Title: It's a Wonderful Life
Chapter 6: Are you kidding me?
Time: December 2008 (after the sixth season of Reba and beyond)
No copyright infringement intended.
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"Have you told Dad yet?" Cheyenne asked.
"No, I'll have the conversation with him later. I wanted to talk with you first," Reba explained.
"What about Mike? Does he know about this?" John asked. He was wearing his characteristic smirk.
Reba hadn't anticipated this type of reaction. She figured that there would be more shock and outrage. John looked almost gleeful. It wasn't right, but Reba figured that she would deal with that later. Cheyenne sent Kyra a guilty look. Kyra sent Cheyenne an equally warning look to keep her quiet. Reba eyed her daughters for a second. "Alright, what are you two up to?"
"Nothing. Look, we didn't plan for anythin' to happen. We just wanted you to be happy. We wanted you to move on..." Cheyenne stopped in midsentence.
This was the part where Brock figured that working with the kids was going to land him in hot water with Reba. That's when Kyra jumped in. "What Cheyenne is tryin' to say is that we gave Brock condoms last night."
"What?" Reba's glare ran from Cheyenne, to Kyra, and then to Brock. "I'm so embarrassed. Welcome to my family. These are my children. They all live here with us. They have a tendency to do the most shocking things. This is just the beginning. Still sure about this?"
Brock put his arm around Reba to show support. He knew that she was stressing out about this. It couldn't be good for her blood pressure. Reba found it strange how she instinctively drew comfort in his simple embrace. "Well, Jake, how do you feel about all this?" Brock had a feeling that Jake might be his harshest critic since he hadn't gave much of a positive reaction yesterday in support of his mother's date.
Jake stopped to contemplate this latest change in his family. He didn't want his parents together anymore because it wouldn't last. It never did. He knew that Reba didn't love his dad the way that she loved Mike and he didn't want her with Mike either. He was getting used to having Barbra Jean in their lives. He remembered how sad his mom was before because of Mike. He didn't want to see her that sad again. "Is Henry our brother now?"
Brock smiled. "Yeah, he's your step-brother."
"You said that you knew my mom before. Is this about old feelings bubblin' up to the surface for you and Mom in one far away from home in a hotel gettin' sloppy drunk night?"
"Jake Mitchell Thornton!"
"Well, Barbra Jean said it. She was talking about it after you guys left," Jake explained, "Don't worry. I don't believe that. I don't think that you would marry anyone unless it was real. Right, Mom?"
Reba shot Brock a panicked look. He tightened his hold around her and answered Jake's question. "Don't worry, Jake. This is very real. Do you remember in that movie, Yours Mine and Ours when the man and woman met again after years and came home married after one night together? It's like that." Brock kissed Reba's cheek for emphasis.
Jake smiled. "I'm glad because otherwise I was scared that Mom was going crazy again."
Before anyone could comment on that statement, Elizabeth came running into the room. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth. What am I supposed to call you?"
"What do you want to call me, little one?" Brock asked, smiling at her.
"Well, I call my grandpa Max by Papa, because that is what Grandma calls her grandpa. I call my grandpa Mike by Gramps, because that is what Grandma calls Grandpa Kenny. He's her step-grandpa. Grandma has two grandpas like me. Wait, do I have three grandpas now?" Elizabeth explained.
Brock chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you do. You know you could always call me Grampy. I've always wanted to have a granddaughter like you to call me Grampy."
"Okay!" she answered Brock brightly. Elizabeth then turned to Reba. "He's nice. I like him."
"Wait a second! Henry is family now. He's your step-son. Barbra Jean is his mother. We're all related to Barbra Jean now. What is Henry supposed to call you? Keep in mind that BJ will want us to call her the same thing," Kyra remarked with a smirk of her own.
Reba groaned. "How about Aunt Reba for Henry when he's comfortable?" She posed this question to Brock.
"Or he could call you Mommy Reba. BJ would just love that," Brock responded sarcastically.
Reba snapped her fingers. "I think that's a brilliant idea. We could say that's what he's gonna call me just to mess with her head. Seriously if you kids call her Mommy BJ, I swear I'll disown you." She turned to Brock again. "He can call me whatever he wants. I don't wanna pressure him. Especially for this," Reba whispered in his ear.
"What do you mean especially for this? I thought that we agreed to give this a real try," he whispered back into her ear.
Reba couldn't respond because the hushed whispers between them were interrupted by Jake. "So what do we call your new husband, Mom?"
"Do you want us to call him Dad like your last husband?" John quipped.
"Are you really gonna talk about Mike that way? Hey, he was your father. You should call him Dad. I don't think that's so unreasonable when I'm marrying your father."
