Author's Note: Hello. So, when I started this story in the summer, it never occurred to me how time would line up. If you remember, Zoe's first day at school was on February 8th, and as Valentine's Day approached, I realized that would mean this next chapter would take place on February 14th. So, I thought I would update this today as a sort of Valentine's Day present. This is actually not all the Valentine's Day Stuff. There will be some in the next chapter as well, which I will try to post as soon as possible, but I make no promises, because inspiration is a fickle mistress and I am sleep deprived for reasons far too complicated and too personal to go into.

Thank you so much to all of my reviewers.

Thank you to Guest, both for identifying yourself per my request, and for the information about Earl.

Mollie, thank you so much. I love your reviews. They always make me feel so good about my writing and myself. You are so sweet. I am glad you like the Father/Daughter and Father/Son relationship. I didn't even really think about the parallel. It was not intentional, it just sort of happened naturally. It was cool of you to notice, and make me notice. I don't always write the scenes in the order they are, if that makes sense.

This chapter is my Valentine's Day gift to you.

Your reviews can be your gifts to me.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think.

As always, there will be another author's note at the end.

Chapter Twelve

Zoe sat holding her legs and staring at the water. She was freezing. How was it so cold; this is Bluebell for goodness sake! She had almost died of heatstroke pretty much every time she'd been outside since getting here. Of course, those times were all during the day. Now, it was night, and she was sitting at the edge of a pond, completely lost and still furious out of her mind.

She hadn't known where she was going when she had stormed out. It wasn't like she had had a plan; she just lost it. She knew she couldn't go to Lemon's because Lemon's father might be there and he'd just call Harley and she did not want to go back there.

So she'd foolishly headed somewhere Harley might not find her; the woods. Of course, she was not a wilderness kind of girl and she had no clue where she was, but at least Harley wasn't here trying to be her dad.

She heard rustling in the trees and looked around for something to defend herself with, but before she could, Wade came out from behind one of the trees.

After taking a second to catch her breath, she went off on him, "What are you … you just scared the shit out of me!"

Wade chuckled, "Did you just say shit?"

Zoe crossed her arms and sat back down, "Maybe."

"Gotta say, this is the last place I'd expect to find a prude like Zoe Hart. You know this place is like, the Make-Out Point of Bluebell, right?"

"So, what, I'm going to be ambushed by vampires?" Zoe said sarcastically.

"Impressive. I didn't take you for the monster movies type."

"What are you doing here?"

Wade paused, mulling over what to say, but decided to go for the truth, "Harley called. Said he couldn't find you. That you, I don't know, disappeared or something."

"Yeah, I'm a regular Houdini." She paused, "So how did you?"

"How did I … ?"

"Find me."

"Oh, well, it wasn't easy. I didn't bother with Lemon's 'cause I figured Harley probably called her before me, and I know you're not stupid enough to be at George Tucker's place; you value your neck too much, and by now you probably figured out Lemon is all kinds of crazy. You don't know this place well, but it ain't hard to wander. I checked around town a little, but since nobody'd seen you, I figured you were somewhere nobody was lookin'. Then it was just about traipsin' through the woods for a while."

He came and sat down next to her.

"So Harley told you I ran away?"

"This is you runnin' away?" Wade asked with another chuckle, "As long as you're still in Bluebell, you'll be brought back before sunrise. You want to run away, head for the border." Zoe didn't say anything, "So, why'd you cancel on my brother?"

Zoe looked up at him, surprised. Of all the things she thought he might ask, that had not occurred to her.

"What?"

"What? It's just a question."

"I thought you were out here because-"

"You want me to interrogate you about why you ran away?"

Zoe looked at him. After a minute, she said, "Lemon suggested we double. Me and Jesse, her and George."

"So?"

Zoe sighed, "Soooo, it would be me and her and George and Jesse and all of us alone in a dark theater."

"But why would … " Wade stopped, "Oh."

"Exactly."

"So, you still got that crush on Tucker, huh?"

"I never said-"

"Zoe." He stopped her, giving her a 'don't bother, it's obvious' sort of look.

"It's not like I know him all that well or anything, it's just sometimes when I'm around him I get all … you wouldn't understand."

Wade was quiet for a moment. She couldn't make him out completely in the dark, but she thought she saw a flicker of something cross his face, like maybe he would understand. Then it was gone, if it had ever even been there.

"Why didn't you just tell her you didn't want to double?"

"Tell Lemon I'm rejecting a plan of hers?" Zoe asked, raising an eyebrow. Wade laughed again, "Besides, maybe I kind of do." She said quietly.

"What?"

She wasn't sure if he was confused or if he just hadn't heard her. Either way, she knew she had to elaborate, "I mean, I don't want to double with her and George, for what are apparently obvious reasons," Wade grinned teasingly, which she found annoying, "but, Lemon made a good point. Doubling would have less pressure, and, I mean, it is a first date … I think." Wade coughed awkwardly, "Did he say something?"

"What?"

"Your brother, did he-"

"He and I aren't the closest. I mean, I didn't even know you two were going out." There was a weird quality to Wade's voice when he said this.

"Yeah, you did seem to have a kind of strange relationship."

"Hey, she with no siblings has no right to judge." Zoe laughed, "So, you canceling … that was all about George?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just didn't know you were into my brother." He looked down at his shoes when he said it. His voice was sort of quiet and weird.

"I don't know if I am. I was planning to find out, but if it's just the two of us I'll be way too self-conscious and awkward, and I wouldn't even know…" Zoe stopped abruptly, "Hey, what about you?"

"What about me?" Wade asked, squinting at her in confusion.

"To double with?" Wade opened his mouth, but she cut him off, "I mean, the way Lemon tells it, you wouldn't have any trouble finding a date, and I could tell her that when I mentioned doubling, Jesse automatically thought of you, and it would have been awkward to tell him somebody else. I mean, you're his brother, so it makes total sense. It's perfect." Zoe was starting to get excited. This was a good plan. A really good plan.

Except that Wade still hadn't said anything.

"Wade?"

