"You can't keep doing this,"  

"Doing what?" 

"Showing up here, sleeping with me, and then leaving like nothing happened,"  Lesly turned away from him and pulled the covers over her shoulder.

She felt his lips on her shoulder and resisted turning to kiss him back. 

"C'mon, Les, you know we're just having fun-"  

Lesly sat up quickly and pushed him away from her. "Leave," she demanded. 
Chris looked at her incredulously. "Les, you know-"  

"Go. I can't keep doing this. Sleep with you and then not see you for however many weeks or months and then wonder what you're doing when you're not here. No. I'm done. I'm too old for this," she got up from her bed and threw her tank top over her head, rummaging through a drawer until she found a pair of sweats. Chris was still sitting up in her bed when she turned around. 

"Lesly," he nearly whispered. "Lesly, you know that I care about you. I just, I can't commit right now. I think you're amazing. Really and truly amazing. But I-" 

"No," Lesly cut him off. "Seriously, Chris. This has to stop. We've been on and off since Josh and James got married and that nearly a year ago. If you really care about me, just go. I can't do this. Not without a commitment. And you're not ready for that." 

Chris slowly turned and stood from the bed. He got dressed at a snail's pace, glancing at Lesly every so often. She was facing the window, not bothering to look at him. He couldn't tell if she was crying or not when he walked over to her. "Les, I'm sorry. Look, I have to figure some stuff out. You know things with Stephanie-" 
Lesly groaned outwardly and turned to face him. "Chris, you and Stephanie broke up last summer. The fact that she still has some sort of pull on you is sick. It's disgusting, really. You said so yourself that she didn't love you, that you two only were together because of convenience. I can't do that. I'm not Stephanie. So if you want her back, then go back to Orlando and please for the love of God don't come back to Grayson." 

Chris was speechless. She had spoken so calmly that he couldn't tell if she was going to implode on the inside or not. "I don't want to not see you-" 

"Well, until you decide what it is you want in life, I can't help you out there. I'm 33, Chris, and you're almost 41 for crying out loud. Grow up!" Lesly turned on her heel and headed out of her bedroom. Chris followed her into the living room. 

"Les, I'm sorry. I'm an ass. I know it," he grabbed his jacket off of the back of the recliner. "I'll see you later." 

Lesly didn't respond. Only watched him as he walked out of the front door. In a few seconds she heard him pull out of her driveway. She sunk into her couch and let the tears she'd been holding in for the last 24 hours finally fall. 

**

JC slowly opened his eyes and listened to the sound of silence. It was a beautiful thing and also, quite rare nowadays. With eight-month-old twins and a six and a half year old at home, silence was golden when it was able to happen. He looked over at his wife who was sound asleep next to him. Her brown hair covered part of her face but even then, JC thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever been with. He gently kissed her cheek and she stirred, cuddling closer next to him, but not waking up. He selfishly wished she would. It was pretty rare that they got in any sort of intimacy now. Trying to have sex was like a game. Them against the kids and the kids somehow knew how to win almost all the time. 

James opened her eyes and looked up at her husband to see him smiling at her. "Hey," she said, groggily and kissed his arm. "Are the babies awake?" her eyes were closed now as she spoke. 

JC grinned at her. "Nope," he kissed her lips softly, then more fervently. "And neither is Sutton. C'mere." 

 James gave a soft groan and looked pitifully at JC. "Baby, I can't. I'm so tired. Just please let me sleep a little longer-" 

"James," JC sighed, a hint of frustration in his voice. He pulled her close to him and she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes yet again. "No, don't go back to sleep. We don't ever -" 

And then, just like that, a cry was heard from the twins' room. Landon. 

 JC groaned and threw his head back on his pillow. James sat up and looked down at him. "Are you coming? There are two of them, you know."  Another wail came shortly after. Olivia. 

JC rolled out of bed, following James out of their bedroom. "Right behind you..."

**
Lesly Parsons had grown up in Grayson, attended high school at Grayson County High, and had graduated with honors from the University of Georgia's Fashion Design School. Her dream was to open a boutique in the Five Points area of Atlanta called "Les Design" and create and sell unique accessories for vintage fashion. Her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the month after she had graduated. Lesly's plans were thwarted when she moved back to Grayson, because her mother was worse off than she thought. Her father, already deep in debt and quite depressed was of no help and when her mother took a turn for the worse, only then did her older brother, Dane, decide to come out of hiding from wherever he'd been the last five years to come home and help her out. 

Her mother died exactly six months to the day that Lesly had moved back. Her father had shut down emotionally and her brother took his pain out at the local bar, Ruby's, and was basically just another body in the house. Her Aunt Kathleen, her mother's older sister, had come to the rescue and helped Lesly with the funeral arrangements and burial. She also got Mr. Parsons - Lesly's father - to see a psychiatrist twice a week for the next year. It helped somewhat, but her father was never the same and Lesly found it impossible to talk to him. Her brother moved in with a woman he'd met at Ruby's and almost nine months after they'd buried her mother, Dane's girlfriend gave birth to her nephew, Griffin.  

By this time, Lesly had resorted to just staying in Grayson. She found a small two-bedroom home near Main Street and it was around that time that she noticed James Ryan (now James Chasez), a girl she had graduated with from high school, was looking for an Assistant Manager at Brewster's the coffee shop that James had opened. Lesly had applied immediately and was almost hired on the spot. She got along well with James and had considered her one of her closer friends in Grayson, especially since most of their friends from high school had moved away. 
In the last year, James had met and married JC Chasez and it was through JC that Lesly had met Chris Kirkpatrick, her on again/off again boyfriend for officially over a year now. When they were on they were awful together. They fought constantly and made life miserable. When they were off, he somehow ended up in her bed more often than not, but they had never come to a resolution. Except for that morning. Lesly had had enough. 

She'd often asked James how it had worked with her and JC so fast. Literally within a month, JC and James had basically moved in together - he was living with her at his cousin Chad's, who just happened to be James' best friend-and two months later, James had found out she was pregnant with the twins, they'd had a wedding in October. Lesly had met Chris that same summer, but nothing had really sparked until the wedding. He'd been off and on with her since then. They kept it on the quieter side, knowing that Grayson was small and people liked nothing more than to talk. Not to mention Chris was still dealing with issues from his past relationship, a girl named Stephanie, who he'd met in Orlando and had a rocky relationship with for 4 years. JC and James were never on and off. In fact, Lesly wondered sometimes if they ever fought-James swore they did-because their relationship seemed perfect more than half the time she had seen them together. She'd often have to tell herself to stop comparing. It would only be bad in the long run and her relationship with Chris didn't have near the maturity of James and JC. Probably because Chris still acted like he was 21. 

James was wiping down the counter when Lesly arrived at work. It was the end of her shift, but since James owned the shop, she sometimes stayed on to help if it was busy or do office work in the back.   "Hi, Les," James greeted her, ringing out the dish rag in the sink. "How are you?"  Lesly sighed and pulled her blonde hair quickly up into a loose bun. "Chris left this morning," was her response. 

 James cringed at Lesly's downtrodden face. "Not good, I take it?" 

 "I'm just tired of being his back-up," Lesly went behind the counter and grabbed a green apron with the Brewster's logo on the front that was hanging next to the door by the office. "I told him we were done today. It's just too much." She tied the apron around her middle and then looked at James. "Seriously, James, I'm pretty sure you took the last available, decent man on earth."

  James chuckled and shook her head, turning to finish the counters. "He has his faults, trust me,"   

"Really? Is he wishy washy? Does he only want sex when it's convenient for him? Is he still in touch with his ex-girlfriend?" Lesly felt herself getting snappy and backed off a little. "Sorry. Just been a rough morning." 

"No, Les, I understand. I'm so sorry Chris is being a douche. I thought for sure his little games would be over when you two got together," James shook her head and let out a yawn. She looked at Lesly and then said, "I'm a little jealous I have to say. At least you had sex last night." 

Lesly sufficed a grin and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Really?" 

"Are you kidding? With twins and a six-year-old, it's quite a rarity. He wanted to do it this morning. I was like 'Are you serious?' I didn't get to bed until after 1 because Olivia's cutting her first tooth so she hardly sleeps now. I'm just waiting for Landon to join her. And instinctively I woke up at 5 and Josh was awake and ready to go!" James took off her apron and hung it up, then pulled her hair out of the pony tail it was in.  She sighed and looked thoughtfully for a minute at Lesly. "I wish we could just go off on a vacation. We need one. Not that we don't love our kids, but-"

 
Lesly put her hand up, "No, girl. I can understand. Why don't you mention it to him?" 

James shrugged. "I might tonight. We've got dinner at Chad's and Lane's. Maybe they'll offer to watch the kids. Or at least Sutton. My parents could take the twins." She shook herself out of the daydream she was having of her and JC lying on a beach in the middle of nowhere. "I better go. Sutton gets out of school soon and my mom has the twins. Jake and Emily should be in in about an hour." Jake and Emily were the two high school students who had taken the place of James' former employees, who were all off at college this fall. 

"Have fun," Lesly waved at her as James collected her things and went out the door. She felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out of her pocket.

It was Chris. 

I'm sorry. Please can we work on this? C. 

Lesly stuffed it back into her pocket and sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He wasn't going to make this easy.

His head had pounded the entire way back to Orlando. No matter how many phone calls he made to random friends along the way, no matter how many times he changed a radio station from talk back to music, no matter how many times he tried to get Lesly off his mind, he couldn't. He was to blame, he knew it. He'd strung her along too many times and unlike other women, she was stronger in the long run and wanted him out of her life. Forever, it sounded like. He gripped the steering wheel harder, doing his best not to make a U-turn in the middle of I-4. He was nearly home. 

For years, Chris had done this with women. It started with Danielle nearly 12 years ago. He liked the relationship at first, but soon he felt smothered. Not that she was smothering him, but he found himself becoming jealous of the other guys who didn't have girlfriends - or boyfriends in some cases - and could go and do what they pleased with whomever they pleased.  He hated commitments, hated the labels people gave, and he hated being tied to one person. Because in his mind, what if someone better came along? It wasn't the case with Lesly. There was clearly something different about her because he'd never felt such a deep stab in his heart when he'd left a woman like he'd left her today. He wanted so much to turn around and keep begging for her to forgive him but he could see it all over her face. She was done. It was over.

 Only he didn't want it to be.

Chris quickly hit speed dial and prayed JC would pick up. JC and Joey seemed to have this all figured out, but nowadays, JC just seemed easier to get a hold of. Probably because he'd left showbiz altogether and was living a quiet, married life in Grayson and Joey was back and forth from Orlando and Hollywood all the time.
"Chris?" JC answered the phone on the fourth ring, right before Chris was going to hang up. There was music playing in the background and Chris knew immediately JC was working with a client at his studio, The JC Chasez Talent Studio. 

"It's me. You able to talk?" Chris was getting into the thick of Orlando traffic near downtown. His exit was coming soon, for that he was thankful. There was nothing worse than being stressed in Orlando traffic.

"I have exactly five minutes,"

"Great. Did you talk to James?"

"Not since we left for work. Why?"

"Lesly left me today. Or I should say, kicked me out,"

"Ouch. Sorry, man. Wait, you were in town?! You should've called-"

"I was only in town for about 24 hours. If you know what I mean,"

JC chuckled on the other end. "Oh, I see. A little come and go?"

"A little," Chris cleared his throat. "But this morning she said she was done with that and kicked me out,"

"I'd say 'I told you so' but I told you that years ago. Women don't like being strung along. Unless they're completely hopeless on the inside and have nothing else. Lesly's not like that,"

"I kind of figured by now. My question is, how do I win her back?"

"I don't think you can,"

Chris grimaced and let out a sigh, "Why?"

"Well, it sounds like if she kicked you out, it's probably something she meant. She doesn't want you around for a while I would think,"

"Right. But I have to change her mind!"

"I think you know by now that Lesly's mind is made up when it's made up. No changing it. You're gonna have to wait this one out, man,"

Chris was silent for a second. "Okay. Okay, well, I'll think of something,"

"You gotta lay low. Otherwise you might run her off for good. You also need to know that commitment isn't a bad thing. It's actually quite healthy. There are a million things I do better now just because I've got James," 

"Yeah, I'll think about that," Chris sighed again, pulling off the exit. 

"I'm sorry, dude, I really am. I've got a client right now but text me later. I'm sure I'll get an earful from my wife when I get home,"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you later," Chris hung up, and threw his phone next to him.

When he pulled into his driveway, he sat for a minute and studied his house. It was a big, two story, beige stucco home in a ritzy Orlando suburb. He lived next door to an Orlando Magic basketball player and across the street from a Florida senator. Both had families. Chris lived alone. He'd thought about moving. JC had done it and it had changed his entire world. Chris didn't know if he was ready or not to give up Orlando. He definitely didn't think he could live in Grayson and right now, there really was no point to think about moving there. He looked at his phone and scrolled through the last few texts between him and Lesly.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Nothing. Off from work all day. You?

You.

;) Really? Are you coming to Grayson?

That depends. Can we just be alone all day?

Yup. How long are you staying?

Prob just a day. Need to get back here.

Call me. On my break. Have about 15 min.

He had called her and the conversation had ended in her telling him they needed to talk when he came to town the next day. He knew what was coming. She wanted to know where this was going again. He hated that talk because he didn't know. He was having fun, she was amazing and beautiful and everything he'd probably ever wanted. But he didn't want a commitment. When he got to her house the next morning, he didn't give her a chance to object or start talking. He simply grabbed her and she was putty in his arms. They'd spent the whole day in her bedroom - and once on her couch - and just when he'd thought she'd forgotten, she brought it up first thing the next morning after they'd made love.

 
"I just don't want to be someone you call when you want sex," she'd said, her head tucked in the crook of his arm. "It makes me feel slutty."

"You're not slutty, Les. You're amazing. But you know how I feel about -"

"You can't keep doing this,"

He knew what that meant. Suddenly, she was out of bed, throwing clothes on and he was staring at her in disbelief. She was telling him to get out of her house. And her voice. Her voice was so calm and collected that it sounded as though she was just telling him to have a nice day. She wouldn't even look at him when he left. He kept waiting for her to at least glance at him, but she didn't. No tears. Nothing. And he'd thought of her the whole three-and-a-half hour ride home.

He picked up his phone and texted her, then got out of his car and went into a big, empty house.

**
"Hi, Dad," Lesly greeted her father, as she came into the family home later that evening. It hadn't changed at all since she had been a child there. Old green, shag carpet clung to the floor, in desperate need of a vacuum.  Pictures hung on the wall from when she and Dane had been children and an inch of dust covered their faces. The kitchen was still an ugly yellow, a color popular when her parents were married back in the 70s. The house was dated and smelled old and musty. Lesly had cleaned it several times but never could rid it of the musty smell. It was just old and probably wouldn't go away without tearing out the carpet, but her father had refused. He was clinging on to anything that reminded him of her mother.

"Hi," her father was sitting in his recliner, his face glued to the evening news. He wasn't really paying attention and Lesly could tell he was gazing off into another direction. 

"Did you take your meds?" she went into the kitchen after kissing the top of her father's head and began to go through the medicine cabinet. "Dad, your pill box for today is full. You need to take your prescription pill, remember?" No answer. Lesly grunted in frustration as she took the pill out of the box. She filled up a glass with water and went back into the den. "Here." She handed it to him and he took it without looking up at her, almost robotically. She looked next to his chair and saw a plate of food that was probably a day or two old. "Dad, did you eat today?"

He shook his head, still off in his own world. Lesly was used to this by now. Dane was supposed to have come over the day before to check on him and she could already tell that hadn't happened. She sighed and took the plate back into the kitchen. She dumped the contents into the garbage and stuck the plate into the dishwasher and held her nose as she opened it. It hadn't been run in a while. Probably the last time she'd been over to run it, which had been five days ago. She rummaged in the kitchen pantry and found a dishwashing cube to put in the dispenser, then pressed START. It began to run and then Lesly went to the refrigerator to see what she could cook for dinner. Thankfully, nothing had gone bad. She quickly whipped up a salad and cut up deli ham on top of it, then took it into her father.

"Here, eat this, okay?" she placed it in his lap. He looked up at her and smiled weakly.

"How's my favorite little girl?" he acted as though she'd just walked in. Lesly ignored it. She had to or else she'd cry and she'd spent enough time crying already that day.

"I'm good, Dad. Did you have a good day?" she sat on the couch next to his recliner and talked with him while he ate. "Have you heard from Dane?"

He shook his head. "No. He said he was coming over but I don't think he did,"

That's for sure, Lesly thought to herself, ready to give her brother a big piece of her mind. "No, I guess not," was all she could muster. She stayed for another hour, cleaned the kitchen, and made sure her father was taken care of before she left, promising she'd check in on him tomorrow. She had to now, since Dane had dropped the ball. She kissed her father good-bye and got into her car, feeling her phone vibrating again. She sighed and knew it was yet another text from Chris. 
Please text me back just so I know you got this. 

She groaned and threw her head against the back of the headrest. She cursed under breath before she typed:

I have nothing else to say. I already told you what I want and you can't give that to me. So when you're ready for a real adult conversation, let me know and we can talk. Otherwise, we're done.

She hit send and then turned her phone off. It had been a long day.
**
James sat on the edge of the bed watching JC get dressed. The twins were content playing on the floor and Sutton was in her playroom acting out her own little make believe story with her dollhouse. "Josh, we need to get away. Like seriously, get away,"

JC turned and smiled at her. "I was thinking the same thing today," he walked over and knelt down in front of her, clasping his hands with hers. "Tell me where you want to go. We can go anywhere you want. You've never been to Europe. Let's go to Paris. Or Rome! Or-"

James giggled and shook her head at him, running her hand softly through his hair. "I don't care, Josh. I just want to go somewhere where we don't have kids around and make up for a lot of lost time," she bent down to kiss his lips softly. "I thought we could ask the guys to watch Sutton and my parents to watch the babies. But we should ask soon. And book soon."

"You still haven't said where you want to go," he leaned into her so that she was pressed down on the bed. "Anywhere," he kissed her forehead, then her lips, moving his body on top of hers. "Anywhere in the world." 

"Surprise me," she whispered, her cheek pressed against his. "I like surprises."

At that moment, Olivia let out a wail and James pushed JC off of her. They looked down and burst into laughter seeing that Landon had crawled completely on top of his sister and was accidentally pinning her down. Olivia was on her stomach and couldn't roll over. Landon was grinning from ear to ear.

"You can't do that, Lando," JC picked him up and placed him on the other side of Olivia, then picked her up and consoled her. "And you-you gotta toughen up so you can beat up your brother one of these days." he kissed her cheek and then handed her over to James. He looked up and said, "Seriously, we need to get out of here soon..."

Chris had the TV remote in one hand, a beer in the other, and his phone propped next to him on the arm of the oversized leather sofa. He looked down at it every five seconds to see if she'd texted back. Nothing. He knew he was in the wrong. He shouldn't have continued to lead her on like he had without going ahead and making something official. He hated labels. He'd been through all of that with Stephanie and now he couldn't even stand the thought of how Stephanie had maneuvered her way into his relationship with Lesly. She'd faked a car breakdown on the side of the road once when Lesly was in town and a mutual friend had told Stephanie that Chris' new girlfriend was in Orlando. When she'd called, she'd sounded so desperate that Chris felt bad, dropped what he was doing with Lesly - dinner at a five star restaurant - and come to Stephanie's rescue. As soon as he'd gotten there, he knew it had been a set up. Her car was fine. Her tire wasn't flat in the least. And she wasn't nearly as shaken up as she'd sounded on the phone. Yet, Chris still couldn't shake her when he'd been with Lesly. And Lesly had gotten tired of it and he knew now what she'd meant by always feeling like the back up. Chris had treated her just like one.

He'd only recently heard from her a few days before he'd gone to Grayson. She wanted to talk to him about their relationship. Chris had told her there wasn't anything left. Stephanie had cried and told Chris he'd broken her heart. And Chris felt terrible for it. Which was why he had wanted to take it slow with Lesly. Only there was no need to because they'd been with each other now a year and in reality, Stephanie shouldn't have even mattered. Look where he'd gotten now - alone. And without Lesly. The one woman who he knew he was feeling a lot more with than he'd ever felt with Stephanie.

He put his beer down and picked up the phone. He didn't care what JC had said before about leaving Lesly alone. He just needed to explain.

**
Lesly had just poured herself a glass of wine and was settling in front of the television to catch up on the previous night's shows on her DVR. She was dressed in sweats and a tank top and, despite the fact that she wanted to tell her brother where to go and how fast to get there and the sinking pit she felt in her stomach because of Chris, she felt cozy and ready for an easy, relaxing rest of the night. As if on cue, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw Chris' name flash across the screen. He wasn't giving up.

"Chris, seriously? Do you understand English? I. want. to. be. left. alone!" she was deliberate in her words. 

"I know, Les. I know you do. I just can't get you off my mind. I'm sorry. I know that sounds pitiful-"

"And desperate," she sipped her wine. 

"Fine. Desperate. But maybe I am. I just realized what it was that I wanted and it's you and-"

"Chris, I can't have this conversation. I just think that we both need some time and space to think about all of this, ok? Because I feel like I'm going back and forth all the time and with everything I have to deal with with my family, I can't be dealing with this, too,"

Chris felt a bit of relief. It sounded as if she was willing to work on it. Not now, but it was a start. "Fine. Can we make a plan to talk in a few weeks?"

Lesly hesitated. Would she be strong enough by then? Even being in the next room with him sometimes made it difficult not to let him take her to bed. Yes. She had to be stronger by then. "Yes. I'll text you when I'm ready. But you can't text or call me before that, ok? Otherwise, all bets are off,"

Chris smiled on the other end of the phone. It was better than nothing.
"Good. Have a good night,"

"'Bye, Chris," 

Lesly leaned against the sofa and took a long sip of wine. She closed her eyes and wondered how long it would be before she let her guard down. Surely she could let him suffer a few weeks? Or at least she hoped she could.

**
JC had been spending most of the evening after dinner at Chad's and Lane's on a travel website looking at different deals. Chad had wholeheartedly agreed to take Sutton for two weeks and James' parents were going to keep the twins one week and JC's parents would come down from Maryland the last week. It was soon to be all set. They just had to decide on a destination. JC clicked on a deal for Greece. It looked like a great getaway. A Mediterranean cruise through the Greek islands. Five star meals every night. And a suite where he and James could be together. Alone. Without babies or six-year-olds. It seemed perfect and the price was just right.

"What are you looking at?" James came over to him, slipping her arms around his neck, her glass of wine in one hand and her head resting on the top of his as they both looked at the website together. "Greece! Really?"

JC turned around and pulled her into his lap. "Yeah. What do you think? It's a two week cruise that leaves from Athens and goes all over the Greek islands and it looks like one night in Turkey." He pulled her brown hair away from her neck and kissed her softly. "No kids. Just me and you. All alone."

James looked down at him and grinned. "Book it."

**
On her way to work the next day, Lesly decided to pay her brother a visit. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but after the state her father had been in the day before, she knew something had to be done. Pulling into his driveway, she cringed a little. There were toys scattered all over the front yard. And she also noticed an old washing machine proudly on display on the front porch. Her brother's pick-up truck boasted a confederate flag on the back and a bumper sticker which read, "No Fat Chicks." Lesly groaned inwardly. How in the world was she related to him? Sure they'd grown up in one of the smallest towns in Georgia, she knew they spoke with a Southern drawl (and Chris would never let her forget it when they'd been together), and they'd grown up learning all about hunting and fishing from their father. But Lesly would never in a million years have had an old washing machine on her front porch and the bumper sticker was just a little offensive. She wondered how Brianne, Dane's girlfriend, felt about that bumper sticker. Then again, Brianne wasn't exactly what you'd refer to as "classy." She was a tall brunette that had bleached her hair so many times, Lesly was surprised it hadn't fallen out. Brianne talked as though she was some kind of Hollywood socialite, but the thick Southern accent and multiple uses of "ain't"gave it away all too soon when people met her. 

