Tia and Caesar were listening to Lee's pitch about Emily and Maya while Toll was wrestling with Louis in the background. They'd finished breakfast, and Tia called out for Toll to make sure he didn't make Louis sick since his stomach was full.

"We got this," Toll replied, his arm around Louis's neck in a headlock. Tia gave him an uncertain look, and Toll just grinned back.

"I'm stuck," Louis said, smacking Toll's arm.

"Okay, so what are you gonna do about it?" Toll asked. "Come on, think." Tia turned her attention back to Lee as he finished.

"So, yea," he said. "I think Louis would really like Maya."

"Sure," Caesar said without hesitating. "We'll be here."

"This wouldn't happen to be the daughter of that woman I mentioned to you yesterday, is it?" Tia asked, teasing Lee. She raised a brow when he flushed slightly and cleared his throat.

"Yes, but that's irrelevant."

"That is so not irrelevant," Caesar said, looking back and forth between Tia and Lee. He was relieved to know that Lee had a new love interest, not that he'd ever expect Tia to go after Lee. He'd just noticed lately that Tia spent a bit more time talking with Lee, and it made him uncomfortable to know that Tia was probably sharing her frustration with him with Lee. "Go on now, tell me who she is!"

"I just did," Lee said irritably.

"I need more details," Caesar insisted. Lee rolled his eyes and started to walk out.

"AAARRRGGHHH!" Louis was shrieking, making them all jump and turn to stare at him.

"Almost," Toll said, straining. "Almost!" Louis had one leg wrapped around Toll's and was trying to knock it out from underneath him.

"Pressure point, son," Caesar said, gesturing to the inside of Toll's knee.

"No hints!" Toll exclaimed. Louis swiftly kicked the spot Caesar had pointed out, and Toll grunted from the impact and let him go. They both tumbled to the floor as a result.

"Man down," Caesar snickered.

"Did you see that, Uncle Lee?" Louis asked, giddy as he pulled himself to his feet.

"I sure did. You nailed his aaa-butt," Lee corrected quickly, not having to look and see Tia shooting him daggers with her eyes.

"Can we go again?" Louis asked, unfazed. Toll was on his knees now and groaning.

"Give me five," Toll answered. Louis bobbed his head and rushed off to the bathroom to do his teeth like he was supposed to. Toll exhaled loudly and rested his hands on his knees.

"Damn, he's getting better," he commented.

"That's good," Caesar said.

"He is not gonna become one of you," Tia warned, pointing her fingers at the three of them. Lee held up his hands in surrender.

"I'm not a part of this," he said. "I didn't do anything."

"You don't have to. He looks up to y'all, and the next thing I know he's gonna get a tattoo of a stupid raven and start slinging guns," Tia said, crossing her arms.

"Or knives," Lee threw in, sounding a little offended.

"Don't even!" she warned.

"Don't let Tool ever hear you call his raven stupid," Caesar commented. "And Louis is gonna be a great dentist someday." He gestured to the sound of gargling coming from down the hall as Louis finished doing his teeth.

"Nah, he's gonna be a lawyer," Toll said.

"A defense lawyer," Lee corrected. "Someone's gotta defend our asses if we get in trouble."

"You mean 'when,'" Tia said. Lee waved his hand and left them chuckling amongst each other. Caesar looked at Tia after a moment, and she smiled at him.

"So Emily, huh?"

"Yea. English has his eye on her," Tia said. "Which I will say it's about time he finds someone decent."

"You don't know her," Caesar pointed out.

"She just looks different," Tia said with a shrug. "Anyone's better than Lacy."

"Hear, hear," Toll agreed. Louis was back by this point, and he launched himself onto Toll's back before he could get up, making Toll exclaim "Gahhhh!" very loudly.

And the wrestling started all over again.

...

Barney was crouched, paintbrush in hand. His uncle had some leftover red paint in the shed, so he decided to fix up the wooden chairs. Gunner sauntered over to him, watching.