"Hm?" he asked. He was smiling, but a little too wide. It was one of those smiles where the person is trying so hard to smile when they do not want to that they stretch their mouth out.

"What do you think?"

"I, uh, I don't know how Jesse would feel about me intrudin' on his date."

"But if it had to be somebody, you'd think he'd prefer-"

"Like you said, strange relationship."

"Still. Please Wade, I'll really owe you one."

"Yeah? What would this owing entail?"

"Don't get lewd. Please just do this for me."

"This is, uh, really important to you, isn't it?" he sounded almost … sad? No, why would he be sad. Maybe she should just try to stop reading him; she was clearly no good at it.

"Yes, it is."

He sighed, "All right. You pick the time and place, and I'll be there." He sounded almost pained, "But you owe me for this. I'm serious."

"It's not like it will be torture for you. You'll be going to a movie with one of those bimbos you troll around with."

"Bimbos?"

"You know what I mean."

"Not jealous, are we?"

"Please."

Wade chuckled, "Ready to head back?" he asked cautiously.

"So that's your plan? Get me talking about something else so I forget how mad I am?"

"I didn't know you were mad. I don't even know why you ran off, and I don't need to. I do know, however, that I came out here to find you, which I did, and bring you back, which I intend to do."

"But-"

"Do I have to remind you that you owe me?"

Zoe snorted, "And you're going to waste it on this?"

He thought for a second, then nodded, "I have a feeling you're going to owe me many times in the future. This is how I'm using the first one."

"What makes you so sure that I'm going to owe you again?"

"What, you mean other than the fact that I'm sittin' on secrets, offerin' you rides, buyin' you mouthwash, which you still haven't paid me back for, and comin' over in the middle of the night to help you wrangle a drunk Lemon Breeland? You're right, it is unlikely you'll need my help again." Zoe did not care for the sarcastic tone. She rolled her eyes.

"I guess if going back means I get away from you, it is the lesser of two evils."

"That's my girl."

Apparently, in Bluebell, Sunday was church day, and not in the usual sense. It wasn't that people knew they should go to church, but they basically had to go to church. Everybody went, and even weirder, it seemed they actually wanted to.

Zoe had only been to church a couple times. Technically she was Jewish, but neither of her parents had ever put a lot of stock in religion. She'd done the big holiday dinners for both, been to a Purim Carnival once, and hunted for Easter eggs, but neither religion held a lot of appeal for her. Her mother had mentioned a Bat Mitzvah last year, but it was just and offhanded comment, and as Zoe had not shown any interest, her mother never saw reason to bring it up again.

Zoe believed in science, The Big Bang and evolution. She was pretty sure her dad did too. Her and her mom had never really talked about it, but their relationship had never been that way. She always got the feeling that Mrs. Hart was more Jewish than Ethan was Christian, but that was not saying a lot. Zoe's parents had always been too busy to go to Church/Temple, and Zoe, as a scientifically minded atheist, had never pushed the issue. In Bluebell, however, it was apparently a huge deal. All the shops closed, The Butter Stick Bakery, The Rammer Jammer, The movie theatre, the Dixie Stop, even The Practice. Brick and Harley were both on call in case of emergencies, but since everybody went to church, if there was an emergency, it would happen there anyway.

When Harley had told her to get ready for church, she had considered her options. She could say her mom had raised her Jewish, which was sort of true, but then he might force her to go to temple next Saturday, which was not any more appealing than church. Besides, the last time she had been to Temple had been her parents' funeral, and the last thing she needed was to have a flashback and freak-out like she had done that night in the car.

She considered saying she was hanging out with somebody, but if everybody was in church, it wasn't like she could come up with somebody to be her alibi; the second Harley got to church he would spot the person and then he would know she had lied.

She was still upset with him, but it had been a taxing first week, and she was tired; she did not feel like putting up a fight. Finally, she decided, why the hell not. She had not been to a church in a long time. Maybe it would be fun. Okay, probably not fun, but it wasn't like she was going to church in the middle ages when they just spent three hours yelling at you in Latin and not telling you what it means. Harley had said the Minister and his wife were kind, down-to-earth people. And maybe Lemon would be there, and they could sneak off. She figured if anybody would know the most effective way to sneak off from church, it would be Lemon Breeland. The girl was surprisingly rebellious, but Zoe kind of liked her … when she was sober. When she was drunk, well, she wasn't exactly Zoe's idea of a fun companion.

She had no clue what to wear. How conservative did she have to dress? She knew some of her clothes were inappropriate, like some of her shorts and halter-tops, but was she supposed to cover her arms and wear all black? After looking through her closet four times, she finally found something that she doubted would be objectionable. It was a skirt that went at least an inch below her knee and a white blouse. It had been her uniform at the private school she had been attending before. She changed it a little, trying to make it look a little less like a uniform, but she figured it would be appropriate for church. When she came downstairs, Harley did not say anything about it, so she assumed it was okay.

They still had not talked about the other night. When Wade brought her home she had gone straight to her room and closed the door. Harley had knocked a few times, but she hadn't answered. He slid a piece of paper under the door that said they could talk tomorrow, and if she refused to open the door would she please tap it twice so he knew she did not sneak out the window. She did not know if he was trying to make a joke or if he was genuinely scared she would sneak out the window. Yes, she had run out tonight, but her room was upstairs and Zoe wasn't exactly outdoorsy. Besides, she had watched the movie Pollyanna as a kid, and she knew what could happen if you tried to sneak out a window from high up. Either way, she figured she should oblige, because if she didn't he might force the door. After he knocked, she heard him walk away and had tried to fall asleep. She had not been very successful, but up until forty minutes ago, she was under the impression that she could sleep in today.

The second she got in the car, she regretted it. She and Harley were driving to church, in a private enclosed space that she could not escape from. He was going to confront her now; she just knew it.