Lesly got out of the car and walked up to the front door, knocking after seeing a small piece of paper taped over the doorbell that simply stated: "Doorbell don't work." She rolled her eyes and waited for Dane or Brianne to answer the door. In a few seconds, Brianne's voice could be heard and she opened the door with four-year-old Griffin clinging to her leg. 

"Oh, hey! Look, Griffy, it's your Aunt Lesly!" Brianne opened the door wider so that Lesly could step inside. The entire house reeked of cigarette smoke and what could only be described as onions. Lesly tried to hold her breath but she figured she'd suffocate before too long and gave up. She couldn't wait to explain to James why she smelled like a cigarette onion factory at work later that day.

After hellos and hugs to Griffin had been exchanged, Lesly looked over at Brianne, whose platinum bleach hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing old flannel pajama bottoms with a faded t-shirt that said something about a monster truck show from 1999. Lesly had to ignore it. Otherwise it would only make her depressed that her nephew was growing up in white trash. "Brianne, is Dane here?" she finally asked.

Brianne shook her head, "He's sleepin'. Got in late last night from Ruby's. Why what's up?" 

"Well," Lesly cleared her throat, "I was over at Dad's last night and it just looked like Dane hadn't come over when it was his day to help out. I just -"

Brianne cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, I think that was his poker night and he forgot. I'll remind him. When is he s'posed to be back over there?" 

Poker night?! Her brother could barely handle a job and he was gambling away money? Whatever. She couldn't think about that right now, either. Lesly was beginning to wonder if she just needed to keep a journal of happy thoughts since most of her thoughts were heading towards downright awful. "Tonight. It would really be good if he could remember this time. I'm closing the shop and can't make it over there. All you need to do is-"

Brianne interrupted yet again, "I know what we have to do, Lesly. We'll do it, okay?" her tone was a bit defensive and Lesly was about to interject but decided against it and rose to leave.

"Ok. Thanks," Lesly responded a bit awkwardly. She gave a smile to Brianne and hugged Griffin. "Thanks. See you later," 

Back inside her car, Lesly rested her head on the back of her seat. For some reason, she was thinking about Chris and how he would've reacted if he'd been there with her. He would've made a joke to cut the ice, that was for sure. And he would've been sympathetic to Lesly's plea for her father's care. This was why Chris was good for her when she was stressed out like this. 

Then she began to think of all of the excuses. He didn't want to commit. He was scared. He still was, for some reason, connected with Stephanie and couldn't let that go. No. He wasn't ready for this. And Lesly didn't have time for his bullshit. 

But it sure would've been nice to have him in her corner today.

**
Chris sat in her driveway. He had to tell her. He had to do it this time. All communication would be broken off after today. She was an unhealthy part of his life and needed to be out of it. Because he loved Lesly and having Stephanie around, even in small doses, was not going to help him make amends with Lesly. He sat there for as long as he could without looking like a creeper and finally opened the car door. He still had her house keys and could have easily opened the front door with it. But he hadn't done that in a while and knocking felt more natural now. 

She answered the door immediately, her face in a sexy pout, her brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. She bit on her lower lip and smiled. 

Chris didn't budge. "Stephanie, I didn't come here for anything but to tell you that this-" he pointed to her and then back to himself. "-is over. I'm sorry. But I want to move on and having you around isn't helping me to move on."

Stephanie looked at him as though she hadn't heard a word he'd just said. "I'm pregnant. And it's yours. So I don't think this is going to be as easy as you thought it would be."

She missed him. No matter how much she tried to block him from her mind, no matter how much she reminded herself that he was not ready to be in a committed relationship, she still missed him. There had been plenty of times that her brother had made her so angry that she was ready to sever all ties and Chris had calmly reminded her that her brother was unstable and that he probably needed as much help as their father did. He was good for her like that. And then of course there was the physical. He was good at what he did, that was for sure. Many times Lesly had felt there wasn't anything else that could make her go over the edge but every time it happened and every time she clung to him in pure ecstasy. He was amazing. 

But he wasn't ready. And it was time for her to move on.

It took all of her willpower not to pick up her phone and text him. Even the simplest "hello" would be an invitation for him to drive to Grayson and they'd be back where they started a few days ago. She found herself scrolling through random pictures they'd taken together, most of which Chris had been making some sort of silly face. It described their relationship perfectly, most of those pictures. Her smiling wide for the camera and wanting Chris to oblige, but instead, there he was sticking his tongue out or crossing his eyes. She stopped herself when she came across one that she'd forgotten about. It was both of them on the back porch of the Chasez home. He had his arm around her and was holding the phone so that they were both looking up at it. Their smiles were simple and non-descript. But it was the way they were smiling. The two people in that picture looked content. Happy. Life was good.

Lesly tried to remember when it was taken, but her memory was fuzzy. They'd been so off and on all summer that she couldn't remember when they were both together at James and JC's at the same time. And where Chris wasn't drunk and making an idiot of himself. She then remembered it was on the eve before the 2nd Annual Grayson County Talent Show that JC was in charge of. He'd had everyone over who was involved - Chris was a judge and Lesly helped James with serving coffee at Brewster's - and Chris was unusually all about her that night. That whole week he'd stayed with her and they hadn't argued. The picture was proof that they could sustain a normal time out together.

She looked back at his number on her phone, then put it back down. Be strong, she kept telling herself. How long she had to be strong was another question altogether.

** 

"Don't kill me," Chad Chasez walked into Brewster's early Tuesday afternoon.

James was just about to take off and Lesly was in the back getting more napkins for the dispensers on the tables. 

"Why?" James eyed her best friend warily. He had a look of guilt and James could see right through the smile he was plastering on his face. "What did you do?"

Chad walked over to the counter, took her hands in his and tried his best attempts at a puppy dog face. "The two weeks you're going to Greece, I forgot that that was the same two weeks Lane and I are going to Napa for a wine tasting."

"You're kidding!" James groaned and let out a sigh of frustration. "You're positive? The last two weeks of October?"

Chad nodded guiltily. "We both didn't realize it until last night when Lane looked at his calendar. For some reason I was thinking it was the last two weeks of November and that we were missing Thanksgiving. But I double-checked and it's definitely the same two weeks you'll be in Greece."

"Dammit," James muttered and took off her apron just as Lesly was coming out front with two packages of napkins. 

"What's wrong?" Lesly asked, going over to the dispenser at the table by the window.

"I made a boo boo," Chad answered. "Lane and I told James and Josh we'd keep Sutton when they're in Greece and we forgot it's the same two weeks we're going out to Napa Valley."

Lesly chuckled and shook her head. "My, my. You're going to Greece and you're going to Napa. Life must suck," she was kidding but saw the look of annoyance on James' face. "Sorry, James. It's just, I don't know it sounded like a conversation that takes place in some rich part of an Atlanta suburb, not some hick part of south Georgia." 

James softened. "No, I get it. It's just that my parents and Josh's parents are coming down to keep the twins. Not that Sutton is a handful but all three at one time can be a lot, especially for my parents." She looked at Chad. "Don't worry about it. It's not like you canceled on me a day before. Josh and I will figure something out."

Lesly thought for a moment. Sutton was one of the best behaved children she'd ever been around. Sweet and thoughtful, never sassy, and she'd only seen James and JC discipline her for small things. James swore that Sutton had her days but for the most part, Lesly had only seen a well-behaved little girl. "I could watch her," Lesly spoke up and James and Chad looked at her in surprise.

"Really?" James asked. "Oh, Les, that would be wonderful if you really mean it! Josh and I would be thrilled for you to watch Sutton."

Lesly smiled. Maybe she'd get her mind off of Chris if she had something to occupy her time, other than her psychotic father and useless brother. "Consider it done. I'd be more than happy to."

James let out a sigh of relief and grinned at her friend. "Awesome. We'll figure out a night for you to stop by and we can show you everything. She's really easy and I know she'll be excited to have you come and stay with her."

"And I'll bring you back a bottle of wine just for making my life more easy!" Chad interjected. 

Lesly laughed and for a the first time in a while felt better than she had in weeks.

**

The shock had worn off and Chris had come to grips that he was going to be a father in a matter of months. He hadn't told anyone. Not JC. Not Joey. Not even his own family. He preferred to keep it to himself for awhile. Besides, there was still a small part of him that wondered if the child was really his or not. Stephanie had sworn up and down that it was, even reminding him of when it had happened-the last week of July, which he'd forgotten all about because they'd ended up fighting anyway-and telling him over and over again that there wasn't anyone else in her life. 

"Unlike yours," she'd sneered. "Don't think I don't know you're still going back and forth with that little Southern bitch."

"Don't say that," Chris had muttered, not looking at her. "She's not-"

"What will she do when she finds out you're having my baby?" Stephanie had interrupted him. "Shame, shame. You shouldn't have been two-timing in the first place."

It was all he could do at that point not to punch her in the face, but he had been taught never to hit a woman. He shoved his fists in his pockets and turned to leave. It was the last time he'd spoken to her. All he knew was that he was going to have a child and that after all of the painstaking agony he'd gone through with hoping to win Lesly back, it would be for nothing. She'd never take him back now. He had pulled out his phone multiple times in an attempt to call her or text her. But he knew what would happen. She wouldn't respond to either. He'd promised he wouldn't be persistent, that he'd wait until she contacted him first. And when she did, the news of what he would tell her would cause her to hate him forever. He knew that they must have had a fight in order for him to have gone back to Stephanie's on the night of the so called incident. That was usually how it worked. He and Lesly would fight, he would drive back to Orlando and end up at Stephanie's, then try to call it off because he'd start to feel guilty about semi-cheating on Lesly. He knew it was wrong. Even if he hadn't made it official because of his own stupidity. He loved Lesly and everything about what had just gone down in the last three days was just awful. Thinking about it made him sick to his stomach.

He missed Lesly. A lot. He thought about her all the time. And even though the next time they talked-whenever that was or however long it would be-that he would break her heart, he knew that she was the missing link to everything that was awry in his world. 

**

Lesly closed up the shop later that evening and walked briskly to her car. For a few hours, her mind had been on the fact that in about 10 days, she'd be playing "Mom" to little Sutton Chasez for a while. She was thinking of fun things to do with her, although the fact that Sutton probably had every toy known to man, it probably wouldn't be terribly hard. She thought about maybe asking Griffin to come over for a day or two, especially just to get him out of the filth and trash he was living in. She thought about taking them up to Savannah or down to spend the day in Jekyll Island. They'd have a blast together.

And then she thought about Chris again because she remembered how much Sutton adored him when they'd been over at the Chasez home. She thought about how fun it would've been if they could've both kept Sutton, if only Chris had been the Chris she wanted him to be. She sighed and was just about to get into her car when she heard a familiar voice.

"Lesly? Lesly Parsons?" 

Lesly turned around to see Gabe DeAngeles, her ex-boyfriend from high school, approaching her. She hadn't seen him since the summer between freshmen and sophomore year of college and he had hardly aged at all. "Gabe?! What in the world! I thought you were living in San Francisco?!"

Gabe flashed her a grin and Lesly melted a little. He was still beautiful after all those years. Black curly hair, crystal green eyes, and a lean, fit body. She was suddenly embarrassed of her work gear. She had forgotten to take off her apron and quickly tried to hide herself behind the open door of her car. 

"I'm in town visiting my folks," Gabe answered and came up next to her, giving her a hug. "I was just taking a walk down Main Street. Seeing what had changed. I heard James Ryan opened a coffee shop or something and married some famous singer?"

Lesly laughed, somewhat uncomfortably. "Actually, I'm co-manager of the coffee shop. And yeah, she did. Married JC from that boy band, NSYNC from back in the day,"

Gabe shook his head. "Crazy. Hey, are you off work now? I'd love to grab a drink with you." 

Lesly tried to subside her excitement. "I'd love that, Gabe," she replied. 

They ended up at the small Italian restaurant on the edge of Main Street. Gabe bought them a bottle of red wine and they spent nearly three hours catching up, sharing a plate of spaghetti and then a cannoli, and ending the night with two cups of cappuccino. Gabe was a successful architect in San Francisco. He'd been married and divorced, no kids, and hadn't been on the East Coast in nearly four years. He loved San Francisco and his job let him travel all over California and he'd even designed a home for a couple in Hawaii. Lesly felt a little incompetent next to him. She told him about her dream of owning her own business and how that dream had been stilled when her mother had gotten so sick. She told him about her brother and her nephew and how she felt like she was the one holding everything together. Gabe was sympathetic and at one point, reached over to squeeze her hand. 

"Would you like to come over for a drink?" Lesly heard herself asking, as they stood to leave. 

Gabe wholeheartedly agreed and followed her back to her house. 

The next morning, Lesly smiled to herself, wrapped in Gabe's arms and feeling as though she was seventeen once more. Life was suddenly wonderful again.

James sat in disbelief at the story that Lesly had shared with her the following day. Gabe DeAngeles, the former heartthrob at their high school was back in town and clearly had kept himself busy upon his arrival. Lesly gushed to James as if she were a teenager and was blushing and stammering through the tale of Gabe following her home, taking about two sips of wine, and then finding his way into her bed. And it had all happened within a matter of about five hours. He'd stayed the next morning for a cup of coffee and then left, not before promising to stop by and say hello to James, which James thought odd, especially because they hadn't hung out in the same circles in high school. 

"He's really interested in seeing the shop," Lesly explained, when James had questioned that. "He was thrilled when he found out Grayson had gotten its own coffee shop."

James just nodded, still a little shocked at what her friend had told her. She wasn't judging, that wasn't it. In fact, who was she to judge in the first place when she knew people questioned how fast she and JC had moved when they first started dating. But Lesly had just gotten out of a relationship that had made her angry and confused and James was just a little wary of Gabe in the first place. Probably because he'd made fun of Chad in high school for being "a pansy" and calling him other distasteful names behind his back. People changed, she knew that, but all of it, the whole story, just didn't settle well with her.

"Great. It'll be good to see him, too," James forced a smile and then went over to the shelf to do some inventory. "So, I guess I shouldn't even ask if you've talked to Chris at all?"

"Nope. Not in a few days," Lesly answered, and James thought she caught a wistful expression on Lesly's face. "Why? Has he talked to Josh at all?"

James shrugged. "I don't think so. At least Josh hasn't said anything to me about it." James looked up over at Lesly. "So you're done now? For good, I mean?"

Lesly's facial expression was hard to read. "I-I, yes. Yes for right now. At least until Gabe goes back to the West Coast,"

James wondered if she should say anything else. At that minute, the door opened and Gabe walked in. He hadn't changed much since high school, except that he looked a little older and was more fit than she remembered. He was beautiful, she'd give him that. But for some reason, he had the word PLAYER spelled out in bold letters all over him and James couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she was getting. Nonetheless, she shook it off and greeted him warmly as if they'd been old friends.

"This is a great place, James. Way to go for putting something cool in this town," Gabe took off his black leather jacket and draped it over the back of a chair at the table by the counter. "So, I hear you married up?"

James winced. Married up?! As opposed to marrying down? "Well, I married a former singer if that's what you mean," James answered, trying to remain cool and calm. 

Gabe flashed her a smile. "Right, right. JC Chasez. I took my niece to see his band in concert once. Good thing you didn't go for the gay one. Guess you've got enough of that going on, huh?" Gabe laughed at his own joke and right away, James knew he was referring to her friendship with Chad. She looked at Lesly, who was smiling uncomfortably. 

"Uh, actually, Gabe, Josh and Chad are first cousins. That's how we met," James told him, quietly. She no longer cared if she sounded snippy.

Gabe's face fell. "Oh, damn, James. I didn't mean anything by it. I guess I should've made the connection with their last name. My fault," he put his hands up in surrender. "How is Chad doing anyway? Is he still around?"

"He's a successful interior designer and did Paula Deen's house," James replied, coolly. 

Gabe nodded. "Wow. I'd love to talk with him," he was trying his best to make James like him again and James could see right through his little act. 

She looked over at Lesly. "I'm going to go in the back and work on a few things. Gabe, it was nice to see you again. How long are you in Grayson?" 

"Oh, I don't know. Depends," he looked at Lesly, who blushed and smiled back at him. "On a lot, actually."

"Uh huh, well, I'm sure we'll see you around, then," James gave a wave of the hand and then headed back to her office. She closed the door behind her and plopped down in her chair, picking up the phone to call JC and let him know all of what had just taken place. It made her grateful for what they had and she wouldn't have traded anything for what her life was like now. She'd rather have chaotic moments of bliss than be jumping in and out of bed with men who couldn't make up their minds and men who were - or so it seemed to James when she thought about Gabe - in it for one reason only.

JC answered on the first ring, "Hey, baby,"

"Hi," James sighed, happy to hear his voice. "I was just calling to tell you I love you and I'm thankful for you. You wouldn't believe what I just encountered..."

**

Stephanie wouldn't leave him alone. Everyday she texted him or called him to tell remind him about doctor's appointments or what she needed for the baby or other minute things that Chris would have rather not had to think about. He'd finally broken down and told Joey, who was skeptical just as Chris was about the validity of truth that Chris was the father. 

"Have you told Lesly?" Joey had asked over the phone. 

"Nope. You and Stephanie are the only ones who know," 

"How long are you going to keep it from her?"

"She's supposed to text me when she's ready to talk again. So I guess until then,"

"Don't be a jerk, Chris. You owe it to her to let her know what's going on,"

"Maybe. I really just don't know what to do now. About any of it,"

That was the truth. He'd thought long and hard about the next steps to take. Whether or not he should tell Lesly right now or whether or not he should tell Stephanie he didn't believe the baby was his. It would just be his word against hers, though. And if it was his, he'd feel like a bigger ass than he did now. The thing was, the one person he knew could help him with all of this was the one person who didn't want to talk to him. And even if they'd been in a relationship right now, Chris knew she'd break up with him if she'd found out he had cheated on her. Then again, there was the small chance that she could be forgiving and move on with him and become what JC was to Sutton. He mentioned that to Joey, who literally choked over the phone on the Coke he was drinking.

"You do know that the situation is completely different, right? When JC and James met, Sutton's biological father was completely out of the picture. It's not like James was pregnant and JC walked into that. So I wouldn't necessarily bring that up to her whenever you decide to tell her. Because it's not the same in the least," Joey had suddenly become the realist.

"But Lesly could end up loving the kid and-"

"Lesly isn't your girlfriend anymore and if she was, well, I'd tell her to talk to Kelly. I mean, I had my fair share of liaisons back in the day and she put up with a lot of shit from me. But I never got anyone pregnant,"

"You're just full of good news for me," Chris said sarcastically, ready to throw his phone across the room.

"No, I'm just telling you that I know how most women react and Lesly strikes me as someone who wouldn't be all that forgiving of the fact that you got your ex-girlfriend pregnant while you were technically dating someone else, especially since the other person is Lesly," Joey paused for a minute. "But I could be wrong. I could be dead wrong. You could tell her and things could be fine and you're right, she could end up loving your kid like her own if that escalated to something more. But I'm just trying to be pragmatic and real with you, dude. You're in a sticky situation,"

Chris definitely knew that. He'd never been in this type of weird reality before now. He never wanted this. Ever. He hated himself for the way he had been treating Lesly. Yet, he still couldn't understand why it was so hard for him to love someone and still be scared to death of committing to her. He was sure it had to do with his parents divorce or the fact that most of his friends couldn't seem to stay married. Then again, there was Joey and Kelly and JC and James. They had made it work. 

By the time he went to bed that night, Chris' head was pounding. 

**

"You don't think you're being too hard on her?" JC questioned James, after she had told him everything about the visit with Gabe and Lesly earlier that day. They were in the kitchen, JC was sitting at the bar as James made Sutton a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. 

James turned to him, an exasperated look on her face. "Josh, seriously? Did you even hear what I said? He basically put Chad down right in front of me. And there's just something about the way he was all about Lesly."

JC chuckled and took a sip of his beer. He caught James looking at him, annoyed. "Baby, I was all about you when I first met you. Remember?"

James sighed and turned off the burner after putting the sandwich on a plate. She went over to the sliding glass doors and opened them, beckoning for Sutton to come in from her swing set for dinner. "And that's not what I mean. He's just, I don't know, creepy about it or something," she placed the plate on the kitchen table and went to get a juice box out of the refrigerator when JC grabbed her playfully.

"How creepy are we talking?" he whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver a little. She caught his eye and couldn't help but smile back at him. "Like, creepy grabbing her and whispering dirty stuff? That creepy?"

James giggled, but also silently wished they were off in Greece now. She needed to be with her husband. Badly. "No. Not like that. And you'd better cool it. Our child is about to come in and she's gonna wonder why her daddy has this insane look on his face." She kissed him quickly, but as passionately as she could manage, then went to grab Sutton's drink. JC relented and went back to his beer.

"All I'm saying is that you should give the guy a chance," he told James, watching her as she began to ponder what she and JC would eat for dinner that night. "And there are steaks in the freezer in the garage. What say we get the kids to bed and then I'll grill a few for us."

James looked at him gratefully and smiled, "Thanks. I'll go check on the twins,"

She headed out of the kitchen and then upstairs to the twins' room. 'Give him a chance. Fine. I just don't want him to hurt her anymore than she's already been hurt' James thought to herself.

Gabe was everything and more than Lesly ever expected. Too good to be true, yes, but here he was, lying next to her, holding her in his arms. She knew James was concerned, but Lesly had ignored the glances from her at work and only brought him up when it was necessary. For instance, the next week when she'd be watching Sutton. She'd asked James if it would be okay for Gabe to come with her. She'd seen the hesitancy in James' expression, but then she'd relented and agreed it would be fine. So he'd at least be staying another two weeks with her. She didn't let on, but Lesly kind of felt like James probably had when JC had postponed going back to L.A. two years ago. She of course didn't tell James that because she knew James would probably disagree, but Lesly couldn't help but think this was what it must have been like, not knowing when your new boyfriend would be with you before he went back to his other life.

Lesly turned over and Gabe stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake. She studied his features sleepily as he breathed rhythmically next to her. His black hair cascaded somewhat over his brow line. His full lips were closed and she dared herself to kiss him, but held back and closed her eyes instead. Last night had been yet another amazing love making session. He knew what to do, that was for sure. He'd remembered how she liked to be touched and caressed and held. And it was nice to be with someone who was all about her. 

But, deep down, she couldn't shake the nagging feelings she kept having about Chris. She was infatuated with Gabe, that was for sure. But did she love him? It was too soon to tell, obviously. And she knew, she knew her feelings for Chris hadn't gone away. She thought about him a lot. Even, she admitted, when she was with Gabe. Even as good as Gabe was, there was something about Chris. 
She shook the thought from her head and closed her eyes, snuggling next to Gabe, as though the closer she got she'd somehow forget about Chris.

**
The doctor's office smelled. Chris couldn't pinpoint it, but it smelled like the nursing home he'd once been in when he had gone to visit his grandfather as a child. It was strange because the hospital was a newer one downtown, but when he inhaled, the memories of the nursing home came back to him. He sat next to Stephanie in the lobby of the waiting room. She was showing just a little now and had become bitchier than ever before. She also cried at the drop of a hat. It unnerved him incessantly. Especially because he was still in doubt. But he'd quit saying it so much to Joey because Joey would just tell him to get a test done and the way that Stephanie was acting lately, Chris was honestly afraid she'd fly off the handle. And so here he sat, in a smelly doctor's office with a woman he grew to detest more and more everyday.

"It takes forever," Stephanie sighed, irritated. "Chris, go tell the receptionist that we've been here 45 minutes and haven't been called!" She threw her head over towards the nurse behind the window. Chris snorted and shook his head. There were at least fifteen people in the same waiting room and most of them had been there since he and Stephanie had arrived.