"Looks relaxing," he commented.

"Spare brushes are in there," Barney replied, pointing over his shoulder at the shed.

"For you. It looks relaxing for you. I don't have patience for that shit," Gunner added, making Barney snort.

"Nothing like domestic duties to make you feel normal," he pointed out.

"I feel normal," Gunner insisted.

"Right." Barney wiped his brow with the back of his arm. The sun was getting higher and hotter. It was around eleven in the morning now. Lee was swimming laps. He'd been quieter this morning, and Barney wondered if he had more nightmares. He knew he definitely did. He could still see Billy's face every time he closed his eyes.

"Tool ain't coming?" Gunner asked.

"Nah. He's gone off with his chick of the week," Barney replied.

"I thought it was more like chick of the night?"

"He's expanded lately."

"Oh."

"He might find the right one yet," Barney added. Toll arrived, fishing pole in one hand and tackle box in the other.

"Are we doing this?" he asked Gunner.

"I will slaughter you," Gunner retorted, heading towards the steps down to the boathouse.

"I strongly disagree with that statement," Toll said as he followed him.

"Play nice!" Barney called after them as they continued bickering. He envisioned one of them getting a hook in them somehow, and he didn't fancy having to be the one to pull it out. Barney finished painting, leaning back on his haunches to examine his work. His mind flashed to all the times his uncle had done this and other various chores around the cottage. A lump formed in his throat as the memory tried to push its way to the forefront of his mind, but he shoved it back down. He wasn't going to think about it today. He was going to think of the happy memories.

Sometimes he really missed the time in his life when his heart had been pure red and not jet black.

...

Emily pulled on her black shorts and red tank top over her yellow two piece. Maya was bouncing around the cottage like a crazy person in her one piece deep blue bathing suit. Her excitement at meeting a possible new friend was contagious, and it made Emily smile.

"When are we going?" Ethan asked from the doorway while Emily brushed her hair quickly. She could hear Maya in the other room telling Serena all about what they were doing this afternoon.

"'We' are not going anywhere," Emily answered. "Maya and I are going."

"I need to meet these people."

"Why?"

"Because if they're no good, I don't want them around Maya."

"You're talking like she's your daughter," Emily pointed out, giving him a look. "And she's not."

"She might as well be. You know I'd be a good father."

"Ethan, stop," Emily said forcefully. "You're not her father. I promise you that."

"She was born not long after..." Ethan paused as Maya came rushing in to grab her hat and tug her yellow sundress over her head and then rushed back out. "...not long after we were together."

"She. Is not. Your daughter," Emily said very slowly and carefully. They had a stare down, and Ethan finally sighed and looked away.

"Fine, but I'm still coming to meet these people."

"No, you're not."

"You don't own the island," he said, waving his hand. "I can go where I please."

Emily growled in frustration as she walked past him. She found Maya waiting patiently by the door. It was five to one.

"What do you think Louis is like?" she asked as they stepped outside and started walking over.

"I think he'll be nice and sweet and fun," Emily answered. She shot Ethan a glare over her shoulder as he followed them. She hated that he was involving himself in this. She knew he was going to try to mark his territory on her as soon as they got there, and she was going to shove him into the lake and tell him to piss off.

She knew Louis was staying in the cottage next to Lee's, so she headed there. She waved at the dark haired man who was hauling a beat up looking wooden chair to the back. She noticed a freshly painted red one back there drying in the sun.

"Great day for paintin'!" Ethan called to him.

"Uh huh," the man replied. His tone didn't sound impressed. Emily wondered if he thought Ethan was the one shouting all night long at Serena.

Maya grew slightly shy when she caught sight of Caesar, Tia, and Louis as she and Emily came down the path towards them, and she reached to take Emily's hand. Lee was on the far side, fishing pole in hand and reeling slowly. Louis was pointing at something in the water. Tia spied her first.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "You must be Emily." She saw Maya and bent down. "And you must be Maya. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Maya said back politely, still holding Emily's hand.

