Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter, sorry about that. The next chapter is almost complete so hopefully I can post it soon. For those who are reading, I hope you are enjoying. Also, I know this story takes place a couple of years before FaceTime existed and while my goal is to be as historically accurate as possible…let's just go with it.

Chapter Six

Three days later…

The ringing of her cell phone wrestled Reba out of her sleep. It was early on Saturday morning and normally a phone call waking her from her chance to sleep in would make her grumpy but when she saw the name on her caller ID, she smiled sleepily and accepted the FaceTime call. "Morning"

Jack smiled on his side of the call at the sound of her voice but then frowned when he realized he had obviously woken her. "Good morning. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Reba ran her fingers through what she was sure was her unruly mane of red hair. "It's ok. I need to be getting up anyway. I was just indulging on the opportunity to sleep in a little bit. What are you doing?"

She could tell Jack had been working out, his t-shirt was drenched in sweat, his hair was wet, and his brow was glistening. "Oh, I didn't sleep very well last night so I finally just got up and went for a run."

Reba propped herself up on her elbow. "Why couldn't you sleep? Is everything ok?"

"No, everything is not ok, I have a giant problem. You are all the way in Houston, and I am all the way in Boston. After we talked last night, I just couldn't get you off my mind, so I tossed and turned for awhile and eventually just got up for a run, until I felt like it was a socially acceptable time to call you this morning."

Reba smiled warmly at him through the screen. "I have to admit, the separation might be a little harder than I had anticipated but it's only a few weeks. We can do this. But just for the record, you don't have to wait for a socially acceptable time to call me, you can just call me. Anytime you want."

"Reba, I…" Jack paused, and Reba felt her heart begin to race. Was this it? Was he about to say the words that she had been waiting to hear? They had been dating for right at two months now, and while that wasn't a particularly long time, Reba knew she was falling hard for Jack, and it seemed like he felt the same way but neither had actually voiced their feelings out loud. Was this it? Was Jack about to admit his feelings over a FaceTime call? His voiced pulled her attention back to the moment. "I'm counting down the days."

Reba released the breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. "Me too. So, what do you have planned to keep you distracted today?"

"I'm actually heading to the hospital for rounds in just a little bit but after that I'm spending the day at my sisters with her family and my mom. So, I am looking forward to that. What about you?"

"Oh good. I'm glad you are spending time with your family. I have to start getting ready here in just a bit because I am showing some houses to a client this morning and then I thought I might go over and connect with Barbara Jean with afternoon. I haven't seen much of her lately so I thought I would just touch base with her and see if I can get a better handle on where things stand between her and Brock."

"Speaking of Brock, how is your roommate?"

Reba smiled at his unspoken words. "My roommate is about to get an eviction notice. He's been here long enough. It's time for him to either move home or find his own place."

"Well, I won't lie, it's about damn time. Because I want to be able to walk my girlfriend to her door after a date and kiss her goodnight and not have to worry about her ex peeking at us through the blinds."

"I'm ready for that too. More than you know. And as much as I'm enjoying this conversation, I need to get ready for my day."

"Yeah, I need to go get cleaned up so I can head to the hospital. Call you tonight?"

"You better."

Brock was making his way down the hallway toward the stairs when he heard voices coming from Reba's bedroom, causing him to slow his steps. Did she have someone in her bedroom with her? No, no, it sounded like she was on the phone again but this time on speaker phone. And while he couldn't make out what the other voice was saying behind the closed door, he could tell it was a distinctly male voice.

He carefully stepped closer to her bedroom door, trying to make out what was being said between Reba and whoever she was talking to. Part of him felt guilty for spying on her, but another part of him, the part of him that deep inside knew he wanted Reba for himself needed to know what was being said. After a few minutes, he sighed in frustration because he just wasn't able to make out any of the conversation. But what he could tell just by the tone of Reba's voice was that if he was going to find out if there was a chance for them to rekindle something between them, he needed to figure something out quick.

"I'll be right there!" Barbara Jean yelled as she made her way down the stairs and towards the front door where someone was knocking on the other side. She opened the door and found herself both shocked and happy to see the person on the other side. "Reba, hi."

"Hey Barbara Jean. Can I come in?"

Embarrassed, Barbara Jean quickly stepped back from where she was blocking the door and let her friend inside. "Of course! I'm just surprised to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was on my way home from showing some houses to a client and I was driving past your house and saw your car in the driveway, and I thought, I haven't seen my friend Barbara Jean in a while. So, I decided to take a chance and stop by and see how you're doing."

Barbara Jean smiled at her friend who had made herself at home on the couch and sat down on the other end. "Well, you know someone on this sofa has had a very busy social life the past few months so there hasn't been much time for us to connect."

Reba felt her face flush. "Oh, I guess Brock has mentioned I've been going out a lot, huh?"

"Brock didn't have to mention it. It's pretty obvious to all of us who are close to you. Tell me, is this friend you are spending so much time with threatening to take my place as your BFF?" Reba was silent for an uncomfortable minute so Barbara Jean continued. "It's ok Reba, I know the truth about who you are really spending all your time with."