"Pretty sure she knows that, Steph," he responded to her plea. "We haven't moved."

Stephanie glared at him. "Now is not the time to be a smart ass!"

"I'm not going over there," Chris whispered loudly. "So get over it. I'm only here because I'm supposed to be as the father of this kid."

"Chri-is!" she whined, leaning into him. "Please, baby. I'm so tired of waiting." She tried to give her best puppy dog face but it only made Chris even more irritated. He got up abruptly and went to the door.

"I'm going out for some fresh air. Text me when you get called," he walked out of the waiting room before she could protest, already knowing how much of an ass he'd just made of himself. He roamed the hallways and took the elevator down to the main level of the hospital. He found a room off the side of the lobby that was empty and sat down in a chair, resting his head on the back of the chair. He got his phone out and his eyes immediately lit up when he saw a text from her. From Lesly.

How are you?

It wasn't much. Just as simple question. How are you? But a simple question that made the wheels in his head start to turn and made him wonder how he should answer her. She still didn't know. 

Hey. I'm good. How about u?

He waited, his breath held, wondering how long he could hold it in before he broke the news. He'd held it in for weeks now. She had to know. But he couldn't tell her over the phone and he certainly couldn't tell her through a text. It had to be in person. He'd have to see her. He wanted to see her.

I'm ok. Working and taking care of family stuff. Same as always.

Chris waited before he responded, but then she texted him again.

I was just texting you because I'd been thinking about you. I hope you're well. 

He didn't hesitate before he typed next.

Les, I want to see you. Please. I need to talk to you.

Her turn.

I can't. Not a good time just yet. Will let you know. Got to go now.

He groaned inwardly and just as he was about to type back, his phone rang and he saw Stephanie's name flash across the screen.

"Get your ass back up here," she greeted him as soon as he picked up. "We just got called. And don't ever pull that little stunt again, Chris!"

Chris didn't answer, simply hung up and took the elevator back up to the fifth floor.

And he knew it was time for a little trip to Georgia. Soon.

**
She wished she hadn't done it. She didn't know why she did it. She was plainly with Gabe now. And she was doing exactly what Chris had done with her and Stephanie. Sort of. It wasn't like they were sexting or even talking about meeting up. But she had told him she'd let him know. And she hadn't mentioned anything about her new relationship. Lesly felt awful and it showed all over her face when she went into work later that day. 

"What happened?" James asked her, as soon as Lesly came behind the counter. Lesly wondered if deep down that James was expecting her to say that Gabe had broken up with her and gone back to California. That wasn't the case at all.

"I'm a terrible person," Lesly said softly. "I texted Chris today."

James' eyes grew wide. "Really?! So are you and Gabe -"

"James, no, it's not like that. Gabe's still here, he's still with me. But today, I just, I don't know. I was at Dad's getting his lunch ready and while he was eating, there was a commercial about visiting Orlando that came on TV and it just made me think about him. So I texted him," Lesly looked guiltily at James, as though James were her mother and she'd just taken a cookie from the cookie jar without permission.

"Well, what did he say?" James put down the Windex she'd been using to clean the countertop with and focused all of her attention on Lesly. 

"He wanted to see me. Which I knew he would. But I told him it wasn't time yet," Lesly wrapped the apron around her. "And I didn't mention Gabe. At all."

"Good," James replied without batting an eye. "He doesn't need to know about that."

"He will eventually. Especially if Gabe and I take it to the next level," Lesly answered. "But whatever. I feel terrible. I shouldn't have texted him because now he's going to think this is the same as me forgiving him and being ready to talk about us."

James looked at Lesly square in the eye. "And? Are you?"

Lesly shook her head, "No. I-I can't. Later. When Gabe goes back to San Francisco. I just don't want Chris come up here and confusing me even more. Or, you know what I mean. Not confusing me, just, I don't know what I mean."

James bit on her lower lip. "Well, clearly you still have feelings for him or else you wouldn't be so torn up. And you told him eventually you'd talk to him, so you'll have to do that at some point, too."

Lesly didn't like how reasonable James was. "You just want me with Chris and not Gabe. I'm not an idiot, James,"

James shrugged and took off her apron, then placed the Windex under the counter. "I'm not saying anything else. Oh, by the way, can you stop by tomorrow so I can show you everything you need to know for watching Sutton?"

Lesly didn't argue the point anymore and simply agreed to come over the next afternoon after they were both off for the day. James threw her a wave as she left and Lesly tried not to think about all the points James had made that were right. She did have feelings for Chris and she did want to see him. But she also knew she wanted to keep being with Gabe and didn't see that being broken off any time soon, unless he flew back to San Francisco and wasn't going to come back. She felt her phone vibrate against her leg and took it out, reading a text that was from Chris.

I think about you all the time. Please let's talk soon.

**

"Oh, doll, live a little!" Chad thrusted a pair of black feathered handcuffs into James' hands as they walked the aisles of the local sex shop on the outskirts of town. It had recently been renovated and now was a place that people would actually go into, where as before, it had reminded Chad of an old worn down brothel that would've been popular at the turn of the 20th century. JC had asked Chad to take James there this week so that she'd surprise him with a few things for their trip to Greece. James had protested, but Chad hadn't given her a choice when he'd picked her up that evening. Now, here they were, roaming the aisle marked "NAUGHTY" and James was declining everything Chad had mentioned. Of course she and JC had been somewhat daring and kinky, but in the last few months, their waning sex life had caused them to just go for it as quickly as possible, without any thought except that they wanted each other.

"Chad, handcuffs? Really?" James rolled her eyes and put the handcuffs back on their hook. He took them back and threw them at her, playfully.

"Yes, really. You and JC need a little fun on this trip. That's why I'm here. To help you out," Chad knelt down. "Oh, look, here's some of that dice you play for different positions," he took the dice from the shelf and put it in James' basket. "And don't take it out."

"As much fun as I'm having shopping with you for sex toys for me and my husband, don't you-" James stopped dead in her tracks and tugged at Chad's arm so he wouldn't say anything. They looked over and saw Gabe flirting with the girl behind the counter. 

"Is that-" Chad started to ask, and James quickly nodded, ducking down and pulling Chad along with her. "How long are we going to be down here? Because he could be at that for a while."

"Sh, listen!" James put her finger over her mouth and tried to catch the conversation going on, but the music was blaring out of the speaker right above her head and it was hard to make out what was being said at all. 

"....here for a little bit. Visiting my parents and all. Just thought I'd stop in and see if there were any movies I hadn't seen yet," Gabe's voice said over the music. "Nice place you have here."

"I live upstairs," the girl said. "Wanna come up and see it? Or are you more interested in watching that new movie?"

"What time do you get off work?" Gabe asked. James looked over at Chad and shook her head. She knew there was a reason she didn't like Gabe and she'd been right. He was a pig.

"Fifteen minutes. Why don't you go on upstairs. It's always unlocked," the girl replied in a lower tone. 

It was quiet for a second and James slowly stood to her feet seeing that Gabe had apparently made his way upstairs.

"So, I'm guessing Lesly and Gabe aren't going to work out, huh?" Chad whispered, as they headed down another aisle. "And she always leaves the door unlocked?! Maybe this is still a brothel."

"Lesly was just going on and on today about how she felt bad about texting Chris. This is terrible, Chad," James sighed and rubbed her temples. "Should I tell her?"
"Yes. You know what it's like to be cheated on by scum. I almost hate to give this woman any money, but I really want to try out this edible underwear and you need to let me know how the dice game is," Chad walked toward the girl behind the counter. She was leaning on her palm and smiled seductively at him.

"Edible underwear, huh? You like your girls dirty?" the girl purred, taking the package from Chad.

"Uh, honey, I don't do girls," Chad nearly snapped, but held back. The girls shrugged and put the underwear in a brown bag, handing it over to Chad. She took the dice and handcuffs from James, did a double take, and then grinned.

"Hey, you're the coffee shop girl that married JC Chasez. I used to fantasize about doing your husband," the girl giggled. "When I was fourteen, I thought he was about the sexiest thing on earth. Tell me, how is he? I guess he likes it kinky, huh?"

James frowned, "I'll just be paying and going, okay?"

"And this isn't for JC. It's for me!" Chad spoke up. "She's just buying a late birthday present for me."

The girl rolled her eyes at Chad and gave James' credit card back to her. "Wow, no hard feelings, honey. I was just saying-"

"Thank you. We'll just be going now," Chad pulled on James' elbow and they headed out, not saying anything until they were in the car. James looked next to her to see Gabe's rental proudly showing off in its parking space. She looked up at the second floor of the old building and saw the lights were on. The girl came to the door of the store and James saw her lock it and then turn the lights off. She shuddered at the thought of what she'd have to tell Lesly tomorrow. 

"I will never, ever, step foot in there again," Chad told her as he started the car. 

"You and me both," James sighed, and couldn't wait to pull out of the parking lot and get home. She needed to debrief with JC and figure out a plan of what she was going to have to tell Lesly.

James nervously tapped her fingers against her coffee mug the next morning at breakfast. JC sat across from her, Landon on his lap, his iPad propped up in front of him on the table. He looked up at James and raised his eyebrows at her. She was off in her own world, her eyes averted away from the kitchen and out into the backyard. She was biting her lower lip, deep in thought.

"James," JC tapped her arm. "Honey, are you ok?"

James snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at JC. She shook her head, sipped her coffee, and sighed. "I just don't know how I'm going to tell Lesly what I saw last night."

"I told you. You tell her the truth and tell her he's not welcome over here next week," JC went back to reading the news on his iPad. 

"Josh, it's not that simple. For one thing, she may not believe me," James looked down at her coffee mug and then back at JC. "And I just don't want to see her hurt again."

JC shifted Landon to his other leg and moved closer to his wife. "James, I love Lesly. I do. But she hasn't really made the wisest choices lately when it comes to men. I mean, she should've called it off with Chris when he decided he couldn't commit to her in the first place. And this latest guy sounds like the poster child for a Tool. So maybe what you have to say to her might wake her up to reality. And no, he is definitely not welcome over here. If I could ban him from coming to Brewster's I would." JC went back to reading his iPad and James smiled weakly at him. 

"I'll talk to her today,"

**
He didn't come over like he'd promised. Lesly had waited until midnight, her eyes barely able to stay focused on the book she'd been reading to keep her awake. She looked at the clock every five minutes. He'd promised he'd be there before 10:00 that night. At 10:45, she called his cell phone. She called again at 11:00, only to have it go straight to voice mail. Her stomach was uneasy for some reason. He could've gotten held up at dinner with his parents, which is where he'd told her he would be. But the relationship between Gabe and his mother and father seemed strained from what Lesly had gathered. Finally, she gave up and fell asleep, hoping that he'd stop by the coffee shop tomorrow. 

Her alarm rang at 7:00 the next morning. Groggy from the night before, Lesly hit snooze and rolled over. She didn't need to be at work until 10, but normally liked to get up early and have breakfast, run errands, and check on her father. And lately, she and Gabe had stayed up so late that it was usually 8:30 before she rolled out of bed anymore. 

Ten minutes later, the snooze button rang and Lesly pried herself out of her bed, stumbling into her kitchen. She had her phone with her and hit redial, hoping for Gabe to pick up and tell her what she'd hoped would be true. That he had gotten stuck at his parents' and couldn't make it to her last night. But again it went straight to voice mail and the uneasy feeling in Lesly's stomach returned. Where was he? Maybe she was overreacting. They hadn't been seeing each other very long, anyway. Maybe he felt he didn't owe her an explanation. But, Lesly thought, it was kind of a jerky thing for him to assume. They'd been with each other every day for the last week and a half, which, she reasoned, wasn't very long. But still. Even if it was just a short lived fling, he still could've called. Right? Lesly sighed and turned on the coffee pot, slowly realizing that this thing with Gabe might not be anything she should have ever gotten her hopes up about. 

Her phone buzzed and the last thought went out the window. She picked it up and looked at the number. It was Chris.

"Hi," she answered immediately, her heart fluttering a little and her lips forming a slight grin. 

"I'm coming to Grayson next week, okay? I have a lot to tell you, but I-"

He'd said something else, but at that moment, Lesly heard a car door slam and ran to the window to see Gabe getting out of his rental car. She saw him coming towards her front door and the phone in her hand felt as though it were on fire.

"Um, Chris, I need to go. I'll call you back," she quickly hung up and opened the door for Gabe to come inside. Before she could even question where he'd been, he threw her against the wall, kissing her passionately and not giving her a chance to talk. Lesly threw the phone down and soon forgot about who had just been on the other line.

**
James was just finishing redoing the shelves for Halloween when Lesly came into work. Her heart sunk. She hated confrontation more than anything, but especially with someone like Lesly, who she felt was probably very fragile. Lesly, however, did not appear fragile. In fact she appeared quite ecstatic. The glow on her face gave it away and James knew that she'd probably just spent the last few hours in bed with Gabe. Or maybe she'd discovered what a jerk he was and James wouldn't have to tell her.

"Hi, James!" Lesly came bouncing over to her like a giddy teenager. James cringed, but tried not to let disgust show all over her face.

"Hey," she answered, forcing a smile. "How are you?" The question seemed stupid to ask, but it was a formality and James needed to keep it up as long as she could. She wished she could've been more like JC, who wouldn't have cared and told Lesly straight away that Gabe was a jerk and he wasn't welcomed in their home. But James wasn't like that and it was going to take all the courage in the world to fake this as long as she could.

"Great. I'm great!" Lesly was literally floating in the air or so it seemed to James. 
James took in a breath and let it out slowly. "Um, Les, I need to talk to you. While there aren't any customers, I mean," 

Lesly saw the expression of concern on James' face and immediately the smile left. "Oh. Um, ok. Is everything alright?"

James bit on her lower lip and shook her head slowly. "Les, did you, um, did you see Gabe at all last night?"

Lesly leaned into the counter and her face became blank with no expression readable to James. "No. But he was at his parents eating dinner and then-"

"Lesly, listen, this isn't easy for me to say okay? Chad and I were at that, um, sex store. You know by the highway and the interstate?" James was trying to drag this out as long as she could. Lesly only nodded at her question. "And, well, we saw Gabe there. He was flirting with the girl behind the counter and from what we could hear, I'm pretty sure that's where he was last night."

Lesly turned her head to the side and looked down at the floor and then back at James. "Oh. Well, are you sure? How do you know?"

"She basically asked him to sleep with her and he didn't take long to object," James gripped the back of one of the chairs next to the table she was standing near and waited for Lesly's response. 

"Did you see them?" Lesly sounded somewhat defensive. "Did you see them sleep together?"

James was taken aback. "Well, no, Les, of course not! But I know what I heard and-"

"Well, maybe he said something flirty. Gabe is a flirt and I know that," Lesly snapped.

"Ok, fine. But Les, Josh and I have talked and we'd just feel more comfortable if Gabe didn't come over while you were at our house next week. We don't know him and I'm sorry, but after what I witnessed, I just don't want anyone like that in my home," James felt a sinking feeling come over her because Lesly looked as though she was ready to hit James.

"Oh, really? Because you were at a sex store and overheard something you might have assumed was something else?" Lesly could've started spitting darts she looked so angry. "Look, James, I know you and Josh want me and Chris together but it's not happening. I'm having fun with Gabe right now, okay?"

James looked at her friend in disbelief. "Lesly, Chris has nothing to do with it. We're just concerned about you and we don't think it's a good idea for some guy we don't know to be in our house watching our child! You can at least respect that!" James raised her voice and then shook her head. "Look, do with it what you want, okay? I'm just telling you so you know." James walked towards the door leading to the office and turned around. "If I didn't care, I wouldn't have said anything. But really, you can't expect me to keep quiet when it comes to a friend's well being." She went back to her office and slammed the door, leaving Lesly alone with her thoughts and completely confused until the next customer came in.

**

Gabe tried not to blow his cover when Lesly confronted him later that evening. They'd been eating dinner at her house yet again and Lesly had asked him about what James had seen. He tried not to grimace when he heard her name. He'd never liked James Chasez. In high school she'd kept to herself, running for student council offices and seeking to be the first woman President of the United States or so it had seemed to Gabe. He'd heard she'd gotten knocked up and was now having some former boy band member help her raise the kid. Apparently, they'd done quite well with their little coffee shop venture, but Gabe felt that, especially now, James was just a little too much on her high horse for him.

"Well, babe, apparently your friend was hearing bits and pieces of the conversation. Yes, that girl did ask me up to her apartment but I told her 'no.' My parents have been on my case about me not seeing them as much since I've been in town and I had to fill my obligation as their son and stay with them. I left my phone in my car and that's why I didn't call and I guess it died before I could charge it, which was why it went to voice mail," Gabe was good. He could pull the wool over anyone, so he thought.

Lesly nodded slowly. "Ok. But why were you out there in the first place?"

Gabe reached in his back pocket and pulled out a pair of skimpy panties, playfully throwing them at Lesly. "I wanted to get you something," he stood from the dinner table and went over to where Lesly was sitting. "Let's go see how they fit, okay?" Lesly giggled softly and led him to her bedroom, forgetting all about what James had told her.

Chris had made up his mind about going to Grayson, especially after being hung up on by Lesly. He wondered what on earth could have happened for her to end the call so abruptly. Nonetheless, he had to tell her and he had to tell her in person. He didn't tell Stephanie of his plans. She was much too busy trying to get her friends to plan a baby shower for them. She'd already told Chris that he'd better tell his "hick friends in Georgia" - meaning James and JC - that it would be a couples shower and that they were invited. She was only doing that so that Lesly was sure to find out about the pregnancy and Chris knew it. 

He wished he could've taken it all back. Everything. If he'd been smart, he would've snatched Lesly up the minute he had her. He wouldn't have freaked out and gone back to Stephanie because it was familiar. She may have been familiar but she was also the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He still cringed thinking that for the rest of his life, a part of him would be connected to her. 
But he still had to tell Lesly. He wanted to be honest with her. Maybe he didn't stand a chance with her anymore, but he still needed to come clean and he had to do it face to face.

**
It hadn't felt right. Any of it. She felt like Gabe had lied to her and she felt as though the last week and a half had been just that. Lesly quietly got out of her bed and went into the den as not to wake Gabe, who was still asleep. There was just something about their lovemaking the night before that hadn't settled well with her. He'd been so aggressive and, so it seemed to Lesly, all about himself. It was that phone call she'd gotten from Chris and deep down she knew it. She'd pushed it all from her mind - Chris, everything that James had told her about Gabe - just so she could feel wanted. It hadn't mattered when she was in Gabe's arms that he might have been with someone else the night before. Lesly had only wanted to feel like she mattered to someone.

She knew what she had to do. She had to break it off with Gabe. She was ready to hear Chris out. And if what Chris said was true, she'd get to tell him that next week. 

**
Gabe wasn't used to being dumped. He was the one who did the dumping. Always. He'd ended things with Lesly in high school and he had been determined from the beginning of this little tryst with her to end it on his terms. And so that morning when he'd woken up and gone into the den where Lesly was, he expected another round of sex before he had gone back to Brandi, the girl from the sex shop. This little trip home had certainly proven successful for him. His divorce was still being finalized back in California and he was seeing his personal trainer on the side as well. He hadn't meant to seduce Lesly - or Brandi for that matter - but he had and he had enjoyed himself immensely. 

"Gabe," she started when he sat down next to her and immediately began to kiss her. "Gabe, wait. Look, I need to talk to you." 

"Okay," he ignored her and tried to kiss her again. This time she got irritated and pushed him away.

"I'm serious!" she snapped at him and stood up. This took Gabe by surprise and he raised an eyebrow at her. She was usually so responsive when he tried seducing her. She took a breath and sighed. "I think we need to stop. I can't do this with you anymore, whatever this is." she waved her hand between them. 

Gabe snorted and shook his head. "So, you're listening to James I take it?"
Lesly shook her head. "No. I'm listening to me. I need to figure a lot of stuff out and being with you isn't helping,"

Gabe stood and glared at her. "Okay, whatever." He stormed back to her bedroom and Lesly heard him throwing his clothes on and then slammed her bedroom door behind him. "You'll be sorry, babe." Gabe took three strides over to her front door and slammed it on his way out. No one had ever done that to him and he felt completely humiliated. He was determined to get Lesly back at any rate he could. Yes, there was Brandi, but she was too easy, in every sense of the word. And yes, there was Lisa, his personal trainer, but he was putty in her hands. Lesly was different. Lesly had started out as the putty and soon had eased her way out and Gabe didn't like it.

He didn't like it at all.
**

"But why can't I go with you, Daddy?" Sutton was sitting on top of JC's suitcase the night before he and James were to fly out for Greece the next morning.

"Because Mommy and I need a little vacation," JC swiftly picked her up, removing her from the suitcase so that he could start putting clothes in it. He kissed her cheek and then put her down on the bed. "But you're staying with Lesly and I bet she has a lot of fun things planned for you."

Sutton frowned. "And how come I can't stay with Uncle Chad and Uncle Lane?"

"Because they're going on a trip, too," JC was rummaging through the closet, picking out shirts for the trip, then laying them on the bed next to Sutton. 

"But it's not fair, Daddy. I want to go on a trip!" Sutton was on the verge of tears and JC knew it was because she'd never been separated from her parents -especially James - for this amount of time. 

"Baby, we went on a trip a few months ago, remember? I took you and Mommy to Disney World and the twins didn't even get to go on that trip!" JC reminded her as he began to fold his Polos. 

"That's cause they're too little to ride any rides," Sutton mumbled. "Are you and Mommy going on any rides?"

JC had to bite his lip from laughing out loud. He certainly planned on going on lots of rides with James. For hours and hours. There was a lot of lost time to make up. He cleared his throat, "Just a long boat ride, honey. Are you going to help me or are you going to see if Mommy needs help with the twins?"

Sutton hopped off the bed and ran out of the room, calling for her mother. JC shook his head and had to smile. He loved Sutton like his own flesh and blood and he did feel a little twinge of guilt that they were leaving her for two weeks. But they needed this. JC remembered a few nights before when he and James had been so close to having sex and Olivia had decided at that moment to vomit all over her crib. They'd finally succeeded but it had been quick and, JC felt, quite unromantic.

His phone buzzed and he was diverted to a call from Chris.

"Hey, man, what's up?" he answered, taking another shirt off the hanger. 

"I'm coming to town next week. Wanna put me up?" was Chris' response.

JC chuckled. "I wish we could, but James and I will be in Greece and Lesly will be here with Sutton."

"Perfect. She's the reason I'm coming to town anyway. I'll just stay in the guest room,"

"She'll be in the guest room,"

"Exactly,"

JC sighed, "Chris, I don't think -"

"No, listen, I know what you think and I think you're wrong. I can hear it in her voice when I've talked to her. It's been brief and last time she was interrupted but even when we text I can tell she misses me. It'll be good for me to come back,"

"Chris, she's, well, she's kind of seeing someone,"

Silence. Then, "Who?"

"Her ex-boyfriend from high school. He came into town and to be honest, he's kind of a jerk. No, he is a jerk. But she's seeing him and they've gotten quite close in the last week,"

"Well, then, we're both full of surprises," Chris replied quietly. "Have you talked to Joey?"

"No, why?" JC started going through his underwear drawer and throwing garments into his suitcase. He then went over to where James kept her lingerie and began throwing in a few of his favorite items. 

"Um. Well, Stephanie's pregnant. And she claims it's mine,"

"Then I guess you two do have a lot to catch up on. Good luck on that one," JC sat on the edge of the bed. "Look, dude, I need to finish packing and then help James with the twins' bath. Come to town if you want but I don't think staying here is the best idea. You can always call Chad and Lane and see if you can stay there. They're gone on vacation, too, and probably wouldn't mind a house sitter."

"Ok. Well, I'll see what happens I guess," Chris replied and hung up without saying goodbye. 

At that moment, James walked in with her empty suitcase and saw JC's expression. "What happened?" she asked, laying her suitcase next to his.