"You should call this one Dad. That'll really bug Mike." Cheyenne remarked.
"Cheyenne Marie Thornton! Don't get him started," Reba warned.
"Or we could have that pleasant conversation about how Mike is John's father and if things had worked out in Vegas, then we'd all be Mike's children," Cheyenne continued.
"Mom should be happy with the two love children that she got. See John and I are her love children with Mike," Kyra told Brock.
Reba flashed her children her signature glare. "My children are exaggerating. They know better. I don't put Mike on a pedestal and I don't put John and Kyra on a pedestal for being Mike's. They're messin' with you. They know that I love them all equally. John and Kyra just love to be sarcastic and Cheyenne eggs them on."
Reba took Brock on a tour of the house. "This place is huge. Why did you build something so big? Did you have bigger plans for the future?"
"No. I just wanted all of the children to have a family place to call home anytime."
"You have more bedrooms than children."
"Mike has three children, including Terry, beside our two and Max has three children beside our two so it made sense to me. That makes a total of ten children and one grandchild. You don't divorce children. The kids have grown up together as a family. Max's first wife died when the kids were little so I've raised them as my own. They are blood siblings to Cheyenne and Jake. There's also Elizabeth to consider. Mike and I were married for four years. Mike's children are blood siblings to John and Kyra, except Terry who is their biological cousin, but that's beside the point. It's what ties us together as a family."
"I can't wait to see what this place looks like during the holidays, especially since we have a new child to add to the bunch," Brock remarked.
"New child?"
"Yeah, Henry is my son and you are my wife like we talked about with the kids. Henry is part of this family now so he should have a place here too."
"Does he have his own room at your place?"
"Yeah, but this is where we live now. I'd like to live here permanently and only travel to Houston as needed. I could have shared custody with Barbra Jean and Henry could live here half the week." Reba's face clouded over. Brock noticed the change. "What is it? Did I say somethin' wrong?"
"You have to understand how I feel about Barbra Jean. I hate her so much. I already have to deal with her at work. My home is my sanctuary away from that craziness."
"But he's my son. When you look at him, can't you just think of me and not her? I promise not to bring her into the house. I can pick Henry up and drop him off at Mike's." Reba's expression hadn't budged. "Don't you like me more than you hate her?"
"I guess," Reba reluctantly admitted.
"Can't you like him as much as you like me?" he further prodded.
"Yeah, maybe more because I don't really like you that much," Reba teased.
"Is that a fact?"
"Yeah, there's a room down the hall that would be perfect for you and Henry."
"What do you mean, me and Henry?"
"I told you that you'd be sleeping in your own room. What better way to spend more time with him than to share a room with him while he settles into a new house, a new family, and a new routine."
Brock had to admit that Reba had a point. He just didn't like sharing a room with a five year old while his wife was down the hall. He didn't want Henry to tell Mike and BJ that Brock and Reba slept in separate beds. He didn't want Mike to think that it wasn't a real marriage.
There were further problems to face later that night. Reba had just fallen into a deep sleep in her bedroom. At the same time, Brock was fast asleep in one of the guest rooms that he'd chosen for Henry. He had a harder time falling asleep than Reba did. He was in a strange house, sleeping in a twin bed while his wife was fast asleep in a king sized bed in her own bedroom. Brock didn't think that his marriage was off to the best start. Usually in a successful marriage, the husband and wife usually slept in the same bedroom. Brock knew that he would have to be patient and give Reba some time. He prayed that things were move along in their relationship soon.
In Reba's bedroom, she was awoken by lips exploring her soft, alabaster skin, down her neck in the darkness. Her cotton nightgown was pulled away from her body, slowly lingering against her skin as it moved inch by inch. Shivers of delight followed his touch. His hands slid across her silken belly, searing a path down her abdomen and onto her thigh. His tongue made a path down her ribs to her stomach. She felt her knees weaken as his mouth descended. Her emotions whirled and skidded. She didn't know what to do. She told Brock that they wouldn't be making love again until they got to know each other a little better. She felt powerless to stop the rush of excitement pulsing inside her. She wanted him and she wasn't going to stop him tonight.
She was trying to figure out if it was a dream or if it was real. He leaned over her and grabbed a pair of handcuffs out from the drawer of the bedside table. He proceeded to handcuff her to the bed. "Very kinky, are we? Keep going. I wanna know what you're gonna do next." Her body squirmed beneath him as his mouth and hands continued to explore.
In Brock's bedroom, light began to pour into the room as Terry Holliway began to shimmer into the room. "Hey, buddy. Wake up." When Brock wouldn't awaken from his deep slumber, Terry kicked the bed and finally pushed Brock out of bed to the floor.
