- Adrian Stone agreed to assisting his one-time flame, Kirsten Sutton, with Alice’s Haven Cafe. While working closer together their friendship became stronger, but once Kirsten’s cousin, Dylan Tyree, came to town she insisted on flirting with Adrian, against Kirsten’s objections.
- Patrick Sutton insisted his campaign manager, Ryan Bauer, get closer to Damien Crenshaw so that they could find out exactly how he rigged the votes for Mayor of Stone Creek. Unwillingly, Ryan roped his girlfriend, Marina Thurlow into the cause as well.
- Gillian Sutton Crenshaw came to her father and insisted that she become his alibi when the cops eventually came around to question Patrick about Damien Crenshaw’s attempted murder. Patrick Sutton flipped the script and asked if Gillian was the one who pushed her husband.
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
Stone Creek: Sage Gardens
Alice’s Haven Cafe; Inside
Kirsten Sutton pulled into the parking lot of Alice’s Haven Cafe and found herself more at peace in this very parking lot than she has been anywhere else. Of course, it shouldn’t be that way. Kirsten still had so much work to get done -- especially where the new daycare was concerned. She knew that by promising Adrian the daycare she would be plunged into at least a month’s worth of stress. 
The old Kirsten wouldn’t have promised anyone something so time consuming just for them to take a job. Which troubled her. She has no idea if she is overstepping her boundaries within her own promises to her husband Charlie. Kirsten was going out of her way to make Adrian feel comfortable.
The thirty year old blonde stepped out of her car and beeped her alarm. Her eyes, trained after years of practice, studied her surroundings. This was home to her. So she entered the cafe and tried to brush away her worries.
“I was wondering when you’d be in,” the voice of her former flame greeted her once she was safely in proximity. Kirsten looked up at him and smiled awkwardly. “Is something wrong?” He asked, but she shook it off.
She had just been thinking about him, that was all, “It’s nothing, I finalized a couple of things with the contractors for the daycare. I’m sorry Adrian” Kirsten immediately apologized upon realizing his initial greeting before she rambled on about the daycare, “Am I late for work?”
Adrian walked around the counter and hugged Kirsten. “You’re fine, don’t worry about it.” The smell of his cologne was enough to melt Kirsten as she tried hard not to hang on to his very soothing and comfortable words. “I went ahead and called-in one of the waiters, though, as Angela seems to have had car troubles?”
“She lives on the other side of town,” Kirsten recites, knowingly. “I really hope you didn’t call in Jimmy --” The face that Adrian made gives away his answer before either one of them could speak and Kirsten frowns. “He is the slowest closer we have...”
“The poor kid has heart, though.” Adrian defends.
This, Kirsten thinks over, she shrugs in agreement and makes a note to not usher him so badly. “Well, if that is all then I can take things from here... seeing as how I have already taken up a lot of your time by not showing up on time. Does David have Violet today?”
“She’s with Dizzy,” Adrian replied, “I can stay around a little longer if you need me to. I really don’t mind being here Kirsten. Besides we need to at least communicate a little bit more if I’m going to be your new assistant, don’t you think?”
“I do.” The blond moved a lock of her hair out of her face and smiled at her oldest friend. It was nice to have him here in Stone Creek once again and even better to have him working alongside her. But whenever she was alone with him, Kirsten can’t help but remember every mole on his body. She wonders if hiring him was a bad idea and then quickly reminds herself that he is the only one that she trusts... apart from her husband.
“But you need to go pick-up Violet, that little girl needs her father.” Kirsten reminds him.
He nods his head and rids himself of the apron that he had tied neatly around his waist. “Oh, by the way,” Adrian says, his lips curl upwards as he speaks. “Your cousin came by earlier looking for you. I told her that she could probably find you in town... but I have this weird feeling she wasn’t looking for you, exactly.”
“How so?” Kirsten asked curiously.
Adrian chuckles. “She was a little hands-y.”
“What is it with the women in my family?” She placed her hands in front of her face in embarrassment and then shook her head heavily. Kirsten had thought that Dylan was done flirting with Adrian, she had thought that they had made an agreement. But apparently not. “It’s mostly the women on my mother’s side of the family -- actually. They’re just so damned brazen.”
“I remember a time when you were like that.”
