Disclaimer: The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.


Chapter 9 had a little mistake, but it's been fixed. Hope its not too confusing. :) Thanks for reading.


Chapter 10

Randie's eyes popped open to the sound of two little gasped and found Cory and Cameron staring at her with big smiled. She held the blanket tight against her bosom and put a finger to her lips.

Cameron gave her a big hug like he had been doing every morning.

"Good morning." She said softly to the twins who seemed overly happy to see her in Matt's bed. "And I bet you're hungry." She giggled as she asked Cory who was always hungry. It still amazed her that she could tell them apart. They were identical from their platinum blonde hair to the dimple on their cheeks. Even their father and brothers had trouble, but it had only taken her a few days to see that Cameron's lips turned up slightly in the corner when he grinned and one of his eyebrows went up slightly when he was up to something while Cory was shy. His little voice slightly softer.

"I'll be right out." She promised the boys who ran out of the room continuing whatever game they had been playing, then she glanced at Matt. She hadn't expected him to make love to her the night before. He fallen asleep so easily and she'd almost drifted off herself when he turned towards. She gently moved his arm and he let out a contented sigh. The twins wouldn't wait too long before coming back and she didn't want them to wake Matt. He seemed so tired all the time and she worried about him. She pulled back the covers and winced. Her thighs were sore. She giggled a bit. Matt had been wild. His touch remained gentle, but his passion had been unbridled.

XXX

Matt awoke with a headache the next morning … and to the smell of bacon. Bacon that wasn't burning. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine in the morning. He never slept that late on his day off. Cory and Cameron were usually jumping on his bed whining about some lost toy or fighting over something or another. Marty would be right behind them complaining about being bored because Jeff was at work and Sloan usually caused a huge crash in the kitchen from some science experiment he had tried to concoct.

The extra sleep had felt good, but it sent off an instant alarm. Why was it so quiet? And who the hell was messing around in the kitchen? He hopped out of bed and stepped out of his room.

Cameron and Cory were on the floor building something out of blocks, talking and getting along quietly. Jeff was stretched out on the couch with the phone to his ear. Marty was watching some cartoon DVD and Sloan was sitting at the table kneading dough with his fist, chatting with Randie Parker who was just bending over to peer into the oven. He stood against the wall just between the two rooms, watching for a minute. He liked the view.

"Good morning, Matt." Sloan said with a smile the minute he noticed him.

"Morning." He shook off his thoughts and held his lips tight.

"Shhh. Dad's still sleeping." Sloan said with a finger to his lips. He walked over to Randie, leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "I told you we didn't need you this Saturday. I'm off." He kept his voice low, but his tone slightly harsh.

"You told her to stay last night moron." Jeff informed him as he sauntered into the kitchen to cradle the phone. "You woke up half the house last night. Do you have to be so loud when you get laid?"

"Why are you home? Don't you have to work?" Matt stared daggers at his brother. He liked privacy where his intimate life was concerned and he sure didn't like his brash little brother saying it so bluntly in front their young siblings. Not to mention the fact that he didn't remember screwing anyone the night before.

Randie was wearing one of his tee shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts. Blurred bits and pieces of the night before came back. He had drank way too much. Far more than usual and he felt guilty for it because he knew he'd spent money they couldn't afford him spend. And he felt like she had taken advantage, using his drunken state to crawl into his bed. She had to know by then that he had no interest in her. He was about to ask her to leave when what she was stirring caught his eye. "I – is that homemade gravy?"

Randie's lips spread into a smile and she took a spoon, dipped it in the pan, blew on it a bit, then with a hand under the spoon, she brought it to his lips. It tasted as good as everything else she'd made for him. "How did you learn to cook like that?"

She shrugged her shoulder. "Cook books … I guess."

"This doesn't look like a volcano, Randie."

Randie broke eye contact with him and hurried over to Sloan. Matt watched her. She inspected Sloan's project like a diligent mother. All her attention on him.

"It looks like a big lump of nothing." Sloan loved science, but he tended to over think his projects or chose something so complicated that it overwhelmed him and never worked right. He hoped he found something else that interested him before he burned the house down.

"You have to work with it. It's not going to just fall into the shape you want it to be." Randie opened one the books on the table and set it up so Sloan could see. "Look at the picture. Really look at it and just play with the clay until you're happy. Then we'll bake it." She began to smooth the base of the lump with her fingers and Sloan copied her. She returned to the stove as soon as she was sure he had the hang of it.

"It's a simple project. I don't know if it will be good enough." Sloan worried.

"It's sixth grade. It's good enough." Randie laughed. "And you have months to work on it before the science fair. By then you'll have all kinds of research and you'll add to the model. It will be amazing."

"But the other kids will have hamsters turning on lightbulbs with their wheels."

"Which means none of them will have a volcano. Relax little man. I told you the judges on love little details. I swear, you're gonna give yourself an ulcer by the time your thirteen." She laughed as she dished bacon from the pan to a nearby paper towel lined plate.

"But I want to go to college. I have to get a scholarship." Sloan worried.

"Are they going to give you a scholarship if you win?" She asked.

"No."

"Then why are you freaking?"

Sloan was speechless for a moment. "I don't know."

"It's middle school. Try your best. Learn from the mistakes and have some fun. Geeze, you're too young to act so old."

Sloan smiled sheepishly and Matt was in awe. It was like the twilight zone. His house. Without kayos on Saturday morning. And Randie talking so easily to his little brother and smiling when she could barely speak to him. It was almost like she was pretending. Like they had done when they were kids.