"Hey, man, what's the deal? I was sleeping here."
"We've got a problem down the hall in Reba's room."
Brock sprung up from off the floor and left his room as fast as he could. He moved stealthily so he didn't make a commotion and wake up the kids.
Back in Reba's room, she was still swept away in the dizzying current of desire. "I needed this so much. Oh, Brock. You're wonderful."
"Brock? Did you say Brock?" he questioned angrily.
Reba knew that voice. It was the voice of the man who'd been occupying her bed for the past couple of months. A man who'd occupied her bed for fourteen years. Her eyes flew open at the shock to see the face of the man whose body covered her own. "Yes, I said Brock. Get off of me, Max," Reba growled.
Brock opened the room to Reba's room as soon as he heard the angry exchange. "What in the h—l is going on here?"
"It's not what it looks like. Actually it is what it looks like, but it's not my fault. I didn't invite him here. This is a big misunderstanding," Reba explained.
"It looks like my wife is in bed with another man." Brock tried to maintain his cool and give Reba the benefit of the doubt. After all if she'd wanted Max in her bed, then he doubted that Terry would alerted him to the situation. Terry was her guardian angel after all.
"Your wife?" Max questioned.
"Yeah, my wife. Didn't the kids tell you? We just got back from our wedding night in Lake Texoma today."
"They forgot to mention this. Are you kidding me? Married? You ran off and married another man?"
"You know how it is. We hadn't seen each other in twenty-five years since Vegas. We met and the sparks flew again. It was rash and impulsive, but that's what I love about Reba." Brock sat down on the bed next to Reba and kissed her left hand, still handcuffed to the bed.
"I don't believe this. If he's your husband, then why wasn't he in bed with you?"
"Ever heard of going to the bathroom? It was late and dark so he used the one down the hall by mistake. It's his first night here. He's never been in the house before."
"You had to have known that it was me, Reba."
"I was asleep at first. For the love and grits and gravy, you heard me call ya Brock. I thought that you were my husband. See my ring." Reba stuck out her ring finger on her left hand to show Max her wedding band.
"We have a matching set," Brock said with his own brand of sarcasm as he showed Max the wedding band on his hand.
"This is the courtesy that you show me after fourteen years together and raising four kids. I thought that we were getting somewhere after all this time."
"I'm sorry. I know that it's my fault. That's why we had rules. I thought that we understood each other. We don't love each other. We're friends. We were having sex as long as we both wanted to and nobody knew about it. Guess what? Everyone knows and I don't want this anymore. Now take these things off!"
"No, I'm not. I want the chance to say my peace without you lashing out at me. Obviously, this is my fault. We agreed that this would be friends with benefits relationship, but I can't help the way that I feel about you. I got sucked into thinking that I could get you to love me. You're so stubborn and cold. It's hard to get through to you. It's hard to stop caring about you after all these years."
"I made my feelings clear so this wouldn't happen. I don't wanna hurt you. We're friends and you're the father of my children so we have to remain friendly. I thought that we could be adults about this and do this without either of us getting hurt."
"Wait a minute! He said something about sparks flying in Vegas twenty-five years ago between you two. Is he the one...?" Max stopped midsentence, pausing to think about it further.
"Don't go there, Max! You promised. Don't you ever go there! I mean it," Reba shouted at him.
"Reba, you'll wake the kids. Remember your blood pressure," Max warned.
"I'll calm down when you promise me that you'll stop throwing my past in my face every chance that you get. The best way to get me to calm down is to release my hands out of these darn things!"
"No, that might be the worst thing that I could do. You'll just chase me down, trying to hit me and yell at me. You'll wake the kids and frighten them because you're off your blood pressure meds and you'll have another episode."
"Wow, who would've thought that the guy that dropped my blood pressure would be the one to raise it up again, huh? I should have because I was foolish enough to get close to ya again. That's always bad news. Things are fine when we keep a comfortable distance. Get outta here. If you ever think of dredgin' up my past, remember that I owe a gun and I'm not afraid to shoot ya with it. Goodnight, Max."
Max turned towards Brock. "Good luck with that one. She's more trouble than she's worth. The key for the handcuffs is in her nightstand drawer. Seriously, you need to know that she's only toying with you until Mike splits with BJ. It's what she does." Max takes one last look at Reba before exiting the room.
"Now that he's gone, please unlock these handcuffs. They're uncomfortable. I'd like to get some clothes on and get some sleep."
Brock went to lie down next to his wife. "Nope. We're gonna talk. You're stuck having to listen if you want me to cooperate. I heard you in the hall. Despite not wanting us to make love, you wanted me tonight during a moment of passion. Admit it."