"Zoe-"

"Can I just say something, before you start?" she didn't wait for him to answer, "I'm not sorry that I ran off. I know you want me to be, but I'm not. I had my reason's, and I believed them to be justified … I still believe that. I will not apologize when I do not believe I did anything wrong, but … I'm sorry if I worried you. That was selfish. I can admit that. But I needed to leave. I needed to be … not there." Not around you, she thought, but she didn't say it. In truth, maybe a part of her had done it to worry him, or rather, to hurt him. She wasn't sure. But even if that had been part of her motivation the other night, she knew now that it was wrong. She was angry, and she had needed to distance herself from him, but hurting him in the process was not the point.

"Actually, I was just going remind you to buckle up. I know it's a little overprotective of me, but so many people forget these days, and as a doctor, I've seen what happens when they do."

"Oh." Zoe said, pursing her lips awkwardly. She really had to learn to let the other person talk first. Though the fact that he would think she of all people wouldn't take car safety seriously was a little strange, if not insulting.

"As for the other night, I thought we should wait until after church to talk." He smiled at her, "though I appreciate what you said, and will take it into consideration."

Zoe nodded and Harley pulled the car out. She did not speak the whole ride as to avoid another mix-up. Sometimes she thought that she shouldn't be allowed to speak at all; she always seemed to say the wrong thing.

"I still don't get it." Jesse said again as Wade packed the truck.

"Jesse, man, come on, we've been over this, okay, dad can't get out of work on Sundays."

"And you gotta go with him because-"

"Because if I help, the work gets done faster, and we can stop in at a church in Mobile."

"But I'm never needed because-"

"Because … because you're just not, okay." Wade said, slamming the door in frustration.

"Uh-huh," Jesse replied skeptically, "and if it is so important that dad get to work and finish up early, how come ya'll never leave for work 'til after I leave for church."

Wade turned to his brother, running his hand across his face, "Listen, Jess, we been doin' this every Sunday since he got this new job. Why you gotta question it every week?"

"Because I still think it makes no sense. If he can get out early, why not come here for church. I'd think you could at least get back in time for the pancake breakfast on the first of the month."

"No, we can't!"

"Well if it takes so damn long, how come you never want me to come help?"

"Well, we miss half the service. Somebody should go and pray for the family; lord knows we need it."

"Wade-"

"Aren't you gonna be late?" Wade said, turning back towards the car.

Sometimes Jesse just didn't understand Wade. One minute he was all carefree and fun loving, and the next, he was the most stressed-out guy Jesse had ever met. Wade had been acting weird for months. But then, they all had been. Losing a parent wasn't something you just got over, and everybody grieved in his or her own way.

Still, he was pretty sure that wherever his dad and Wade went on Sundays, it wasn't work. Sometimes, he felt a little left out. Ever since their mom had died, their dad had barely been around; Jesse almost never saw him. He was always at work or off doing something with Wade. He had not clue what the something's were, and he was never invited. Wade had never really been the favorite, their parents had never seemed to have a favorite, but maybe that had changed. Maybe Wade reminded their father of their mother more, and he wanted to be around him. Or maybe Jesse reminded him of her more, and he couldn't deal with being reminded. Maybe he just liked Wade better. Whatever it was, Jesse was getting pretty sick of it, but if they needed to grieve together, he'd let them. Sunday morning, he usually tried to get answers from Wade, but he never pushed too hard. He figured that when Wade was ready to open up, he would.

Jesse sighed, "Yeah, you're right." He started to head off, then stopped. Something had just occurred to him, and while he knew Wade was stressed, sometimes older brothers just can't help themselves, "Hey, you think Zoe'll be in church?"

He saw Wade's back tense a little. Jackpot. Wade shrugged, but didn't answer.

"Because, I mean it's her first Sunday since comin' here, and she's stayin' with Harley Wilkes, right?" Wade didn't answer, "Well, he never misses a day, so he'll probably bring her." Still nothing, "You want me to pass on your regards?"

"Will you just get out of here already?" He was clearly going for playful, but Jesse could hear a hint of anger, and a twinge of fear.

"Yeah, yeah. I should. Ya know, I think church is goin' to be particularly fun this week."

Wade turned, "You know that if she's there she's gonna be sittin' with Dr. Wilkes, right? Be kinda hard for you to flirt with him right there."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't." Wade said with a shrug, "Just some brotherly advice is all."

"Well, thanks, but you know, there's still the pancake breakfast. He'll probably let her go off and socialize with people around her age. And I plan on doin' a whole lot of … socializin'."

"Yeah, well, you might find that Zoe ain't the easiest girl to … socialize with. In fact, I'm bettin' she gets offended if you get too social with her."

"That more brotherly advice?" Jesse said with a smirk.

"Would you please just go?"

"Well," Jesse said as he turned to walk off, "Since you said please."

The church building was huge, and the doors were tall and heavy. Zoe looked around, hoping to spot Lemon, but there were so many people heading in. Wow, these people were religious.

"Does, um, does everybody go to church?"

Harley nodded, "For the most part. You got your stragglers. A couple invalids, people who got families in other counties, and a few who just don't really care. But, mostly, yeah, everybody goes."

"Everybody include the Breelands?" Harley looked at her questioningly, "It's just, it'd be nice to have a friendly face."

Harley chuckled, "Yes, the Breelands come."

"What about Lemon's sister? Isn't she a little … well, young?"

"You're never to young to learn about the lord."

"I've been around Lemon's sister, and if she starts crying, I don't think anybody will be able to learn anything about the lord."

Harley chuckled again, "Well, there is a daycare in the church. In fact, some kids volunteer their to get community service hours. You know, for college applications and that sort of thing."

Zoe nodded, "Well, do we sit with them? The Breelands, I mean?"

"As a matter of fact, we do. How did you guess?"

"Well, Dr. Breeland is your partner, so I figured …" so shrugged, letting the sentence hang there.

"Well, actually, its just Brick that I sit with. Lemon's in the choir."

"Oh."

"But you two can hang out after if you like. There's a pancake breakfast. Usually it's just the first of every month, which was last week, but sometimes they like to mix it up a little and do it twice or three times a month. It's a once in a blue moon kind of thing. Personally, I think it's the reverend's way of makin' sure that people come every week, and not just the first of the month. Nobody wants to miss a pancake breakfast."