"I'm Ethan," Ethan said a little boisterously behind Emily. She gritted her teeth as Tia straightened and reached to shake his hand.

"That's Hale over there. He prefers to be called Caesar, though," she said. "Louis is the mini-Caesar. You know Lee already."

"I don't," Ethan said.

"Oh my God, Ethan," Emily said under her breath.

"He caught it!" Louis shouted excitedly. "Ma, he caught it!" Lee was standing up from kneeling with a large bass in his hands. Emily took in his grey t-shirt and red board shorts. She knew Ethan was noticing all those muscles too since he was doing his best to puff his chest out. She resisted snorting.

"You're gonna make Gunner and Toll have a conniption fit," Caesar told Lee, and he smirked.

"It's all part of the plan, my friend," he replied. Then he saw Emily, and she watched his face flush a little. So Maya hadn't been seeing things.

"Hi," Louis said to Maya now, having seen her finally. "I'm Louis."

"I'm Maya."

"Wanna catch minnows with me?"

Maya looked up at Emily, and she smiled at her daughter.

"Go ahead," she encouraged. Maya smiled back and let go of her hand, walking behind Louis happily.

"Hi, Lee!" she called, waving at him.

"Hey, kiddo," Lee said back. He shielded her from watching Caesar whack the bass to death. Emily flinched at the sound. Maya didn't seem to notice as she bent down next to Louis with a net, looking for minnows.

"You can go now," Emily said to Ethan.

"I'm gonna hang with the boys," he said, walking past her. He reached to pinch her behind, and she lurched away before smacking his shoulder hard. He smirked at her over his shoulder as he kept walking. Emily was boiling inside. Sometimes she wished he would just disappear.

"He your boyfriend?" Tia asked, shuffling Emily to the chairs on the other side. She obliged, and they sat down together.

"Not in the slightest," Emily answered. "He's my best friend's brother, and he thinks we should be together, but I'm not interested."

"I see."

Emily watched Lee survey Ethan carefully. She noticed Caesar raising a brow every so often as Ethan spoke. She cringed inside, wondering just what the hell he was saying.

"How long are you here for?" Tia asked, bringing her focus back.

"For the summer," Emily answered.

"That's nice. Where do you work?"

"Oh, I'm an art teacher," Emily answered. "I took some time off to rejuvenate. I do mostly adult classes, and my busy season is usually from fall to spring." It was a refreshing relief from what she used to do for work. She shuddered inside at the memory of how she'd nearly worked herself to death for Miranda Priestly. In the end, she had gone back to her first passion, which was art, and she had no regrets.

"That's awesome. Does it get quite busy?"

"Actually, yes. It's great," Emily said, smiling.

"I suck at art," Tia laughed. "I keep my day job. I just had enough time banked that they forced me to take a vacation. We're just here for the month."

"That's fun. Where are you guys from?" Emily asked, curious.

"New York," Tia answered.

"Me too!" Emily exclaimed. "That's crazy."

"Caesar and the boys used to be in a military unit together, but since they've retired, they do odd jobs and such...mostly in the construction field. Their next job got delayed, so we decided to take this vacation together."

"You're all friends then?"

"Yep. Caesar's friends, really. I'm just the tag along," Tia laughed. "None of them have any girlfriends or wives, so it gets a little bit lonely sometimes."

And there it was, the subtle hint that Lee was single. Emily wondered if she'd do that. She watched Caesar engage Ethan in conversation while keeping Ethan's back to Lee so that Lee could slip away and come join them. She already liked Caesar and hadn't even said two words to him.

"Hey," he said, sitting down across from her and Tia on the dock and pulling his knees up.

"Hey," she said back.

"I'm guessing I've got two minutes?" Lee asked. Emily looked over his shoulder and saw Ethan notice Lee was no longer with them. His eyes narrowed upon seeing him over with Emily.