Kirsten tried to shake away the memories. “I was never like Dylan Tyree... have you seen my cousin? I mean... obviously you have. We are nothing-a-like. Dylan is just so damned headstrong on getting her way and I am a lot calmer than she.”
The man folded his arms and smirked. “I remember a Kirsten Thurlow who loved leather jackets and riding on the handle bars of my bicycle as we pretended we were traveling the world. It was with a younger version of you that I shared my first cigarette.”
“We thought we were so cool.” Kirsten mocked, she thinks back to when she was a child of thirteen years old and how they promised each other the world would never tear them apart. They would go out to Boulstridge Mountain after school and share a pack of cigarettes that Adrian had stolen previously from his mother.
Adrian laughed. “We were brazen, and then somewhere along the way you grew up and started caring about school and your family and that stupid jock named Kent Wallace--”
“Kent is a good man.” Kirsten defended.
As silence fell between the two of them, Kirsten began to survey the crowd around them. For a late evening crowd they seemed to be piling in now and she wondered if there had been a sports game at the local high school.
The next words nearly came to fruition in her mind as Adrian spoke them, “Too bad you were never around when I finally got a motorcycle.”
She turned back to him and smirked.
“I was.” Kirsten replied somberly.
They both looked on at each other in silence and she wanted to approach Adrian and lock lips with him, but instead she pats him on the shoulder and smiles. If they were to continue working together, she knows she has to keep a boarder between them. “Go and pick-up Violet, I have a handle on things here... thank you Adrian, for everything.”
The words linger between them for far too long, and then Kirsten finds herself watching as Adrian heads out for the night.
[.....]
Scene Two:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Sutton Enterprises; Gillian Sutton Crenshaw’s Office
The day had passed her by and for Gillian Sutton Crenshaw she couldn’t have wished for anything more. She knew it wasn’t going to last forever, her being by her husband’s side at the hospital as he rested so pleasantly. It had been so long since she had been out of the office and since she was the CEO of Sutton Enterprises coming back to work was what she needed to do.
So she sits in her chair, working through the day. Ignoring the frowns, gestures and comments from everyone on her staff as they pass her in the halls or knock on her office door. It was so consuming that most of the work Gillian had wanted to finish didn’t even get done. She sighs heavily at the thought. How easily she could have been with Damien right about now and not have missed a beat. Gillian can hear the heels of another person wandering closer to her door and thinks how it was just what she needed -- someone to fake a smile at.
“Hey,” the voice betrayed her. Her aunt, Kimberly Sutton, stepped into the room and leaned against her desk. The older woman looked ravishing today in a Nordstrom heather-grey blazer and dress pants, pink blouse, and Valentino heels. Gillian couldn’t help but wonder how Kimberly seems to always have everything pulled together. Kimberly Sutton was the very definition of perfection.
And here Gillian was, so very out of sorts. “Aunt Kimberly,”
“I just wanted to come check-up on you.” She acknowledged, which Gillian was very thankful for. “A couple of others around here were more than willing to pitch-in and help cover things while you were gone. I rallied a team together to keep the company in status quo until you were able to make any decisions. It was very productive actuall--”
“I’ve seen.” Gillian says, a little harsher than she had hoped. The younger woman lowers her head. She hates that every conversation now plateau's at some weird awkward break. Like everyone was walking on thin ice around her, careful that she would plunge into a frozen lake if they don’t. “I mean,” Gillian swiftly softened her tone and lifted her head. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Kimberly insisted. “Is there anything I can get you?”
Gillian shook her head, she lowered her shoulders in doubt. Then as quickly as the breath of air had come, Gillian sighed heavily and frowned. “I need to ask you something very important and it’s alright if you say no. But with Damien in the hospital I just don’t seem to have time...”
“I can swing by the hospital--”
“No.” Gillian replied, “It has nothing to do with Damien -- well, it has a little to do with my husband. But I want to be the one that stays by his hospital bed. Not that I don’t think you’re capable of that... so please don’t take any offense. Aunt Kimberly, I need you here at Sutton Enterprises.”
It had taken Gillian a while to realize this. She had actually been trying to figure out a schedule for herself in which she could be in two places at once and so far Gillian had come up with a couple sketches of a time machine... which she crumbled up and threw in the waste basket. Then it clicked to her -- she didn’t need to be in both places at once. She just needed someone she trusted whole-heartedly to fill-in for her while she was away.