"I thought you said after church-"

"The pancake breakfast counts as church time. Dr. Breeland." Harley called, waving.

Brick came over, smiling.

"Good morning Harley. Zoe, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Zoe said politely.

"You gave your father quite a scare the other night."

Zoe winced a little at the word father, partially because everything from last night was still swirling around in her head, and partially because other than Harley, Brick, Mrs. Hattenbarger, and a bunch of lawyers, nobody knew that Harley was her father. Brick had a strong voice, and he did not have any qualms about speaking about it in public. Of course, there was no reason he should. It was not as though she could tell him, or Harley, that she wanted to keep her relation to Harley a secret. It would hurt Harley, and it was not as though she could explain. She did not completely understand, and what she did understand, she had no desire to talk about.

She realized Dr. Breeland was waiting for a response, and she looked to Harley, "Oh, well, it's all behind us now. She's safe and sound. That's what matters."

Dr. Breeland smiled, and Zoe shot Harley a grateful look.

"We should all get inside."

Zoe waited until they were walking the space between the pews, which was a little narrow, causing Dr. Breeland to walk in front, "Thank you," she whispered.

Harley nodded, "It does not mean that I will forget what happened, or that it is no longer and issue, but there's no reason for you to have to hear about it by anybody but me."

She gave him an awkward smile and sat down.

"Crap!" Wade shouted. He had noticed the gas levels going down quickly, so he had stopped, and discovered a leak. It was hard to tell how much was left; he just hoped it was enough to get them to the nearest gas station.

Earl was asleep in the back seat. This was the Sunday routine. Earl could not go to church, that much was obvious, so Wade had said that he had to work. The truth is, Wade actually did not get much work done on Sundays. Taking Earl to his job drunk could get him fired or worse. Wade had to keep an eye on him. He couldn't leave him home, because Jesse might get back first, and realize there was something going on. So, Wade went fishing. He, Jesse, and Earl used to go when they were little, and Wade had gotten pretty good. The first few times, he had tried to get Earl fishing too; he had hoped it might help snap him out of things to do something fun and familiar. As it turns out, however, fishing hooks and drunken men do not make a very good combination. Wade fished on the shore (he didn't even want to think what might happen if her brought his dad out on the water) and made sure his father was always where he could see him. Wade refused to bring alcohol, a policy that his father frowned upon. He did bring sandwiches, which he tried to get his dad to eat, and sometimes, he was successful.

Not wanting to waste more gas, Wade woke Earl and they walked to the nearest fishing spot. While he fished, Wade talked to his dad. Mostly, it was to keep him busy so he didn't wander off and do something crazy, but a part of him liked to pretend that he was talking to his old dad, the dad from a year ago. His father used to be a good listener; he gave good advice when Wade wanted it, and sometimes when he didn't, but he also knew when to say nothing and just let Wade vent. It was weird, missing somebody who was sitting right next to you.

"Hey, you know what today is?"

"Sunday." Wade said, rolling his eyes.

"Nope." Earl said giddily.

"Yes, it is."

"I know. I'm not an idiot you know. I just meant, it's somethin' else too."

"Yeah?" Wade asked, uninterested. He knew he had to keep Wade engaged, but sometimes, he just didn't give a damn about whatever drunken babbling the man was doing. "What?"

"Guess?" he said it almost like a child.

Wade shrugged, "I give up."

"You ain't even tryin'."

"Well isn't that the Kinsella way?" Wade said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

"Today, is February 14th. Valentine's day."

"Oh, that." Wade said indifferently. Valentine's day was not his thing. Though the idea of Jesse trying to woo Zoe popped into his head for a second. So Jesse's seein' Zoe on Valentine's day, and I'm stuck here. Great.

"Yeah, oh that. Don't look down on it. Some of my favorite memories took place on one Valentine's Day or another."

"Yeah, like what?" He knew it was the wrong thing to say the second it left his mouth, even before seeing his dad's reaction, but it was too late. Earl's face was somewhere between crying and how general's look when they tell the troops to attack. He went to the cooler to search for something alcoholic. When he didn't find anything, he turned the cooler upside-down, dumping all the contents in the grass.

"Gimme the keys." He said desperately.

"Not in this life."

Earl tried to grab the keys from Wade, but luckily, drunk people lack coordination and they are not that hard to dodge.

"Give me the fuckin' keys!" Earl barked. It could get a little scary when his dad got like this, but the scarier part was that Wade was starting to get used to it.

"So you can drive a car to the liquor store, then drive the same car drunk, get in an accident, and die?"

"It's my choice, not yours. If I wanna die, I got a right."

"You really want to die on Valentine's Day?"

"It's just like any other day now."

"No, no it's not. It's a special day of, of roses and pink frilly things and candy and, I don't know, unicorns, or whatever…" Wade had no clue where to go with this, but he had to think of something fast. Then, an idea occurred to him, "In fact, I need your advice."

"My what?"

"Yeah, yeah, see there's this girl-" Earl's eyes got wide, but then he sat down on a rock and looked up at Wade like some sort of kung fu master to his pupil.

"Go on."

Wade breathed a silent sigh of relief, "Well, she's, uh, this girl, who I want to do something for and … and I don't have any ideas." He knew it sounded lame and generic, but it was all he had, and he was praying it worked.

"What's her name?"

"Uh, ya know, I don't really want to jinks anything so…"

"Well, how long have you been together?"

"We're not together, exactly. I, I haven't known her that long."

"So, it's a crush?" Earl said, sounding a little more like the dad Wade remembered. He was still a little drunk from this morning, but he was starting to sober up, and as long as Wade kept him calm, he should be okay for at least an hour. This is one of the reason's he never brought alcohol up here. This was sacred ground; this was their place, even if they had never caught many fish from the shore.

"Well, no. I mean, I don't get crushes. Mushy romantics get crushes. Guys who like poetry and write girls names on their notebooks get crushes." Earl looked at him, questioningly, and he remembered he had to keep his dad convinced, "I just mean, uh, that it's, that it's, you know, stronger than that. I really like her." He tried not to gag as he said it.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why do you like her?"

