A/N: Enjoy!
Chapter 3: This Love.
The following day Brock awoke and decided he head down and start breakfast. Henry and Jake were both staying with him this weekend since Jake said things got pretty hectic around the house, with Reba not living there anymore. Little Henry and Jake were already awake by the time Brock got up and were sitting downstairs watching cartoons.
"Hey guys. What are you doin' up so early?" Brock asked as he walked towards the couch.
Jake turned to Henry and rolled his eyes, "Dad, it's eleven o'clock." Henry smiled and nodded his head as they both turned back to look at the television.
Brock chuckled and walked towards the kitchen, "Are you both hungry?" he called out.
Both of them nodded. "Yes Daddy." said little Henry as he continued to watch batman with his older brother.
A half an hour later, Brock called both Henry and Jake into the kitchen for the breakfast, he had prepared for them. He wasn't such a good cook, but he made a mean bowl of cheerios. Jake and Henry sat down at the table and looked down at the bowls staring in front of them. "Dad, this took you a half an hour to make?" asked Jake as he heard little Henry laugh along with him and start to eat his cheerios.
"Alright, alright. So I'm not such a great cook, but I tried." Brock said, as he sat down next to his two sons at the table. They both sat there and ate breakfast as Brock admired them. Time had flown by so fast, Jake was just starting high school, and Henry already a second grader. It seemed like just yesterday Reba gave birth to Jake. He was out playing golf, when Reba had called to tell him her water broke. And Henry, when he was conceived he realized his marriage with Reba had finally crumbled. But looking at them now, today, he knew that everything that had happened, happened for a reason.
Brock was just staring at them, when Jake snapped him out of his trance. "Daddy, what am I supposed to call John. I've never really spoken to him before, but is he going to be another dad to me? Am I supposed to call him anything?"
Brock mood changed, "You're not supposed to call him anything, when you see him, you just point to him and say 'That's the bastard that ruined my mother's life'." Henry and Jake both looked at him shocked as he realized what he had just said. "Oh great, both your mom's will shoot me, if they find out I just cussed in front of you."
Henry laughed, "Don't worry, daddy. We won't tell anyone, right Jake?"
Jake nodded, "Yeah, besides, I'm thirteen I use that kind of language all the time, if not worse."
Brock laughed and then realized he should play the more fatherly role. "Well you shouldn't. It's bad language, and it's not polite. How do you expect to get a girlfriend with that kind of language?"
Jake shook his head, "Mom, told me that's how you got her attention."
Brock smiled, "No, your mom is wrong. I was playing football one day and it was the day she came to one of my games. Long story, short she distracted me and I missed the pass so I cussed out loud, when the other team got a touch down. It was a complete accident, but from that day on, that's how she noticed me. Not that I wasn't noticeable before, 'cause I was co-captain, but it was 'cause your mom was sort of a book worm."
Jake and Henry looked at each other and Jake rolled his eyes. "Sure sounds like you got her attention by cussing."
Brock chuckled, "Alright, alright. What is today? 'gang up on dad' day? Speaking of your mom, have you seen her?"
Jake frowned, "No...I haven't seen her, since she came out of the hospital, and that was a while ago."
Henry followed his brother and frowned as well, "I miss Reba."
"Henry, you're starting to sound like your mom." he said laughing. "I'm sure Reba's fine. She's just working things out with John, ever since the accident. They probably just need some alone time, that's all. She'll be back in no time."
"Dad, I don't like John." Jake said as Henry nodded.
Brock gave his two sons a look of compassion, "I don't either. But your mother, obviously loves him. So we've got no say in the matter." He walked up from the table and walk towards the front door. "Guys, I'm gunna check the mail, hold on."
Both boys nodded, as Brock reached inside the mailbox to gather the mail. "...bills...more bills...letter from Reba...more bills..." he paused his flipping through the mail and flipped back to the letter from Reba. 'A letter from Reba? What could she not tell him in person, that she had to write a letter about?' he thought to himself.
He opened up the letter and read it.
Dear Brock,
I appreciate you for all that you've done. You've helped through everything and I just want you to know that I'm grateful. You were always there for me and I'm not just talking about during my marriage with John. I'm glad to say you're one of my best friends and I love you. I never stopped and I always will. But I just have to get away. I'm going to Lori Ann's for a while in California. Please give the children my regards and tell Barbra Jean thanks.
Love,
Reba.
Brock was flabbergasted. He could not speak, he felt as if there was a big lump in his throat. He looked down at what she had wrote. She had admitted to loving him, and she's leaving to California? What was he going to do? Brock folded the letter and put it in his pocket, he was going to follow her. He wasn't gunna let her get away. Not this time.
He ran inside, picked up the phone, and asked Barbra Jean to come over. He told her everything and she said she'd be over in about five minutes. He was happy he was able to talk to her about this kind of stuff now. In the mean time, he had gotten ready, and packed a weeks worth of clothes. Barbra Jean arrived just in time, and handed him a map, he would be able to use. He took the whole phone book and figured he would look for Lori-Ann's number. It wouldn't be easy considering she'd changed her name, three million times due to the excessive amount of husbands.
