A/N: Erin's P.O.V. Italicized words are still directly from "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain." There will be more of my own twisting web in this chapter than the last two. The more time Erin spends with Ashley; the more this story is going to change.

I was sitting on the front porch waiting for Paul to come back from a delivery out of town. He said we were going to go on a walk and talk about our future. But that was hours ago; so there I was all alone sitting outside in the dark. Jim Bob walked out the door.

"Still waiting for Paul?" Jim Bob asked as he shut the screen door. I looked over at him.

"What does it look like?" I sighed.

"Kind of cold out here." Jim Bob stated. "Good thing you've got your love to keep you warm."

"I'm sure you must be keeping somebody waiting, Jim Bob." I responded slightly irritated with my baby brother.

"True. See you later." He walked down the front steps and Ashley walked up from the side of the house behind the swing I was sitting on.

"You really didn't expect to see me, did you?"

"I hadn't thought about it." I said without moving.

"I don't believe that." He walked around the swing and sat next to me. Ashley clamped his hand down over mine. His hands were always so gentle, that's one thing I always loved about him. Ashley was a gentle soul from his heart and soul all the way down to something as simple as his hands. Paul worked with his hands all day and they were rough from the wood, but Ashley's were always very soft and caring against mine. But I didn't like the way he was trying to approach me. I took my hand out from under his and stood up.

"Ashley, don't." I walked around the swing to try and get away from him when I heard him stand up.

"You're not married yet, Erin." He said behind me. I glanced back at him before walking over to the porch railing. He walked over to me. "Come for a walk with me. That's not too much to ask." I looked away from him. I knew if I looked at him, if I looked into his eyes that I wouldn't be able to say no. I stood there and didn't say anything. My anger with Paul was building up. I turned to him.

"Alright, but we can't go far, it's late."

"I promise you, not too far." He said softly. We walked past the swing and headed down the steps. I knew it wasn't the best idea to go off with Ashley. It was dark and we were heading into the woods and that made me nervous. I didn't know what Ashley was going to say, but I was too upset with Paul to say much of anything. It didn't hurt to walk around with Ashley; we were friends at one time. That wouldn't affect my relationship with Paul; and at least Ashley wanted to spend time with me. Paul couldn't even come home long enough to take a walk with me and talk about our wedding and the future. Ashley and I got deeper into the woods and began talking about the sights he saw during the war and the experiences we'd had. I had my hand slipped around Ashley's arm as we walked.

"When you get to the top of the Eiffel Tower, you look down and there's all of Paris at your feet," he paused, "and you know what else?"

"What?"

"Another Statue of Liberty in the middle of the Seine River."

"Oh how did it get there?" I asked.

"When the French people gave us the one in New York, they kept a copy. Exactly like ours, only smaller."

"Well I saw ours once. I went to visit John-Boy."

"Erin, there's so much out there beyond Walton's Mountain, exciting cities, beautiful countries. Come with me." He stopped and turned to look into my eyes. "I want us to see them together."

"I told you, I don't want to talk about that."

"Please, Erin. Just- just listen to me."

"We should go back. It's getting late." I stated. When Ashley wouldn't go, I walked around him and started off towards the house. Talking about Paris and all the places he'd been was one thing; but when he started talking about us being together, it was too much for me. He knew I was marrying Paul. I don't know why he felt that he had to bring this up all the time. For a few minutes, I had some distance on him. I don't know if he got lost in the woods or what it was. Finally, as I got back to the house, he caught up to me.

"Will you stop running from the truth? You know I'm the one you should marry." He insisted. Ashley grabbed my arm and turned me to look at him.

"I'm sorry I came out here at all." I retaliated.

"I'm not going to let you go like this." He replied.

"Ashley, stop it." There was a look in his eyes that scared me. It was something I had never seen before. I had a feeling come over me that I wanted to run away, but he wouldn't let go of me.

"I love you and I won't let anyone else have you."

"You're hurting me." I told him.

