Lucas sat on the porch waiting and watching hoping Pappy Joe convinced Riley to come back with the twins. He waits ignoring Zay when he tells him to come inside when it starts to get dark and Pappy Joe had yet to come back with Cletus. Lucas sighs getting up when he sees it's almost midnight.
He was about to head inside when he sees the truck pull up. He waits as Cletus gets out and pats his shoulder as he passes by him. He looks and sees Pappy Joe head for the barn sighing and heads over towards him. He steps in standing by the doorway as Pappy Joe rakes up the hay Riley had beat up earlier.
"Im guessing you're mad at me huh?" Lucas asks him stepping in the barn more. Pappy Joe doesn't say anything just continues to clean. Lucas lowered his head and starts to walk out when he stops him. "I'm not angry more disappointed than anything else."
Lucas turns around and looks at him letting his anger from earlier come back. "Well I'm disappointed too. What right did she have telling you to not tell me she came to visit huh?" He looks at him weirdly and starts laughing sitting on the bale of hay. "Sometimes I forget you use to have such an anger problem and that you use to let it define you."
Lucas goes to argue but he stops him. "She didn't tell me not to tell you she comes down here. I decided that I wasn't going to tell you." Lucas looked at him with wide eyes not believing his own grandpa kept this big secret from him. "Why?" He asks.
"Did I ever tell you the story of how your dad got his name?" Lucas shook his head always thinking it was an usual name but was probably a family name. "George Leroy Wilson. He was a great man who took me and your grandma in when our parents kicked us out."
Lucas looked in shock as he told him the story. Pappy Joe and his wife got married right out of high school and got pregnant two months into the marriage. Something neither parents were happy with since they got married so young and she was supposed to go to college.
"George Wilson was a friend of your grandmother's dad. Sure we both have met him before and your grandmother would visit with him. He enjoyed a homemade apple pie which we both know was your grandmother specialty."
He looked over at Lucas and kept going hoping he understood what he was trying to say. "He was still a stranger that would eventually become family when we didn't have any at the time." He dabs at his eyes looking up at the ceiling before continuing.
"Well one day with nobody to turn to I went to him telling him our story. He didn't hesitate to take us in and find me work and help your grandmother with college and the baby. The day Riley came I seen the same look in her eyes I had. I knew what it meant to feel like nobody was on your side."
He gets up walking to the barn door and looks at Lucas as he passes. Lucas stayed in the barn just looking around and thinking about Pappy Joe's story. He smiled to himself thinking about his grandma and and Riley and went inside.
He woke the next morning feeling someone poking at his cheeks and quiet little giggles. He open one eye and seen Charlie and Rosie covering their mouths as they continue to giggle. "Morning chief." Rosie and Charlie say together smiling from ear to ear.
He chuckles sitting up in bed and they jump on it and hug him. It had barely been twenty four hours and he missed them more than he thought he would. "What are you two doing here?" He asked tickling them.
"Mama Riley said we could come and visit. Cause we missed you." Lucas smiled and it warmed his heart. He looked at the door hoping he see Riley come in looking for them. "Mama Riley isn't here." Charlie tells him. He sighed and smiled looking back at the twins.
"Well since you two are here I think that calls for a special breakfast." He stands and the twins getting down off the bed bouncing. "Pancake flips!" They yell throwing their hands in the air with Lucas. Zay comes running in holding his slipper in his hand.
"Zay I don't think a slipper can do much damage to anyone?" Lucas tells him laughing along with the twins as he slips on his own. He glares at him and walks back to his room leaving Lucas and the twins laughing still.
"So who is ready for pancake flips?" Lucas shouts as he ties on his apron. The twins hold up their hands and Lucas goes to starts on them. They make their way to the kitchen and see Pappy Joe talking to Riley before she drives away.
He sighs and looks down at Rosie who was smiling at him and then started laughing when Charlie tried grabbing the flour and it spilled on his head. Lucas chuckled and helped Charlie dust himself off and found some of his old clothes and he got changed.
"Chief?" Rosie asked with a mouthful of pancake. He looks at her and smiles wiping the syrup from her nose. She looked around and gestures for him to come closer and whispers "Can we go to the secret garden today?" He looks around and nods his head and asked what about Charlie.
Rosie looks at him and tilts her head tapping her nose. She looks back at Lucas and nods her head giving him a thumbs up. "We can even have a tea party and play inside there." He whispers making her bounce.
Riley paced along the porch chewing her lip and furrowing her eyebrows and making Missy nauseous. "Riley sit down Charlie said he would call if he heard anything." Riley looks at her and sits on the porch steps looking out at the road.
She tapped her hands on her knees and sees a car pulling up to the house. She stands helping Missy up as they wait to see who it is. She smiles when she sees it's her aunt Morgan and runs down the steps hugging her as she opens the door.
"I take it you're glad to see me then huh?" Morgan laughs as Riley nods her head yes. "Where are the twins?" She asks and looks at Riley when she tenses up. "Riley where are they?" Riley watched as Morgan sat silent after she told her she let the twins go spend time with Lucas at the ranch.