“I know that I only asked you to come back to be a consultant for the company but things have really changed and I want you to know that I really look up to you Aunt Kimberly. Do you think that you’d be able to continue keeping things in order for me while I’m out?” Gillian asked. “Like on a part-time basis... until I can figure out everything that’s going on with Damien.”
“I...” The older woman fumbled over her words. “Are you certain about this Gillian?”
She shakes her head lightly. “I thought I could just wave my hands and take control of this entire company, the work that I put into this place in the last two years was overshadowed by the work you had just done in the last month... You deserve to be here just as much as I do... maybe even more. My father keeps putting you in a bad light but I just want you to know... I don’t see you that way.”
“That does means a lot to me. It must have been hard having had Patrick as a father growing up --”
“Aunt Kimberly,” Gillian interrupted. “I do respect you and I want you to help run this company but I have one request from you... keep my father out of this company for as long as you can. I want the two of us to work together once Damien pulls through this.”
Gillian can feel her aunt pull for her hand as they both locked eyes. “Then let’s do this.”
“Are you serious?” She asked, relieved.
“I am thrilled to have you ask me to stay on longer,” Kimberly admits, she let a little chuckle out and Gillian could notice her aunt was\s about to start to cry, “I’m really glad that you want me here and for the first time I feel confident in helping you bring this company back into its rightful place.”
“Thank you!” Gillian jumped out of her seat and moved over to Kimberly’s side. The hug she was about to give her aunt was more than just a thank you, it meant so much more and she only hoped that Kimberly understood that.
[.....]
Scene Three:
Stone Creek; 549 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Wilkinson Cottage]
Penelope, Gideon & Daphne Wilkinson’s Home
“How are you?” Greta Fowler asked over the phone she had just stolen from her mother’s grasp.
It had only been a couple of days since anyone in her immediate family had talked to Bentley Wilkinson but he sounded more grounded than he had been in months. He explained their grandmother’s condition to Greta and she let out a sigh of relief as Bentley began to explain their adventures in Cuttlebone City.
“Put him on speaker!” Daphne ordered from Greta’s side.
Greta rolled her eyes, and then did as told. “Bentley, you’re on speaker now --”
“She’s fine, mother.” He spoke with such urgency that Greta knew there was tension in his voice. But she tried to not pay any mind to it. Instead she wanted to know more than just that their grandmother was fine -- although Greta was happy to hear it -- she wanted to know what the doctors had thought.
“How many more surgeries will she have to go through?” Greta asked.
She placed the phone in-between herself and her mother. It was the first time either had been in a situation like this since her grandmother was away on one of her cruises. Greta was much younger then. She would listen as Penelope told them stories of strangers she had encountered on these trips and how over the top they were. She would tell Greta about the stories of romance or action that others would bestow Penelope with and Greta would dream of the day she would get to experience them for herself.
Now things were different. Now the reason they were on the phone wasn’t to hear stories of Penelope’s time on a cruise ship. Greta stood by the phone and waited to hear her brother’s response to her question.
“The doctor’s don’t know anything yet.” He spoke.
This news irritated Greta Wilkinson Fowler. For a woman well into her thirties with a clearly level-head approach to life, Greta reacted more like a child when something irrational to her occurred. Like when professionals had no answers to questions they assured other’s they would find out.
“When will they know anything?” Greta snapped
“Greta!” Daphne snipped. “These things take time, you have to understand that sweetie. The good thing is that your Grams is stable after this last surgery and the doctor’s are still positive about her care. We have to stay strong and hope for the best.”
They wide-eyed woman scowled. “We did that last time.”
“We can do it again.” She hears her brother respond, there’s a slight pause as she could hear him talking to somebody in the room and then he returned to their call. “I am going to have to call you back later, the doctor’s are here again and Aunt Isabelle thinks they’re going to finally tell us something positive.”
“Please call us back!” Daphne insists.
Greta tells her brother goodbye before she tries to focus on the main fact: Their grandmother is still alive and fighting the cancer, that is all they really needed to hear. She sighs heavily. “What do we do now?... It’s not like we could go see her because by the time we get there visiting hours would be over or she just might be tired from the surgery... we should have went to Cuttlebone City for the weekend.”