Wade shrugged, "I don't know, she's pretty?" Earl gave him a look that said try again. Wade searched his mind, trying to find inspiration for his lie. Pretend you like a girl, he told himself, trying not to snort, what's she like, what's she look like, act like? Whatever it is, just go with it. "She's smart. Yeah, smart. That's cool. She reads and she actually likes it. She like, I don't know, does it for fun." Okay, that did not sound convincing. No way his dad would buy he had the hots for a brain.

"What else?" Wow, really? That worked? Okay, keep it up Kinsella.

"Well, she's not just book smart. You know, she, like, she's good with words. What's the word for … witty. That's it, she's witty. And she doesn't take shit from people. And she's strong, you know? I mean, not physically. Physically, she's pretty pathetic as far as strength, but she can handle things, including herself. She knows how to take care of herself.

Sometimes … sometimes I get the feelin' that maybe she's had to do that for a while. Take care of herself." Without meaning to, without even realizing it, Wade had stumbled on something that wasn't exactly fictional.

"She'll never admit it, but she's lonely. She doesn't want to seem weak, or be pitied, so she acts like she doesn't need anybody, but everybody needs someone, ya know? She doesn't … let people in easy, which is maybe why I want her to let me in so badly. Or maybe it's just because I know under the mask, under all the fear and all the sass, there's a pretty amazin' person."

He had forgotten who he was even talking to now. He had forgotten that he was talking to anybody. He was just sort of looking at the ground, playing with the dirt, and saying what he was thinking. Maybe he felt he needed to hear it out loud. "I mean, I ain't sayin' she's perfect or anything. In fact, I have never in my life met anybody who was so rude, so condescending, so unbelievably stubborn … but that's part of what makes it fun, ya know? It's like a challenge bein' around her. It's not easy. She's not easy. And usually, if somethin' ain't easy, you know me, I'm gonna just go on my merry way, but, I don't know, there's somethin' about her that makes me want to just … I don't even know.

I'd probably be better off stayin' away. I mean, she is all kinds of crazy, like millions of shades and colors of crazy. If it's a kind of crazy, she's got it somewhere in 'er. Well, except, I don't think she, like, talks to people who ain't there, or tries to kill people or shit like that, but, I mean, she's not even sixteen yet and the girl speaks Latin for god sake. She's been plannin' to be some fancy kind of Dr. since before she hit double digits. She's knows exactly what kind to, and it's some sort of specialist with a name I can't even pronounce, but, you know, she can. It's probably in Latin." Wade looked up and saw his father smiling at him. He remembered where he was, and stood up, brushing his pants off.

"Well, we should head back. We gotta make sure we find a gas station quick and we don't wanna lose the daylight."

"I haven't given my advice yet."

"Yeah, well, I don't need it anymore."

"Why's that?"

"'Cause there was no girl, okay. I just made all that stuff up to calm you down."

Earl shook his head, "I heard you, you can't make that stuff up."

"Yeah, well I did."

"I heard your tone of voice, saw your face, you can't fake those things."

"Yeah, well, maybe I should go into acting. Certainly help pay the bills if I become the next Tom Cruise."

"Your girl might like it if you were the next Tom Cruise."

"She's not mine, okay. There isn't even a real girl!"

Earl shook his head, smiling. He clearly did not believe Wade. Great. Just great. This was the last thing he needed, Earl thinking he knew all about him and his love life. And what if he tried to interfere? God, that would be a nightmare.

Eventually, Wade got Earl back into the car, and while he had not convinced his dad that the girl was fictitious, Earl seemed to be dropping it, which was a relief. Still, a small part of him had liked it. It had been nice to say some of that stuff out loud and try to work out what he was feeling. And it had been nice to say it to Earl.

Lemon was standing in the back, singing her lungs out. She wanted to be heard because lord knew she wouldn't be seen. That bitch Ruby Jeffries had positioned herself right in front of Lemon, and Ruby was the taller one. She tried to talk to the minister about it, but he had just said that choir was not about who gets to stand in front, but raising our voices in song to god, and god could see them all just fine. Ruby always got what she wanted and somehow that always seemed to involve upstaging Lemon. She didn't know why Ruby was so out to get her, but she was certain that she was. There was no way this could all be a coincidence. George always told her that she was being paranoid, but George was extremely naïve. It was one of the things she loved about him; he saw the good in everybody.

The hymn ended, and the minister started his sermon.

"Lemon," Ruby whispered, leaning back a little, "Sweetie I think you might be the eensiest bit off key. Maybe next week you should just sit out there with your daddy."

"If I'm off key, it's because I'm trying to stay within the range of you and your deep mannish voice."

Ruby chuckled, "Lemon, I think you might be tone deaf. There's no shame in admitting there are some things you just can't do."

"You mean like how you so openly admit that you couldn't get Lavon Hayes to come home for Valentine's Day because he's off playin' for Alabama and he's completely forgotten all about you?"

"Um, I think we're supposed to be listenin' to the sermon." AnnaBeth whispered. She was standing next to Lemon, because that was where she had always stood in the choir, despite the fact that they were no longer friends.

"You are such a goody-goody." Lemon said. AnnaBeth was always trying to please everybody. She was boring and proper and everything Lemon had left behind when her mom had left her.

"We're in church." AnnaBeth said, as if this justified it.

"Just ignore her AnnaBeth. I respect your reverence for the lord. Lemon's just bitter because bein' a good girl herself wasn't enough to keep her mother around."

Church or not, Lemon was going to claw her eyes out. How dare she! She almost gabbed her elbow into Ruby's back, but then thought better of it. She did not want to give Ruby Jeffries the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten to her. Ruby definitely needed to be punished; she needed to know that nobody messed with Lemon Breeland, but Lemon was smart. She knew this was neither the time nor the place. She wanted to hit Ruby where it hurt.

"You need to make friends with Ruby Jeffries."

Zoe jumped, startled. She had needed to go to the bathroom, but gotten lost, and somehow ended up in the church's daycare center. There were some girls around her age looking after the little bundles of joy, and before she knew it, somebody had placed a crying baby in her arms. They must have figured she was a volunteer.

