A month or so after the ball, Holly was enjoying a quiet night alone at her place. She was soaking in her bath, thinking that, although she missed Josh, a night apart would do them good. She had always been a bit of a loner, and the Lewis clan could overwhelm her at times. Things had changed so quickly in the last few weeks; she could hardly believe it.

She smiled at the thought of it. It was so unlike her to just give in to her feelings, but she was glad that she had. As soon as she had decided to pursue her attraction to Josh, she had felt a tremendous weight being lifted from her shoulders. She was still amazed at how easy it had been. She had no idea where the whole thing was going and for the first time, she did not care. All she wanted to do was to keep having a good time, make love and …make love again. She remembered some of the encounters that they had had in that very room and blushed. Josh knew how to satisfy her and yet to still leave her wanting more.

Still deep into her reveries, she was getting out of the bath when she heard someone fumbling with a key at her front door.

"I'm in here, Josh!" she called out, assuming that he had asked Vanessa to keep an eye on the kids for the night after all.

Turning to greet him, she was shocked to see Roger standing in the door. She had not seen him since before the ball.

"How did you get in here?" she asked.

"I stole Blake's key," he replied matter-of-factly, staring at her naked body, a sight he had not seen in fifteen years. She grabbed a towel and hurriedly covered herself up.

He laughed a humourless laugh, leaning on the doorway. "Don't worry; I won't try to take advantage of you. After all, I am a married man now."

Holly felt the wind knocked out of her. "What?"

"Yes, that's what I came here to tell you. Jenna and I got married last night. You seem to be avoiding me, so I just wanted to make sure that, you know, you got to partake in our joy. I would have invited you but Jenna thought it might be a tiny bit awkward. I hope you don't mind."

Holly felt anger rise inside her and resisted the urge to wipe his smirk off his face. "To think that I might have caught the bouquet, what a shame!" she said sardonically, trying to get out of the bathroom.

He blocked the way and said in a low voice. "I would have appreciated the same courtesy from you."

She stepped back until she could feel the sink on the back of her thighs. Here we go, she thought.

"My relationship with Josh is none of your business."

"None of my business? You left me high and dry, Holly! There was something going on between us and you just bailed out on me. And for a Lewis boy, of all people. Nice touch."

"He's not a boy, he's a man. And you seem to forget a little something: you had a girlfriend at the time," she cried, feeling angrier by the minute.

"Yes, and now she is my wife," Roger replied, insisting on the last word.

The steam from the bath was starting to cling to his hair, making his face glisten. He wiped his forehead, waiting, hoping for her to take another shot at him.

She simply said: "Yes, she is your wife now, and I am with Josh. So, it looks like we said everything that we had to say."

Roger took a few steps toward her, slowly. She waited for his next move, trying not to flinch.

"Except this," he said, now inches from her face, still not touching her: "You might think that it's over between us, but it's not."

They stood still, facing each other, both angry, both sad. He searched in her eyes for a sign that it really was time for him to leave. Finding none, he suddenly grabbed her and kissed her.

Holly felt like she was dissolving into his arms. He stepped back, only to get rid of his clothes faster. She dropped her towel on the floor and pulled him against her. The feeling of their bodies colliding against each other was almost too much to bear for either of them. There was no time to think, no time to hesitate; Roger grabbed her by the thighs, his hands slipping on her wet skin, and lifted her on the sink. He looked her in the eyes when he entered her, craving to see the pleasure on her face. She moaned and buried her face in his neck, clutching his back with one hand and the wall with the other.

He started moving inside of her, slowly at first, taunting her. She arched her back, welcoming him, and he soon lost all control. She came seconds before him and he heard her cry his name. Then it was his turn to be caught up in what seemed like a tidal wave, and all he could remember afterwards was repeating "It's not over," again and again in her ear.

They stayed huddled against each other for a long time. Then he gently helped her down the sink and started to put his clothes back on. The water from the bath had grown cold and the room was starting to feel chilly.

Before leaving, Roger faced Holly. "This might not be our time, Holly, but it will come. I know it will." With that, he walked out, leaving the key on the table.

Holly slowly walked back to the bathroom to get her towel, pondering Roger's last words. Looking at herself in the steamy mirror, she wondered if he was right.

Holly met Josh the next day at Laurel Falls for a stroll before sunset. She had thought that facing him would be difficult, but she was mistaken. She was as glad to see him as always and did not feel guilty in the least. In fact, she felt more at peace that she had in a long time. She and Roger had come to terms with something the night before, she was not sure what, but it made it easier to go forward with her life.

After walking for a while, Josh spotted a big tree and suggested half-jokingly that they go make out under it. Instead, they just cuddled, watching the sun go down.

"You look happy today," he said, smiling.

She lifted her face to look at him and replied: "I am."

"Any reason in particular?"

"For the first time in years, I feel that life is not as complicated as I thought it was. I am just happy to be here with you, in the moment."

Josh kissed the top of her head. "I know what you mean. 'Always' can be a very loaded word, and I'd rather not use it anymore. Who can say where we will end up in a of couple years from now? I certainly can't. If I am happy, right here, right now, with you, then it is all that I need."

Holly looked at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the first evening star, and thought: "Who needs to predict the future, indeed? It will come soon enough".

She did not know yet that a new life was growing inside of her, and that she and Roger had formed yet another unbreakable bond.

And somewhere, in an Amish town named Goshen, a blond woman stirred in her sleep, dreaming about a red car racing down a bridge. She murmured: "I am coming, Bud."

I decided to leave all of them with an open ending...please review! What did you think about the Holly/Josh pairing?