“You need to relax.” Her mother’s calming nature was able to hook Greta in as she sat there with the phone clutched in her hands. “You need to focus on something else entirely. Your Grams is going to be just fine because we all know Penelope doesn’t know how to be anything else.”
“I’ve always had this feeling that she was so disappointed in me.” Greta admitted, deep-in-thought. “Whenever Grams is around it is always Bentley this, or Bentley that! Whenever I am able to get a word in she shifts the conversation back to him... then he goes and volunteers to take care of her while she is undergoing surgery... can I ever win?”
Daphne frowns. “This isn’t about winning... is it?”
She took a moment to think about things before she nodded her head, no. “Laurie wants me to help her find a place of her own. I keep trying to think of an excuse to not help her... Grams would probably tell me to kick her to the curb and forget about her --”
“If Penelope knew the real reason the two of you stopped being friends, Greta,” Daphne replied, she sits before her daughter. “She would probably tell you to stick a foot in your mouth and shove it. You need to right the wrong between the two of you... even if you don’t think you were in the wrong to begin with... At least at that point you could say you’ve done everything in your power and nothing more.”
“What would you do?”
“I would help Laurie out because sometimes people do need help, it has nothing to do with your past, to me. Even if Laurie was a complete stranger I would help her out because that is what we do and that is all we know. There is a lot more to life then holding a grudge or feeling left out.”
Greta sighed. “I do miss her.”
“I know that sweetie, I can see it in your eyes.”
The words, her mother’s words fit so perfectly within her emotions that Greta found nothing but comfort in them. She slipped into a foolish grin and lifted herself off the couch. There was still so much to do today and she had yet to get it all done. “I should go and get dinner ready, or at least by this point I should pass by Gladys’ on the way home...”
“I’m sure Miles wouldn’t mind.”
“He wouldn’t.” Greta replied, “I just don’t feel right though, not getting home and making dinner in time for him to be there. Especially since my work is usually done by six at the latest. Even though I already know that Miles would eat catnip and tell me it was the best meal he ever had...” Greta mocked with hand gestures.
“Then you have the greatest husband in the world.” Her mother chuckled.
This got Greta to chuckle as well.
[.....]
Scene Four:
Stone Creek; Sage Gardens
Stone Creek City Hall; Damien Crenshaw’s Office
Ryan Bauer slipped into his boss’ office which had become more of a shrine than anything else; flowers and balloons had lingered in wait for Damien Crenshaw to return home, some deflating as time had passed with edible arrangements constantly circulating the office. This made Ryan question the power that the Mayor poised. Especially if everyone in Stone Creek had presumably hated him. Ryan did, however, know some were so easily sucked in by Damien’s charm and they had also been some of the more powerful families in the city.
He shook his head at their naivety.
The sun had soon disappeared from the frost covered day and as most citizens of Stone Creek left the City Hall for home, he was able to sneak past the few that had stayed late. Damien’s assistant, Leo Pierce, being one of these people who seemed more willing to stay late into the evening to get things done. Ryan had hardly spoken a word to Leo -- being only a janitor in the halls. So he felt no remorse for sending him on a wild goose chase and breaking into Damien’s office.
It was bland. Ryan had stepped foot in this office many times before, lately it was to clean it. But the times before that it was to admire the work Damien had put into his scheme in securing his rights to being Stone Creek’s Mayor. An accomplishment that still stunned him.
‘We need to secure ourselves a man on the inside’ Patrick Sutton had once told Ryan. This was before they had agreed on Ryan being that man. Before they had fathomed taking down Damien Crenshaw. This was when they had tried to turn Clifton Briggs against Damien. Ryan had tried to intimidate the man but he wouldn’t budge and that was when they had awoken to the truth; Clifton had to be the man behind Damien’s win. If only they could prove it.
“I’m his personal janitor!” Ryan spoke, he had barely grasped the position and as he stood before his rightful boss, he began to chuckle. “Do you know how many janitorial jobs I have taken to men that I cannot stand? I could win the lottery at this rate. I could buy the lottery at this rate!”
Patrick remained stoic. “Then this is the perfect job for you.”
