Thanks to those of you who commented, I greatly appreciate it! I know it's been a while since I've updated this so I'm sure there are some of you who might of lost interest but that's understandable.

But for those of you who are still with me and this story there is something I must tell you...there are only two more chapters left... :( I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to write an epilogue yet though...

However, once this is finished I can focus on the other stories I have going, one is a full story and I'm no where near done with that one. And the others are challenges from the HBX website so look out for those if you wish.

Also, this is un-edited and un-betad so all mistakes are courtesy of me. Hope you like!!

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Grandma Sarah's Farm
Bellevue
0900 (9:00 local)

After a few more hours of feeling restless, Harm finally went down stairs for breakfast, only to find Grams alone in the kitchen. He went over to her and kissed her on the cheek before exchanging pleasantries.

One look at Harm told Grams it must've been a long night for him. "Harmon, what's wrong? You look like you haven't slept in months!" Grams patted his cheek in a comforting gesture while Harm just gave her a small, sad smile.

"Do you want to talk to me about it?" Harm looked around the house before answering; making sure it was just Grams and him. Of course he would have to talk to Mac about this, but at the moment, he didn't know where the conversation would be headed and figured it would be best if Mac wasn't around. If Mac overheard part of their conversation, she could misunderstand what he was saying and that would just lead them down the path they just came from. Harm wanted to move forward, not backwards.

Sensing his thoughts, Grams said, "Don't worry dear, Sarah's out taking a walk with your mother. You just missed them so they could be gone for a while." Harm nodded his head in response then took a seat on a stool at the island, his head slightly dropped, shoulders slumped and hands wrung together. Grams noticed his demeanor and knew this issue was really getting to her grandson.

After taking a seat next to him, Grams placed her hand over Harms before asking, "Is everything okay? You're really starting to worry me."

Harm looked at his grandmother for the first time since she sat down at the island with him, eyes unsure and cloudy with mixed emotions. "I-I don't really know, Grams." Harm paused then continued. "I mean, I hope and I want for things to be okay but I'm not sure how to go about making them turn out that way."

Grams nodded her head in response, signaling for Harm to continue. "You see, I've had this," Harm reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out the small box he'd been carrying around for the past year and placed it on the counter in front of his grandmother. "…for a while now." Grams just looked at it, already knowing what the box held and finding no reason to look inside seeing as how it wasn't for her.

"I've been trying for the longest time to build up the courage to ask her, but I over-analyzed every detail, wanting it to be something she'd never forget. And every time I felt I was ready to ask her, something always got in the way."

"And now we're finally both in the right place at the same time and she found it. Before I could explain it she was already in the other room and I knew if I went after her I'd mess it up."

"So now I have to come up with a way for her to listen to what I have to say and still throw in an element of surprise."

Throughout Harm's speech, Grams had been listening intently. She understood the confusion her grandson felt, being unable to gauge Mac's reaction to her findings. But there were still some things she couldn't get her mind around.

"Harmon, dear, please forgive me but you lost me on a few things." At Harm's look of confusion, she continued. "You said you had the ring for a while now, correct?" Once Harm nodded his answer, Grams continued. "Well, didn't you and Mac just begin to venture into a romantic relationship? If you had the ring for a while, that would mean you must have purchased it while the two of you were still friends, right?"

Harm dropped his gaze from his grandmother and thought thoroughly before answering. "There have been many different chapters in mine and Mac's relationship. And during those chapters we went from being friends to enemies and back to friends numerous times. But deep down, I've always known she was the one for me and when I finally accepted that fact, I bought the ring, even though we had yet to become romantically involved. I figured as long as I had the ring, my future with Mac would be definite."

Grams smiled at Harm, happy that he was finally ready to settle down in life. Both she and Trish were beginning to wonder if he would ever do so.

"Alright dear, I just have one more question for you. Why do you feel Mac needs to be surprised with this? I mean, she has already seen this," Grams pointed to the box then continued. "So why not just be upfront about it and ask her? Sometimes what you say during the moment is more memorable than the evening itself."

Harm smiled at Grams' statement after he allowed her comment to filter into his mind, a plan already forming…

Meanwhile…

Mac and Trish were beginning their second lap around the farm still in silence. Mac wasn't sure what to think when Trish had asked her if she wanted to go for a walk around the farm before breakfast. When Mac had went downstairs that morning she was almost positive she would find Harm in the kitchen with his family; knowing that he tended to get up early when he came for a visit. Instead, Mac stumbled upon Grams and Trish, just sitting down for their first cup of coffee and joined them when they had asked her to. Mac hadn't spoken to either woman while they sipped their coffees; instead she enjoyed the quiet of the early morning.

It wasn't until Trish had asked Mac to join her in her walk that Mac realized Harm was moving around upstairs. Too afraid to face him so soon, Mac agreed quickly. And now the women continued to walk passed the house and up the long dirt road.

Trish had a feeling something might have happened last night between Mac and her son. Mac seemed to be more comfortable around Trish and Grams over the course of the weekend but this morning proved otherwise. Instead of the warm, welcoming smile from Mac, they were given a soft, almost shy smile instead. Trish just hoped that Harm didn't do anything to push Mac away. Both she and Grams took a fast liking to Mac and they both wanted her to remain a part of Harm's life, as well as theirs.

After walking a few more feet in silence, Trish finally spoke. "Sarah, can I ask you something?" Trish looked at Mac curiously, not sure what Mac's answer would be. She was slightly surprised when Mac said, "Yes" because the pair hadn't really talked as much as Trish would've liked and she thought Mac wouldn't be very comfortable having a heart-to-heart with her.

