Kim sat at her desk, reviewing her files. Or rather, she was attempting to review her files. She could not seem to concentrate for more than a few moments, because her mind kept drifting back to the previous night and morning.
She still could not believe that she and Shane had finally found their way back together. Her fingers drifted to her collar as she gently touched the cameo still pinned there. It wasn't a dream.
A knock at the door brought Kim back to the present. "Come in," she called and then smiled broadly as her sister walked in the door.
"Is this a bad time?" Kayla asked as she closed the door behind her.
"Of course not," Kim said, as she stood and walked over to hug her sister. "What can I do for my baby sister?"
Kayla embraced Kim, then pulled back, and stared closely at Kim's face. Kayla's eyes narrowed as she studied Kim, but then Kayla broke out into a big smile.
"Well, I wanted to stop by and see how things went after you went home last night, but judging by the glow in your cheeks, the smile on your face, and the cameo pinned to your collar, I'm guessing things went pretty well."
Kim laughed and led her sister to the chairs by her desk. "Things went wonderfully well."
Kayla's smile grew even bigger. "Oh, Kim, I'm so happy for you. I knew Shane would understand about what happened with Cal."
Kim's smile faded slightly. "Yes, he did understand. In fact, he understood things a lot better than I did."
Raising a brow, Kayla gave a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
Kim sighed. "When I went home, I was so convinced that once I told Shane what happened, he would reject me and that would be the end." She shook her head at her own foolishness. "But what Shane made me understand was that it wasn't about me being afraid of his rejection; it was about me needing a reason to reject him."
"I don't understand." Kayla still looked puzzled. "Why would you want a reason to reject Shane? I know how much you love him."
Kim nodded. "I do love him. So much that it scares me sometimes. And that was the real problem. After all that's happened to us, and almost losing him when he was shot by Cal, I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Kayla asked.
"Afraid of opening my heart to him again and . . . and of then losing him again," Kim said. "I realized I was using Cal as an excuse. If I could convince myself that Shane would never understand or forgive me, then I didn't have a reason to risk opening myself to him again."
Kayla seemed to think a moment. "And now?"
"And now I realize that I can't let that fear keep me from a second chance at making a life with the man I love and our children," Kim said, momentarily grinning, but the grin faded as she continued in a more somber tone. "I'm still scared, Kay. . . . I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him again."
"I know that feeling." Kayla's tone matched Kim's. "Some days, it's all I can do not to beg Steve to never leave the apartment."
"How do you stop yourself?" Kim asked, genuinely interested in how her sister dealt with her own fears.
Kayla shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't always been good about it. But as scared as I am of losing him again, I know that I can't ask him to lock himself away."
Kim smiled wryly at the irony in Kayla's words. Shane was scheduled to go to trial in December. Absent a miracle, there was a very good chance that Shane would actually be locked away.
Pushing that thought away, Kim nodded in agreement with her sister. "It's hard to love a man who seems to live for adventure and action." She chuckled softly. "Why couldn't they have been doctors or lawyers or boring businessmen?"
Kayla laughed. "Can you imagine Steve and Shane as 'normal' businessmen?" Kim saw her sister's expression grow pensive as Kayla added quietly, "Although I guess that would have made Roman happier."
"Roman?" Kim was confused. "What does that mean?"
Kayla shook her head and sighed. "I stopped by to see Roman this morning. I wanted to talk to him about something that happened at Ma and Pop's last night."
"What happened?"
"After you left, I was helping Ma with the caramel apples and I saw Roman and Steve talking. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell by their expressions that it was an argument." Kayla looked at Kim. "I tried to ask Steve about it, but he just kept changing the subject. So I went to Roman."
"What did Roman say?" Kim asked.
"He still wouldn't tell me much about his argument with Steve, but he made it clear that he doesn't trust Shane or Steve." Kayla took a deep breath. "He basically accused them both of conspiring with John to help him pretend to be Roman."
"You're kidding?" Kim was shocked. "How could he believe something like that?"
"I don't know for sure, but I think he's been getting information from the ISA," Kayla said. "And he's still hurt by the fact that we didn't believe him when he first came back. You put those things together and Roman's convinced that there's some big conspiracy at hand."
Kim sighed. "I guess you couldn't convince him otherwise, huh?"
Kayla shook her head. "I tried, but he wasn't listening. He even thinks there is more to what happened when Shane rescued Steve because there is just no way the ISA would frame an innocent man."
"I guess it was too much to hope that things might finally get back to normal for this family," Kim said sadly.
"It looks that way," Kayla agreed. Then she smiled and spoke in a lighter tone. "But we can't let Roman's suspicions overshadow everything. We need to focus on the good things we have and just hope that Roman comes around soon."
Kim nodded and returned Kayla's smile. It was just like her sister to always try to look on the bright side of things. And Kim had to admit, her life suddenly had a lot of bright sides. Tonight, she would go home to the man she loved and spend the evening together with their children. And when the kids were asleep, she would join Shane in their bed. After all their time apart, Kim could not think of anything better than that.