"Chris is coming to see Lesly next week. And Stephanie is pregnant. With his baby," JC answered, standing up. "You know, I thought when I moved out here, there wouldn't be any drama. I guess I was wrong."

James wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him. "Well, at least it isn't your drama."

JC grinned at her. "True. Oh, I already started packing some of your things."

James looked in his suitcase and shook her head, a smile spread across her face. "I will need other clothes, babe."

JC shook his head, "Not if I have anything to do with it."

Leaving him had been easier than Lesly had thought. Yes, the sex had been great and feeling wanted had been just as great. But at the end fo the day she was still thinking about Chris and having him on her mind as much as she had only proved it wasn't over. It was interesting, however, to her that Gabe had withdrawn as fast as he had. He hadn't stopped by the shop at all. He hadn't texted or called. For someone as persistent as he'd been with her, Gabe DeAngeles had all but fallen off the face of the earth in the last three days, or so it seemed. 

Not that she'd really, really had time to notice. Keeping up with Sutton Chasez had been more than she thought it would be. For one, Sutton had ballet three times a week after school. And first grade in 2012 was a lot different than first grade had been when Lesly had gone through it. Sutton actually had homework to do. Granted, it was only a few worksheets here and there, but it took time after dinner and Lesly had had to remind herself that Sutton was still in the beginning stages of reading and writing and as much as Lesly sometimes wanted to take the pencil from Sutton and do it for her so that it would be done faster, she paced herself and let the little girl finish in her own time. 

At night, after Sutton had been properly bathed and tucked in - which included reading at least 2 stories from a wide selection of children's literature - Lesly would settle herself on the couch, take out her phone and text Chris back and forth. He wanted to know who he was competing with now. She wanted to know if he was still with Stephanie. He said they would talk. Soon. He was going to come to Grayson the following weekend and had already checked with Chad and Lane and would be staying at their house. 

It made her nervous and excited and cautious all at once. And a little nauseated if she was honest with herself. 

**
"You're what?!" Stephanie screeched over the phone, as Chris drove down I-4 and out of Orlando.

"I'm on my way to Grayson. So I can't go with you to your doctor's appointment tomorrow. Sorry," he looked in his rearview mirror and pulled swiftly into the left lane so that he could speed up somewhat.

"Fine. I'll just tell our baby when it's old enough that you cared more about your stupid hick girl in Georgia than you did about its well-being!" her voice seemed to have reached an even higher pitch and Chris held the phone away from his ear, trying to focus on the road.

"Ok. Also, since you're just going in to get another prescription of pre-natal vitamins, I don't think it matters that much,"

She was silent and Chris couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He had her there and she knew it. "So, if we're done, I'm going to go because I need to focus on driving. See you when I get back." He didn't give her time to respond, simply hung up and put the phone in the cup holder.

He'd rehearsed in his head a thousand times how he was going to tell Lesly about Stephanie. How he was going to tell her that he didn't love Stephanie, but that they were having a baby together and that if that was going to be a problem, he would understand. He would leave out the part that it would devastate him, hurt him, and that he'd probably really never be in another relationship because he'd always be in love with her. All of those parts he would leave out because right now he just needed to see her and for once, be upfront and honest with her.

The closer he got to Grayson, the more his heart pounded. Soon it would all be over and soon she would know the truth and it would be up to her to know what to do with it now. He was at least giving her that option.

**
James assumed Greece was a beautiful country. She assumed the interior of the ship was nice, just as she assumed the pool on the top deck would be peaceful and refreshing. But since they'd boarded, James and JC had hardly left their room except for the occasional meal. It was bliss. Pure and utter bliss. They missed their children, but the pure ecstasy of just being with each other in every way possible was enough to make it okay that their daughter was with a friend and their twins were safely tucked away with grandparents. 

"I can't get enough of you," JC whispered, in the early afternoon. His body was lazily draped over hers and he placed soft kisses along the nape of her neck. They were docked in Santorini that day and he'd promised her they could go off the boat and take in the island. However, the boat would only be docked for another few hours and they'd spent the majority of their morning in bed. 

James giggled softly beneath him and sighed, turning so that he was spooning her against him. "Are we going to see Greece?" she wondered aloud.

JC kissed her shoulder blade, burying his face in the nape of her neck. "Mmhm. In a few minutes. Aren't you enjoying the silence? No babies crying. Nobody wandering in here uninvited. Just us, baby,"

James had to agree with him there. No interruptions. It had been a blissful reality as of late.

He kissed her again.

Greece would wait for them.
**

The doorbell rang. Her heart pounded hard against her chest. She knew he was there on the other side. Excitement ran throughout every inch of her body. It always did where Chris was involved. There was much to talk about. Much to decide. Slowly and all in good time of course. 

Slowly.

She had to keep telling herself that the closer she approached the door. 
Lesly opened it. He stood there, a smile on his face, his brown eyes looking into her own.

"Hi," he greeted her, running a hand nervously through his hair. He stepped towards her and Lesly suddenly couldn't remember what "slowly" even meant because the next thing she knew, they were headed towards the guest bedroom.

Chris wanted to tell her before this started happening.  Before the door closed, before clothes became strewn all over the floor, before they were underneath the sheets in the Chasez's guest bedroom. It was too late. She was too much for him and he couldn't handle not being with her like this. It seemed so perfect, like they were supposed to always be this way together. The nagging thought of Stephanie's pregnancy left him for the minutes he was in bed with Lesly and all he could think about was being with her. 

"I'm sorry, Chris," Lesly whispered, pulling him closer to her. "I'm sorry. I just, I didn't want to be that other girl, you know?"

"Don't apologize," Chris kissed her. "I was the stupid one."

"Chris," Lesly looked up at him, "Chris, I want you to know something. I was seeing someone but it's over. It's really over, okay? I just want to be with you. I couldn't stop thinking about you and-"

Chris silenced her again with a kiss. "Don't talk, okay? We have the rest of the weekend. Just be with me like this right now."

It was several minutes before either of them said anything again. Lesly picked up her phone and looked at the time. Sutton had a playdate with one of her friends from school and she'd be back any minute now. 

"Sutton's home soon," Lesly slowly got up from the bed and began to get dressed again. She looked over at Chris, who was deep in thought. "What is it?"

Chris had been pondering how in the world he'd break the news to her. Not now. He wasn't as stupid as he'd once been and there would've been a time when he would have blurted it right then and there when Lesly was most vulnerable and fragile. No. It would have to be later. But it would have to be before he left for Orlando on Monday. 

He shook his head quickly and gave her a reassured smile. "Nothing. Just tired," he winked at her and stood from the bed, following suit and quickly dressing again.

They walked out of the room together and back into the den. "I can go over to Chad's and Lane's and drop off my stuff and then I'll come back for dinner. Sound good?" he walked over towards her and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her lips softly.

"Yeah. I'm sure Sutton will be happy to have someone else around here. She's going to spend the night with James' parents tomorrow night," Lesly smirked at Chris and he laughed. "So you'll need to be around here, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere," he felt his phone buzz and knew it was Stephanie before he even took out of his back pocket. He swiftly turned his phone off and placed it back in his pocket again. No need to bother with her right now. A part of him was feeling more alive than he had in a long, long time.

"You have to tell her. How is she gonna feel if you keep having sex and then spring on her that you're going to be a father," Joey was telling him as Chris drove over to Chad's and Lane's.

"We just slept together once. I don't know if it'll happen again," he was lying through his teeth and Joey knew it.

"You're full of shit," Joey called him out. "You know exactly what will happen. Don't be an idiot this time, dude. Tell her. And tell her soon,"

**
Sutton had just come home and Lesly was busy making her a snack and getting a movie on for her when Lesly's phone rang. It was Brianne, which was a rare thing because Brianne never called.

"Hey, Brianne-"

"Lesly, it's your dad. Dane found him just now. He's not breathing. We're gettin' an ambulance. Can you meet us at the hospital?"

Lesly had somehow managed in a state of frenzy to get Sutton over to James’ parents’ house and left a frantic message on Chris’ phone on her way to the hospital. Chris had called her back as soon as she was rushing into the emergency room, telling her he was on his way.

The stroke had been so massive that Mr. Parsons was hooked up to life support. The doctors were open and honest with Lesly and Dane, letting them know that their father would only have a 20% chance and even if he did make it, he would more than likely require around the clock care. They were still going to run some tests, but all in all, things didn’t look good. Looking at him hooked up to all of those machines, Lesly couldn’t help but burst into tears. Dane seemed in a state of shock and could only lean against the wall of the hospital room and look straight ahead. Lesly meanwhile, stayed by her father’s side, holding his hand and kissing it every so often.

Chris stood outside of the hospital room, looking in on Lesly and feeling as though a piece of him was with her. He couldn’t tell her now. It was all too wrong. And he knew on Monday, he wasn’t going to leave her like this. There was no doubt about that. He watched her as she stroked her father’s arm, squeezing his hand and letting her tears fall onto the bed. He wasn’t allowed in because he wasn’t family-neither was Brianne, no matter how big of a fit she had thrown in the waiting room-and so he just waited outside and watched and wished he could hold her right then and there.

“Dane,” Lesly managed to say through tears. “What should we do?”

“I dunno,” Dane muttered, and took his ball cap off, running a hand through his hair. “They say it don’t look good. But I don’t wanna take him off in case he makes a turn or somethin’.”

Lesly slowly nodded and looked back at her father. She hadn’t seen him quite so peaceful in years. Not since their mother died. And he hadn’t been the same since then, she knew that for sure. Maybe in a way he had been begging for this all along so that he could finally be with his wife again. Lesly let out a shaky sigh and closed her eyes. She’d let the doctors tell them what other tests revealed and then she and Dane could make the decision together. She stood to her feet and walked outside, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Chris.

“Hey,” he didn’t have to say anything else. Lesly collapsed into his arms and let out a huge sob into his chest. Chris just held her and let her cry.

Two days later, the doctors entered Mr. Parsons room with grim expressions. Lesly hadn’t left her father’s side, even though Chris had tried to coerce her to at least go home and eat a decent meal and maybe take a nap. Lesly refused. Her reasoning was if something changed she wanted to be there. Dane, on the other hand, had left the night of the stroke and hadn’t been back. Brianne texted Lesly every so often to let her know he’d been taking it really hard and would try to get back as soon as possible.

“His condition hasn’t changed, Lesly. The decision is up to you and Dane. If he survives, he will basically need round the clock care and you would need to look into getting him into a nursing home or have a live-in nurse. He would need to be fed through a tube, have a catheter put in, and it looks like he might lose his ability to speak,” the doctor was sympathetic but was looking at Lesly with a serious expression on his face.

She cleared her throat then spoke. “So, what you’re telling me is that he’s going to be a vegetable, right?” she looked up at the doctor’s trying to gage his expression. “He’s not ever going to be the way he was? No matter how much time goes by?”

“The stroke was extremely massive. If he does make it, I don’t know how long he will last, given what I’ve just told you. But again, it’s up to you and Dane. You are his next of kin and you need to decide what you think is best. I encourage and urge you to think in light of all that you know and what you think your father would want,” the doctor went to leave, then turned to face Lesly. “I’m sorry, Lesly. I know this decision isn’t an easy one.”

Lesly shook her head, “No, it’s not. But you’ve given me a lot to decipher.” She picked up her phone and called her brother and told him to come to the hospital immediately. When he arrived, Dane was considerably disheveled and angry. He wanted to talk to the doctors himself. He wanted to hear from someone other than Lesly that there was really no hope anymore for his father. When the doctor came back and explained, Dane punched the wall and then sunk down in a chair.

“Dane,” Lesly’s voice was soft but critical. “I don’t want to-“

“Then don’t!” Dane snapped at her, causing Chris to look over at him.

“But-“ Lesly started again and Dane cut her off.

“No, Lesly. We can’t. I’m not ready to do this!” he started to cry. Lesly looked over at Chris, her entire body racked with guilt. He wanted nothing more than to take her away from all of it.

“I think we’re out of time, Dane. He’s not breathing without that machine hooked up to him and-“

“Dammit, Lesly, I know that!” Dane stood up abruptly and threw his ball cap on the floor. “But maybe it’ll change! Maybe tomorrow he will wake up and it’ll all be fine again!”

“He’s never going to be fine again!” Lesly snapped back. “Maybe if you had gone over and checked on him sooner, this wouldn’t have happened!” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and immediately she regretted saying it.

Dane didn’t say anything, just shook his head, grabbed Brianne’s hand and headed for the elevator. He turned to her just before they got on. “Call me if anything changes. That is if you aren’t too busy tryin’ to figure out if there’s anything else I managed to screw up.”

“Dane, no, wait. I didn’t mean-“ Lesly ran after him, but the door closed on her. She burst into tears and Chris came behind her and pulled her towards him. She sobbed once again into his chest and before she could protest, he led her out of the hospital and towards his car in the parking lot. She didn’t have the energy to argue with him about staying. She was too exhausted. She only heard his conversation on the phone with her father’s doctor.

“Hi, Doctor Paddimore? This is Chris Kirkpatrick. I’m a friend of the Parsons family and I’m taking Lesly home to rest for a bit. Could you please call us tomorrow morning, whether or not there’s been a change in Mr. Parsons condition? Thank you,” he hung up and looked over at Lesly, who was curled into a ball in his passenger seat. “We’re going to your house. I’m going to order us Chinese. You’re going to take a shower and go to sleep and I’ll stand by the phone tonight, ok? And don’t argue with me because you know for once I’m right.”

Lesly had no energy to respond. All of it had been taken up at the hospital with her father and that last encounter with Dane. She was quiet the whole ride home, until Chris pulled into her driveway. She looked over at him and he smiled at her.

“I know it’s not Dane’s fault,” Lesly nearly whispered. “I just…” she couldn’t finish her thought because the tears had started yet again. Chris reached over and covered both of her hands with his.

“Shh. It’s okay. Let’s go inside,” he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

After trying to force herself to eat a few bites of fried rice, Lesly had given up and put the rest of the Chinese food in the refrigerator. She walked back into the living room and settled next to Chris on the couch, snuggling up to him and feeling as though it was always this normal and easy when he was in town. He had taken care of her like never before.

“Thanks,” she whispered, reaching up to kiss his cheek. Chris looked down at her and kissed her back. She nestled her head on his chest and sighed, more content than she’d been in a long time, even with all of the craziness that was going on in her family. Chris had been wonderful through all of it.

He, on the other hand, was feeling as though lightening might strike him at any minute. He knew he had to be honest with her about Stephanie and the baby, but how could he at a time like this? He couldn’t risk causing Lesly any more grief and pain than she already was experiencing with her father’s impending death right on the horizon. So Chris just held her tighter and decided that when it had all settled, he’d tell her everything. But yet the more the evening went on, the more the pit in his stomach felt as if it could swallow him whole.

“Les,” he spoke softly, not knowing if she’d fallen asleep or not.

“Yeah?” she whispered back, not moving from her position cuddled next to him.

“Les, there’s something I need to tell you. I just need to get it out and I need you to-“

The phone rang right at that instant and Lesly dove for it. He watched her expression change immediately from a small glimmer of hope to devastation. Her father had died.

**

“Mommy!” James heard Sutton’s gleeful voice coming through on the other end of the line. She and JC had accessed the ship’s telephone and even though it was costing them more than James wanted to think about, she didn’t care. It had been a week and a half since she’d heard her little girl’s voice and right now it sounded like the most beautiful sound in the world.

They’d called their house, not getting an answer and then called Lesly’s cell phone. When Chris had answered and told them the news about Lesly’s father, James had been heartbroken for her friend. The funeral would be the day before she and JC were back and Chris promised James that he’d tell Lesly to take off as long as she needed and that she’d be over to see her as soon as she and JC were back home. When James had called her parents, Mrs. Ryan had filled her in on more of the details. Mr. Parsons had ultimately died of a massive stroke and heart failure.

“Hi, my sweet girl!” James responded. “How are you?!”

“I’m good. But did you hear about Lesly, Mommy?”

“I did, sweetie. You make sure the next time you see her to give her a big hug,”

“I miss you, Mommy. Are you and Daddy almost home? Can I talk to Daddy?”

James handed the phone over to JC, who’d been trying to listen in next to James. “Hi, baby girl. I miss you!” JC immediately said to Sutton.

“I miss you, too, Daddy. Hurry back, okay?...”

They talked to her for a few minutes more, then to James’ mom, who told them the twins were perfectly fine and that Olivia had slept all through the night, but Landon was up cutting a tooth. When James hung up, she could almost feel how exhausted her mother was. The cruise had been wonderful and extremely relaxing and as for making up for lost time, she knew she and JC had definitely caught up and then some. She also knew when they came home, it could be a long while before they were able to so freely make love like they had. She looked at him right then and there and said, “We have four days left. We better use them wisely.”

“Right behind you, babe,” JC replied, nearly sprinting back to their room.

Lesly had been in awe of Chris for the last three days. Not only had he stayed by her side, spending every waking moment with her, but he’d also taken care of all the funeral arrangements. Mr. Parsons was to be cremated and had written in a living will, written years ago, that he wanted his ashes scattered in the city park at the end of Main Street. It was where he’d proposed to Lesly’s mother. Chris helped Dane and Lesly pay for the cremation and stayed up with them into the wee hours of the night making sure all of Mr. Parsons’ friends and their family had been called and notified. He’d gone over to Brewster’s and put a “Closed Until Further Notice Due to Family Emergency” sign in the front window so that Lesly wasn’t worried about business for James. He knew James would be the first to suggest that and he also knew it was best for Lesly not to have to worry about something else.

The funeral was held at the Methodist church in town and many old friends of the Parsons’ showed up. It wasn’t packed by any means, but there were several people there that Lesly hadn’t seen in ages. She sat through the service in a state of shock that had crept in throughout the week of her father’s death. How could she have lost both of her parents before she even hit forty? She nestled herself against the crook of Chris’ shoulder and silently cried. Next to her sat Dane and Brianne and Griffin, who really had no clue as to what was going on, but Brianne had insisted on bringing him anyway.

At the end of the service, Lesly filed behind her brother and walked out of the church into the awaiting limo outside. Chris eventually joined and soon the limo was headed towards her parents’ house, which would be put on the market within the month. Her heart sank. She had just lost her last parent, now she would lose her childhood home, too. The shaky sigh she let loose only caused Chris to squeeze onto her hand tighter. She looked up at him and smiled. How would she have ever gotten through this without him? He had definitely gained her respect back, that was for sure. Maybe they could start over now. The past was behind them. Stephanie hadn’t been brought up once. Yes, it was a new beginning. Even though she’d had to lose a lot in such a short amount of time, Lesly knew she had Chris back. And he was back for good, she felt.

People filed in and out of the house for the next five or six hours. Close friends of her parents, her father’s younger brother and his wife, Chad and Lane, who’d flown back the night before, James’ parents, Lesly and Dane’s Aunt Kathleen, employees from Brewster’s. It was such a sweet show of condolences that Lesly felt overwhelmed. She’d had no idea so many people cared. By the end of the evening, it was just herself, Chris, Chad, and Lane laughing together in the living room, a bottle of Merlot on the coffee table and empty Tupperware that had contained lasagnas, casseroles, and one unidentified stew that Brianne’s mother had made. Chad had guessed it might be venison, to which Chris had promptly gagged. Lesly had settled once again next to him and felt more content than she had in a while. For the time being, the sadness seemed to melt away and she was enjoying just being with people who could make her forget about why they were sitting in her father’s home without her father around.

“You know, Les, I could revamp this place. Make it really stellar,” Chad took a gulp of wine, then set his glass on the end table next to him. “I’d do it for nothing, you know. I just think you might be able to get more money for it if you spruced it up a bit.” He looked at the shag carpet below him. “Not that this shag isn’t exquisite and a great reminder of why the 70s style of home isn’t with us anymore.” Everyone chuckled and Chad looked at Lesly. “Seriously. You let me know. No charge.”

“Thanks, Chad,” Lesly smiled gratefully at him. “That would be really great. I’d need to talk to Dane first, but I think that it might be a great idea. And we’d pay you something.”

Chad held his hands up and shook his head. “Nope. I won’t take it. Besides, it will get my mind on a new project.” He looked at Lane. “Are you ready, babe?”

Lane nodded and looked sheepishly at Lesly and Chris. “Sorry guys, but we’re still on California time. We’ve also got a Skype date with an adoption agency in China tomorrow. So wish us luck.”

“Wow! That’s amazing, guys!” Lesly stood to give them both hugs. “Please let me know how it turns out.”

Chad smiled broadly and nodded. “Of course. We hope to have little Jewel here within the next six months.”

“You already know you’re getting a girl?” Chris piped up and stood to walk with them to the front door.

“Most of the adoptions tend to be for little girls,” Lane answered. “But we’ll take what we’re given. If it’s a boy, then we hope to have little Oliver here in a few months. We’ll see, though.” Lane hugged Lesly. “Let me know if you have any trouble with anything regarding hospital bills or what not. I’d be happy to help you out with that.”

“You’re awesome, Lane. Thank you,” Lesly kissed his cheek. “The Chasez’s get back tomorrow. We should all get together sometime next week. I’ll need to get my mind off of everything.”

Chad looked over at Chris and then back at Lesly. “So, um, is this-“ he waved his hand between the two of them. “-back on I’m assuming?”

Lesly looked over at Chris who smiled, hoping no one could feel just how anxious he was right at that moment. Once the news about Stephanie was out, he knew the three of them wouldn’t be so sweet towards him. But he also knew that spilling the beans now on the day of Lesly’s father’s funeral was out of the question. “Yes,” Lesly winked at Chris. “Well, yes, if he behaves himself.”

“Ooh, naughty naughty!” Chad raised an eyebrow.

Lane rolled his eyes, “Honestly, Chad, I don’t think she meant in that type of way.”

“What other way would she mean?” Chad interjected.

“We need to go home,” Lane sighed and headed out the door after waving goodbye to Chris and Lesly. Before she shut the door, she heard Lane mutter, “I swear it is not always about sex!”

“Anything can be about sex!” Chad was retorting as they got into the car. Lesly couldn’t help but laugh aloud and shut the door. She turned and faced Chris who was getting his jacket off of the couch.

“Are you ready?” he asked, walking towards her.

Lesly took a look around the empty house. Her father’s chair was draped with sympathy cards and floral arrangements all around the base of it. She could hear the air condition unit switch on and it made her suddenly nostalgic for when she was a little girl and knew when she heard that noise that it was late and she should be asleep. She looked at Chris and slowly nodded. “Yeah. I think so. I have to come back later this week and start packing up stuff,” she sighed and Chris followed her out the door.

Chris wasn’t going to leave her any time soon. Two days later he was still right by her side, helping her go through her father’s closet. He’d ignored three texts from Stephanie that day demanding to know where he was and when he was coming back and that she had a “very important appointment” the next day. He didn’t want to care. Even though most of the time had been spent in complete and utter devastation with Lesly’s family, he had finally been able to see what he’d missed not being with her. He didn’t want to go back to Orlando. He’d become all too familiar with things in Grayson and he liked it like that. The night before, James and JC had been over and the four of them had cooked dinner together. It felt like nothing Chris had ever experienced before. He knew why JC liked it here so much. No one rushed, everything had its place, and people did things the way they’d been done for years. He knew that that could become tiresome, but he didn’t care. He wanted to be here in Grayson. He wanted to be here with Lesly.

“Be right back, baby. Gonna run to the bathroom real fast,” Chris stood from his position on the floor where he’d been for the last hour or so. They’d successfully gone through most of Mr. Parsons shirts and ties and Lesly had kept one of each to put in her memory box with a few things of her mother’s.

“Ok. I’m gonna start on Dad’s dresser drawers,” she stood to her feet and stretched.

