, looking at Reva.
"I was telling Reva that I understand how you feel learning that your dad was different than you thought." Sam says. "It wasn't important." She says, as Jeffrey looks at her.
"Well, I think we need to go on home." Josh says, turning to Reva.
"Yes. Sam whenever you start that nursery let me know and I'll be glad to help." Reva says, as Josh stands up.
"I will. Thank you." She says, standing up with the rest of them.
"And Jeffrey whenever you and Billy start on that garage, I would like to help." Josh says, as Jeffrey nods.
"Thank you." He says, as they walk towards the door.
Opening the door, he hugs Reva before he shakes Josh's hand. They walk out as Sam says. "It was good of you to come over, please come back."
"We will. Thank you." Josh says, turning to her. "Jeffrey." He says, glancing at him before he turns to Reva.
"Josh." Jeffrey says, nodding as they turn and walk down the steps to the walkway leading to the car.
As they leave, Reva reaches for Josh's hand. Taking it, she looks at him and says. "I think that went well."
"It was easier than I thought it would be. I think Sam's not quite sure if I meant it." He says, glancing at her.
"She's defending Jeffrey. And she's right. She knows Jeffrey better than any of us." She says. "I think she had serious problems with her father."
"Why do you say that?"
"Just the way that she understood how you feel about HB. I think her father did something that shook her faith in him."
"Did he cheat on Sam's mom?"
"No. Her father was a pastor, did you know that?"
"No, I didn't But then we don't know much about her either. She didn't say what her father had done?"
"No, we didn't really get into it before you and Jeffrey came back inside. But I think Jeffrey suspects that our conversation was more important than Sam let on."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because he was watching her when we were talking about it."
"I didn't notice." Silence falls between them. They are almost home when Josh remembers his conversation with Dj this morning. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I ran into Dj this morning at Company."
"You did, what happen?"
"Same thing that always happens. He attacks and I defend myself."
"Maybe you should talk to Jeffrey about this? He's been in this situation."
"Jeffrey and Ava were different."
"The circumstances were different. It boils down to the same thing. He found out that he had a daughter that he didn't know about and you have a son that you didn't know about. He might be able to help you reach him. And if you think about it, you and Dj have more than being father and son in common. Both of you have lost faith in your parents." Reva says, as they pull up to Cross Creek.
"I don't think he's going to listen to me talk about HB. He heard me discussing it with Buzz and he was rather rude about it, this morning."
"What did he say?"
"Something about cheating being genetic and that I always run away."
"Why does he think you ran away?"
"I don't know. I didn't know about him, but that doesn't seem to matter to him." Josh says, as they get out of the car. She slips her arm around his waist as they walk in the house.
Sam walks into the kitchen while he stands at the door until they leave. Closing the door, he walks over to her and leans against the counter. "Do you think he meant that apology?" Sam asks, opening the refrigerator.
"I suppose he did. We'll have to see. What else were you and Reva talking about?"
"We only talked about what we said."
"I think there was more to it." He says, as she takes out the stuff for a grill cheese sandwich. "Sam?" He asks.
"It was exactly like I said. I told her that I understood how Josh felt finding out that his dad wasn't what he thought he was."
"But there was more to it."
"It wasn't that important. We were just talking."
He reaches out to stop her. "Talk to me."
"I'm hungry." She says, turning for the stove. "Could you see if there is a can of tomato soup in the pantry?"
"Sam."
"Can I get something to eat?" She asks, looking at him. He stands there for a moment and then he turns to the pantry. Getting the soup, he hands it to her and then steps back to lean against the counter. "You don't have to stand there staring at me like I'm going to run away or something." She says. He stays where he's at.
When she has everything cooked, he follows her over to the dining table. Sitting down beside her, he waits for her to say something. "Are you going to tell me what you're thinking?" He asks, watching her.
"I can't eat first."
"You can eat and tell me what you were saying to Reva." He says, watching her.
Sighing, she looks at him. "I basically told you everything that I said to her…."
"Sam, come on."
"I'm telling you the truth. The only other thing I told her was about him being a pastor."
"Alright, that's all you said to her about your father, I'll accept that. But the reason you can understand how Josh feels about HB is because you felt the same thing when your parents divorced. Your dad became a different person in your eyes, just as HB's became a different person in Josh's eyes." He says, as she looks at him. "Am I right?"
"Alright, my view of my father changed after my parents divorced. You already know that."
"I do, so what I don't understand is why you wouldn't just admit that, unless there's more to it." He says, looking at her. Sighing, she stares at her soup. She should've realized that she wouldn't be able to keep him from guessing that her father had been on her mind. It might not have come out today but eventually he would have sensed that she was worried about something. "Sam."
"You're right, okay." She says, getting up, having lost her appetite.
He reaches out to stop her. "Finish eating."
"I'm not hungry now." She says, pulling her hand away.
"Please, sit down and eat and tell me what you've been thinking." He says, as she sits down. Picking up her sandwich, she takes a bite while she watches him. After she swallows a few bites, he says. "So what have you been thinking?"
"My dad has been on my mind lately, since this stuff happened with Arianna and being told that Miah's in Laurel Falls. I've been thinking about the way my dad was after Mom left. How he was cold and harsh. How he treated all of us, and especially how he purposely destroyed my mother, because she left him."
"Okay."
"I know I'm not responsible for the things he did, but I'm a little scared that it wasn't a choice he made."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, maybe he was genetically made that way. And that maybe I'll be the same way." She says, looking at her soup.