"Are you and Harm okay?" Before Mac could respond, Trish continued. "It just seemed like you were avoiding him earlier this morning. It wasn't until you heard him moving around upstairs that you agreed to go for a walk with me. I hope everything is okay between the two of you." Trish's tone was neither harsh nor condescending; she was truly concerned for Mac and her son.

After a few moments of silence on Mac's behalf, she replied. "Honestly, I'm not sure." Trish looked at Mac again, somewhat surprised at her retort. Trish was hoping Mac would say everything was fine and it was just Trish's over-active imagination but it didn't seem to be that at all. Something was really bothering this woman.

Trish placed her hand on Mac's arm, ceasing their walk and gaining her full attention. "Look, Sarah, I know that we don't really know each other that well but you're like family to me now, I want you to feel comfortable around me. I want you to know that you can talk to me about things, you know, the way friends and even mothers and daughters do."

That was the one comment that caused Mac's armor to completely crumble. She told herself she would live in the moment this weekend when it came to Harm yet she continued to shield herself at times from Trish and Grams, afraid they would see or find something she didn't want to share with them. But Trish's comment broke through her armor, revealing all that she desperately tried to hide from this woman; her fears, thoughts, hopes and even her aspirations from the future.

Suddenly, a connection was made between the two women; a connection that Mac was sure she never had before. It was the connection that a parent shares with their child, much like the way Trish had described. It was a connection that came completely unexpected yet not unwanted. This connection had been missing from Mac throughout her entire life and now that she had it, she was going to revel in it.

Mac knew Trish could see the tears in her eyes so she spoke before Trish started to get the wrong idea. "Thank you, Trish." Mac gave Trish a soft smile before they continued their walk, Mac's arm looped through Trish's, subtly trying to keep their connection, both physically and emotionally.

Once the pair walked a few more feet, Mac spoke in a voice barely above a whisper and laced with worry. "I'm afraid to move forward with Harm." Trish turned her head slightly to look at Mac but didn't say anything, afraid Mac wouldn't say anything more. "And it's not fair to him. He should be with someone who wants what he wants, someone who isn't afraid to love."

Trish placed her free hand on Mac's arm and said, "Isn't that something Harm should decide for himself?" When Mac didn't answer, Trish took that as her cue to continue. "Do you really believe that Harm doesn't want to be with you? That he's just sticking around because he's a 'nice guy' and he wants to help you through your problems?"

Mac wasn't sure what to say. She had so many questions, so many insecurities she didn't know which one to begin with.

"Where is this coming from? Did he say these things to you?" Trish was beginning to think she'd have to march back to the farm and knock some sense into her son for doing this to Mac. She was fully prepared to drag him by the ears and make him explain himself!

Trish was too busy in her musings to hear Mac's response, so she asked Mac to repeat herself. "I said I found a ring box in his dresser draw last night." Trish couldn't stop the ear-to-ear smile from forming on her face. This was the best news ever! Harm would like it too; that means his ears can stay unharmed!

But if this was such good news, then why wasn't Mac as happy as Trish was? Once Trish came down from cloud nine, she started to put the pieces together. "Does that have anything to do with you being afraid to move forward with Harm?"

Mac nodded her head then spoke. "I love Harm, I really do; it's just…I had just started getting used to the fact that I could hug him or hold his hand whenever I wanted to and then I found the ring box and I panicked." Mac knew she wasn't making much sense so she took a deep breathe then continued.

"Part of the reason why I was so afraid to love him romantically was because I had been comfortable with us being just friends and knowing what I could and couldn't do with him. I knew how to handle myself around him and I was just so used to being friends that I started to panic because I didn't know how to act any other way."

"I didn't want to be so exceedingly loving towards him that he'd freak out and leave. Yet I didn't want to act the same way I did when we were just friends because then he'd think that's all I'd want to be with him…just friends." Trish nodded her head at Mac, letting her know that she understood and it was okay for Mac to continue. "And then I found the box and I didn't know what to think so I left."

Trish let Mac's words sink in before speaking. "Moving forward in any aspect can be scary, Sarah. Not knowing what's gong to happen from one minute or the next, or not knowing how you'll have to behave in certain situations. It's called…life."

"You can't live your life in one place because of fear. In order to get somewhere you need to take chances and put yourself out there. Sure you might fail and make mistakes, but you need to do that in order to learn."

"The same goes for relationships. By not moving forward you'll only be friends with Harm. The two of you took a chance on a romantic relationship and from what I've seen; you've done a good job at it."

"Now, you just need to feel. If you feel in your heart, that you can't move forward with him, not because you're afraid, but because marriage just isn't something you want, then tell him so. But if you truly want to be happy with your life, if you want to wake up every day knowing you're right where you want to be, then stop being so afraid and move forward with Harm."

Mac wiped the tears from her eyes quickly with her free hand. Why did it seem so easy? Like it was only a two-second decision that required no thought, just feeling?

Trish spotted the farm house up ahead and knew they should probably head in; she was sure Harm would be searching for Mac. But there was just one more thing she needed to address first.

"Sarah I know how Harm feels about you and it's nothing like you might be thinking. He isn't just sticking by you to be nice; he's doing it because he loves you, and because he wants you to be happy. From what I've gathered, he's in this for the long haul." Trish pulled Mac into a warm and loving embrace for a few moments once they reached the farm house.

Once Mac was released from Trish's grasp, she gave the smaller woman a warm smile before entering the house, knowing she needed to talk to Harm…