“Hey,” he pulled her towards him. “I want you to know I am enjoying all of this. I know it’s not been the best time for you, but being here with you, well, it’s all I want.” He kissed her softly and Lesly kissed him back, suddenly wanting nothing more but to be with him. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket and since she was expecting a call from Dane about possibly letting Chad redo some of the house, she knew she had to answer it.

“Sorry,” she gently pushed him away and Chris kissed her once more before she answered. He walked out of the room and down to the bathroom.

“Hello?” Lesly hadn’t recognized the number and figured if it wasn’t Chad it was probably someone from the insurance company about her father’s policy. Or the hospital. Or any number of people. It was certainly not at all who Lesly expected on the other end.

“Is this Lesly?” came a female’s voice. It was sharp and loud and not friendly sounding at all.

“Yes, who is this?” Lesly sat on the edge of her father’s bed.

“This, you little bitch, is Stephanie. I don’t think you need to know my last name,”

Lesly felt her heart begin to race. “How the hell did you get my number?!”

“That’s not your concern,” Stephanie snapped. “What I’d like to know is where is Chris? And don’t tell me you don’t know because I know he came to see you!”

“He’s here with me, but not that it’s any of your business!” Lesly raised her voice. She was fuming. How dare this woman call her!

“Actually, sweetie, it is,” Stephanie’s voice became very patronizing. “You see, Chris and I are having a baby in about five months and I’ve got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. So I’d like to speak to him and find out why the hell he’s ignoring my text messages!”

Lesly didn’t know how to respond. She sat there frozen. Had she just heard what she thought she’d heard? Stephanie was pregnant with Chris’ child? But he’d been here for the last two weeks with her! He certainly would have said something. He hadn’t even mentioned her once.

“Hello!” Stephanie screeched. “Where is he, Lesly?!”

“I-I,” Lesly couldn’t seem to find the words to speak. That’s when Chris came in and saw the expression on her face.

“What is it?” he whispered and came over to her.

Lesly felt numb. And hurt. So, so hurt. She looked up at him and without blinking said, “This is Stephanie. She wants to know if you’re coming to her doctor’s appointment with her tomorrow.” Lesly stood and shoved the phone into Chris’ hands. She walked down the hall and suddenly realized she had no idea where she was even going. They’d come here in his car. She couldn’t walk home. It was too far. She needed to call James. He had her phone. She needed to sit down. Or lie. Or punch something. Or punch him.

She heard him approaching down the hall. “Lesly,”

Suddenly, a rage overcame her that she was sure had been sequestered from the moment he’d ever mentioned Stephanie to her. She began to punch at him and hit him and slap him and kick him over and over and over again. Tears streamed down her face. She grunted loudly as she pushed him against the wall and punched his stomach. He didn’t retaliate at first and then her fist came flying at his left eye.

“Shit!” he covered his face and stumbled over to the couch. “Damn, Lesly!”

“I hate you!” she screamed at him. “Get out!”

“Lesly, please, please let me explain-“ he was still holding his eye and trying to look at her at the same time.

Lesly’s body was wracked with sobs and she couldn’t get anything out without crying. She began to try and catch her breath but every time she breathed in, all she felt was another sob coming out. She didn’t know how long she stood there trying to catch her breath, but finally she spoke. “Fine. Explain. Explain what the hell you’ve been doing here this whole time? Playing me? My father was on his death bed and you knew that Stephanie was knocked up with your kid?! Chris, I don’t want to hear it. I’m so done with this! I cannot believe I ever, ever thought I could love you. You are a lying piece of shit and I don’t ever want to see you again. I mean it!”

“Lesly, please, I wasn’t playing you. I don’t even know if this kid is mine or not! I came back here to tell you because I love you and I wanted to start over fresh. I didn’t know all of this was going to happen with your dad! I wanted to wait until things calmed down and then talk to you!” Chris’ voice was muffled behind his hand, still holding his eye, which was throbbing with pain. He had no idea she could throw a punch like she had.

“Well, aren’t you just so sweet and chivalrous to want to wait,” Lesly spat at him sarcastically. “Wow. I really know how to pick ‘em, don’t I?”

“Please, Les, you have to understand-“

“No, I don’t, Chris,” Lesly went back into her father’s bedroom and picked up her phone, which was on the bed where Chris had left it. She dialed James’ cell phone.

“Hey, Les!” came James’ voice on the other end. “What’s up-“

“I need you to come get me at my dad’s house. I’ll explain later,” Lesly said.

“Oh, sure, OK. Is everything-“

“I’ll tell you when you get here,” Lesly cut her off.

“Alright. Be there in ten,” James hung up.

Lesly turned to Chris. “Get out. I don’t want you here when James gets here.”

Chris stood to his feet and took his hand away from his eye. Lesly had to wince and turn away. It was swelling by the second and there were tiny spots of blood on one side of it. “Um, yeah, about that. No way I can drive like this. Can I get some ice?”

“Is it a matter of ability?” Lesly turned away from him and sat down on the loveseat.

“Actually, yeah, it is,” Chris was trying to be funny, but Lesly ignored him. She looked down at her hands and saw that three of her fingers on her right hand were bleeding and her ring finger was turned in a funny way. “Is your hand okay?” he asked, but Lesly didn’t respond. She heard him sigh and stand to his feet and walk to the kitchen. In a minute she felt him in front of her and looked up. He was holding an ice pack over his eye and giving her the extra one from the freezer. “Put that on your finger. You’ll need to-“

“Don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped and grabbed the ice pack from him. It felt good against her hand. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the cushion of the loveseat. She could feel tears forming yet again and was too tired to stop them.

“Les, please. Please know it was you. It was always you. I was stupid for one night back in July. I swear, I don’t really even think this is my kid,” Chris tried to sit next to her but Lesly moved so that he got the hint. “I’m sorry. I really was going to say something, but with everything-“

“Chris, I really don’t care anymore,” Lesly sniffed. “I just don’t want to hear you talk. I’m done. Please call whoever you need to call so you can get out of here before-“

At that minute the doorbell rang and Chris stood to answer it. James came in and looked from him to Lesly and back again. “Um, what happened?” she ventured to ask, after she shut the door behind her. “Lesly? What happened?”

“I told her about Stephanie,” Chris mumbled. “She didn’t take it well.”

James frowned at Chris and narrowed her eyes, “Why the hell would you tell her that right now?!”

Chris shook his head and went back to the couch. “Because Stephanie got her phone number and called her and decided to break the news,”

Lesly looked up at James. “Did you know?!”

“Only because Josh told me, Les. I didn’t feel like it was my place to tell you,” James answered and went over to Lesly.

“Fine. Who else knows? Does Sutton know?” she asked, sarcastically.

“Lesly, of course not. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but-“

“Whatever. Just take me home, okay? I don’t want to be around him right now. Or ever for that matter. I just need to be where he isn’t as soon as possible,” Lesly stood slowly to her feet and went to the bedroom to grab her purse.

“I’ll drop you off at Chad’s,” James looked over at Chris. “Get your keys and Josh will come back later today so you can get your car. Obviously, you’re not going to be driving right now.”

Lesly came back into the living room with her purse and a bag filled with a few items from her father’s bedroom. “He’s not coming with us,” she said to James, as they headed for the door.

“Yes, he is. I’m dropping him off at Chad’s,” James sighed, suddenly feeling as if she were in the middle of some teenage soap opera. “And you’re coming back to our house,” she said to Lesly. “I don’t want you crying by yourself at home.”

By the time James had dropped off Chris, stopped off at Lesly’s so that Lesly could grab a few things, and then come home it was almost dinner. Sutton was happily playing in the living room with her Barbie dolls and watching Finding Nemo. JC had just put the twins in their Bumpo seats when both James and Lesly walked in. Lesly didn’t say anything, simply headed towards the guest bedroom and shut the door behind her. She threw herself on the bed and expected a huge sob to escape, but nothing came out. Her fingers were throbbing and about that time, James came in with a fresh ice pack, a tray of tissues and a cup of coffee.

“We’re having tacos for dinner,” she told Lesly. “You don’t have to eat if you don’t feel like it, but the offer’s there. And Les, you can stay here as long as you want to.”

“James, I’m fine. I just-“ Lesly started, but James shook her head and sat down next to her.

“You’re not fine. You’ve just lost a parent and a boyfriend in a matter of three days. And I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but I really just felt like it was Chris’ job to do that. Had I known he was going to take this long, I would’ve said something,” James reached over and hugged Lesly. “You’re probably my best girlfriend in this town and I’m going to do what best friends do and be there for you. I would kick his ass, but from the looks of it, it looks like you took care of that.”

Lesly let out a small laugh. “Thanks, James. I’m just going to drink my coffee and be by myself for a while, if that’s OK.”

James nodded, “Fine by me. I’m going to feed the fam and we’ll probably watch a movie after the kids are asleep. We’ll save you some tacos.” James got up and walked out of the room. Lesly took the coffee cup off of the tray and leaned back against the plush pillows. Her heart hurt more now than it had ever hurt before, but just knowing she was in a house with people that truly cared about her made all the difference in the world.

“…don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come over,” JC was saying into his phone when James came into the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow and JC mouthed, “Chris!” at her. She shook her head vehemently and JC nodded in agreement. He went back to his conversation. “Look, dude, I know that you mean well and I’m sorry about your eye, but it’s done, man. Joey and I tried to warn you. If I were you, I’d go back to Orlando as soon as you can and deal with Stephanie. Ok. Well, do what you want I guess, but if you show up here, it’s not going to be the best decision you’ve ever made.”

“Who’s showing up here, Mommy?” Sutton asked, coming into the kitchen having heard the last part of JC’s conversation.

“Nobody,” James muttered, and went over to the island in the middle of the kitchen. “Sutton, go sit down. It’s almost time for dinner.”

Six Weeks Later

Grief was a strange emotion. There were some days that Lesly felt as though she could conquer the world and that the pain of losing her last parent had gone. Then she’d think about Chris and how much he’d hurt her and then remember it had been the same week her father had died. There were other days that it hurt so much that it was hard to get out of bed and face anything. And the anger that was building inside scared her because she often wondered how it would manifest itself. She’d heard about people who’d gone crazy after experiencing loss like she had and it frightened her. She didn’t want to be the resident crazy person in Grayson, but yet she had no idea how to express any of what she was feeling. Sometimes she’d write it down in a journal or type it into a word document on her computer. But then she’d rip out the page or delete the entry and wonder how to start it over again.

She hadn’t heard from Chris at all. He hadn’t texted or called and even though she was dying to find out from James if he’d tried asking about her through JC, she held back because it was better not knowing. It was better trying to forget Chris Kirkpatrick even existed and had ever been a part of her life.

And then there was Gabe. She’d run into his mother at Kroger two weeks after the funeral and his mother informed her that Gabe had gone back to California to try and settle his divorce. When Lesly had looked puzzled, Mrs. DeAngeles then went on to inform her that Gabe was going through a messy divorce and had come out to Grayson to get some closure. Lesly didn’t dare mention that she’d slept with Gabe while he’d been home, because it seemed to her that Mrs. DeAngeles had had no idea. It then made Lesly realize how stupid she’d been with that entire situation and had gone crawling back to James begging for forgiveness about not believing her story with the girl at the sex shop. It all made sense to her now. Gabe had only used her.

Even though James had told her she could take off as much time as she needed, Lesly went back to work almost immediately. She needed to be with other people, especially now that the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. James had already told her that she could spend Christmas with her and JC because Thanksgiving for Lesly had been an absolute disaster. She’d spent it with Dane and Briane at Briane’s mother’s apartment. It was crowded, Briane’s relatives were quite loud, and the food had been cold when everyone had sat down to eat. By the time Lesly left, she was more thankful to be away from her family than anything else that day.

She wanted things back to normal, even though she really didn’t know what “normal” looked like anymore. The last month or so had been a whirlwind of hurt and disappointment and even though Lesly knew she’d grow out of all of this into a stronger person, she still felt as though she was spiraling down the world’s biggest black hole.

Chris had not forgotten her. In fact, she was all he thought about. He barely talked to Stephanie, except when they had to go to the doctor’s office together. He tried to convince himself that things would be easier once the baby got here, but he knew it was a lie. If anything, life would only get more difficult and Stephanie would be in his world forever. Chris had texted and talked to JC several times, but JC told him he wasn’t going to take sides and that he should figure out a way to get over Lesly. Chris knew he had to, he just didn’t know how.

“Here,” Stephanie thrust a piece of cardstock at him, when he met her at the doctor’s office.

“What is it?” he looked at her warily, and then looked down at the cardstock in his hand. He rolled his eyes when he saw what it was. An invitation to a couple’s shower for him and Stephanie. He couldn’t believe it. They were anything but a couple…more like a sick arrangement of some sort thrust together because she was supposedly having his baby.

“And you can invite Josh and Jamie,” Stephanie told him, almost giving him a patronizing smile.

“James,” Chris cleared his throat.

“Well, whatever. You can invite her,” Stephanie sighed, and took the invitation from him. “I just need their address.” She began to dig around in her purse for something.

“Wait, are you only inviting them so Lesly will find out?” he asked her, raising an eyebrow as he sat down.

“No. I’m inviting them because you have some sick connection with them and I know you’ll want them there,” Stephanie didn’t look up at him.

“Why do I not believe you,” Chris muttered, and rubbed his face in his hands.

“That’s your problem, sweetie,” Stephanie snapped and pulled out her phone and started to text someone. “Invite them or don’t, I don’t care. I was just trying to be a good girlfriend.”

“You are not my girlfriend. We’ve been over that,” Chris didn’t bother looking at her when he spoke. He leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes, and praying for the whole ordeal to be over soon. He’d be a good father, but he’d be damned if Stephanie thought she was getting something out of this after the baby came.

JC opened the invitation and knew as soon as James saw it, it would go in the trash. There was no way she’d betray Lesly like that. He sighed and opened the pantry where the garbage can sat in the kitchen. Just as he went to throw it in, James walked in with a load of laundry and Sutton trailing behind her.

“But it’s not that cold, Mommy!” Sutton was protesting. “It’s sunny outside!”

“It’s 60 degrees today and you’re not going swimming,” James sighed, passing JC. “What’s that?” she looked at the invitation still in his hand.

“Um, we got an invitation,” JC answered, as James went back into the laundry room to put the clothes in the wash.

“To what?” James called, as she started the wash. “Sutton, no, stop asking. I told you it’s too cold. We can go outside and color with your chalk on the pavement, but you’re not swimming.”

“Well,” JC coughed. “Chris and Stephanie’s baby shower.”

“Daddy, do you think it’s too cold?” Sutton persisted and JC looked down at his daughter and shook his head.

“You’re not playing that card with me. You heard your mom. It’s too cold. Sorry, kiddo,” he cupped her chin in between his thumb and forefinger. “Go find something else to do.”

James walked back into the kitchen and took the invitation from her husband. She read it and snorted, shaking her head. “I have a feeling this was all Stephanie.”

“I’m sure it was,” JC answered. “And I already know we’re not going to go. I was just throwing it away when you walked in.”

James smiled at him. “Though it would be interesting to see what happened,”

JC looked at her incredulously. “What are you saying? We should go?”

James shrugged. “I’ll talk to Lesly first and see what she thinks about us going. But I think it would be a circus act and quite entertaining. Plus, it would definitely give me a chance to see just who this woman is that has such a hold on Chris.”

“Could we bring a DNA test with us? Make him take one? I just still can’t believe that kid is his,” JC said. “I believe he probably had sex with her when she says, but Chris has always said that Stephanie bounced back and forth with him with other guys all the time. He’s probably the only one that can give her stability with child support every month.”

“I think you’re right,” James nodded and looked back down at the invitation. “Also, who does their baby invites in purple and leopard print? Are we going to a bachelorette party or a baby shower?!” She shook her head and placed the invitation on the counter. Sutton walked into the kitchen dressed in her bathing suit.

“What do you think you’re doing?” James couldn’t help but nearly burst out laughing at her stubborn daughter.

“You said it was too cold to swim but can I run around in the sprinkler?” Sutton asked, just as serious as she could be.

It was JC’s turn to laugh. “Sutton Elizabeth Chasez. You are something else. No, you’re not doing anything outside that involves water. But I tell you what. You can go upstairs and play in the Jacuzzi in our bathroom. Do you want to do that?”

Knowing she was defeated, Sutton let out a sigh and muttered, “Ok,” before turning quickly and running toward her parents’ bedroom.

The next day at work, James showed Lesly the invitation for the couples shower for Chris and Stephanie. “I’m only going to go if you say it’s OK. The only reason we even thought about it was to see exactly who this girl is and judging from the invitations, it should be interesting for sure.”

Lesly looked at the invite in James’ hand. She couldn’t help but smirk at it. It was ridiculous. Purple leopard print for a baby shower. She could see why James and JC wanted to see for themselves what it entailed. Lesly looked at James. “Yeah. As long as you promise to fill me in on every tacky detail.”

James grinned at her friend. “It would be my honor, Les.”

Chris sat nervously and tapped his fingers against the arm of the sofa at Stephanie’s mother’s house. The entire living room had been draped in purple and everything from the food to the decorations was either purple, brown, or black to match the leopard print theme. Stephanie was having a girl and purple was her favorite color. Even though she was getting closer and closer to the due date, Chris still had yet to feel any sort of connection with the child in her womb. He’d tried to be excited, but the more he saw Stephanie, the more he wished there was a way to run the other way. He’d already told Joey that he was taking a paternity test just as soon as he was able.

The guests were mostly friends of Stephanie’s. Chris was relieved when he saw Joey and Kelly and then James and JC walk through the door. Both couples came over and sat next to him on the sofa.

“Thanks for coming,” he leaned over to JC and James. “It really means a lot.”

“We’re here for you,” JC said and gave Chris’ knee a small pat.

At that moment, Stephanie’s mother stood up to welcome everyone. She was just as skanky looking as Stephanie, James was thinking to herself. Stephanie’s mother wore thick eyeliner, had on too much lipstick, and looked as though the last surgery on her eyelift had gone terribly wrong. She spoke with a husky voice that told everyone she’d spent most of her life smoking non-filtered cigarettes. “We’re so excited for Steph and Chris! We can’t wait for Baby Rowena to get here!”

“Rowena?!” Joey looked over at Chris, who just shrugged.

“I have no say in this kid’s life. I’m just a paycheck,” Chris muttered, just loud enough for his friends to hear.

“Yes, Rowena Amanda Jaid Kirkpatrick!” Stephanie beamed from the other side of the room.

“Good luck learning to spell all of that,” JC whispered to James, who stifled a giggle.

“Let’s open presents now, Mom,” Stephanie pointed to the pile of presents next to her. “Chris, come over here and help me open them!”

“I’m good where I am,” Chris responded, prompting Stephanie to glare at him.

“Sweetie, this is our shower for our baby. You need to come over here and open our presents!” she was trying not to snap, but everyone could plainly see how obvious it was that the two shower honorees were not at all getting along.

“Oh, let him sit there,” Stephanie’s mother rolled her eyes. “He’s just being lazy.”

“I’m not being lazy,” Chris retorted. He reluctantly got up and went to sit next to Stephanie. She tossed a glaring smile over at JC and James and Joey and Kelly.

“Are we supposed to feel threatened?” Kelly whispered to James, who hid her face in JC’s arm to keep from laughing aloud. She looked back at Kelly and shrugged, rolling her eyes. Their attention was now focused on Stephanie, who, when opening a gift would practically throw it at Chris and wait for her friends to gush and ooh and ah over it. James thought most of the baby outfits she’d registered for were extremely tacky and had no idea where she’d even found them.

“Who knew they made leopard print and fuschia onesies?” she told JC later on, as they made their way through the food table in the kitchen.

“I hope you’re not getting any ideas for Olivia’s new outfits,” he winked at her and James shook her head. “Hey, I’ll take our plates. Can you grab us two sodas?”

“Sure,” James handed him her plate of food and went over to the drink table. As she was pouring her drink, she heard two voices behind her getting food. Two of Stephanie’s friends, no doubt, judging from the conversation.

“Do you think Chris knows?”

“You mean about Andy? Hell no. She’s not stupid. Andy’s got three jobs. She knows if she claims Chris is the father, she’ll get more money. Besides, all she’s gotta do is stay with him long enough to get child support once the baby’s born,”

“Yeah, but won’t they notice something’s up when the baby looks nothing like Chris? And isn’t Andy from Barbados or something?”

“No, he’s from Cuba,”

“Well, see, you can’t pass off a Cuban baby as Chris’s,”

“Maybe. He’s kinda dark complexioned…”

James had heard enough but there was no way to get out of the situation she was in without drawing attention to herself. Thankfully, one of the girls’ cell phone rang and it was apparently someone both of them knew, so they were distracted enough for James to bolt out of the kitchen and go back into the living room. She was fuming. She wanted to tell Stephanie off right then and there but she refused to make a scene. Her heart was racing. Chris had to know and he had to know sooner than later.

“We have to take Chris to dinner,” she told JC. “I just overheard a conversation that proves he’s not this baby’s dad.”

“Wait, what?!” Joey had overheard her and soon he and Kelly were in on everything. James tried to be as discreet as possible while filling them all in and as she did, JC looked over at Chris who was sitting alone, completely miserable. He stood and walked over to his friend.

“Hey, I hope you don’t have any plans after this. We all want to take you out for dinner. And once you hear what we have to tell you, probably a few drinks,” he told Chris. “Trust me, this is going to make your entire year.”

“Just tell me now,” Chris sighed, looking up at JC. “I’m exhausted and all I want to do is go home.”

JC shook his head. “I can’t do that, man. It would cause a scene.”

“I don’t care,” Chris responded. “I’m over all of this. Seriously. I’m done.”

JC nodded and patted Chris’s shoulder. He leaned down and quietly said, “Ask her who Andy is,” then walked back over to James, Joey and Kelly.

Chris waited for Stephanie to sit down again and while everyone was enjoying their food, he spoke, loud enough for all of the guests to hear him and said, “So, Steph, who’s Andy?”

Silence.

James reached over and grabbed JC’s arm, daring herself to look at what was about to unfold.

“I’ll ask you again. Who’s Andy?” Chris folded his arms and looked at her, waiting for Stephanie to say something.

“He, um, he’s a friend. What? I can’t have friends who are males? Should we get started on your little tramp in Georgia?” Stephanie smirked over at James, who went to say something, but JC put his hand on her leg and squeezed it, letting her know to keep quiet for now.

“Oh my god, he knows!” said one of the girls that James had overheard in the kitchen.

“Knows? Knows what?” Chris asked, waiting for Stephanie’s answer.

“Nothing!” Stephanie snapped and looked over at her friend. “Shut up, Renee!”

“No, I want to know what I supposedly am supposed to know,” Chris continued. “Who’s Andy and what should I know?”

“Andy is a friend. I told you that!” Stephanie was getting frustrated and the whole room was silent, watching the scene unfold before them.

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” Chris looked over at Renee. “Renee, what am I supposed to know?”

“I think he really does know but he just wants you to say it,” said the other girl who was in the conversation from earlier.

“Well, I’m not saying anything!” Renee looked down at her food, suddenly becoming quite interested in her pigs in a blanket.

“Oh, but please enlighten me,” Chris said, somewhat patronizingly. “I’d hate for all of this to come out after the baby’s born and I’ve been slapped with child support fees or something.” He looked at Stephanie. “I want to know who Andy is. And I want the truth. And if you don’t tell me the truth, I have a few sources who could tell me.”

“Shit,” James mumbled, looking up at JC. “Is he serious? I feel like we’re all on trial now.”

“Oh, I think it’s about to come out. Don’t worry,” JC winked at his wife, and went back to the show in front of him.

“Fine. Andy is, is a friend-“ Stephanie started.

“Yeah, babe. We got that. We know he’s your friend. What else?” Chris interrupted her.

Stephanie glowered at him and continued, “He’s a friend. And he’s kind of into me. We met a few months ago and-“

“How many months ago? Five months ago?” Chris prodded.