Morgan looked at her niece and grabbed her hand. "Riley be honest do you come out here to visit so you can be with Lucas?" She looks at her shaking her head and slipping her hand from here. "No. You know exactly why I come out here Morgan."
Riley sighed and laid down on the porch floor wiping the tears that were threatening to spill. Morgan lays next to her grabbing her hand and staring at the ceiling with her. "I'm sorry Riley. I know why you come down here and not just for the twins." Riley closed her eyes and squeezed her aunt's hand.
"Well well well. I leave for a minute and find two gorgeous ladies waiting for me on the porch." Riley shakes her head and smiles opening her eyes and looking up at Charlie. "Charlie Gardner keep it up and you'll be sleeping on that porch!" Missy shouts from the kitchen window.
"So did your friend find out anything?" Riley asked sitting up. He stops smiling at nods his head as he sits on the porch steps loosening his tie. "Find out what?" Morgan asks looking between Riley and Charlie. "He found out what information they've been keeping a secret until the trial." Riley tells her trying to control her breathing.
Morgan sits next to Riley holding her hand afraid Riley might float away if she didn't. "Tell me Charlie please?" Riley asks in almost a whisper from the lump forming in her throat. He sighs looking at Morgan who looks at Riley before nodding her head.
"His name is Harvey West. Apparently he used to know Elena when they were in foster care with each other and I guess use to date from time to time?" Charlie asked looking at Riley as she processed everything. "But what does that have to do with anything?" Riley asked not understanding.
"He has a letter from Elena telling him that he's the twins dad." Riley stood up shaking her head. "No. No. I know who are the twins dad and he isn't it!" Morgan and Charlie share a look and stand in front of her. "Riley he has a letter." Morgan starts to say but Riley shakes her head.
"No! I was there I sat with her when she told the guy. I was there. There must be some mistake." She sniffs trying to keep the tears away. "He needs to take a DNA test why haven't they made him take one?" Charlie rubs his arm and looks at her knowing they both knew why.
"When you have the best shark of a lawyer in New York a letter is all you need isn't it?" Riley starts to cry and Morgan wraps her in her arms rubbing her back. "I have to get out of here." Morgan was about to protest but she sees the look on her face and knew she needed this. "Go. Take my car and I'll get the kids if you aren't back by dinner."
Riley nods giving her a quick hug and thanking Charlie who kept apologizing to her. She gets in the car and drives to the one place she could never find the courage to go to. She parks the car and picks some flowers walking towards her grave smiling when she sees the tiny butterflies on it.
"Hey it's me." Riley says running her hand over the butterfly etching on her headstone. "Probably wondering after four years why I hadn't come to visit when we're here huh?" At that moment a strong gust of wind hits blowing her hair in her face. "Okay don't get carried away you know it's hard for me to come here."
She smiles as she sits leaning against the grave picking away the leaves that laid on top and set the new flowers she brought on top. "I need some answers Len. I thought Max was the twins dad?" She sits up looking at the headstone letting the tears fall.
"Please just.." she sighs resting her head on the cold stone closing her eyes. "Tell me please?"
Riley stands outside the bathroom chewing her lip as she waited for Elena. "Have you peed yet?" She asked knocking on the door again. "No." Riley knocked again asking her why. "Because you keep knocking and scaring the pee away."
Riley shook her head knowing Elena was smiling on the other side of the door. "Funny Len you want me to sing?" Elena didn't respond she just started singing the theme song to Laverne and Shirley as Riley sat against the door singing along with her.
"Ow!" Riley shouts when Elena opens the door and she falls back on the bathroom floor. "So plus or minus?" Riley asked sitting up as Elena sits on the floor next to her. "Neither." Elena tells her showing her the timer on her phone.
"Whatever happens I'm here for you okay? We will figure this out together." Riley tells her grabbing her hand. She smiles resting her head on her shoulder as the timer on her phone goes off. They share a look and get up walking to the sink.
"I can't look can you look for me?" Elena asks her feeling the tears pooling in her eyes. Riley clutches her hand and looks at the stick reading the box to make sure she had it right. She looks at the box and the stick and then at Elena.
"It's positive." Elena sits down in the tub and starts to cry. "Hey it's okay I'm here." Riley tells her sitting down in the tub with her. "You know who the father is right?" Elena looked up at her narrowing her eyes.
"Are you calling me slutty?" She asked wiping her face and hitting her legs. Riley smiled and hitting her back. "Yeah I am." Elena starts to cry more and Riley hugs her. "I'm sorry I was just trying to lighten the mood." Elena looks up and smiles at her.
"You're such a jerk! I was feeling bad over here." Riley tells her hitting her with a loofah. "I know who the father is Riley. Remember that guy Max with the outdated Justin Bieber haircut?" Riley laughed and thought about it before nodding her head.
"I guess I need to talk to him huh?" Elena tells her as they both stretch out their legs over the tub. "Yeah you do but I'll be right there with you." Riley tells her as they start to get up but Elena pulls on the shower knob soaking them both.
"I remember we both went and talked to him the week after the doctor confirmed it. I thought you said he was!" Riley shouts feeling herself getting angry. "Elena please I just need to know am I going to lose the twins? Am I going to lose the last piece of you I have left?"