"Pretty much," she answered with a nod.

"What's his deal?"

"Long story short, he wants to be my boyfriend, and I keep saying no."

"Gotcha."

On cue, Ethan backed away from Caesar and sauntered over to them. Caesar gave a shrug behind his back with an "I'm sorry" expression. Emily appreciated him trying.

"So, mate," Ethan said, approaching. "Little bit weird that you've been hanging around my daughter, eh?"

"I'm not your mate," Lee said quietly. "And she came across me trying to get away from you."

"Well, leave my daughter alone. Got it?" Ethan said menacingly. Emily was on her feet now.

"Go home," she ordered. "Right now."

"Emmy, please," he said. "I'm setting the record straight here."

Lee was standing now, and he was eye to eye with Ethan, not blinking at all. Emily watched as Ethan tried to be as intimidating, but he was failing.

"You like to hit women, Ethan?" he asked.

"No..."

"You sure?"

"I do not hit women."

"You like to grab them? Shake them up?"

"No!"

Emily's hand instinctively went to cover the fading finger marks on her upper arm. She'd forgotten about them being there. She swallowed. They weren't from Ethan. They were from Fred. She'd tried to intervene the other night and paid for it.

"If there's one thing I hate more than pedophiles, it's men who beat up women," Lee said, his voice threatening. "So if you're into that, then you'd best get out of my sight."

Ethan was breathing hard now. Emily waited to see what he'd do.

"See you at home, Emmy," he said after a moment, clearly deciding he couldn't take on both Lee and Caesar.

"Don't call me that," Emily shot back.

"Run along now," Lee said, flicking his hand by the wrist so that his fingers aimed towards the path. Ethan glared but turned to leave. Maya didn't even pay him any attention. Thankfully, neither child had noticed what was going on. Caesar had done a phenomenal job at keeping them occupied with the minnows.

"Wow," Tia said once Ethan was gone.

"Dick," Lee muttered.

"He'll get you back for that," Emily warned him. "He doesn't like his ego being bruised in front of people."

"Let him try," Lee scoffed.

"I'm gonna go fix some snacks," Tia said, standing up and excusing herself. "You want anything to drink, honey?"

"I'm fine," Emily answered. "Thank you."

"Just holler if you do."

"I will."

"You good, English?" Tia asked Lee next. Emily raised a brow. English?

"Just fine, Jersey," he answered.

"Alright."

She left them alone, and Lee sighed as he sat down next to her. She rested her chin on her hand, elbow on the arm of the chair, and smiled at him. He gave a slight chuckle before smiling back.

"Sorry for him."

"S'all good."

Emily noticed the tattoo on his arm of the raven sitting on the skull. The word "Expendable" was over it. She moved her eyes back to his face and took in the pain hidden in his hazel eyes and the slight scar on his left cheek.

"So," she said. "English?"

"Ah, yes. Tia's special nickname for me," Lee said with a bit of a smile.

"I take it she's from Jersey originally?"

"Yea."

"It's better than Limey I guess," Emily teased, and he chuckled.

"Definitely."

Emily watched Maya and Louis running back and forth in the water up past their knees. Louis had a net in his hand and a very concentrated look on his face.

"So, construction, huh?" she asked after a moment.

Lee sucked his teeth before nodding. "Yea."

"Tough job."

"It can be. What do you do?"

"I teach art to adults," she answered. "You should come to a class sometime."

"I wouldn't last more than five minutes."

"You didn't design this then?" she asked, reaching to tap his tattoo.

"Nah. Friend of mine did."

"I see."

They both watched Maya and Louis now, and Emily was trying not to think about what mood Ethan was going to be in when she got back.

"Tia said you guys are from New York. I think it's funny we haven't met until this place. You'd think the odds of bumping into each other there would be greater than here," she said after a moment.

"You'd think," he agreed. "But life is funny."