“Would you let me finish!” she practically screamed.

“I think this is a conversation you two should have after the shower. Let’s play a game!” Stephanie’s mother interrupted them.

“No, Barb, I think we’d all like to hear about Andy,” Chris said, and looked back at Stephanie. “Because if he is who I’m guessing he might be, I’m wasting my time here.”

Stephanie gritted her teeth and glared back at Renee, who was now looking at her friend, terrified. “Andy is a friend and we have been friends for a few months. I don’t know when we met exactly….” She trailed off.

“Whatever, this is stupid. Chris, Andy is really the father of the baby. She just wants money from you,” Joey suddenly spoke up. The whole room turned to look from Joey back to Stephanie and Chris. “We kind of figured that out back when you found out she was pregnant. So it’s not like any of us-“ he pointed to JC, James, and Kelly-“are in the least bit surprised. But I think if you leave now, you could probably follow the Chasez’s back to Grayson and get your girl.”

“I think in here we could take down this brown siding and knock in that wall between the living room and the dining room,” Chad was saying as he and Lesly did a walk-through of her father’s house. She was only somewhat paying attention. She was still thinking of two days ago when Chris had showed up on her doorstep begging for forgiveness and trying to explain what had happened. She’d already been given an earful from James, who’d called her on the way back from Orlando and told her everything about the shower. Lesly had listened to James and she’d listened to Chris. But she was still skeptical of everything.

“Can we talk in a few days?” she’d responded to Chris. “I just, I need some time to think, ok?”

He’d agreed and said he completely understood. But now it had been two days and he’d texted her that morning asking if they could meet at Brewster’s to talk after lunch. She looked at her phone and it was nearing noon. She was meeting Chris at one o’clock and still wasn’t sure what exactly she’d tell him.

“….so if we did that, then we could update the flooring. I’m thinking some hardwood floors or even ripping up the carpet and painting the concrete…Um, Lesly, did you hear me?” Chad had been going on a mile a minute and as they were walking back toward the kitchen, he noticed Lesly was looking off in another direction.

“Huh? Yes. Sorry!” she shook her head and gave an apologetic smile. “I’m supposed to talk to Chris in an hour about everything. I guess you heard about the shower?”

“You mean the circus? Yes, James filled me in,” Chad said and couldn’t help but chuckle as he did. “I guess you’re wondering what to do next, huh?”

“I have no idea,” Lesly sighed and leaned against the wall of the living room that faced the kitchen. “A huge part of me wants to forget all of it. But then there’s a part of me that can’t. He cheated on me and whether or not we were officially a couple or not, we were still being pretty exclusive last summer. Or so I thought.”

Chad listened and nodded as she spoke. He bit his lip, wondering if he should speak. James had always told him he’d given her the best advice when it came to JC, but JC was his cousin. He only knew Chris from the times he’d come into town to see Lesly. But he figured whatever he said couldn’t hurt and Lesly was confiding in him right now anyway. “Look, honey. Chris obviously is crazy about you. Yes, he cheated on you and that was stupid of him. But I think he’s learned his lesson. I really do. I think he knows what he wants now.”

Lesly nodded her head slowly. “But I don’t want to be too quick to forgive and forget and then just jump right back into it. I did that with Gabe and look what that got me,”

Chad couldn’t help but make a face when she mentioned Gabe. “Honey, we all have mistakes that we wish we could take back. I sure as hell do from college. Don’t jump right back into it. Take it slow. But I think this could really be a good thing. I really do.”

Lesly reached over to hug Chad and kissed his cheek. “Lane’s a lucky man. And so’s that little baby whenever you get him or her.”

“Oh, did you not hear? We’re flying over after Christmas! It’s a girl! Little Jewel Estella Chasez-Wilkes! We just told James and Josh last night,” Chad was beaming. “She’s five months old and we have to go on two visits before we officially get her. But of course we’re making it a big trip across Asia. You know us. We can’t ever do anything on a small scale!”

Lesly giggled, “Congrats. I’m so excited for you guys!” she hugged him again and then went to collect her purse from the couch. “And thanks again for all you’re doing with the house. I hope we find a buyer for it soon.”

Chris walked into Brewster’s at quarter til one. James was still behind the counter and the shop was as busy as always. It was a chilly, December day in Grayson but the sun was shining and Main Street was busy outside with Christmas shoppers. James waved at him when he came in and Chris went ahead and ordered a Chai tea, then sat down at a table in the back so that he and Lesly wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Good luck,” James said, coming over toward him. “I know she’s anxious to talk to you.”

“Really?” Chris was surprised to hear that. He half expected her not to show up.

“Really, Chris. She’s ready to hear what you have to say,” James assured him. “I’m going to be in the back so it doesn’t look like I’m eavesdropping. But just so you know, she’ll probably fill me in on everything you say.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” he smiled and went back to his Chai. At that moment, the door opened and Lesly walked in. She spotted him and gave a half smile, then went behind the counter and fixed herself a Chai Apple Cider, then went and sat down across from Chris.

“Hi,” she said and sipped on her drink.

“Hi,” he answered and they both sat in silence for what felt like hours, but was really only seconds.

“So,” Lesly sighed and sipped her Chai again before she spoke. “I’m ready to hear you out. I don’t know what I want to do, but I do know that you’re an important part of my life. For some reason you just keep coming back and even though I should probably hate you forever for what you put me through, I’ve given it a lot of thought and I at least want to hear what you have to say.”

Chris nodded. “That’s fair,” he let out a breath and then spoke again. “What I put you through was dumb. I was dumb for doing it. I wasn’t thinking. In fact, before I met you, I didn’t really think much at all about anything. But there’s something about you that makes me want to be better at stuff. At life. I never wanted to be in a committed relationship because it scared the hell out of me. But then you came along and you made me realize that it was worth it. Being scared, I mean. Stephanie’s out of the picture. I promise you that. And I understand if you need to take time to think about me and you. But I want you to know I’m moving to Grayson after Christmas. I want to be near you and this town, I dunno, there’s something almost magical about it. It’s nice to be in a quiet place that makes you slow down, I guess. Les, I don’t want to be without you here but if I have to, I will try to make it up to you the rest of my life about how sorry I am that I was an ass.”

Lesly was almost dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe how sincere he sounded. How sincere he was. She was holding onto her mug as if it would break if she let go. She looked up at him and saw the pained look in his eyes and she almost relented. But then she remembered how she felt that day that she heard from Stephanie and then the fight they’d gotten into because of how hurt she was.

“Chris,” she spoke slowly, “I want to believe you. But I need time, okay? I need time to process you being here and how that’s going to be. I want to believe everything you said but I just, I don’t know if I can so fast all of a sudden, you know?” Chris nodded. She reached over and took his hand in her own. “I’m sorry. I just can’t do this right now. I still have a lot to think about.”

“Okay,” Chris said and squeezed her hand. “So, where does this leave us?”

“For now? Just being acquaintances. That’s all I can really give you,” Lesly stood and collected her purse. “I’ll talk to you later, Chris.”

“Acquaintances,” Chris muttered and rubbed his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. “I guess it’s better than enemies.”

“Of course it’s better than enemies!” Chad told him later that evening. Chad and Lane had invited Chris and the Chasez’s over for shrimp gumbo and to discuss the annual Christmas party that Chad had hosted every year. “Chris, you can’t expect her to jump your bones right away. She needs time!”

“Mommy, what does jumping your bones mean?” Sutton asked James, who was helping Lane take down the wine glasses.

“It’s just a silly expression that Uncle Chad shouldn’t be using,” James said, pointedly talking to Chad, who blushed and stammered something to cover his tracks. “Seriously, how long have you been in her life now? Can’t you control what comes out of your mouth?” James rolled her eyes at her best friend and went back to helping Lane set the wine glasses on the table.

“Sutton, go check on the twins,” JC ordered her sweetly. “Let me know if they’re behaving themselves.”

“You just want to have grown-up talk, Daddy,” Sutton told him matter-of-factly, and skipped out of the dining room.

“She’s getting too smart,” Lane commented, looking at JC and James, who nodded in agreement with each other.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Chad interjected, “Absolutely. You and Lesly have to start fresh. Acquaintances makes perfect sense.”

“But it just sounds so, I dunno, cold or something,” Chris went to take a glass from James and poured himself some Pinot Noir. “It’s like we don’t know each other very well or something.”

“Right now you don’t,” James spoke up and sat down across from him. “You and Lesly both need a fresh start with each other. You kind of put her through the ringer, you know. Just take it one day at a time. That’s how Josh and I started.”

“Yeah. And it only took a month for them to sleep together,” Chad blurted. “So, see, you-“ he stopped talking when he saw the looks he was getting from everyone else in the room. He cleared his throat and shook his head, “Never mind. Dinner’s ready. I’ll go get Sutton...”

The front of the house was decked out in red and green. Christmas music was piped through speakers inside and out. Red and green lanterns floated around in the pool as though they had always had a place there. The bar was stocked with expensive liquors, beer, and wine. The inside of the house looked like Santa’s workshop as it did every year. Chad had hired a real-life looking Santa Claus who was paid hourly to sit in front of the fireplace and have his picture taken with guests. When there wasn’t a line, he would mingle with guests in character and ask them what they wanted for Christmas. Once again, Chad had gone over the top at his Christmas party.

“Hey, wanna go sit on Santa’s lap?” James walked over to JC, who was drinking a beer and talking with a few older clients from his studio.

“Why? So we can tell him how naughty you’ve been?” JC whispered in her ear and James giggled, playfully pushing him away.

“I have not!” she looked up at her husband, her eyes smiling, and shook her head.

“Why don’t you come sit on my lap and tell me what you want,” he grabbed her hand and led her over to a secluded part of the living room that wasn’t being occupied by guests. He attacked her neck and his hand rested on her backside, giving it a small pop.

“Josh!” James couldn’t help but laugh at him. “What has gotten into you?”

“Fourth beer,” JC held up his drink and pointed out to his wife a small bunch of mistletoe. “Kiss me.” James obliged and slowly kissed him, deliberately pressing herself against him. “Damn, baby. Let’s just leave now and they can bring the kids home later! Better yet, we’ll just let the kids spend the night with Chad and Lane.” He discreetly put his hand on her breast, causing James to giggle into his mouth as they kissed.

“Josh, our daughter is standing right over there. We’ll finish this at home. I promise,” James kissed him once more and then looked at the beer in his hand. “And I’m assuming I’ll be driving home tonight?”

“I was hoping you would,” JC gave her a silly grin.

Lesly watched JC and James out of the corner of her eye from the bar in the living room. She had to chuckle at how James was doing her best to be discreet, but JC was all over his wife like a horny teenager. She loved their relationship. She loved the way JC was so crazy over James. It was rare to see that these days with other couples. She sipped on her vodka and cranberry and looked around the elaborately decorated home. Even though this was her third year at Chad’s Christmas party, she still couldn’t believe how he always managed to outdo himself every year. It was almost as though he was competing against himself. He certainly had no one in Grayson to compete with. Most everyone else in town had the seasonal Santa sitting in their front yard or a red and green wreath on their front door. JC and James always put out twinkling lights around the front exterior of their house and a sign in the yard that said, “Santa, stop here! Love, Sutton, Landon, and Olivia.” James had found the sign in a Christmas shop in the neighboring town and had the names added on later.

“Hi,” Lesly heard the familiar voice and turned around to see Chris behind her.

“Hi,” she smiled at him and they nervously stood next to each other.

“How are you?” he asked her, leaning against the bar.

“I’m good. How are you?” Lesly was trying to be as polite and approachable as she could be. It was hard to do that with someone she knew all too well. Someone she’d had feelings for for the last almost two years.

Chris was trying not to get frustrated, but all he really wanted to do was talk to her about everything and anything but surfaced shit. And that’s exactly what this conversation was turning out to be.

“Hello, all!” Chad came over to them, a martini in one hand and a finger sandwich in the other. “Can you believe that over there?” he motioned with his martini towards James and JC who were still in their little corner stealing kisses and thinking they were well hidden. “Acting like two teenagers at a make out party!”

“Oh, leave them alone, Chad,” Lesly shook her head. “JC’s drunk. You know how affectionate he can be when he’s drunk.”  

“Great party, as always,” Chris broke Chad’s attention away from James and JC. He was also trying to get another conversation started instead of having to stand here and painfully pretend that he and Lesly were nothing more than acquaintances. He tried to catch her eye, but she was doing a great job of pretending to be very interested in the décor lining the bar.

“Yeah, I really love how you have the fake snow coming down outside,” Lesly pointed towards the sliding glass doors that led out to the pool. Chad had somehow gotten his hands on a fake snow machine and it was “snowing” as people walked in and out of the house. He had not given any thought to the fact that it would cause a huge mess both in and out doors and now he was rather regretting his idea and ignoring the fact that Lane had told him several times that would happen.

“Yeah,” he shook his head, “Good thing I have a cleaning crew coming to clean it up tomorrow.” He looked at the two of them and noticed immediately how painfully difficult it was for them to make any sort of conversation. He couldn’t imagine pretending to be acquaintances with someone that meant so much to him just so he could decide whether or not he wanted to be with that person in the end. “So, have you two been to the fondue fountain in the kitchen? You should go try it out.”

“Sure, I love fondue,” Lesly looked at Chris. “Wanna come with me?”

Chad had to sigh a breath of relief. He watched them walk out of the living room and into the kitchen together. Besides, he was not going to ruin his party trying to cut tension between them. They could do that on their own. He looked in the direction of James and JC, but they were gone, and so he went outside to find Lane and pretend to be excited about the copious amounts of fake snow that had started to pile up in the living room.

“Josh!” James giggled, as he pulled her onto the bed with him. “There’s a party downstairs! And what if someone walks in and-“

“Shut up,” he growled in her ear and pinned her down. “C’mon, baby, this was where we first made love. And it’s exciting to think that there’s a party down there and we’re up here sneaking around like this.”

James couldn’t help but smile at him. “Ok, fine, but we have to be quiet,” she said, slowly undoing the zipper on his jeans.

“That’s not a problem for me,” he slid his hands up to her thigh and grabbed the hem of her dress, pushing it to her waist. He stared down at her and his mouth hung open when he saw that she had nothing on underneath. “You didn’t tell me you went commando tonight.”

“I didn’t want to have a panty line,” she tried not to gasp, feeling his fingers slowly inching their way to her inner thigh.

“Good call,” he rid himself of his jeans and pulled her legs around his waist.

The fondue fountain was a popular fixture at the party and Chris and Lesly had to stand in line in order to get to it. They continued with the small talk and Chris was about to go crazy inside. There was so much more to say to each other. This whole acquaintance thing was so stupid, and yet he knew that Lesly was right. They did have to get to know each other again because he’d broken her trust. There was no way he was going to get past anything other than what they were now until she was able to trust him again.

“Hi Chris, hi Lesly!” a small voice called to them and they looked over to see Sutton coming out of the fondue line, a plate of nothing but chocolate and one slice of banana in her hand. She was taking her finger and licking the chocolate, which was getting all over her face and about to drip onto her Christmas dress. James was not one to go overboard with dressing her children, but Lesly knew that this red, velvet dress was from a high- end children’s shop in Atlanta. Getting chocolate fondue on it would probably ruin it and the rate that Sutton was going now the dress was likely to end up that way.

“Um, honey, come over here,” Lesly pulled Sutton to her carefully. “Do you have a napkin?”

“No,” Sutton shook her head. “I was going to get a Sprite. I’m thirsty.” Her plate was now tipped to the side and chocolate fondue was oozing its way off of it and onto the floor.

“Careful, Sutton!” Lesly went to grab the plate, causing Sutton to stumble backwards and throw it towards Chris. Chris tried to catch it and managed to do so, but now he had chocolate sauce all down the front of him.

“I’m sorry, Chris!” Sutton gasped and looked as though she might cry.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chris tried to smile at her and let her know nothing was wrong, but now he would definitely need to change his shirt.

“C’mon, I know where Chad keeps extras,” Lesly told him. “Sutton come with me. You’ve got chocolate sauce all over you, sweetie.” She took Sutton’s hand and Chris followed, now a little bummed that he might not get to try the chocolate fondue.

“You should get drunk more often,” James breathed, as JC pulled away from her. Her heart was racing and her legs still shook, but somehow she managed to stand up from the bed. She pulled her dress down again and JC tucked in his shirt to his jeans. He grabbed her again and kissed her as passionately as he could.

“Let’s do that again when we get home,” his voice was hot in her ear, and James reached up to kiss him back. Just then, they heard the door open and turned, looking as though they were two deer caught in headlights. Especially upon seeing Lesly, Chris, and their daughter walking in.

“Whoa!” Chris exclaimed. “What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing,” James blushed and smoothed out her hair. “Nothing. We were just, um, you know, coming up here to see my old room and-“

“You are so full of it,” Lesly couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Daddy, your face is really red!” Sutton pointed out and laughed too, but only because she’d seen Lesly laugh first. “You look like a clown!”

“Uh huh,” JC cleared his throat and looked away, thankful they hadn’t come in five minutes before when there would’ve definitely been questions from Sutton about why her mother was writhing beneath her father. “It’s hot up here.”

“I bet it is,” Chris chided him and JC shot him a look. He held his hands up in surrender. “Just kidding, I’m kidding!”

“Why are you up here?” James asked, looking down at Sutton, then seeing the mess of chocolate all over her face. “Sutton, did you even get any chocolate in your mouth?”

“I spilled it on Chris’s shirt,” she pointed to Chris. “And Lesly said she was going to help us clean up.”

“Doesn’t Chad keep extra shirts in here?” Lesly asked James, who nodded and pointed to the wardrobe across from the bed.

“Over there,” she said and put her hand on Sutton’s shoulder. “I’ll go clean her up. Thanks for looking out for her. C’mon, honey.”

“Mommy, your face is red, too. Are you hot like Daddy?” Sutton was asking as they walked out of the room. Chris and Lesly started laughing, ignoring the look that JC’s face was emitting as he followed James and Sutton.

Lesly walked over to the wardrobe and began to look through Chad’s shirts. Chris unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing and suddenly felt self-conscious standing there shirtless in front of her. He knew he was crazy for feeling like that, especially because of the history he had with her. He sat down on the bed, then, realizing what had just taken place, quickly stood up and awkwardly leaned against the bedpost. Lesly turned to face him, holding a Tom Ford button down that Chad had probably worn once and then thrown in it in the wardrobe. She caught her breath seeing Chris standing there without a shirt on.

“Um, here,” she walked over to him. “See if this fits.” She handed it to him and as he took it from her, their fingers touched. Lesly felt her whole body on fire, just from his touch.

“Thanks,” Chris smiled at her and then threw the shirt on, buttoning it up as fast as he could.

“You got your buttons off,” Lesly told him, pointing out that he’d buttoned the top button in the wrong hole. “Here.” She walked over to him and unbuttoned his shirt, trying not to look up at him because she knew if she did, all of that stuff she’d told him at Brewster’s the other day would be out the door. She felt him staring at her, but had to ignore it and continued to fix the buttons on his shirt.

“Lesly,” his voice was just above a whisper.

“There. It was the bottom button that was the one without a buttonhole but I fixed it,” she said, but out of instinct she looked up at him and her hand was still on his chest. He looked down at her and forgot everything they were supposed to be working on. His lips crashed onto hers in a desperate kiss. Lesly tried to fight him but she gave in and let his mouth search hers. She pulled away slowly and shook her head, turning away. “Chris, you know we shouldn’t have-“

“I know. I know what you said. But do you know how hard it has been treating you like I don’t know you?” he exclaimed and forced her to look at him. “I can’t just be some person you’re trying to get to know. I’m sorry, Les. You mean way too much to me and I can’t pretend that we don’t know each other better than some surfaced conversation.”

Lesly closed her eyes and then opened them, pursing her lips together before she spoke. “Chris, you hurt me worse than I’ve ever been hurt before. You lied to me, you cheated on me, and you tried to keep the fact that your other girlfriend was possibly pregnant with your child! I’m sorry. But I’ve already told you. I’m not in a place where I can be the person I was with you. I want to be, but I’ve been wounded too much already.” She walked over to the bedroom door, turning to him before she left. “I’m sorry. That’s just how it has to be right now. I’ll see you later.” Chris watched her as she left and grabbed his dirty shirt from the floor and walked out. It was going to be a long, long holiday.

“Good morning,” James greeted Lesly on the following Monday. “How was the rest of your weekend?”

“It was okay,” Lesly shrugged, and came behind the counter. She and James were working together a lot during the holidays as the coffee shop got busier and busier with people shopping on Main Street. James noticed Lesly’s expression was withdrawn and she cursed under her breath when the foam dispenser shot milk onto her apron.

“What’s wrong?” James immediately asked.

Lesly had had enough of it. She was sick of people asking her what was wrong. How was she supposed to answer that? Before she could stop herself, Lesly was spewing out everything that was wrong. “You want to know what’s wrong? Well, I’ll tell you. My father has hardly been dead two months and my ex-boyfriend decides to move to town just so he can make my life even more screwy. Then he expects me to just forgive him for all the shit he put me through as though it wasn’t a big deal. As though lying to me and cheating on me was just something all couples went through!” She took a breath. This felt good. “And then I have to come to work, where my best friend is all happy and married to Mr. Perfect and never has any problems and has a full house to go home to, yet I’m alone and everyone thinks it’s just dandy that Chris is back. Well, it’s not. It sucks. You all act like I should forgive him and move on. I don’t want to forgive him! And I’m sorry that that ruins your perfect little world where everything is beautiful, but I’m not forgiving him. Not right now!”

James was taken aback by what she’d just heard. “Lesly, I-I really don’t know what to tell you. My life isn’t perfect. Josh and I fight like any other couple-“

“Give me a break, James! I’ve heard your fights. You fight about what to get Sutton for Christmas. You fight about where you should spend your next family vacation. Those aren’t fights. Those are discussions,” Lesly snapped.

“Oh, really? Well, if it makes you feel any better we had a huge fight yesterday,” James retorted. “Josh got so drunk at the party that he could barely stand up to get into the car. Yesterday, he slept until noon and I had to get three kids situated, two of whom are babies, and when he came downstairs, he acted as though I should be pampering him or feeling sorry for him because he had six beers and two shots of tequila! Meanwhile, I’m exhausted just from being out so late and he feels entitled to sleep his life away and got pissed off when I asked him to change Olivia’s diaper. So we fought most of the day if that makes you feel any better!” James left out the part about the make-up sex. There wasn’t any need to go into detail about that. She looked at her friend and shook her head. “Les, I’m really sorry. No one is more upset that you and Chris went through what you did than I am. And no one is expecting you to forgive him right away or ever. We all know that these things take time.”

Lesly rubbed her temples and looked up at James. “I didn’t mean to have an outburst on you. I’ve just been bottling up a lot of shit lately. I’m sorry,”

“Les, it’s okay,” she reached over to hug her friend. “You can outburst on me any time. That’s why we’re friends. And friends can be bitchy to each other and it’s all okay.”

Chris entered the house behind Chad, who was hastily typing away at his iPad. It looked nothing like it had three months ago when he’d last been here. The repairs and refurbishments were all underway and it looked as if the whole house had thrown up inside. Dust covered just about everything. Walls were ripped out to reveal concrete slabs. Piles of metal and other materials were all over the place so they both had to be careful where they walked.

“Now, we’re redesigning the entire thing. This-“ Chad pointed to where the kitchen was but now just looked like a small room with empty holes where cabinets used to be. “-is still the kitchen but we’re expanding it. We’ve knocked out the wall behind it and that’s all going to be wide open space all the way to the master bedroom.” Chris nodded and followed Chad to the other rooms. “There are two other bedrooms and just one bathroom, so we’re adding on a huge master bath to the master bedroom. Complete with a garden tub, a seated shower, and a walk-closet that would make Paris Hilton envious!” Chris doubted that. He’d seen Paris Hilton’s closet once years ago. There was no way it was going to be bigger than that ostentatious room, but he kept his mouth shut. He was discovering that Chad liked to talk big when he redecorated.