The baby was a girl, or at least that was what Zoe guessed, based on the pink blanket. Zoe had tried to rock her and calm her down. Surprisingly, it had worked. Zoe had never really been a baby person, but she had to admit, the baby was cute. She kept rocking her and had started humming a lullaby that she sort of remembered from she was little. That was what she had been doing when somebody popped up behind her.

Zoe turned to see a devilish looking Lemon holding a baby that Zoe figured was Magnolia. She looked like the baby from the other night, but then, all babies basically looked the same to Zoe.

"What?" Zoe asked, still startled and somewhat confused.

Lemon sighed impatiently, "I said, I need you to-"

"Where did you come from?"

"Church just let out. I came to get Magnolia, and then I was going to go look for you, but as luck would have it …" she shrugged.

"And why were you going to look for me?"

"Because I need you to befriend Ruby Jeffries."

"Who's Ruby Jeffries?"

"She's a horrible girl who has made it her life's mission to make my life miserable. I am not letting her get away with it, but if I'm going to destroy her, I am going to need a spy. That's where you come in." Zoe looked at Lemon wide-eyed. Was she nuts? "The timing couldn't be better. You've only been here a week, and yes, you've hung out with George and I quite a bit, but a week is not necessarily long enough to cement a friendship. As far as Ruby knows, you're still finding your place. She's a senior, so it may be a bit hard to get in with her, but everybody knows that Ruby's always wanted to leave Bluebell to explore better, brighter things in the big city. You're from New York. You can tell her stories and give her insight. Ruby only cares about herself, so if she thinks lettin' you hang around can benefit her, she'll let you hang around. You can spy, fill me in on her weak points. I already know one, her boyfriend," Lemon said, putting quote marks around boyfriend with her fingers. Zoe wondered briefly why, but Lemon just kept on going, "but I want it to be more than that. Ruby deserves the worst kind of punishment, not some childish prank or small reference to her heartbreak and humiliation. No, this needs to be big, and you can get close to her."

Zoe tried to think of something to say, but she had no words. Was Lemon serious? The sad part, Zoe was pretty sure she was. She liked Lemon, she really did, but there was something about her that sometimes seemed a little … unhinged.

Before Zoe could respond, Mrs. Hattenbarger came up behind her.

"I see you've met Rose." She said. Zoe looked at her confused, and Mrs. Hattenbarger motioned to the baby in her arms.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess. Is she yours?"

"My sister's actually, but she's out of town with her husband for a couple of days, so I've been lookin' after her."

Zoe handed the baby over carefully.

"She seems to like you." Mrs. Hattenbarger said sweetly. "Let me know if you're ever lookin' for a babysittin' job. I'm sure Annie'd love to have a back-up."

"Okay."

"Well, we're goin' upstairs. You two ladies comin'?"

"We'll be there in a sec Mrs. Hattenbarger." Lemon said.

"Well, just make sure to hurry before all the pancakes are gone." She smiled at the two girls and headed out.

Lemon waited for her to leave, and then turned back to Zoe, "So?" Zoe's mind was still catching up a bit. Lemon seemed to sense her confusion, "Befriendin' Ruby Jeffries? Will you do it?"

Zoe wanted to say hell no, but she was smart enough to know that saying something so blatant and refusing to help Lemon could result in her being next on Lemon's hit list, "I'll … think about it." Zoe said cautiously. Lemon looked disappointed, but she didn't push. "We should get back up there. You're father's probably wondering where you are."

"Well, if it isn't Zoe Hart."

She turned at the sound of her name. It was said in a charming southern drawl that she recognized, "Hey." She said with a smile. Jesse Kinsella was dressed in his Sunday best, and he definitely pulled it off. "You clean up good. For a southerner." Okay, not good. First of all, clean up good; obvious crime against grammar. Second, she had been going for flirty, but that sounded insulting. Why had she been going for flirty? She didn't know the first thing about being flirty. She had never been flirty before.

Jesse chuckled, and Zoe tried to smile and not show how incredibly awkward she felt, "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself."

She sighed, relieved, "Thanks. So, you didn't find my for a southerner comment offensive?" Why wouldn't somebody just come and shut her up, "Because, I didn't mean to be, that is, when I heard it, I thought-" Jesse put his hand up to stop her, "Sorry." She said, and then clamped her mouth shut. God, she was pathetic.

"No, that's fine. It was funny. Everybody 'round here is so concerned with bein' polite, not offendin' anyone, they don't say what they think. You do. I like that."

I huge lump formed in her throat. "Wow, uh th-thanks." She stammered out.

"Any time. So, is it okay if I sit and eat with you?"

She nodded, and Jesse took the seat next to hers, "So, how's your first week been?"

"Um … interesting." Okay, it was vague, she knew, but it was a fairly accurate description of how her first week had been. "Where's the rest of your family?" she asked. She was not very good at small talk, and she had been wondering why she hadn't seen Wade. She had initially figured the Kinsella's just weren't churchgoers, but now that she knew Jesse came, she got curious.

"You mean Wade?" Jesse asked, raising his eyebrows at her. What was that about?

"And your dad."

Jesse nodded, "Well, my dad has this job in Mobile, and he apparently can't get out of it Sundays. And for some reason I never quite understood, Wade has to go with him." Jesse shook his head, "We're basically a family of kooks."

"Your dad has a job?" Zoe asked, curious. The way Wade described his dad, and then that time on the phone, well, she had trouble picturing him holding down a job.

"Of course. Why wouldn't he?"

She could think of a few reasons. Zoe remembered what Wade had said about his dads drinking being a secret, but she had figured Jesse would know. Was he just putting on a show because he figured she didn't know, or was he legitimately out of the loop? Either way, it was probably best not to talk about it.

"Um, so speaking of Wade, you know how we were planning on going to see a movie?"

"You and Wade?" he sounded a little surprised, but not a lot surprised. Did that mean something? She felt like she needed a dictionary for dating subtext.