“Nobody will notice that I am even there, so yes, I can easily slip in and out without question. The thing is, how do we slip past Damien Crenshaw if he will always be watching my every move. Do you really think he is too stupid to realize our agenda?” Ryan asked.
“Damien Crenshaw isn’t a stupid man,” It was a mere observation Ryan had hoped, “But he is pretty reckless and that is what I am banking on. That man has made many enemies so he will have a lot to be dealing with... that is when we will strike. When he’s not looking.”
“But when is that?”
Patrick shrugged. “Leave that to me.”
Was this the moment that Patrick had been talking about? And if so, was Patrick the one that pushed Damien Crenshaw down the steps at the Lakeside Inn? Some questions were meant to be kept secret until they were asked out loud Ryan had assured himself. Now he just needed to find proof that Damien rigged the election. He found himself at the man’s desk and searching for anything that would tie his hands.
But could he find it? Ryan slipped into Damien’s chair and smirked at how heavy it felt to see things from Damien’s perspective. The laptop that hibernated in front of him seemed like the next viable solution so he scooted it closer to himself and propped it open. Files upon files of nonsense cluttered the screen. He continued to search until he found the odd man out -- a file he couldn’t view.
Ryan furrowed his brow in frustration. This had to be what he was looking for and now it was at a seconds grasp. He looked over to his right at a picture of Gillian Sutton Crenshaw and how beautiful she had looked. How she was so easily persuaded to join forces with such a monster...
A voice from beyond the door yanked him out of his thoughts. Quickly, Ryan began to scramble around. He shut the laptop down and stood up from the chair. He was sure that Leo had ended the chase and made a bee-line for Damien’s office where Ryan was sure to be caught.
Panic had not stricken Ryan’s eyes as much as a sense of urgency had taken over. He slipped behind a curtain but found it too obvious and instead made his way across the room in hopes he could slip out the door in time. But Leo’s footsteps could be heard closing in.
Ryan locked his eyes on a closet in the room and made his way towards it in a mad dash. He slipped in just in time as Leo Pierce stepped into the office and walked into the center of the room. His voice, ragged and torn, Ryan covered his own mouth in hopes that Leo wouldn’t hear a thing.
The younger man stood there. His red curls of hair flopped against the rimmed glasses that were held up by his pink nose. He was waiting for something, as if he had heard Ryan’s breathing and was waiting for him to drop dead.
But Ryan calmed himself down and watched as Leo made his way towards his boss’ desk and opened a few drawers. There was no way to tell for certain, but Ryan felt as if Leo was taking away the only evidence Ryan needed. Then Leo was gone. Ryan sighed heavily.
[.....]
[.....]
Scene Five:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condos #15]
Marina Thurlow’s Apartment
“Are you crazy?!” Marina Thurlow seethed, she balled her fists and stepped away from her boyfriend. The morning sun had shone through the curtains of her apartment’s living room and if anyone was familiar with the expression slapped upon her face it was two out of the three other people in the room. She folded her arms and let out a breath of deposited air. “If that man would have caught you...”
“But he didn’t.” Ryan insists.
She shakes her head heavily. A simple gesture that gets Ryan to let down his guard and wander towards her. In any other situation Marina would accept this as his retreat but today she needed him to understand that this was serious. So she moved away from him and remembered that she was on her way to make breakfast when they were interrupted by her mother, Helen, and her companion, Patrick Sutton. So instead of saying another word, Marina stepped away from them and entered the kitchen to get some sort of relief, if she could at this point.
Left in the room, Ryan turned towards his boss and shrugged. “She will come around to see that we needed this more than anything right now. There is something on Damien’s laptop that he is keeping locked-up and he doesn’t want anyone to see it.”
“We just have to get to it.”
Ryan can spot Helen from the corner of his eye and watched as half of her attention was on Marina in the other room. So he was surprised when she turned and locked eyes with him and proceeded with the next question. “But how?”
“If I can somehow get into those files...”
“Damien is a very smart man, I have to admit that myself,” Patrick Sutton insisted, “He’s not going to just leave the password around his office on the off chance that he ‘forgets’ it one day. If anything... that folder will lead us to nothing but a dead-end and hell -- it could be a trap. We need to find more evidence than just some files in a folder that is out of our reach.”