“So, when do you think it’ll be ready?” Chris asked.

“Well, I’d say by January at the latest. My team is the best and you’ve paid double to get it finished sooner, so yes, January is when you could move in,” Chad told him.

“Hey, do me a favor?” Chris looked at Chad, who nodded. “Don’t say anything to Lesly. I don’t want her to know I’m buying her father’s house.”

Christmas Eve

Lesly sat in her car, staring at the front of her father’s home. It still looked the same on the outside. The yellow paint her mother had wanted was now chipping off and hadn’t been retouched in years. Two rocking chairs sat on the small front porch, but no one had sat in one for a while. It was empty. And soon, once everything was finished, this house that she’d known all of her life would be gone. It wouldn’t be hers anymore. Another family would move in here and it would become someone else’s home. She wiped a tear that was now trickling down her cheek and sniffed, finally letting another one fall. She was supposed to be going to James and JC’s for Christmas Eve dinner, but she didn’t want to pull away from here just yet. Chad had told her that they were close on getting the house ready to put on the market in January. This might be one of the last times she’d see it before the new owners moved in. Getting out of her car, Lesly walked up the steps to the front door. She unlocked it and stepped inside, not even recognizing it any more. She closed her eyes and suddenly was transported back to childhood. Back to when her mother was alive and her father was happy. Back to when Dane had been just her brother and not the stranger that he slowly was becoming.

She walked towards her old bedroom, which now was nothing more than a concrete slab on top of more concrete. She pictured herself in here as a teenager dreaming about owning her own fashion line one day. Dreaming of that boutique in Atlanta. The boutique she’d never own now. Leaning against the wall, Lesly wondered why she was even in Grayson anymore. There was nothing left for her here. Chris moving back should have meant something, but it didn’t. She was trying her best to move on from that because every time she thought about him, every time his name was mentioned, all she could think about was that dreadful phone call from Stephanie and the way that Chris had covered up everything. Maybe she’d never be able to forgive him. And leaving Grayson might be just the thing she needed to move on.

Not that it would be easy. The Chasez’s had become like her second family. James was her best friend. Chad and Lane had been there for her immediately when her father passed away and had taken care of everything from her father’s will to getting his house in a new condition to sell. But after all of that, what was left for her? Yes, these people were wonderful friends. In many ways, she’d felt closer to them than she ever had to Dane and Brianne. But she needed to move on. Especially if Chris was going to come back as a permanent fixture around here. She was trying desperately not to hold it against her friends for continuing to have Chris around at the same outings she was a part of. He and JC had been friends for over fifteen years now and she knew JC couldn’t just write him off. And James was JC’s wife, and even though she’d told Lesly numerous times that she hated what Chris had done to her, she still couldn’t ignore one of her husband’s best friends.

Lesly walked out of her old bedroom and back into the living room, which now was almost connected to the kitchen. She thought long and hard and wondered where she’d even go if she left. Atlanta? Jacksonville? Maybe Charleston? Or maybe she’d get out of the South all together and just start over in a brand new place. The excitement of the possibilities was endless. Yes, it was time to start over.

“But you said I could open one present, Daddy! Please let me open this one!” Sutton begged, holding up a brightly wrapped package that had “To Sutton; Love, Mommy & Daddy” written on a gift tag on top.

JC hated how easily this child could sway him. All she had to do was look at him with those pleading eyes and he caved. But not this time. He knew this present was the biggest one under the tree and naturally she would be drawn to it. This one would be for tomorrow.

“Sutton, we’re saving that one for tomorrow,” he told her again, shifting Olivia to his other hip. Landon was on the floor next to the tree and was about to lunge at an ornament, but James walked in and swiftly picked him up.

“No, baby boy. You can’t have that!” she kissed him and looked down at Sutton. “Honey, that’s for tomorrow. Daddy told you that twice now. Pick another one, okay? And hurry. Uncle Chad and Uncle Lane will be here soon and Lesly’s on her way.”

“What about Chris?” JC asked her under his breath.

James sighed and looked at her husband. “I didn’t invite him,”

“James! He’s in town! We’re the only people he knows. You really didn’t invite him?” JC looked at his wife in disbelief.

“It’s uncomfortable with him and Lesly right now and-“

“It is always uncomfortable with them,” JC interrupted her. “But it’s Christmas Eve and out of anyone, I never thought you’d be that heartless to not invite him over for dinner. Geez.”

“I’m not heartless, I just don’t want anything to be awkward at dinner!” James retorted. “She’s in a very fragile place right now. This is her first Christmas without her father and-“

“Mommy, what about this one?” Sutton interrupted James to show her a smaller present that looked about the size of a jewelry box. James smiled. It was the present that JC had gotten for Sutton. A small, silver Tiffany’s  necklace that had her name engraved on the heart. On the back it simply said, “Love, Daddy.” He’d given the same one to James on their one year anniversary, except hers had engraved “Josh + James.” Sutton had wanted one since she’d first seen James wear it.

James looked at JC who smiled and they both nodded. “Yes, you can open that one,” James told her, as she and JC went over to the couch to sit down. Sutton ripped into the paper and when she opened the box she gasped and then looked up at her parents with a wide smile.

“It’s a heart necklace like Mommy’s!” Sutton squealed. She ran over to JC and crawled in his lap. “Thanks, Daddy! I love it!” Olivia immediately seeing the shiny object, reached to grab it, but JC pulled her away and set her on the floor, then helped Sutton put on the necklace. She kissed her father once more then ran off to her room.

“I think she liked it,” James smiled at JC, then moved closer to him. “Ok, I’ll go call Chris. I can’t tell him it was last minute. No one decides to make an elaborate meal in five minutes. I’ll be honest and let him know that she’s coming over and if he wants to join, he’s more than welcome.”

“Thank you,” JC leaned over to kiss her, then stood, looking down at Olivia. “I’m pretty sure you need a diaper change,” he told her, to which the 10-month-old giggled at her father. “Uh huh. You think that’s funny. C’mon, pretty girl. Let’s go change you before you stink up the whole house.” He picked her up again and headed upstairs towards the twins’ room, while James with Landon in tow, went to make the phone call to Chris.

Chris had been enjoying a quiet Christmas Eve at his little efficiency apartment downtown. It was quite a change from the mansion he’d left in Orlando, but he hoped in a few weeks it would all be worth it. He was watching A Christmas Story on TBS when his phone rang. He set his beer on the coffee table and picked it up, seeing it was James.

“Merry Christmas!” he greeted her, leaning back on the couch. “What’s up Mrs. Chasez?”

“Hi Chris, Merry Christmas!” she replied. “Am I bothering you?”

“Not at all. I just started watching A Christmas Story and I was gonna order a pizza for dinner. You know, a bachelor’s Christmas Eve. By the way, do you know if that Italian restaurant delivers?”

“I think so. But I was actually calling to see if you wanted to come over for Christmas dinner tonight. We’re celebrating with Chad and Lane. It’s kind of our tradition. Lesly’s coming, too-“

“Does she know I would be coming?”

“Well, I mean, I will let her know. I wanted to see if you were in first,”

“Sure,” Chris stood to his feet and turned the television off. “On my way now.”

James hung up and looked at her phone for a minute. She went to hit Lesly’s speed dial, but she heard the front door open and Chad’s voice call out heartily, “Merry Christmas, Chasezs!”

“Uncle Chad!” Sutton called from the top of the stairs and immediately ran down, nearly running her mother over. “Uncle Chad, Uncle Lane, look what Daddy got me for Christmas!”

Chad and Lane stood in the doorway, their arms full of presents. They set them down and both of them knelt down to Sutton’s level to gaze at her necklace.

“Ah, yes, what every six-year-old kid should have – a Tiffany necklace. Remember when you had yours, James?” Chad teased his best friend as he always did when one of her children received a brand name item.

“Oh, shut up,” she rolled her eyes. Chad loved to give her a hard time about the fact that she was married to a millionaire and, that no matter how cheap JC could be, he always spoiled his family.

“Did you bring me a present?” Sutton asked Chad, who squeezed the little girl to him.

“Sutton!” James shook her head. “You don’t ask that, it’s rude!”

“I sure did, my little diva. We brought you lots of presents,” he peered at James as he stood to his feet. “It’s just us. She can ask us if we brought her presents.” He walked over to James and put his arm around her shoulder. “It’s fine, doll. We all know what a well-behaved child she is anyway.”

Outside, Lesly had just pulled into the driveway. She was trying her best to get into the right spirit because she knew that the house would be filled with excitement and children and talk of Santa Claus and all that Christmas Eve entailed. But she just felt numb. She’d cried a little more until she finally decided that driving on over to the Chasez’s was best. It would at least take her mind off of things. As she was getting out of the car, another car pulled in next to her. She groaned inwardly when she saw it was Chris. Hadn’t James told her he wouldn’t be coming tonight?

“Merry Christmas,” he greeted her, stepping out of the car. “Are we the last ones here?”

“You are,” Lesly countered, and began to walk towards the front porch.

“Oh, come on, Les, you can at least be nice to me on Christmas Eve for crying out loud!” Chris griped, following her.

She turned to him and her face was splotchy and red and he knew she’d been crying. “Look, I am trying to have a decent time tonight, okay? This is not exactly a holiday I’ve been anticipating. So don’t talk to me, don’t try to be nice to me, because I’m done. This-“ she waved her finger between her and Chris-“is done. I’ve decided I just can’t do it. I can’t forgive you.”

Chris stood there in a bit of a shock. He wanted to say something back, but he couldn’t think fast enough because she’d already turned on her heel and was headed up the front porch steps. He held back and waited until she’d gone inside before he let out a frustrated sigh, that ultimately turned into a groan. He reluctantly walked toward the front of the house and rang the doorbell. In a few seconds, JC opened the door, a look of apology on his face.

“Merry Christmas, C,” Chris muttered, as JC opened the door for him to come in.

“Merry Christmas,” JC replied. “Dude, she’s not in a good mood. She grabbed James the minute she walked in and said they had to talk.” He and Chris stood in the foyer and Chris could hear Chad and Lane playing with the twins and Sutton carrying on about whether or not Santa Claus would be able to fit down the chimney and what if he got stuck and her Daddy had to help him?

“I figured,” Chris handed JC a bottle of wine. “It’s Merlot. I picked it up at the liquor store on my way here. Sorry. This was kind of last minute.”

“James felt weird about inviting you and her to the same dinner. Lesly’s been on the verge of something lately and she’s even more fragile than she’s been in a while. She looked awful when she came in,” JC said, taking the bottle of wine from Chris. “And thanks for the wine. I’m sure we’ll definitely drink it tonight.”

“She’s been crying. I know it. And she told me outside she was done with me. All I did was kiss her at that party, C. I know what I did was wrong, but I can’t do anything else than what I’ve been doing,” Chris ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “I guess it really is done.”

“I guess so,” JC put an arm on his friend’s shoulder. “You still gonna buy her dad’s house?”

“Yeah,” Chris nodded. “It’ll be nice to have a little getaway here from Orlando.”

The two men walked into the living room where Chad was playing peek-a-boo with Landon and Lane was bouncing Olivia on his lap. Sutton was twirling around in her red Christmas dress to the sound of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You. When JC entered the room, she ran over to him and grabbed his hand.

“Daddy, dance with me to this song!” she was grinning at him and JC picked her up in his arms and began to twirl her around. Sutton began to laugh when JC pretended to dip her and then threw her in the air. Chris sat down on the couch across from Lane and Chad and watched the scene in front of him. He saw JC whisper something in Sutton’s ear and she smiled at her father and nodded excitedly. He set her down and Sutton ran over to Chris.

“Chris, you want to dance with me? Daddy says you love this song!” she pulled on his arm and he stood, taking both of Sutton’s little hands in his as he twirled her around the room. Despite what had just happened outside, Chris was glad to be there.

“Les, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It happened literally fifteen minutes before everyone came over. And I was about to call you, but then Chad and Lane came over and I got distracted!” James was sitting on her bed and Lesly was standing in front of her, fuming mad at her friend.

“Just once, James. I just wanted once to not have to be at the same dinner he was at. This year has been a literal hell for me and he’s been the main cause of all of it. And I just wanted to come here tonight and relax and not have to worry about Chris and whether or not he’s staring at me or trying to get me to talk to him or whatever. I’m tired of it. I’m so tired of it!” Lesly had started to cry mid-sentence and quickly wiped away her angry tears. She heaved a sigh and looked at James. “I’ve decided I’m moving out of Grayson.”

James snapped to attention and shook her head. “Moving? Why? Lesly, your family’s here. Me and Josh are here and Chad and Lane! Why would you move?”

“And Chris. Chris is here. I can’t go anywhere anymore without him being there. And I’m over this town. I don’t want to be here. I don’t even talk to Dane anymore. I’m supposed to go over there for Christmas tomorrow but I don’t even know if I want to anymore,” Lesly sat down on the couch opposite the bed. “James, I used to have huge dreams and they were never realized because my mother got sick and after she died, I felt trapped here because of my dad. But now I see that I still have a shot. I still have a chance to leave. And I want to take that chance and do it.”

“Where are you going to go?” James wanted to know. “Les, you know the job market isn’t so great right now-“

“I don’t care. I’ll find something. I’ll work three jobs in Atlanta if I have to. I just need to be out of here,” she shook her head and looked away, staring off into space. “There’s not anything left for me here.”

“Thanks a lot,” James was partly teasing, but Lesly wasn’t in the mood.

“You know what I mean,” she rolled her eyes.

James was quiet for a minute and then spoke, “Les, what if Chris was the one who moved? Would you stay then?”

“No,” Lesly didn’t even hesitate. “I’m serious, James. I’m leaving after Christmas.”

James stood to her feet, seeing the time on the clock on the wall. “Listen, it’s almost time for dinner. I’ll support whatever decision you make, but I just want you to really think about it. Don’t make a hasty move because of one person. If he knew you felt like this, he’d-“

“He’s not going to know. And you’re not going to tell him,” Lesly interrupted.

James bit on her lip. “Ok. Ok, Lesly, whatever you say,” she went towards the door, feeling a huge pit in her stomach, as the two women walked downstairs. James stopped short when she saw the scene below her taking place. Chad and Lane were now dancing around with the babies, JC had put on TLC’s Have a Very Merry Christmas and he along with Chris and Sutton were ridiculously doing hip -hop moves across the floor. Obviously, Sutton was only imitating her father and Chris, which made it even more hilarious to watch and both James and Lesly couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“What baby?” JC called over to her. “I still got it!”

“Oh, yes, you do, honey,” James laughed even harder as he did the running man over to her and then, seeing they were under the mistletoe, grabbed her and dipped her, kissing her hard on the mouth.

“I’m taking this upstairs with us tonight so I can just kiss you all through Christmas,” he whispered in her ear.

“You have to put together a bicycle and set up Sutton’s playhouse outside,” James whispered back. “Remember, Santa Claus?”

JC groaned and soon the song ended. Dinner was ready and everyone gathered in the dining room to eat a big pot of spaghetti, a tradition they’d started with Chad and Lane their first Christmas together. There was so much tension between Chris and Lesly that James mentioned something to Chad about it before the meal. He was good about keeping a conversation going and since his and Lane’s adoption was about to go through, she knew he could talk about that throughout dinner.

“…and then we should be back by the end of February,” he was saying everyone was finishing up.

“You’ll miss the twins birthday,” James noted, sadly.

As if on cue, Landon burst out in baby talk and Olivia, watching her brother, did the same. It made everyone chuckle and then James looked at her watch, then over at Sutton. “Hey, sweet girl. It’s almost 8:30. Did you get the cookies out for Santa?”

Sutton hopped down from her seat at the table. “Are they in the cookie jar, Mommy?” she asked, going over to James. James smoothed out her daughter’s curly locks, and kissed her forehead.

“They are. I’ll help you,” she stood up and looked around the table. “We’ve got ice cream cake for dessert. And I can put on some coffee. But first, I need to help Sutton.”

“Um, honey, just out of curiosity, what kind of cookies is Santa Claus getting tonight?” JC inquired, calling for her as she went into the kitchen.

“Chocolate chip,” James replied. “So, you know, go easy on the cake.”

James helped Sutton set the cookies out on a platter then they poured a glass of milk in a Santa mug and set the items on the coffee table in the living room. When everything was set, James took Sutton’s hand and they walked back to the dining room. Sutton went immediately to JC and crawled in his lap, lazily twirling one of her curls around her finger.

“Are you tired, baby girl?” JC asked Sutton, resting his chin on her forehead.

“No. I want to stay up and watch Santa put out my presents. How come I can’t do that?” Sutton asked, looking up at him.

“Because you know Santa likes you to be asleep when he comes. He likes you to be surprised,” JC answered her and kissed the top of her head. “But, I think you should probably go on upstairs and get ready for bed. You never know when he’ll get here.”

“But I don’t want to sleep now. I’m too excited! And besides, he has to come a long way from the North Pole. He probably doesn’t get to Georgia until late. Like at 10!” Sutton argued.

Chris watched what was going on and laughed to himself. He suddenly had an idea. “Hey Sutton,” he spoke up, and Sutton looked over at him. “Come out front with me, okay?” he got out of his chair and Sutton nodded at him and they went outside. Chris knelt down next to her and pointed up to the starry night. “See that bright light that looks like a star?” he asked her, pointing to the North Star.

“Uh huh, “ she answered, straining her little eyes upward.

“That’s Santa Claus. He’s right above your house!” Chris gasped and Sutton squealed.

“Then I better go to sleep!” she turned around and burst through the front door, running into the dining room. “Mommy and Daddy, I’m gonna go to bed because you know why? Santa Claus is right over our house!” And with that, Sutton darted out of the dining room and everyone heard her pounding the stairs as she made her way to her bedroom.

“What did you say?” JC asked Chris, who was taking his seat again.

“I pointed to the North Star and told her it was Santa Claus. My mom used to do that with me and my sisters all the time to get us to go to bed on Christmas Eve,” he replied and ignored the surprised look that Lesly was now giving him.

“I’ll be right back. I’m just going to tuck her in,” James stood from the table and went upstairs.

Conversation began again between Chad, Lane, and JC, and Lesly and Chris were quiet until Lesly spoke up.

“That was really cool what you did,” she said.

Chris only nodded. “Not really that big of a deal,” he answered her, but didn’t acknowledge her.

It was nearly eleven before everyone began to disperse. They’d finished off the ice cream cake and had started to help JC eat the Santa cookies so they left feeling quite full and content. There were exchanges of last “Merry Christmases” before they walked outside. Lane and Chad said goodnight to Chris and they headed for Lane’s BMW. Chris went to his car and waved again at James and JC who were standing on the front porch. He glanced over at Lesly, who was getting in her car and happened to look up.

“’Bye, Chris,” she told him, and shut her car door.

“Your resume looked great, Miss Parsons, however, you haven’t done anything with fashion in a long time,”

Lesly was sitting across from Jenna Wolotosky the manager of a small boutique near River Street in Savannah a few weeks later. She’d found the ad for a fashion consultant at “Jenna’s Closet” online. Jenna designed all of her clothes and accessories and was looking for a partner to expand the business on the other side of town. The description said that the person hired would be a part of the design process and also draw up renderings for Jenna. If she liked them, the design would move forward and the dress or accessory would be made. Lesly had done her homework on Jenna and found out that she’d graduated top of her class at the Savannah College of Art and Design and was from Chicago originally. They weren’t that far a part in age and Lesly was in awe of just how successful Jenna’s business was.

“I know and I also know that is a major hindrance. I had a lot of circumstances that kept me from pursuing that after college,” Lesly tried her best to be professional and keep calm, telling herself that there were other jobs, there were other places.

Jenna nodded in understanding. “My father passed away the month after I leased the shop. I almost thought I would have to close up and move home. I still don’t know how I did it. Managing this and going back and forth to Illinois to be with my mother,” she cleared her throat. “Sorry, didn’t meant to get personal there.”

Lesly smiled warmly at her. “My father just passed away in November. And my mother’s death was the reason I couldn’t go to Atlanta and open up my own store. My dad took it pretty hard and my brother decided to disappear and handle it his own way.”

“Lesly, you poor dear. You’re way too young to have lost both of your parents,” Jenna shook her head in concern. She let out a quick breath, then looked back at the resume. “I like you, Lesly. And as much as I don’t like the fact that you were unable to fulfill your dream because of such tragedy, I’d like to help you be able to move forward with your life. When do you think you can start?”

Lesly felt her heart soaring. She wanted to jump up and down and cry and laugh all at the same time. Keeping her composure, she simply smiled and let out a small chuckle. “Well,” she was trying to keep her voice from being so shaky. “I need to settle a few things back in Grayson. But I can be ready when you need me.”

Jenna shook her head. “No, you take your time. If you could be here at the beginning of February, that would be great. This would give you time to come back to Savannah and find a place to live and get everything situated back home.”

“That sounds perfect,” Lesly felt her smile expanding to a grin. “Jenna, thank you so much!”

Jenna stood from behind her desk and came around to hug Lesly. “You’re welcome. There’s just something about you that I think would definitely work here. I can’t wait to see what that is.”

“Me, too!” Jenna replied, and collected her things, already curious to drive around Savannah and get better acquainted with it. She said goodbye once more to Jenna and left the little boutique shop, looking back at it and feeling a sense of belonging already.

Brewster’s was always slower in January. This was due to the fact that not many people were out on Main Street during the weekdays and even though they had their lunch rush occasionally, James knew that most people liked to save what little money was left over after the holidays. It was a beautiful day outside and she wished that she could take off for the day and join JC and Sutton on Sutton’s field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo. Or she’d rather be at home with the babies and getting on Pinterest trying to plan their upcoming first birthday next month. Then again, it was nice to be at her shop, chatting with a few regulars and checking her phone every so often to receive a funny text from JC about something that Sutton had done or said. Her last message had been a picture of JC posing with Sutton on his lap and they were both making “tiger faces” as he’d titled the picture.

The phone next to the cash register rang and James was shaken from gazing at the picture on her cell.

“Brewster’s. This is James,” she answered, figuring it was probably going to be a lunch order for take-out.

“Yes, hello, my name is Jenna Wolotosky. I’m calling on behalf of Lesly Parsons, who was interviewed for a position today at my boutique in Savannah. Just doing the necessary follow-up on her. I see she’s worked for your company for the last 2 years as Assistant Manager?”

James’ heart sunk. She knew that Lesly had gone to Savannah to interview for a position at a fashion boutique; she didn’t think anything would come of it. Not that she didn’t want Lesly to succeed. James just knew how difficult it was now to find a decent job and salary. Maybe this Jenna person would prove her wrong.

“Yes, that’s correct,” James tried to sound pleasant. She knew it was coming. She knew Lesly was serious about getting out of town, but it was all too real now.

“Wonderful. How would you rate her to your other assistant managers?”

“She’s the only one I’ve got and she is flawless at her job,”

“I see. She has been hired to come alongside me and work as my partner designing dresses and running our newest branch on the Southside. Would you say she could handle that, knowing what you know of her?”

James felt at a loss. Lesly had the job. Lesly was moving. It was really going to happen.

“Miss?”

James snapped to attention and cleared her throat. “Sorry. Must’ve had a bad connection. Yes, yes, Lesly could handle anything you gave her. She’s a terrific employee and a great friend. You’re lucky to get her. Anyone would be,”

“Perfect. I’d say that’s all I needed. And I’m speaking to the manager?”

“Yes. And owner,”

“Oh, well, from one business owner to another, the best to you this afternoon. Thank you for your information,”

“You’re welcome,” James tried to sound happy, but the expression on her face said differently. She hung up and felt terrible. She was excited and happy for Lesly, but a part of James wondered if Lesly was making a huge mistake. Especially once she found out that Chris was going to buy her father’s house. Then again, it almost felt as if Lesly used any excuse to get mad at Chris anymore. It could be raining and Lesly would somehow find a way to blame Chris.