"No, you and me."

He smiled, but then his face scrunched up in confusion, "Oh, yeah, of course. But, what does that have to do with Wade?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could double, with Wade and … whomever." She felt so dumb and awkward. This was definite proof that Lemon was right; she would not survive unless this date was a double.

"Why?"

"It's kind of a long story … Wade's up for it," she added, hoping that Wade's cooperation would make the whole thing less weird and off-putting.

Jesse's eyes widened slightly, "Was this, uh, was it his idea? The doublin'?"

Zoe shook her head, "No, but he agreed … eventually."

Jesse smiled, "Well, I have to say, takin' you out and doublin' with Wade definitely sounds like a fun evening."

"Great. Oh, was that to enthusiastic?"

Jesse chuckled again, "No, just enthusiastic enough." Zoe breathed a sigh of relief, "Just out of curiosity, what would you have done if I had said yes?"

"Blushed?" Zoe ventured. In truth, she might have freak out, or gone off embarrassed, but she did not want to over share, especially when over sharing would probably make her sound crazy.

Jesse smiled, "You know, I can see why Wade likes you so much."

Okay, that was a weird statement if ever she heard one, "Please, the only thing Wade likes is annoying me. His dislike for me can only be rivaled by mine for him."

Jesse chuckled, "I wouldn't be so sure."

Zoe was about to ask what he meant, when Harley came up to them, "Hello Jesse."

"Dr. Wilkes" Jesse said, nodding politely,

"I am sorry to interrupt, but we really have to get going."

Okay. Time to face the music. She picked up her plate, which was basically empty. "I guess I'll see you in school?" she could say she'd see him for the movie, but they never actually said when they were rescheduling for. Besides, it was probably best not to mention the date in front of Harley. Not yet any way. She would of course tell him when she went, but with the awkward talk awaiting them when they got home … it just seemed like something better left for another day.

Jesse nodded to her pleasantly, "Nice seein' you. Have a safe drive back."

Harley thanked him, and Zoe went to throw her plate out. Then, she followed Harley to the car.

When they got home, Zoe plopped down on the couch, and waited. She felt like she was waiting for judgment in a courtroom, and she wished she had watched Law and Order at some point in her life. Maybe she should call George; he was thinking about being a lawyer. She smiled at the thought, and then mentally shook herself. What was taking Harley so long? How long does it take to hang up a coat? She knew he must be doing this on purpose. He wanted to leave her to stew, let her sweat it out.

When he finally came back into the room, he had to coca-cola bottles, but the were those old-fashioned ones in the glass. He handed one to Zoe, popped the top off his own, and nodded his head in a way that implied she was supposed to do the same. He was sitting in a recliner that was separated from the couch by a coffee table. They each took a drink of their sodas, and then put them down on said coffee table.

Harley sighed, scrunched his face up a little, and touched his fingers. Zoe waited, "Listen, I appreciate what you said in the car. And I know we do not know each other very well yet, but like it or not, you are my daughter, and I worry about you." Zoe felt her heartbeat start to speed up. "If you need to get away, then you need to get away. We all need that sometimes, and I get it. But I need to know where you are getting away to."

Harley looked at her. She could tell it was her turn to speak. "That would have defeated the purpose. I didn't want to be around you, and if you knew where I was … you could have come and gotten me."

"If you need time to yourself, I'll give it to you-"

"But you weren't. You wouldn't let me leave. You wouldn't even let me make a stupid phone call."

"Something was obviously bothering you, and I was concerned-"

"Who said you got to be concerned?" Zoe's voice was starting to rise, even though Harley was keeping his calm and even. She kind of hated that.

"Nobody. Nobody said it. Nobody had to. The second I found out I had a daughter, the second anybody finds out they have a daughter, they get concerned. It's not something you can control, it's natural. It cannot be helped."

Zoe sighed, "Well, I wish it could."

"Is it so bad that I'm concerned about you?"

"Yes!" Zoe said, standing. Harley remained seated.

"Why?"

"Because … I just," she exhaled, dropping her shoulders. "You may be my father, but that doesn't make you my dad. I know you want us to bond and get to know each other, and it's not like you aren't nice or you wouldn't make a great dad. You are, and you would. But … " she didn't know where to go from there. She knew what she was feeling, but even if she knew how to put it into words, admitting it to Harley, or anybody for that matter, just wasn't something she was ready to do.

Lucky for her, the phone rang. "I'll be right back and we'll continue this." Zoe nodded.

He actually wasn't gone long. She looked at him questioningly, "Hang-up." She nodded, "Now-" the phone started to ring again. And again. After three hang-ups in a row, Harley stopped picking up, but then the phone just kept ringing.

"Maybe I should get that." Zoe said. The noise was driving her crazy, and it wasn't as though she wanted to be having this conversation. Harley nodded and she went to get the phone.

"Hello."

"If Harley's in the room say hello Mr. Kinsella." She heard a rushed whisper.

"Excuse me? Who is this?"

"Who do you think? Wait, don't answer out loud. If Harley can hear you he needs to think it's my dad callin'."

Zoe sighed. Wade. What the hell? Why was he acting so weird?

"Oh, hello Mr. Kinsella. Would you like to talk to Harley?"

"Very convincing. Thanks." Zoe waited. It wasn't as though she could ask anything without breaking her cover. She actually was not sure if Harley could hear from the other room or not, but it seemed like a better safe than sorry sort of situation. "Look, I need your help."

"What do you need?" Zoe said, trying to sound respectful and pretend like she was talking to an adult.

"Well, simply put, I need a tow."

"As in part of the body?" She didn't even want to know.

"No, as in tow truck."

"And you think I have one of those?"

"Harley does."

"Then shouldn't you be talking to him?"

"No!" he sounded a little urgent, "Listen, Zoe, I know this is a lot to ask, it's just, I didn't have anybody else to call. You're the only one who knows about, well, my dad, and he's with me, and he ain't exactly sober."

"What about George or Lemon? They must know, and George has a car-"

"No, they don't. You're the only one I told, okay?"