He could be right and Ryan knew this. Everything they had been trying to work towards could all be destroyed with one trip-up and if the folder was only just a best-laid-out trap for them it could be the end for Ryan. He know understood why Marina had been so upset to find-out his actions of last night. “Will the two of you excuse me? I want to go and check on Marina.”
Helen nodded her head in encouragement which sent Ryan into the kitchen looking at his girlfriend as she started breakfast and tried to ignore his presence. He leaned against the doorframe and smirked. “I shouldn’t have done it, I know that.”
“Then why did you?” Marina asked, under her breath.
Ryan shrugged without thinking, maybe it’s just a reflex but he quickly realized that she wouldn’t have seen him answer without words so he made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek lightly. “I just want to make you proud.”
“If you wanted to make me proud you wouldn’t be going out and manipulating people just to get your way. Ryan, I love you. You’ve made me proud already just by having a job and a direction with your life and not giving-up. But you have to understand that this could be very deadly... someone has already tried to kill Damien Crenshaw...”
“Which makes this the perfect time to make a move.”
“Normally I would agree with you.” She replied shortly, and then continued in a hushed voice, “I think there’s more going on here right now than trying to get justice against him. There’s something that we need to figure out before we start blackmailing a man in a coma... like finding out who shoved him down that flight of stairs. Don’t you get it? Someone wants to silence him... someone like Patrick Sutton. Do you trust that man?”
Ryan gulped. “He wouldn’t murder his opponent.”
“Wouldn’t he?”
It’s obvious to Ryan that there’s still some uncertainty in Marina. Especially in trusting a man born with the Sutton last name. Or maybe it is just the man himself and his actions -- either way he needed to sooth her fears so he turned Marina towards himself so they could lock eyes.
“I trust that Patrick Sutton had nothing to do with Damien’s accident. There has to be trust in everyone on-board for this whole thing to work out. He might be a ruthless man at times but murder is beyond him and I want you to know that no matter what happens standing by Patrick’s side is the best thing for us. Especially if we want to get the story.”
“It would be a really big story.” Marina admitted.
Ryan smirked. “Imagine the recognition you would get for helping reveal our Mayor as a fraud... you would definitely get your own office at the newspaper and you won’t have to worry about Leia Joplin anymore.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Helen spoke, she stood in the doorway. “Patrick had to leave for Sutton Enterprises... apparently someone tipped him off to the fact that Gillian asked Kimberly Sutton to stay longer with the company...”
Marina perked up. “Do you think there’s a story in there?”
Ryan shook his head. “Patrick won’t let Seth print anything that has to do with the Sutton’s, especially if they were feuding... so hold off on the wheels in that pretty little mind of yours.”
“Little agent man has a point.” Helen replied.
[.....]
Scene Six:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Sisyphean’s; Inside
For Colleen Worthington-Joplin any sort of meeting had to be extravagant and held at Sisyphean’s, so Diem knew that once her father had declined the invitation to have lunch, her mother would take his place; immediately insisting they go somewhere where Diem wouldn’t make a scene. Ever since she were a child, Diem couldn’t stand the uppity political games her mother played and even now -- as an adult, she hated them even more.
“It’s nice to see you’ve located some manners,” Colleen greeted, she offered her daughter a seat in which Diem took begrudgingly. She needed information out of her father about William. But since he decided his own clients were more important than family it was very unlikely that she would hear it from him. Diem knew getting her mother to toss back a few martini’s would do the trick.
So Diem gritted her teeth and bore a tragic smile. “I must have had them hidden away with all the money you threw my way as a child... I’m sorry that’s it’s taken me this long to live up to your standards, mother.”
Colleen weighed the response, but shrugged it off. This was a habit that Diem had hated the most while living under her parents’ roof. Their lack of interest in anything she did. Wether it be good or bad. Mostly, though, it was good.
“Have you seen your cousin Jessica’s new boyfriend?” Colleen asked, she pursed her lips. Her attention on the menu in her hands.
Diem already knew what she was going to order. She also knew what her mother would order so it was easier for her to focus on the woman in front of her instead of picking up the menu and avoiding conversation. “Cousin Jessica is going to dump whatever scum-sucker she’s got her claws in within the week...”
“Your cousin Jessica is a very smart woman.”