"I'll admit it and I'll talk to you, if you help pull my nightgown back on."
Brock tried to do the gentlemanly thing. He tried to get the nightgown back on, which was hard without her arms so he wrapped her body up in an extra sheet. "Better?"
"Yeah, okay, I know what I said, but the moment has passed. Being in that situation was really embarrassing for me. I took the coward's way out by not telling Mike and Max about our situation tonight right away. I honestly thought that the kids would tell them."
"Did you ever think that the kids aren't straight forward with everything?"
"Yeah, my daughters actually think that they can get me to fall in love. Cheyenne wants me to have a love life so I'll leave her alone about hers. My children are the most mischievous bunch that you'll ever meet. Thanks for coming to my rescue."
"Anytime. So, are you okay in here alone?"
"Probably not. Mike and Max will be questioning this situation if we don't appear to be married for real. You better stay in this room for the duration. I should've done that in the first place. I underestimated Max. I won't do that again." Brock didn't show it, but his heart flipped over for a minute when Reba told him to stay.
That happy feeling sunk down into the pit of his stomach. "What do you mean 'for the duration'? Brock asked incredulously. He thought that they were trying to make their marriage work.
"While we work on things for however long that lasts," Reba responded nonchalantly.
"Reba, I'm tryin' to make our marriage work and you act like it's doomed to fail."
"Brock, I don't know what's gonna happen. I don't have the best track record when it comes to marriage and that's when I'm madly in love from the beginning, which is not happening here. Thanks for not flying off the handle when you saw Max in here. I was embarrassed enough. I didn't want the kids finding out about it."
"No problem. What info does Max have on you anyway?"
"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Are we good here? I'm tired."
"Almost. You see I knew a woman like you once. We got drunk one night. I ended up falling asleep in the wrong bed. She came into the room, stripped down, handcuffed me to the bed, and seduced me. The next morning, she was angry that I allowed it to happen. There's a lesson to be learned here. I'm just gonna let you sleep on it. In the morning, if you're reasonable, I'll let you go. Goodnight, honey." Brock kissed her cheek and tried to go to sleep.
"Oh, Brock, if you let me go, I'll change my mind about tonight. Do you want me? Let me go and we'll forget about the no-sex thing for tonight."
Brock chuckled. "No, this is just too much fun."
"All I need is one hand. Take the cuffs off one hand at least. I can do a lot with only one hand." Reba leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Come on, you know you want to."
"You know what? In my experience, women who say that under these circumstances don't really mean it. You just wanna get free and you'll say anythin' to win. You'll get me hot and bothered and then you'll roll over and go to sleep. You like to tease." Brock put a large pillow behind Reba's head. He got her to lie down in a more comfortable position, but he wouldn't be Brock if he didn't make a move. He leaned over Reba and captured her lips with fiery intensity before rolling over to go to sleep. "Goodnight, honey."
Reba was left very confused by the events of the day. For the first time in years, she didn't know what to expect in her life from day to day. She didn't know how she felt about that. She was used to being in full control of her life and her family. One thing she did know was that she wanted her husband in her bed. She just didn't know if she wanted the rest of the commitment stuff to go along with it. She was determined not to fall apart or crumble over this man...
What happens next? Stay tuned to find out in the next chapter!
Author's note: I will continue to write new chapter updates as often as possible. Thanks for being patient.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
If anyone has any suggestions on them I'd love to hear! Review or Send me a P.M with your suggestions! Please feel free to make any comments that you wish. I may just decide to include it in the story. If I do include one of your suggestions, then I will give you full credit.
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Without you, the story wouldn't be continued every week.
Characters I don't own: Reba McKinney, Brock Hart, Barbra Jean Booker, Kyra, Jake, Cheyenne Montgomery, Van Montgomery, Elizabeth Montgomery, Barbra Jean Booker, Henry Hart, Mike Holliway, Terry Holliway, Lori Ann Garner, JV McKinney, Helen McKinney, John D. Hart, Liz Hart, and any other characters from the Reba cast.
Characters I do own: Anyone not part of the Reba cast – original characters developed for this story include: Max Thornton, Cheyenne McEntire-Smith (Nana), Vince McEntire (Papa), Kenneth Smith (Gramps), Paige McKinney, Michael Davis, John McKinney Thornton, Barbara Ann Grant, Kim Campbell-Holliway, Sam Holliway, Jenny Miller, Terry Holliway, Jr., Josh Holliway, Madeline Mitchell (Maddi), Greg Brooks, Jason Holliway, and Maggie.