Zoe felt a strange warm feeling in her stomach, "Why?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, I'm in a major jam here. We ran outta gas before we could reach a station, and besides, I don't," he was quite for a minute, and Zoe could tell he was embarrassed about something, "I don't have gas money." He seemed to be waiting for her to react, and when she didn't, he continued, "Look, everybody goes to church in Bluebell, and we always used to. People would notice if Earl was absent, so I got this whole cover story-"

"How he has a job in Mobile and can't get out of work." Zoe supplied.

"Yeah, how-"

"Jesse."

"Ah."

"I was asking why you weren't in church and-"

"Missed me, did you?"

For some reason, she felt herself blush. It wasn't like he was right, but he was trying to catch her in one of his innuendos, "You as in your family, not just you. And like you said, everybody goes to church here, I was curious why he was there without you guys."

"Look, we're getting off track. Point is, I always take him out of town so he can't get into any mischief; we were heading back from Mobile when I noticed how low the gas was. I was hopin' we'd reach a station before it ran out, but no such luck-"

"Wait, you're not even in Bluebell?"

"No, and can you keep it down. I don't want Harley-"

"I think he headed upstairs."

"Then why'd you say Mr. Kinsella?"

"Well, he hadn't then, but I think I heard-"

"Check." Zoe sighed. She looked out into the living room. Harley had left.

"Coast is clear. Now you can stop being so paranoid."

"Look, I don't have time for this. Will you help me or not?"

"How, I don't drive. I'm only fourteen for god sake!"

"Come on. I mean, I know you don't have your license, but parents know that their kids are gonna start drivin' soon anyway. They show you the ropes."

"Maybe that's how it's done in Bluebell, but not in New York. Besides, most people in New York don't even own a car."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's New York. The streets are so crowded, if you tried to drive you'd never get anywhere, and if you can't get somewhere on foot, there's taxi's and subways-"

"Yeah, well, we don't have that here." Wade said. She could hear the frustration in his voice.

"Are you sure you can't call somebody else-"

"The is nobody else, okay"

Zoe sighed. She did owe him, and she was his only option. She knew he wouldn't have called her otherwise, "Where are you?"

"What?"

"I said where are you? If I'm going to help, I need an address."

"But I thought … you gettin' yourself in an accident won't make my situation any better."

Zoe scoffed, "I know that, idiot. I'm not going to drive."

"Then how?"

"Mobile's a city so it will have public transport. I just have to walk to the bus station, and as a New Yorker, I'm used to walking."

"Well, I appreciate you movin' mountain to get to me, but without a tow truck-"

"I'll bring gas money. It's not like you have a flat, right?"

"You are a very strange girl."

"Maybe you shouldn't insult the person who is trying to help you."

"You called me an idiot. That's an insult."

"You are an idiot, and I'm not the one asking the favor here. Address?"

She heard him sigh. He gave her the name of a road, and said he didn't know exactly where they were on it, so she might have to search a little. After they hung up, she went to find Harley.

He was not that hard to track down. She found him relaxing in his room, probably waiting for her to get off the phone so that they could continue their conversation.

"Hi." She said awkwardly.

"You find out who it was?" he asked.

So he hadn't heard, "Yeah. Listen, I need to go out, and I considered just sneaking off, but after … I thought you'd want to know."

"May I ask where you are going?"

"A friend of mine needs help with something. It's sort of private, but I promise I'll just help the out and come straight back here. It may take a while though, but I promise, I will come back here as soon as I get done."

Harley nodded, "Thank you for telling me."

"You're just going to let me-"

"You were up front with me, you told me you had to leave, and why, and that you would be back as soon as you could. I don't need to know every detail Zoe. I just need to know you're safe. And it looks like you've learned from the other night." Zoe nodded.

"Thank you." she turned to leave.

"And Zoe?" she turned back to him, "Tell Wade I expect my daughter back in one piece."

She looked at him surprised, "How?"

"Call it a hunch." He said, smiling.

She couldn't help it. She smiled back.

Author's Note: So, what did you think I hope you liked it. Yes, the double date will happen.

I have not decided whom Wade should take, tough I have an idea, but I am open to suggestions.

In case it was unclear, Wade found Zoe at Old Babcock Pond. The vampire thing is a reference to the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, a horror movie. In this movie, Make-Out Point is one of those places where teens go to park and make-out in private. It is also a place where vampires go to find "food."

This information came from tvtropes dot org. if you want more information, go to the site and search "Terror At Makeout Point" "Film: The Lost Boys", and/or "Make-Out Point." These three WebPages should answer your questions as they did mine.

This is the first time I've really done anything on Jesse's perspective, so I'd be curious to see what you think of my interpretation.

I know that pancake breakfast is supposed to be before church, not after, but it just did not work with the story, and I figure, there's no real reason it couldn't be after. They could mix it up a bit every now and then.

You will definitely see more of AnnaBeth. I love her, and her relationship with Lemon, and I look forward to exploring that relationship at this point in their lives. In case it was unclear, though I think I mentioned it in a previous chapter, Lemon dropped AnnaBeth as a friend after her mom left.

There is a reason I did not have Zoe respond to Lemon's favor. It seemed a little too Mean Girls rip-offish, and a plot like that might overtake the story, when so much else is going on. I am not sure if Zoe should do it or not. I would love your opinion.

Also, if you think she should not do it, how could she get out of it without sabotaging her friendship with Lemon? I would love to hear your thoughts on that too.

As far as Earl, remember, he is not Crazy Earl yet. It has not even been a year. He is turning into Crazy Earl, but he can still be sober sometimes and less obvious. I enjoyed writing the fishing scene both because of Earl/Wade and Zade since we all knew whom he was talking about, even if he would not admit it.

The day is not over, so there will be more Valentine's day stuff, plus the Sweetie Pie dance, which does not have to fall directly on Valentine's Day, just around that time in February (I checked hartofdixiewikia). Plus, they would not have it on a Sunday, what with church, but it is definitely going to come up soon. So, there is that to look forward to.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Have a good Valentine's Day. (Yes. I love Valentine's Day. Sue me.)