"Clean up." She sang out after about ten minutes. "Breakfast is almost done."

"I'll wash my hands and take Dad a plate." Sloan obeyed. Matt shook his head. It was weird. Sloan was usually so wrapped up in his own little world when he was working on an experiment. So much so that he didn't hear a word he said to him and he got frustrated and upset anytime he was dragged out of whatever he was working on.

"Dad doesn't like to eat in bed." Matt stated dryly.

"He's got a bit of fever this morning." Randie's whispered, but he think it was partly so the children playing in the next room wouldn't hear. "He said he had a bad night."

"Fever?" Matt was instantly alarmed. That was how his last hospital stay had begun.

"Slight." She said. "I called the doctor and he said to keep an eye on it and let him know if it hits one oh one."

"You should have woke me." He growled and he was sure she jumped a little. He stepped closer and she tensed.

"I'm sorry." She stated meekly and her hands shook a little as she transferred the food from the counter to the table. He went to the fridge to pour some juice. He stared at the contents for a moment. It had never looked that clean before. The shelves were actually white and not sticky with spilled who knows what. He was about to compliment her on it when he heard a loud crash, followed instantly by a babies wales. He spun around. She had been on the very tip of her toes, pulling out a stack of plates when a couple had slipped off and shattered at her feet. She immediately dropped to her knees to gather the shards.

Matt rushed over to her and she jumped when he was right there in front of her.

"I'm sorry." She shuddered. "I'm so sorry."

He brought his hand up and she cringed, shutting her eyes and turning away as if she expected him to strike her and she seemed a bit surprised that he only swept the hair out of her face, exposing a thick scar at the corner of her eye. He brushed his finger over it and she turned away quickly as if he had exposed her as a hideous monster.

"I need to get the baby." She whispered, but Matt put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"I'll get her." He offered. Randie was obviously shaken up.

He went to the playpen that was set up on the empty wall in his kitchen. The child was so tiny he was a little scared he would break her, but he fit her safely in his arms and took a seat with her at the table.
"What's her name?"

Randie's hands still trembled as she cleaned up the broken glass and finished setting the table. "Um – Oliva Jean." Her voice shook a bit and Matt looked up the moment she'd said it.

"That was my mother's name." She stood frozen beside him, biting her lower lip. She knew his mother's name and he smiled. His mother was a wonderful woman who had been very fond of Randie. And Randie had been fond of her and she obviously hadn't forgotten. He felt honored.

He looked at the baby who looked up at him with big eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Oliva Jean Parker." He said softly, feeling a sense of happiness and wonder as the infant wrapped her tiny fingers around his.

"Hardy." Randie corrected him in a faint whisper.

Again, Randie made him glance up at her with surprise.

"Like her father." Randie gazed at her feet.

"I'm hungry." Cameron came running into the kitchen. "Can we eat now?"

"Wash your hands first." Matt commanded weakly. He gazed up at Randie again. Then he gazed at Oliva, then ran a hand over his face. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know if it could be true. He rose, handed the baby to Randie and walked out the door, letting it slam behind him.

He paced the front porch. Was it part of the game she played?

Matt went to his truck and tore out all the junk he'd tossed into his glove box and never cleaned out, remembering that ultrasound picture. He found it and he stared at it and the date printed on it. He knew exactly when he was with Randie. For some reason the dates had stuck in his head. He counted it up. Randie's baby was three months old and added up perfectly to the first time they had been together.

"Shit." He was angry again. That was how she had chosen to tell him? He was livid. It was so vague, but as he looked closer at the message he noticed a few stray marks next to the heart and when the light hit it just right, he saw that an R had been imprinted, as the author had begun to sign it, but the pen had run out of ink.

Randie walked out of the house with her backpack over her shoulder and the baby in her arms. She paused on the porch when she noticed him in his vehicle. She'd probably thought he'd gone to tend to the barn, like he usually did when something in the house frustrated him.

"This is how you chose to tell me!" he yelled at her. He'd never raised his voice at Randie Parker before. His tone had been harsh but he had never screamed at her before. She jumped at every word and began to cry as he stomped towards her waving the thin paper. Her terrified, frozen stare only infuriated him. She gave him no explanation. She said nothing. "You show up here with a baby and you expect me to believe she mine!"

She shook her head.

"All you've ever done is play games with me."

"No." she mouthed. But her sobbing was so uncontrolled that she was gasping for air. He took her arms and kept her from turning away.

"Say something!" He bellowed.

"Just you." She sobbed.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I've only been with you!" She screamed out and it caught him off guard. Randie had never spoken in a normal volume much less yell.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" He asked. "With all the guys – Logan. He's the one you were with all the time. She's really his isn't she? He dumped you and you now you're wanting to me to play daddy? For how long Randie? Until you get bored?"

She walked passed him, her steps hurriedly heading down his dirt drive way.

"Randie!" he screamed after her. "Randie!" he screamed but she kept walking so he took a few long strides to catch up to her. "So, you're just gonna tell me something like this and leave?"

"I'm taking Olivia to my aunt." She said in her normal barely audible tone. "Since your father's sick." She wiped away a tear. "And I don't want her to see … I – thought."

"What? What did you think?"

"I – I've always thought you were – but I was wrong." She sobbed.

"Don't you think I have enough to worry about without some chick coming in here trying to push her kid on me?" the baby began to cry.

"Oliva shouldn't hear fighting. Not like I did." She whispered. "I'll be back, then you can yell at me all you want."