Reba looked up at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"It's ok, I know you have a boyfriend."

"Uh, I don't know what you are talking about Barbara Jean."

"Listen Reba, I don't know why you are trying to keep it all such a secret, but I know you are dating someone. I'm your best friend, you can't hide something like that from me. Besides, Cheyenne told me."

Reba sighed. "Fine, I am seeing someone. And I just decided I didn't want to subject him to the craziness of the family dynamic until I knew for sure it was going somewhere."

Barbara Jean smiled. "And?"

"And? And you should probably be expecting an invitation to dinner at my house soon so I can introduce everyone to my boyfriend." Reba rolled her eyes when Barbara Jean let out a high-pitched squeal. "Listen, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about since I am here."

"Ok, what's up?"

"You tell me. What the heck is going on with you and Brock? I let him move in with me while the two of you worked on your marriage and he's been there so long I had to pull out my mortgage the other day just to make sure it was still only my name listed on there."

Barbara Jean felt her palms instantly get sweaty. How was she going to navigate this conversation? Reba obviously had no idea Brock might be having feelings for her and she didn't want to throw a wrench in this new relationship that Reba was so obviously enjoying. Barbara Jean decided to deflect with humor. "What? Is Brock cramping your style with your new boyfriend?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yes, he is. But that's not the point. It's been almost three months since he moved in and there doesn't seem like there has been in progress in your marriage. What is going on Barbara Jean? Talk to me."

Barbara Jean took a deep breath, looked down at her hands and chose her words carefully before speaking. "Brock has feelings for someone else."

"What?!" Reba's voice elevated and she stood up. "Brock cheated on you? Will that moron never learn?"

"No, he hasn't cheated on me. At least not physically. He has admitted to me though that he might have feelings for someone else."

"What does that even mean? He might have feelings for someone else? Is he not sure?"

Barbara Jean sighed. "No, I guess he's not. And that's why I kicked him out. I love Brock, it's not that I don't want to be with him but like I told him, I won't be his second choice. I told him to leave and go figure out his feelings. Figure out if he truly has feelings for this other person or if he's just trying to adjust to my new career or going through something else and he really does still want to be with me."

Reba was pacing back and forth at the end of the couch at this point. "This is unbelievable. Is this other woman someone you know? Do you think it's possible they might have feelings for him?"

"Yes, it is someone we know. As far as if she might have feelings for him? Initially, I wasn't sure. I thought for awhile it might be a possibility. Now, I don't think so. But even with all of that being said, the longer this drags out, the less hope I have for my marriage. I think Brock and I may finally be done."

Reba stopped pacing and made her way to sit by her friend and took her into her arms. "I'm so sorry Barbara Jean. I can't believe Brock would do this again. And unfortunately, I think I unwittingly enabled him by giving him an easy place to stay. Well, that ends now."

Barbara Jean watched as her friend's face set with a look of determination before she stood and headed towards the front door. "Reba, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go confront that horse's ass of an ex-husband of mine and give him a deadline to get out of my house."

Barbara Jean watched her close the front door behind her and collapsed back into the couch. "Great."

Brock was sitting on the couch watching golf, eating potato chips and sipping a beer when Reba came through the front door with a flourish. "Well, looks like you've been real productive today. Just like usual."

Brock hand full of chips stopped halfway to his mouth and he looked sharply towards where Reba stood. "Ummm, hello to you too Reba."

"Cut the crap, Brock. Have you done anything today besides drink beer and watch golf?"

"It's Saturday. What exactly am I supposed to be doing?"

Reba stomped over to the coffee table, picked up the TV remote and turned off the TV. "Oh, I don't know, maybe take your ass down the street and try to work things out with your wife? Or if that's too much to ask, at the very least spend some quality time with your son who has to be confused about why daddy isn't around very much anymore."

Brock took a long swig of his beer. "Reba, why don't you lay off?"

Reba let out a sarcastic laugh. "You know what Brock? I'm done. I'm done with all of this. I was ok with you living here for awhile until you could figure things out with Barbara Jean because we were friends, but obviously things have changed. So, consider this your eviction notice. You have two weeks to get out. I don't care where you go, but by the time the next two weeks are up, you won't be living here anymore."

"Reba…"

"Brock don't argue with me. Two weeks. And honestly, after the conversation I just had with Barbara Jean, you are lucky I am giving you two weeks."

Brock stood up and looked at her, trying to hide the panic he felt inside. "What did Barbara Jean tell you?"

"The truth about why she kicked you out. Really Brock? You think you might have feelings for another woman? What the hell is wrong with you? After everything that happened between us, I would have thought you would have learned your lesson. Let me give you a little piece of advice, don't blow up your life again Brock. Whoever this other woman is, she isn't worth it."

Brock watched as Reba turned and made her way upstairs and then said quietly. "What if it's you?"

To be continued…