"No, there's no way you would ever be like your father. I know you."
She looks up. "Telling me what I want to hear simply to make me feel better will not answer the fears running through my head."
"I'm not telling you something just to make you feel better. I'm telling you the truth because I know you." He says, reaching for her hand. "You're not your father. Do you know how I know that?" He asks, as she shakes her head no. "I know that because you're worried that you will be. If you were your father, you wouldn't even realize that what he did was wrong. He made you choose between him and your mother. He beat you done until you had nothing. And he did it simply to feel the control it placed in his hands. You're not going to be your father, Sam. There's too much love inside you to ever be what he was."
"What if I do the same thing to Aidan?"
"You won't, for the same reasons I said before. "You're not your father and you never will be. So please don't worry about it." He says, reaching to caress her cheek. "You only started thinking about this after Arianna came to the clinic, right?"
"Maybe it crossed my mind before that, but only once or twice. I don't want my boy growing up the way I did."
"And that's exactly why you will not treat him the way you were treated."
"The possibility…."
"Sam, you're not your father." He says, taking her hands. "You're not!" He says, shaking her slightly.
"You can't know that."
"So what are saying? That you don't want…."
"Don't even finish that statement Jeffrey O'Neill." She says, getting up. "I'm only saying that I'm scared I'll be the same as my dad, that's it." She says, turning away.
He stands up and reaches to stop her. Wrapping his arms around her. he says. "I'm sorry. I now you want him and I know you're scared. Please believe me when I say that you're not going treat him like your father treated you. I wish you already knew that so that you wouldn't worry." He says, softly kissing the top of her head.
"I'm going to do everything I can not to be my Dad, but…." She feels him open his mouth. "Let me finish. There are statistical facts that prove that abused children are likely to abuse their own children."
"I will be there."
"To watch me." She asks, turning in his arms and looking up.
"No, to help you. Part of abuse is the loss of control. Your father lost control of your mother when she left. And because he lost that control, he focused his need on you, Jeremiah and Megan. It wasn't genetic. If it was genetic, your grandfather would've been the same way and you've told me how he treated you, Jeremiah and Megan. They loved you and your father loved you too. He just needed control." He says, as she lays her head against his chest.
"I want him to know happiness." Sam says, hugging him.
"He will. He will be the happiest baby there ever was. And he will have the most loving mother a boy could ever have." He says, lightly kissing the top of her head. "So will you finish eating and I'll go draw you a bath?"
"Okay." She says, as he releases her. She goes back to the table as he walks over to the stairs. "Jeffrey." She says, looking up. He turns back to her. 'Thank you for letting me talk."
He walks back over to her. "You can talk to me anytime. I love you too much to let you worry about something that won't happen." He says, as he pulls her into a hug. "Now finish eating and I'll start a bath for you."
"I love you."
"I love you too." He says before he lightly kisses her. Releasing her, he turns her towards the table. "Go eat." He says, turning for the stairs as she laughs softly.
Richard is still sitting on the couch when Cassie comes back downstairs from putting the boys to bed and taking a shower. She sits down beside him as he asks. "Are they in bed?"
"Yes." She says, as he lifts his arm and she moves over to him. "Did you get everything settled with Kevin?"
"For the most part. He will contact the candidates we agreed upon this week."
"Is it anyone I know?"
"Only Holly, the guy we're approaching to handle the campaign finances is from Oakdale, a Martin Westbrook. And then Holly's going to handle communications and Kevin is the campaign manager. The rest of the staff will be volunteers. I hate that I missed the afternoon with the boys. I didn't mean to break that promise to them. It's just that once I got…."
"I don't think they're that upset. And there are going to be times that you can't always do exactly what you said you were going to do when you say you are going to do it. The boys will understand that."
"I've already broken one promise to Rj. I didn't want to break another. And if I stay in the campaign there might be other times that I can't do exactly what I tell them I'm going to do."
"You're not intentionally hurting them. And this campaign is important. You will be there when you need to be."
"How did I do this before?"
"We had a staff of people to help us."
"We didn't leave Rj and Tammy with nannies. My father left us in the care of nannies. I won't do that to them or our baby."
"Would you stop? It was one day, not their entire lives and I happen to know that you will always put these kids before any political event or office." She says, looking at him. "They both understand that you had to work today."
'I guess I am feeling a little bit sorry for myself. I wanted to spend the day with them, doing the normal things that father's and son's do. I am going to speak to Kevin and make it clear that Saturday and Sunday are to be used for me to spend time with you and the kids, no exceptions on Sunday."
"If you want to do that, then I support you."
"You know I really am exhausted. Do you mind if we go to bed early?"
"No, that's fine." She says, moving to get up. He follows her. She turns for the stairs with him behind her. When they reach their bedroom, he goes into the closet while she pulls the covers back on the bed.
"I'll be right out." He says, walking into the bathroom.
Nodding, she walks over to the closet. When she comes back, she smiles when she hears him singing the shower. Laying down, she pulls the covers up as she shivers slightly. Ten minutes later, he comes out as he's drying his hair. He drops the towel by the bed as he sits down. "Before you lay down, could you turn the heat up?" She asks, as he turns to look at her. Smiling, he gets up. Leaving the room, he comes back a few moments later. "Thank you. It feels colder tonight." She says, as he lays down beside her.
Lifting his arm, she moves over to him as he says. "I'll keep you warm." He says, as she snuggles in closer to him.