"You love me too. Let yourself feel it." Without warning, he leaned down and kissed me releasing the tight grip he'd had on my arm. It was more forceful than he'd ever been before, but after a few seconds, he relaxed and I could feel the spark in myself that I felt the day I first met Ashley. This was the deep confusion I held inside. I loved Paul and I knew we were getting married, but there was another part that didn't want Ashley to stop. I put my arm around his neck and kissed him back. He rubbed his arm down the middle of my back and under my hair. When I realized what I had done, and how I would hurt Paul if he ever found out, I pulled away from him. "Did he ever make you feel like that?" I glared at him and then walked away towards the house. I could feel Ashley's eyes still on me, but I continued to walk towards the house in the dark. When I got up the front steps, I saw Paul standing on the porch. From the look on his face, I knew he'd seen everything and my heart sunk. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Paul, but I could tell I had. He took a step towards me as soon as I got up the steps. I looked over at him.

"Paul. Oh, let me explain." I tried to take his hand, but he wrenched away from me and headed away from the house angrily. I stood there for a minute before I walked into the house, opened the door and rushed up the stairs. I ran all the way up to Mama and Daddy's room, which I had been sleeping in. Before I could open the door, I heard my name. The voice sounded familiar, and when I turned around I saw Daddy standing outside of the room Elizabeth and I used to share.

"Daddy? Oh daddy." I ran over and hugged him crying. He held me as he tried to calm me down.

"Easy, honey. I'm here, baby. I'm here." I stood there and cried in Daddy's arms. That was something I hadn't been able to do in a long time. I couldn't tell Daddy what was going on with me and Paul just then because it wasn't something I was ready to talk about; I just wanted to cry. I knew that Mama and Daddy would be there for me and always had been; but I couldn't say anything just then. I knew Paul was mad at me and it was my fault. Why did I have to be so confused about what was going on? And why did Ashley have to come back into my life when he did? He got married in England, if she wouldn't have died; I know he wouldn't have come back to the states for me; so why did he have to come find me? It had been years since I'd seen him; I was finally moving on, but Ashley coming back renewed my feelings for him. Things were a mess and I didn't know what to do. That night I went to bed and cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, I saw Mary Ellen in the kitchen before she left for class.

"You were right Mary Ellen." I said standing by Daddy's place at the table. She looked up at me after she finished feeding John Curtis.

"About what?"

"About Paul and Ashley. I went on a walk with Ashley last night and that upset Paul." I said. "He saw Ashley kiss me." Mary Ellen stopped me.

"Ashley kissed you?" I nodded.

"Last night. We were coming back to the house and Ashley was upset that I didn't want to go to London or Paris with him. He kissed me and Paul saw us; and now he's never going to talk to me again." I exclaimed. She looked over at Jonesy who was eating breakfast and listening to our conversation. When I looked over at him, he raised his hand and picked up his bowl to put in the sink.

"I'm not a part of this. I'm not even in the family yet." Jonesy said. Mary Ellen looked at him.

"Yet? Who says you're going to ever be a part of this family?" She smiled.

"Because I love one of the Walton women and I like being with each and every one of you." He gave his prize winning smile. He looked at me after he put his bowl in the sink. "Erin, I can't speak for Paul; but even with all the craziness going on with Ashley, he would be crazy not to marry you."

"Thanks Jonesy." I smiled sheepishly. "I just wish Paul felt that way." I sighed.

"Why don't you go talk to Paul? He's outside in the mill. If it really was a misunderstanding I'm sure he'll understand. But Erin, you shouldn't have been out with Ashley all that time. Ashley might have kissed you last night without you wanting him to, but he wouldn't have been here if you hadn't played cutesy with him so much. Come on John Curtis." Mary Ellen said. He stood up and walked over to me.

"I like Paul, Aunt Erin." He shrugged. "But I love you too. I hope you get feeling better." I smiled and hugged him.

"Come on Johnny." Jonesy laughed. As Mary Ellen, Jonesy and John Curtis walked out of the room, I looked at the ground. Mary Ellen was right, but I didn't want to tell her that. I decided just to walk out to the mill and talk to him. When I reached the mill, Ben and Paul were getting into the truck to take a delivery.

"Paul, wait a minute. I gotta talk to you."

"We're on our way to camp." Paul said closing the door after he got in.

"I've gotta talk to you." I walked up to the door.

"Erin, I don't think there's anything you can say that I want to hear." He stared at me for a minute before facing forward again. "Let's go." Paul and Ben drove away to leave me standing there watching them as they disappeared around the curve of the mountain. I sighed irritated with him, but I think I was more aggravated with myself than I was with him. Paul didn't give me the time to explain, but I had done a lot to hurt him in the last few days. If we couldn't talk and work things out, maybe we shouldn't be getting married.