Her stomach churned and James rubbed it, suddenly feeling a bit sick. She leaned against the counter and waited for the feeling to subside, but it didn’t, it grew worse. Certainly she wasn’t this upset over Lesly leaving was she? She looked around the shop and saw that most of the customers were off in their own world in cyberspace, so she quickly ducked to the back bathroom and reluctantly threw up. When she walked back to the front, Chad was standing at the counter texting on his iPhone.

“Doll face, you look terrible,” Chad greeted her, knowing other than Josh, he was the only one who could be that honest with her.

“Shut up,” James sighed and poured herself a glass of water.

“What’s wrong?” Chad put his phone away and gave her his full attention.

“Lesly got a job at that boutique in Savannah. Her new boss called and I guess it made me so upset that I threw up,” James sipped her water and Chad reached over and placed his hand over hers.

“You sure you’re not just coming down with something?” he looked at her face. “I mean, I love you babe, but you do not look good today.”

“I’m just sad,” James shook her head. “I’m sad because this wasn’t what was supposed to happen. I’m mad at her because she won’t let Chris fight for her like he’s trying to do. And I’m mad because she’s just giving up and leaving.”

“She was hurt, James. You know what it’s like to be cheated on,” Chad reminded her. “Also, if this is going to be a serious discussion, could I get a latte while I console you?”

James had to smile at his attempt at breaking the ice. “Yes, silly,” she said, going over to the espresso machine.

The door opened again and Chris walked in. He waved to James and Chad and walked over to the bar. “Is this where the party’s at?”

“Shh, don’t say anything,” James muttered under her breath to Chad.

Chad looked at her in shock. “You mean he doesn’t-“ Chad started, but James interrupted him.

“Of course!” she said, a little too brightly. Chad rolled his eyes at her attempt to pretend nothing was wrong. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Chris nodded and looked at James. “You’re chipper today. Where’s your husband?”

“Field trip with Sutton,” James answered. “They’ll be back around 3.” She handed Chad his coffee, then turned to Chris. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Just a coffee black,” Chris looked at Chad. “I stopped by the house. It looks great. I just hope Lesly doesn’t flip when she hears I’m buying it.”

Chad and James were both quiet. James smiled weakly at Chris and handed him his coffee. “Well, we all know how Lesly can be, that’s for sure,” was all she could think of to say.

Chris eyed them both and knew there was something going on. James was a bit too happy and it was a fake happy, not to mention her eyes looked glazed over like she was sick. And Chad was standing there with a ridiculous smile plastered on his face that was more or less making Chris very uncomfortable.

“Ok. What the hell is going on?” Chris asked them, setting his coffee aside. “You’re both acting really strange. Now, what gives?”

James looked at Chad and Chad rolled his eyes. “Oh enough of this stupid mess. Chris, Lesly got hired at a boutique in Savannah. She’s leaving Grayson and she didn’t want anyone to say anything to you, but I’m saying something because I think it’s dumb. All of it. You shouldn’t have cheated on her, but she has to stop treating you like an ass.”

“Chad-“ James began, placing a hand on his arm.

“No, James. He has to know. She should’ve told him. He’s trying to surprise her with buying her father’s house for crying out loud. This whole thing is just stupid,” Chad glanced at Chris. “I’m sorry, Chris. I know I spoke too soon. But all of this is just so over the top and nothing but drama. You’ve tried to do what you can do, but I just think in the end, Lesly isn’t going to come back after all.”

“No, you’re probably right,” Chris sighed, and took another sip of his coffee. He was quiet for a few seconds. “I won’t let on that I know anything if I see her.” He drank his coffee, then slid the mug over to James. “Thanks, James. Tell JC to call me when he gets back.” With that, Chris walked out of the coffee shop and back to his car. He got in and sat for a minute, his head resting on the back of the seat. He had no idea what to do or think or feel. He’d moved to this town to win her back and she was leaving. She was leaving. How was he supposed to make sense of any of that? What was he going to do in Grayson, Georgia for crying out loud?

He turned on his car and looked at the front of Brewster’s. It had all started there. JC had met the one person who’d changed him for the good and Chris had hoped the same would happen for him, except he didn’t know it. Lesly had been a good time. A one-night stand that turned into something he wasn’t expecting. She made him want to be a better person. He finally got all that JC had told him months ago about falling in love. It was true. All of it was true. But he didn’t know what to do now. Most of the time, it might’ve been reciprocated with the other person and he couldn’t believe that Lesly felt nothing for him. He pulled out his phone and looked down at it, debating whether or not to call her and tell her about the house. He’d told James he wouldn’t tell Lesly that he knew she was leaving, but why had she tried to hide it in the first place? Out of frustration, he hit the steering wheel, pulled out of the parking place, and drove off of Main Street. He passed Ruby’s Round-up and kept going until he was on a back road that he didn’t recognize.

Lesly didn’t know whether or not she should call James on her way back into town or if she should tell her in person the next day. She was so ecstatic and still couldn’t believe that she would finally be working for a designer after all these years. Even if it was a small boutique shop, it was still something and it was out of Grayson. She could start over and who knew what might come out of this. She’d ignored the feelings of regret thinking of Chris and his moving to Grayson all for her. No. She wouldn’t let her mind drift there any longer. Chris was in the past. Deciding to drop by the Chasez’s instead of waiting until the next day or calling, Lesly drove into town and headed for their house.

In a matter of about an hour, the Chasez household had turned into chaos. James had picked up the twins from her parents house only to find that Landon was running a fever and Olivia was apparently experiencing sympathy pangs because she was just as whiny. Both of the twins had cried all day and Olivia hadn’t taken a nap, so she was extra fussy. When James got home, she had started to feel sick again, but there wasn’t time to do anything about it because JC and Sutton arrived shortly after and all Sutton wanted to do was talk about the zoo and how JC had been recognized and why people wanted his picture taken?

“Are you okay honey?” JC looked at James, who was trying to concentrate listening to Sutton, while attempting at giving Landon cough medicine in his high chair. Olivia was in JC’s arms, her eyes fluttering open and shut and pushing her father’s hand away whenever he tried to give her a pacifier.

“I threw up earlier today,” James answered. “Come on, sweet boy. Don’t spit it out for Mommy.” She tried to coax Landon once more, but he pushed the spoon away and then rubbed his eyes with his little hand.

“You should try to put it in his food,” JC suggested. “Are you still feeling sick?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, and went over to the pantry to get out a jar of Gerber Peaches. James opened it and mixed in the fever syrup, trying again to get her son to swallow it.

“Here,” JC stood up with Olivia in tow and took the jar of baby food from James. “Trade you.” They swiftly switched babies and James went over to the kitchen table with Olivia, who was whining softly. She watched JC expertly hold the spoon up to Landon’s mouth. The baby sighed and began to suck on the spoon.

“Magic,” James chuckled, as JC wiped off Landon’s mouth.

“Mommy, why did you throw up?” Sutton wanted to know. She was sitting across from her mother and in between talking about her field trip, was coloring a picture.

“I don’t know, baby girl,” James looked over at JC. “Let’s go outside. Maybe fresh air is what I need right now.” As they were headed out, the doorbell rang. JC told James to go on with Olivia and Sutton, noticing the color draining from her face.

“Hi, Josh!” Lesly greeted JC when he opened the door. She was exceptionally happy and since he’d not gotten a chance to talk much to James about her day, he had no idea that Lesly had just taken another job.

“Hey, Les,” he smiled. “James is outside with the girls.”

“Okay. I just need to tell you both something really quick,” she told him, and followed him towards the back patio. James was sitting in a lawn chair holding Olivia, who was resting against her mother’s chest and sucking on her thumb. She turned around and forced herself to smile upon seeing Lesly.

“Hi,” James acknowledged her. “How was the drive back from Savannah?”

Lesly took a breath and sat down next to James. She reached over and clutched her friend’s arm with both hands, and quietly, but excitedly said, “James, I got offered the job!”

It was at that moment that the chaos erupted. Suddenly, a wail was heard from Sutton’s swing set and James gasped, looking over to see her daughter on her back on the ground.

“DADDY!” Sutton screamed. “MOMMY! MOMMY!”

“Shit!” JC ran over, still holding onto Landon as James followed, handing Olivia over to Lesly, who stood and watched in shock at what had happened.

“It’s okay, baby! It’s okay!” James knelt down and noticed Sutton’s arm was facing a funny direction. “Josh, I think it’s her arm.” She glanced quickly at JC, who was frantically trying to console his daughter and hold Landon at the same time. James lifted Sutton carefully and pulled her into her arms. Sutton was still sobbing loudly and James noticed her right knee was bleeding as well.

“We need to get her to the emergency room,” JC spoke softly, as not to alarm Sutton. “I’ll take her. I know you’re not feeling well.”

“Okay,” James sighed and kissed Sutton’s forehead. “Shh, baby girl. You’re gonna be fine. Daddy’s gonna take you to the doctor, though, okay?”

“Nooo!” Sutton wailed. “No, Daddy. I don’t want to go!”

JC handed Landon to James and then carefully picked up Sutton, carrying her across the yard. She clung to him, still crying and begging him not to take her.

Lesly was still holding Olivia. “What can I do?” She followed James and JC back into the house. JC grabbed his car keys and wallet then hurriedly rushed out the door.

“Not much to do from here. I guess we’ll just wait to hear from Josh. I can’t believe she fell out of that swing,” James shook her head. “I feel terrible. I wasn’t even watching her!” She put her head in her hand and groaned.

“James, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Lesly reached over to squeeze James’ arm. “It’s probably not as big of a deal as you’re making it in your head.” Lesly was trying to reassure her, but James didn’t answer. “C’mon, let’s go into the living room and watch something to get your mind off of it.”

Chris banged his hand against the steering wheel. He’d run out of gas and was in the middle of nowhere. He couldn’t remember how far he’d driven or how long, but there was literally nothing around but trees on one side and the marsh on the other. And no cars had passed by in at least the last 45 minutes. He pulled out his cell phone and tried calling JC once more but it went straight to voice mail. “Is he serious with that? Geez, just turn your damn phone on, C!” Chris griped, and let out a loud sigh of frustration. “Hopefully your wife will answer her phone!”

He looked up James in his contacts and hit her number, praying that she’d pick up. It was her or Lesly and Lesly wasn’t taking his calls anymore. He suddenly wondered what grass might taste like for dinner. He also wondered why he hadn’t renewed his AAA membership last October.

James was holding a now sleeping Landon, and Olivia had finally quit whining and was entertaining herself on the floor with her toys. Lesly was flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch other than talk shows or the news.

“James?” she spoke up. James was humming softly against Landon’s ear and looked up at her friend.

“Yeah?” she whispered, as not to wake the baby.

“I know it’s probably not the right time, but I did take the job offer,”

“I know you did,”

Lesly didn’t say anything.

“Your new boss called,” James answered her silent question. “She’s really excited about you coming to work for her.”

“I’m sorry, James,” Lesly shifted on the couch and looked at James apologetically.

“Don’t be sorry,” James shook her head. “You had to do it.” She looked down at Landon. “I’m gonna put him down. He’s finally out.” She was about to say something else to Lesly, but her phone rang.

“I’ll get it,” Lesly stood and reached for the iPhone that was sitting on the coffee table. She cringed when she saw the name flashing across the screen. “It’s Chris.”

James turned around. “Look, I know you don’t want to answer that but I have got to put my child down. So whatever it is, take a message and I’ll deal with it later. I’m not in the mood, Les. Sorry.”

Lesly was a little taken aback at James’ abruptness, but she answered the call anyway. “Hey, Chris, it’s Lesly,”

Chris nearly dropped the phone in his lap. He cleared his throat. “Oh, hey. Sorry. I thought I dialed-“

“You did. But it’s been crazy over here. Landon is sick, James is sick, and Sutton fell off of her swing set and Josh had to take her to the emergency room. It looked like her arm might’ve been broken,”

“Holy shit,” Chris muttered. “Um, well, I was calling because I was looking for JC. I guess I know why he turned his phone off now. I’m kind of stranded in the middle of nowhere. My car ran out of gas and I was wondering if he’d come and pick me up.”

“Where are you?”

“Good question. Um, I know I passed Ruby’s. I kept going for a while. There’s nothing out here but marsh land and trees,”

“Why the hell did you drive out that way?!”

Chris thought for a minute about what he should say. “Um, I had a lot on my mind, I guess you could say,”

“Oh,” Lesly was quiet. “Um, well, I guess I’ll have to be the one to come get you. I don’t know when Josh will be back and James isn’t feeling up to much right now.”

“Okay,” This is going to be awkward, he thought to himself. “Well, I guess call me when you’re a few miles past Ruby’s. Maybe I can direct you from there.”

“Alright,” Lesly said. “I’m leaving now.” She said goodbye and then met James on the stairs from putting down Landon. “I need to go pick up Chris. His car ran out of gas somewhere past Ruby’s on that old highway nobody drives on anymore. At least, that’s what I think happened.”

James eyed her friend and took a breath. “You are going to be nice to him, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be as nice as I can be from where I stand,” Lesly responded, truthfully. They walked back into the living room together and Lesly began to collect her purse.

James sighed. “I swear, today has been one thing after another around here.” She plopped down on the couch and looked at Olivia, who had fallen asleep on top of two stuffed animals. “I knew she’d finally wear herself out. Anyway, call me if you get lost trying to find him or whatever. And please let me know if and when you find him.”

Lesly nodded and bent down to give James a quick hug. “I will. We can talk more about the job later if that’s okay. Call me when you hear something about Sutton, please.” James only smiled wistfully and said goodbye. Lesly waved as she headed toward the front door. She walked to her car and got in, the feelings of excitement slowly trickling away. She shouldn’t have cared one way or the other about picking up Chris. In fact, she should have been mad that she was having to do this. If he was stupid enough to drive out to the middle of nowhere, then why shouldn’t he walk back? She pulled out of the driveway and turned toward the direction of Ruby’s, knowing it was going to be a long night.

Chris watched the sun as it began to set over the trees. He sat on top of his hood and leaned back on the windshield. It was a beautiful night. A little warmer than normal and he was thankful for that. His mind had wandered all evening after he’d hung up with Lesly and he wished so much that they weren’t at odds with each other. A part of him wished he could’ve just started over from the beginning. He would’ve never gone back to Stephanie. He would’ve “manned up” and been what Lesly needed him to be. The last three months had been nothing but nonsense. Stephanie and a baby that wasn’t even his, Lesly and some random guy that sounded like the world’s biggest tool, and an argument, a division, that was going to last for the rest of their lives or so it seemed. He had given up everything. He had moved from the only city he’d been living in for the last 18 years. He had done it all for her. And she was going to leave and none of it made sense.

He felt his phone vibrate and picked up. “Hey,” he said, lifting his head off the windshield to peer down the road.

“Hi,” she replied. “I’m ten miles past Ruby’s. Did you pass an old, abandoned gas station?”

“Yeah,” he hopped off the car. “And then what looked like a condemned house after that.”

“Right,” Lesly continued driving. “Do you know how far past that house you were, exactly?”

“I’d say another mile,” Chris went around to the back of his car so that he could better hear and see her coming.

“Okay,” she looked ahead and saw a car in the distance. “I think I see your car.”

He jumped up and down and waved at her. “Do you see me?”

Lesly saw a figure jumping in front of the car. “Yeah. Be there in one second.”

She drove on and soon was pulling up next to his car. Chris collected his things from his car, locked it, and then got into the passenger seat of Lesly’s car.

“Thanks,” he said, awkwardly smiling at her.

“No problem,” Lesly lied, knowing that it was a problem. A huge problem. Today had been a wonderful day until she’d had to deal with this. But she refused to say anything else and turned her car around, heading back to Grayson. “Do you have a plan to get your car tomorrow?”

“I’ll figure something out,” Chris answered. He could feel the tension starting to mount. “Maybe JC can drive me back with some gas.”

“Depends on if he has to take care of Sutton. James is sick,” Lesly looked ahead, not bothering to look at him.

“I’ll figure something out,” Chris repeated, his tone with an edge of irritation. She didn’t always have to be so practical, did she?

“I’m sure you will,” Lesly muttered under her breath.

“Sorry? What is that supposed to mean?!” Chris couldn’t resist retorting.

“You always have it figured out, even when you have no idea what the hell you’re doing,” she snapped. “Moving here for one thing. That was dumb.”

“It was dumb. But I’m doing it,” Chris wanted to tell her about her father’s house, but he knew she’d lose it. She was on her way right now as it was.

“Well, have fun with that. I got a job today in Savannah. I’m leaving in February,” she announced.

Chris was reserved and refused to say anything. They were quiet until they came into town. She drove him over to his efficiency and threw the car into park. “See you,” she unlocked the car door, but Chris didn’t budge. Instead, he turned to face her. She was trying her best to keep her cool and he knew it. But he also knew what he did to her. He could irritate the shit out of her in a minute and turn her on the next.

“You’re never going to forgive me are you?” he spoke softly, his body turned toward hers.

“You’re not serious, are you?” Lesly put her head on the steering wheel. “Really, Chris, this conversation is done. I’m not having it with you again.”

“You know, I realize I was awful to you. And I wish I could do it all over again, you know that. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. And I don’t ever think I’ll love anyone else like I’ve loved you. You brought me to life in a way that no woman ever has, Les. And I know. I know it’s too late. But I moved here just live a normal, everyday life. You were just the bonus to that. Hey, I’m not trying to sugar coat anything. I know I messed up. I love you. And we were good together, you know? You can’t just pretend none of it happened because it did. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ll always regret losing you, but I’ll never regret finding you,” Chris didn’t wait for her to respond, simply opened the car door and left. Lesly watched him walk to his tiny apartment and go inside.

She sat for a minute in the car, her heart racing. How many times would he have to apologize? How many times would she ignore these feelings inside of her that she knew were for him. She hadn’t been honest with herself because she knew on those days that were hardest for her, Chris came to her mind often, making her feel relief from those minutes of sadness that coursed through her. He meant well. He loved her. He loved her. Lesly felt her hand press against the handle of the car door. She opened it and got out, walking towards his apartment. Her head was spinning, her mind racing. I’ll never regret finding you.

Lesly stood at his doorstep, her hand balled into a fist, ready to tap on his door. And then? Then what? She knocked. There was a job waiting for her in Savannah. A good job. Chris had lied to her. He had cheated for god’s sake. Why was she standing here now? And what good would it do? She thought about the Chris from two years ago. That was a different person and she knew it. Chris had grown up. He had taken care of her when her world had fallen apart.

“I’m still mad at you,” was the first thing she told him when he opened the door.

“I’m still mad at me, too,” he told her.

They both stood looking at each other.

“Well, that’s one thing we can agree on,” Lesly stepped forward, her arms feeling drawn around his neck.

“We have to start somewhere,” Chris rested his hands on her waist.

“You grew up,” she pulled her body close to his.

“You made me want to grow up,” he rested his head on her forehead.

“Kiss me,” Lesly didn’t wait for him to respond to her request, simply reached up and kissed him first. 

Two Weeks Later

“Close your eyes,”

“Chris, this is ridiculous. Where could you possibly be taking me in Grayson that I wouldn’t know?”

“Exactly. So close your eyes!”

Lesly sighed but had to smile at him anyway. In the last two weeks, her whole world had gone from sliding out of control to a normal she hadn’t felt in a long time. The day after she’d made up with Chris, she’d called Jenna Wolotosky and declined the position. However, Jenna had been so taken by Lesly that she’d offered to come to Grayson and help her start her own business in town. Lesly had put her in touch with a realtor friend of Chad’s and in six months, she’d open Les Designs right across the street from Brewster’s. Jenna had even offered to help her out through the first month with creating a budget and bringing a few of her dresses from Jenna’s Closet to the new store.

Almost a week after that, Dane had showed up on her doorstep and asked her to go to lunch with him. He’d cleaned up and had said he’d started going to AA meetings with Brianne. He’d also found a job in a neighboring town with an office supply company working in their mailroom. It wasn’t much, but it was a start and Dane had told Lesly that he wanted to start over and be the brother he should be. Brianne had even dyed her hair a natural color and looked worlds better than she had months before. Dane had even taken Chris for coffee at Brewster’s and given him his blessing to date Lesly and asking for a relationship with both of them. Lesly couldn’t help but think their parents were looking down on them with pride. She still couldn’t believe the drastic change, but she was so thankful that Dane was back in her life again.

And then, today, Chris had picked her up and told her he had a surprise for her. The day before, Chad and Lane had left for China, but not before calling Chris to let him know the house was ready and that he could move in whenever he was ready or whenever he’d shown it to Lesly first. Chris had hardly slept and couldn’t wait to show her the house. It was completely new on the inside and out and looked worlds different from what it had before. He was nervous, of course. There was a chance she might not like it and want to sell it to a stranger because of the memories locked inside of what it used to be. But he kept positive and had to tell himself she’d love it and that soon they’d both be in it together.

Lesly closed her eyes as the car made its way around Grayson. She knew the town like the back of her hand but knew that Chris was doing everything in his power to confuse her by going off different paths and roads to get to wherever they were going. All he’d said was that it was a new start and she would be excited when she saw it.

Soon the car pulled into the driveway and Chris looked over at Lesly. “Okay, baby. Open your eyes,” he told her and watched as her face went from confusion to shock.

“This is my old house,” she almost whispered. “What..I mean, why..” she couldn’t form a sentence.

“I bought it,” Chris replied, reaching over and squeezing her hand. “It’s mine. Or ours. And I –or we- can move in whenever we want. If you want to.”

Lesly was silent and Chris didn’t know what it meant. He searched her face but she gave him nothing, only got out of the car and slowly made her way to the front door. The house had been painted beige with darker shutters. The rocking chairs still sat there but they were newer models and the porch now wrapped around to the back of the house. Chris followed her to the door and unlocked it for her. She stepped inside to see an open living room that connected to the kitchen and dining room. It was one, big huge space now, but Lesly liked it. The walls were painted a light greyish-blue and there were pops of red throughout. Her old room was now an office that connected to the master bedroom, which was enormous. Dane’s room was the guest bedroom, complete with its own toilet and shower.

“I don’t believe it,” she breathed, turning to Chris. “When did you-“

“I bought it in December,” Chris wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “I bought it for you. And me. And whoever else decides to join us.”

Lesly chuckled and leaned her head against Chris’ chest. “I just don’t believe it. I can’t believe you did all of this!”

“You’ll have to thank Chad and Lane when they get back. They helped out a lot,” Chris leaned in to kiss her cheek and nuzzled his nose into her hair.

She turned around to face him and shook her head in amazement. “I love you so much,” she reached up to kiss him and lingered for a moment. “And of course I want to move in here with you! Also, don’t get any ideas about anyone else joining us for a while. Unlike James, I don’t get pregnant every time someone looks at me!”

Chris snickered at how James was now 6 weeks pregnant and had told JC that after this one was born, he’d be having some major surgery. Chris and Lesly both had laughed at James when she’d told them she was that many weeks along and Lesly reminded her that it had most likely happened when she and JC had gotten it on back at Chad’s Christmas party.

“Thank goodness,” he chuckled and looked down at her. “I love you. Thanks for taking me back, Les. I can’t imagine living in here without you. I mean, I’d manage it, but it would be difficult. You’re the reason I even wanted to move here in the first place. It wouldn’t be right without you as my roomie.”

Lesly pulled away, “Roomie? Huh. So, do roomies have sex a lot?”

“These roomies will,” Chris picked her up, her legs swung around his waist. “In fact, I think we could probably go right now and christen our new bed.”

“I have no problem with that,” Lesly said, and clung to him tighter as he carried her into the bedroom to begin their new life together.