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CHAPTER THREE

Kristin, Sutton and Emma were scattered around the living area of the Mercer household, Sutton standing and the other two sitting. "Not guilty,"Sutton reiterated. "Not guilty. Is she really not guilty?"

"That's what the jury believed,"Kristin replied.

"And it's what Thayer said,"Emma added. "So I guess it must be true. Alec was behind it all along."

"Hmph!" Sutton shrugged, bewildered. "And I was starting to trust him as well. So what happens now? Do we get to know Rebecca?"

"Well, that's up to you,"Kristin answered.

Emma thought for a moment. "Well, even if she didn't murder half the town, she's still not a very nice person. I'm not sure I want to get to know her."

Sutton looked at Kristin. "Do you mind if I think about it?"

"Of course,"Kristin answered.

Sutton nodded slowly. "I need some air,"she decided, heading out of the house.

Left alone with Kristin, Emma felt suddenly uncomfortable. "I guess I'd better go and check out Laurel's room,"she decided.

"Emma, wait,"Kristin told her. Emma eased herself back into her seat. Kristin looked at her earnestly. "I've been thinking about what Laurel said. About you needing a family. I haven't exactly gone out of my way to let you know you've got one."

"Well, I was kind of sprung on you. You let me stay, that was more than most people would have done in your circumstances."

"I know but…I do what you to be part of this family. I might not be quite ready to accept I've got three daughters now but I'm going to do my best to treat you the same as I would the others. If you're willing to do the same?"

Emma nodded. "I've had a lot of people give me rules to keep me in line. I think you're the first person that's give me rules to keep me safe."

Kristin gave a caring smile. "So...can I have a hug?"

Emma smiled and cuddled up to her surrogate mother, letting the warmth of Kristin's arms enfold her. "I'd really like that."

Ethan watched Dan closely as they arrived back at the trailer, worried about what pent-up emotions his brother was concealing. "How are you feeling?"

Dan stopped and sighed. "I don't know whether Theresa's killer is already dead or if I've just watched her walk free."

"What are you going to do?"

Dan shrugged. "Drop it. Jury's made their decision. Nothing I can do. Guess I'll just have to convince myself justice really was done."

Ethan nodded. "Well, I mean, Alec might have done it. Thayer seemed to think so and we know he could be sneaky."

"Yeah." Dan took a bottle of beer out of the fridge, handed it to Ethan, then picked one out for himself. "To Theresa,"he noted.

Ethan clinked bottles with him. "Theresa,"he echoed.

"And to not letting chances of happiness get away from you."

Laurel whistled to herself happily as she unpacked her case, carefully putting her clothes away in the wardrobe. Ted came in, carrying two more cases. "Are you sure you don't want to leave some stuff at your mum's place?"

Laurel shook her head. "Nah, Emma needs the closet space."

"All the same…I don't want you being driven out of your home or anything. I appreciate you being here…"

Laurel stopped her unpacking and went to stand in front of him. "Dad…I get that I've got a home with Mum. But I live here now. That's what I decided. This isn't about creating two families, with you and me here and Mum and the twins there. It's about us still being one family. Who just happen to live in two different places. As long as this is your home, it's my home too."

Ted smiled fondly at her. "When did you get to be such a wise person?"

"I think it was probably around the time I met my big sister. Now go on, scram. I've got some clothes to sort out. And clothes are a very serious business."

Dan had repeatedly reassured Ethan that he was all right until Ethan felt comfortable enough to head out on a bike ride. So now Dan sat alone outside the trailer, sipping away at his beer bottle. He saw the car draw up in front of him and one of the twins get out. He stared hard at her for several seconds. "Sutton?" he ventured at last.

Sutton nodded. "You're getting quite good at that."

"Observation. When you know there's two of you, you pick up on the little subtle clues. Like the fact you curl your hair more." Dan saw Sutton smile. It was something she seemed to do a lot more often than she used to. He gestured vaguely towards the road with his beer bottle. "Ethan's not here."

"That's okay. I came to see you."

Dan was surprised. "Oh?"

Sutton sighed. "Look, I'm not very good at this, okay? The whole caring thing. The concerned questions, the 'How are you?' bit. But…you did your best to make this as easy for me as you could and I let you down."

Dan shook his head. "You did what you thought was right, you told the truth. You tried to help me find Theresa's killer and I'll always be grateful for that."

Sutton shot him a grateful look. "Do you think the jury got it right? That it was Alec, not Rebecca, behind everything."

"I don't know. Maybe. Either way, it's over. You think you can have a relationship with Rebecca now?"

Sutton was quiet for a moment. "I met your dad, do you know that?"

"Yeah, Ethan told me you were there."

"Well, I think there's more chance of you building bridges with him than there is of me doing it with Rebecca."

Thayer carried Rebecca's bags as they entered the house. Rebecca stepped forward and let out a deep sigh of satisfaction. "Home sweet home." She turned to Thayer. "Mads and Jordan?"

"Well, they moved out a few weeks ago and I don't think they'll be eager to move back in now you're here."

"So, just the two of us then? Well, I think that should work out just fine."

"What about Emma? You…you said you'd help me get her back."

Rebecca nodded. "As soon as she accepts me as her mother, I'll be sure to let her know just who I think is the right boy for her."

"You think she'll do that?"

"She'll be a tough nut to crack. The toughest of all of them. But it'll happen. She'll see she belongs with me, not Kristin. They all will. You, me, Ted, Sutton and Emma. One big happy family. As it should be."

End of Episode Five