"It is."

"Mum!" Maya shouted, rushing over to them. Water was flying and dripping everywhere from her legs.

"What is it, lovely?" Emily asked, leaning forward as Maya approached with the pail in her hands.

"I caught one!"

"That's great, sweetheart."

"We're gonna put them back after," Maya said seriously. "We don't want to hurt them."

"Good."

She left them again, and Lee chuckled.

"I think she's the cutest kid I've ever seen aside from Louis."

"She's definitely got a personality," Emily agreed. "She's so smart in a lot of areas that I have to keep reminding myself she is six years old and still has so much to learn."

"Ethan must be proud."

Emily snorted and shook her head. "Ethan is not her father."

"He's not?"

"Nope. He thinks he is, but he's not. It doesn't matter how many times I tell him she's not his daughter, he won't believe me."

"Did you two...?"

"Unfortunately."

"I see."

She could pick up on his disappointment, but she didn't comment on it. She was disappointed in herself too.

"This might sound terrible, but I slept with a random guy just to get the memory of him out of my head," Emily said softly. "It was about a month and a half later. I got pregnant, and Ethan has claimed I lied about the due date to say she wasn't his. It gets exhausting after a while."

"So why are you hanging around him?" Lee asked, sounding confused.

"He's my best friend's brother."

"I'd get a new best friend."

"I don't make friends very well," Emily told him honestly. She had no idea why she was sharing so much with him. She barely knew him. As she studied him, she knew that if she told him she had the suspicion that Ethan had taken advantage of her all those years ago, he'd believe her and go pound him into pieces. She swallowed, knowing better than to do that. She didn't want to cause anymore problems.

"So who did that to you?" Lee asked, gesturing to the finger marks on her arm.

"It wasn't Ethan."

"Who then?"

Emily shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She didn't want to get into this. She didn't want him trying to fix it. He seemed to sense her reluctance.

"You tried to stop the fighting the other night?" he asked, and she looked at him in surprise.

"How did you...?"

"You just seem like the type of person who would," he said as she trailed off.

"I don't want you to do anything about it," she told him, sensing he was going to offer.

"I won't unless you ask me to."

Emily took in the seriousness in her voice, and she knew he'd be in her corner if she needed him, no questions asked. She pressed her lips together and nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"Mum! We're going tubing!" Maya called. Emily opened her mouth to respond, but her daughter was already strapping herself into the spare lifejacket and bouncing around.

"You coming?" Lee asked, getting up. He offered his hand, and she hesitated before reaching to take it. It sent electrical jolts through her body as his fingers wrapped around hers. For once, she didn't fight it. She just went with the flow.

...

Lee had been quick to acknowledge Tia's fake back story for them all. It was what they told anyone outside of their group who didn't know their real jobs. Lee was grateful because he didn't think Emily would want to hang out with a group of mercenaries. It was slightly unfortunate that she'd named the same city that Emily lived in, but Tia wouldn't have known, so he didn't fault her for it.

With Emily's hand in his as they walked towards the boat, he was slowly beginning to realize just how hard he was starting to fall for her already, and it wasn't scaring him at all.

The only thing that scared him was the fact he'd eventually have to tell her the truth about who he was, and that might cost him the chance to have a normal life.

...

"You're bad luck," Gunner said to Toll. He had his fisherman's hat over his face to shade it from the sun. Toll's ball cap was pulled low over his. The sun was baking them both, and they hadn't caught any fish.

"Me? I think it's you," Toll retorted.

"Not possible."

Toll was going to fire back a reply when he caught a glint of light from the shoreline. He frowned, digging for the binoculars under the nose of the boat. He vaguely noticed the note taped to them that read, Cottage binoculars only! Keep inside!

He scanned the shoreline and found the source of light. It was a man from the cottage next to Barney's, and he was watching them with his own binoculars. Toll lowered his instantly, feeling alarmed. Why was this guy spying on them? What was his deal?