Soon after, he got into the car, turned on the ignition and was off. While he was driving, he passed by Reba and John's apartment. He decided he would stop, and have a word with John. He parked and got out the car, slamming his door. He walked up to the apartment, and walked right in, since the door was unlocked. He stopped dead in his tracks, when he saw John on the couch, completely intoxicated.
"Where the hell is Reba?" Brock asked as he walked towards the couch.
John tried to get up and face him as he stumbled, "Something about California, I think. But who cares, anyway. I'll share this with you, here." he said holding up his drink.
Brock pushed John's hand out the way, "I don't want your filthy drink. Why the hell is Reba going to California for, what did you do to her?"
John rolled his eyes and fell back down on the couch. "Relax, I didn't do anything." he said taking a gulp of the scotch that was in his cup. "She served me divorce papers, and left. What am I supposed to do run after her?"
Brock shook his head and looked away disgustingly at John. "You disgust me, you know that?" Brock said. "I bet you didn't even love her, you just married her for one thing, and when it didn't go your way, you backed down."
John took another gulp of his drink. "What does it matter? She's just some other woman. She isn't important, I gave her everything. I made her the talk of the town. Everyone walked up to her, knowing she was married to me. You should of seen all of the other lawyers in the firm, they were so jealous." He swayed a bit as he tried to get up. "They kept talkin' bout how I'm lucky enough to screw the pretty red head, in the real estate building next to us. That's all they ever talked about, but I can tell you one thing, she's one great lady, she was fun to scr-"
John didn't even get to finish his sentence, before he was knocked off his feet by Brock. He looked down at the almost unconscious man on the floor, "Don't you ever say that about Reba ever again. She was right to divorce you, you no good piece of crap. Reba deserves better than you, and she can do better than you. If I ever see you as close as an inch, near her again I will hunt you down, and have you arrested. You hear me?" The nearly unconscious man nodded slowly as Brock left and got into his car.
The next day in California, Reba had just arrived at Lori-Ann's house. Lori-Ann had greeted her in and they sat at the table talking.
"Reba, honey, what's wrong? Are you having trouble with John again? I thought he would change after the accident." said Lori-Ann.
Reba tried to force a smile but she couldn't. "I served him divorce papers."
"Aww, don't worry about it. He doesn't deserve you and you deserve better." Lori-Ann said trying to comfort her friend.
Reba shook her head, "It wasn't like this though. He was different before we married, he was fun and funny and compassionate. Then one day everything just came crashing down. Why is it that I can't find anyone to make me happy? Why is God punishing me? Every relationship I try to start, it ends badly. What did I do to deserve this?" she said now as she started to sob.
Lori-Ann pulled her best friend into hug, "Sweetie, you've done nothing to deserve this. Everything happens for a reason, maybe those men weren't the right ones for you. Maybe God's just waiting for the right man to pair you up with. Come on, cheer up."
Reba tried to cheer up but continued to sob, "I can't Lori-Ann, I can't. I gave myself away to someone who didn't care, I married, abandoned my family, and I love my ex-husband, when he doesn't care for me that way anymore. My life can't get any worse."
Lori-Ann pulled away shocked and looked at Reba, "You told Brock you loved him?" she asked almost startled.
Reba wiped some of the tears off her face, "I wrote him a letter. I couldn't sit there and take rejection, it would only end in more pain."
"Honey, have you ever thought that maybe he'd feel the same?"
Reba shook her head 'no', "Lori-Ann, he left me eight years ago for his pregnant dental hygienist, and then he pranced her around in my house, that I won in the divorce every single day, to rub it in my face."
Lori-Ann smiled, "Maybe he came around to see you?"
"I doubt it."
Lori-Ann paused for a minute and thought, "Okay, what about that plumber you had a date with? You told me Brock was jealous as hell."
Reba sighed, "It was natural feelings. He just felt uncomfortable seeing me with someone else."
"Reba, I've seen the way he looks at you and it's more than the 'I love you as the mother of my children' type." Lori-Ann said.
Reba rolled her eyes, "Lori-Ann, even if he did. You think someone as cheap as Brock would follow me to California? Especially with the gas prices this high up."
Lori-Ann was about to say something, when she was cut off by the phone ringing. She picked it up and answered.
on the phone:
"Hello?"
"Lori-Ann?"
"This is she, who's this?"
"It's me, Brock. Is Reba there?"
"Yeah..."
"Good, I'm outside, if I've got the right address. Tell her to come out."
"Alright, but..."
"Lori-Ann, I don't want any buts, I just want Reba. Can you do me this favor, please?"
"Okay, sure."
"Okay, see you in a few, Bye."
"Bye."
end of phone call.
Lori-Ann looked over to Reba in almost a shocked 'I told you, he loved you' kind of way. "Well, who was it?" asked Reba.
"It was Brock. He's looking for you." Almost as if as soon as she said it, she heard a knock on the door. They both look towards each other as Lori-Ann smiled and moved towards the door to open it.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. My only excuse is school. It holds you back from everything. Lol. Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and review to let me know what you think. :)
