He'd lied since he could remember. That's how Clay got on in life. He manipulated, he lied, he twisted things so that the cards were dealt in his. And he usually won. When he'd been four, he found out how easy it was to maneuver a simple game of Candy Land. From there, he found out ways to cheat at Monopoly, video games, and even neighborhood flag football. And if things didn't go the way he wanted them to, he'd manipulate until he was satisfied with the misery of the other party involved. James had been easy to lie to because she seemed to want to believe every word he told her. But soon she'd become more difficult to control and he hadn't wanted to lose her. Yet, when she told him she was pregnant, a baby was the last thing on his mind and the last thing he'd ever wanted in his life. Children were baggage and codependent and he had never wanted them. Leaving James on that floor had been the best thing he could've ever done. 

And he'd be damned if Anna ever found out he'd had a child.

He looked at her, sleeping soundly in their bed. They'd argued earlier that evening. She'd questioned his whereabouts the other night and he had hit the wall with his fist in order not to hit her. Anna had looked at her husband in shock. She'd never seen him so angry. Clay had walked away and gone up to his office for the rest of the night. He reluctantly went back to their bedroom, coerced her into having sex with him-mainly because he needed it, not because he wanted it from her-and they'd fallen asleep. Or at least she had. The whole conversation with the lawyer down south had been weighing on his mind. He didn't want to see James, nor did he want to see the girl. Sutton. Naturally. James had fallen in love with that name years ago. He couldn't help but at least wonder what she looked like, how she acted, if she was anything like him. He quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Even if he wanted anything to do with his biological daughter, he knew James would prevent it. He'd also looked up the name of the man the lawyer mentioned that wanted to adopt Sutton. A former boy band singer who had a reality dance show. He'd wondered how James had managed to pull that one off, and then remembered her gay friend Chad who was related to some singer that Clay had forgotten about. This had to be him. He didn't wish any happiness for James, but there was a soft part of him, a tiny soft part of him, that hoped his daughter would be taken care of by this former flash in the pan.

Then, he rolled over on his side and tried to fall asleep. 

**

The news and excitement of James' pregnancy had been somewhat short lived. Because of the Fourth of July Parade and then the 1st Annual Grayson County Talent Show, James and JC had had little time to celebrate with their family. Sutton had been beside herself when she'd found out. Already she was asking if it was a boy or a girl and every night before James turned off her light, Sutton would tell her mother that she wanted a baby sister. When James tried to explain that there wasn't any way of making that happen, Sutton informed her mother she would e-mail a letter to Santa Claus asking him for a baby sister.

 
The day of the talent show brought much excitement for the little town. Never had there been so many celebrities in at once. And by celebrities, JC had finally made contact with Joey, who'd brought his family to watch. And of course Chris had wholeheartedly accepted, telling JC it would be good to get away from life, although JC hadn't paid it much attention. The entire avenue of Main had been shut down in order to make room for the stage. James had decided that she would open the coffee shop but the auditions had been so overwhelming, that it was best if it had been held outside in front. Chairs were lining the sidewalk and part of the street where a large stage had been erected. The City Commissioner had even asked if there be a special section for him and his family to watch. James told JC it was because nothing had ever happened like this in the town and it would probably be the only time he had "box seats."

JC, Chris, and Joey were seated in the front and James and Sutton sat one row behind them with JC's and Sutton's parents. Chad and Lane were backstage, reluctantly for Lane, getting the contestants organized.

"No, honey, you are number 23. You can't be in front of number 2," Chad hastily pulled a thirteen-year-old girl away from the line and gently pushed her towards the back.

"Are you Joey Fatone?" the girl asked. "My mom says you were her favorite, whatever that means."

Chad blushed and stifled a laugh, "I'm afraid not, sweetie." He walked over to Lane, who was running a hand through his hair and looking quite perplexed. "I just got mistaken for a boybander. Ain't that something?"

Lane looked at him and shook his head. "I just got trampled on by two ten-year-old tap dancers. Do you know how much tap shoes hurt when they stomp on your feet?"

Chad touched his boyfriend's arm. "Oh, honey. I'm sorry. I know this isn't your cup of tea." Chad gave him a pitying look.