"What?" Gunner asked, noticing when Toll didn't respond to his last comment. He'd lifted his hat a little with two of his fingers and was looking at Toll.

"I think we've got a fan," Toll answered, nodding towards the island. "Some idiot watching us with 'nocs."

"Really?"

"Yea."

"And here I was starting to get bored," Gunner snickered. Toll's reel screamed suddenly, and he jerked forward from the force of it before bracing his feet and setting the hook.

"Holy crap!" he hollered.

"No way," Gunner said in disbelief, starting to reel in his own line fast. Toll was grunting from the effort, ducking as Gunner's bait came flying in from the force of his reeling, narrowly missing his face.

"Come on, man!"

"Sorry," Gunner said, setting it down hastily and scrambling for the net.

"I think it's too big for that," Toll said.

"Like hell it is," Gunner argued.

"100 bucks here we come," Toll said, winding hard.

"Holy shit!" Gunner exclaimed, catching sight of the fish in the water. It looked almost three feet long, but Toll couldn't tell.

"Hee heeeee!" Toll crowed, pulling it towards the boat as best as he could. Gunner tossed the net over his shoulder and leaned over the boat, getting ready to catch it with his bare hands.

"Stop reeling like a wuss," he said. Toll resisted booting him over the side of the boat.

"He's fighting," he said back.

"Almost there," Gunner said, reaching. "Come on..." Toll pulled his rod up.

And the line snapped.

Both men stared in shock as the biggest lake trout they'd ever seen dove down out of sight, taking Toll's lure with it. Gunner turned his head to look at Toll, who was gaping at the water where his 100 dollar prize had just been moments before.

"And that's that," Gunner commented.

"Son of a bitch," Toll said. Gunner pushed himself up and went to sit back in his seat. He was laughing now.

"Son of a bitch!" Toll shouted again.

"Good thing I was here," Gunner said, "or else I'd have said you were lying."

Toll dropped his rod and fell down into the driver's seat, feeling shock and disappointment. He soon put the boat in gear and headed for the cottage.

The man was no longer outside when they passed by.

...

Barney wanted to cut the damn tree down already, but he knew better than to do it himself. He sighed. He'd have to wait for the boys to finish playing before getting them to help. He was finished painting, and the chairs were now sitting in the sun on the lawn drying. He stood on the small knoll beside the cottage and looked down at the water.

I don't know what I'd do without this place, Barns. I put my heart and soul into it, and it's been nothing but good to me. I hope one day it means just as much to you as it did to me.

Barney looked to his left just to make sure his uncle wasn't standing there talking to him, that was how clear his voice sounded.

"It means a hell of a lot to me, Uncle," he said out loud. "It really does." He could hear Toll and Gunner coming back, so he went down to the dock to greet them.

...

"Have fun," Tia said, giving Caesar a kiss as he prepared to take the kids tubing. Tia was going to stay behind and get some alone time. She loved her family and friends, but she also liked being alone too.

"Will do," he replied.

"I like Emily. She's sweet."

"I don't like Ethan," Caesar confirmed.

"He definitely has issues."

"He was bragging about all the things he and Emily do together."

"They're not together. Emily made that very clear."

"Oh good, a psychopath. And here I was hoping to have a vacation free of them," Caesar said sarcastically. Tia smiled and patted his chest fondly.

"He's well outnumbered. I think it'll be okay."

"Yea. Alright. I'll see you in a bit," he promised, and she smiled at him. He walked back down to join the others, and his son was talking a hundred miles a minute while Maya nodded her head vigorously. She was a sweet thing, and Emily seemed nice. He definitely noticed Lee could barely take his eyes off of her.

"Alright, children," Caesar said. "Let's get our fun on, shall we?"

"Yes!" they both exclaimed. He watched Lee help Emily into the boat, and he smiled to himself. He was going to have a lot of fun helping those two get together.