Lane smiled. "As long as we don't make a habit of this. Besides, I can't help but not help out James and JC. Now that she's pregnant, I think that adoption's going to happen quicker than we all thought."

Chad was just about to say something when he heard JC's voice in his headset. "Hey, we're about five minutes from starting. Is everyone ready?"

Chad responded quickly that everything back stage was set and ready to go. In a few minutes he heard JC's voice echoing from the stage, welcoming everyone to the first annual talent show in Grayson. That was met by scores of cheers. He then introduced James and Brewster's sponsorship, which was also met by cheering. Then he introduced the other two judges and Chad peeked out to see several women about James' age whooping and hollering from the back. 

James sat with Sutton in her lap and watched JC do his thing. He was somewhat hard on the contestants, just like she'd seen in a few episodes ofAmerica's Best Dance Crew that Kaylie had shown her on YouTube. But she agreed with most everything he'd said and the audience was either too star struck or awe-eyed to care. Literally, everyone in the town and surrounding areas had shown up. People she hadn't seen since high school were there, just to see what their little town was pulling off. Big'un Lester brought his band and sat in the middle of the audience. At one point, James could have sworn she heard him singing along (or trying to sing along) with a teenage boy who was singing "Country Fried" by Jason Aldean. 

The entire show lasted an hour and a half and in the end, Alina Dearing, a sixteen-year-old dancer from Sutton's studio, ended up winning the grand prize, which was an Annual Pass to Universal Orlando. The crowd went wild and all the contestants came out for one final bow. There was much excitement in the air and James knew it was going to be a long night because when it ended, no one seemed to want to go home. The coffee shop had a long line out the door and even Morrie's, which normally closed at seven, was staying open late. Sutton was far from being tired, even though it was almost nine, and was bouncing up and down with Joey's daughters by the stage. 

James was finally able to make it over to JC, who'd been bombarded immediately by old fans or just townspeople wanting to congratulate him. Right before she walked up to him, she saw the City Commissioner talking to him and heard him say, "We'd like to give you the option of opening your own talent studio. It could be adjacent to the ballet studio, but offer singing and advanced dance lessons. Here's my card. You call me and let me know. It's yours if you want it. You've brought more income into our little town than anything we've ever had before."

JC looked floored, "Wow. Thank you, Commissioner! I'll certainly let you know as soon as I talk it over with my-"

"You don't need to talk it over!" James heard herself interrupt. "Sorry, baby, I couldn't help but overhear. And I'm all for it!"

The Commissioner laughed and looked from James to JC. "Well, you don't have to let me know right now. But it does look like you seem to have her support!"  He walked away and JC looked down at James, immediately grabbing her in a hug. 

"I can't believe it," he said into her ear, "Thank you, baby. Thank you so much."

James pulled away and was grinning. "You're welcome. But I think you did this one on your own."

JC could feel the ring burning a hole in his pocket. He'd already planned on asking her after the crowd had died down. He'd even had Kaylie and Madison set up a special table in Brewster's. But he couldn't wait. He was just about to get down on one knee, when Chris jumped on his back tackling him playfully to the ground. JC panicked for a minute until he was sure the ring box was still secure and then threw Chris off of him, both of them laughing hysterically.

"Dude, that was awesome! So fun!" he turned to James. "And this town, it may be small, but I can see why he likes it here so much."

James chuckled at the two men, "Thanks. I'm going to find Sutton before she runs off somewhere."

JC turned to Chris and shook his head, "I was just about to propose, you moron!"

"Sorry. I had too much energy pent up. Hey, who's the girl behind the counter at Brewster's? She's cute," Chris cocked his head towards the shop.

JC squinted his eyes and hoped he wasn't talking about the teenagers. He then saw Lesly pouring a cup of coffee for a customer and grinned. "That's Lesly Parsons. She's the other manager. And you have a girlfriend."

Chris shook his head, "Maybe not for long. We'll talk about that later," he started to walk off and then turned back to JC, "Hey, you did the right thing, man. Moving from L.A. I mean. James is awesome."

JC smiled, felt around for the ring box, and went to go find James to see if he could distract her. The night was far from over.