“So you’ve told me,” Diem recited, “Many times. Look, I don’t really want to spend all day here mother. I didn’t even want to come here in the first place but you always insist that we do. I would have liked it better if my father was here --”
“But he’s not.” Colleen snapped the menu closed and placed it to her side. She looked at Diem snidely and folded her arms. “You know he wouldn’t have come anyways, Diem. The only way to fit yourself into that man’s schedule is to either be one of his clients or to barge into his office -- which I’ve heard that you’ve already done recently.”
Diem tilted her head. “I need him to confirm something.”
“Well I am here, so please ask away.”
The waiter came over to their table and they both ordered their meals with Colleen ordering a martini for her appetizer. Diem could almost see her mother’s mouth watering at the thought. Once the waiter left, Diem felt the need to continue the conversation.
“When William last came to Stone Creek -- do you remember him taking Olivia and I camping?” Diem asked, she dwindled her thumbs. “He told me something recently and it really irked me. I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since.”
“Your father is a very territorial man. There are things that he has to do in order to keep this family in good social standing and I would have figured you’d be the one to follow in his footsteps.” She informed her daughter. “One day you are going to be forced with a decision that you’ll have to make; do you disappoint your child or do you continue to hurt them?”
Diem sat back. “So he did tell William to leave Stone Creek.”
“Do you let the sky fall or do you ... order another martini?” Colleen smirked, amused.
“Maybe this meeting was a bad idea...”
Colleen sighed heavily and reached for Diem’s hand. “Your father met with William prior to your camping trip because he didn’t want you to have to deal with William eventually leaving you again and you having to make the decision to keep that man out of your life. We know what happened between the two of you after Olivia was born. I know that you had to sacrifice your reputation with the Maverick family after William left the first time...”
“Then why did you make me feel like I was the one to blame.”
“Because we needed the Maverick family in order to keep the law-firm afloat, Diem,” Colleen replied, there was something in her voice that Diem had never heard before. It was the sound one made when they were first experiencing the signs of getting sick. It was dread. “Sacrificing you was the only thing we could do to smooth things over. But when William came back your father couldn’t do it a second time. He needed William to leave you again so that you could move forward with your life.”
“I hated William.”
Colleen nodded her head. “You hated him because of what you thought he did. It’s a lot easier to hate someone for what they did as opposed to hating them because you made the choice to do so. Look at you, Diem, look at you now. You’re so much stronger than you were.”
Diem pulled away from her mother. “I’ve become my own father.”
“Nobody could ever be Nathan Joplin; there’s nobody who could be as cold or as logical as that man.” Colleen replied, cooly. “That’s why I married him. I knew he would always have a plan for me so I wouldn’t have to work so hard at drawing up my own.”
The waiter brought their drinks over and Colleen took it willingly, lifting the martini up with a limp wrist and nearly finished the drink before locking eyes with her daughter.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Community College
“Do you think this all matters,” Cassie Lakhani asked, the question wasn’t meant to be deeper than a rain puddle, before she herself, pondered the question and stopped in her tracks. She waited as her companion stopped and turned back towards her.
Mac frowned. “Does what matter?”
“Community College.” Cassie caught up to Mac Kern and took a deep breath. “I was just thinking about how one day I want to see Lucian go off to college and then I started to think about how expensive it is to send a child to a University.”
“I’m pretty sure that Clifton would pay for it all.”
Cassie shrugged uncertainly, even though she knew that Mac was right. “I just don’t know if it really matters sending him off to an expensive university or letting him go to a community college... It’s an education either way and there are people out there in debt because of student loans and a useless degree--”
“I think you’re thinking too far ahead.” He replied.
“Too far ahead?” She shook her head. “When you become a mother you don’t realize how far ahead far ahead really is. Because I thought thinking about Lucian’s first steps was far ahead... now they are far behind us. He’s walking around and talking and tomorrow he’s going to be driving a car if I don’t think too far ahead in time...”
“What I mean is that you shouldn’t worry about that right now Cassie. I know that you will figure everything out when the time comes for Lucian to get behind the wheel of a car. You’re a smart woman. I think that you need to focus a little on yourself.”
“Isn’t that a little selfish?” She asked, biting the inside of her cheek. The breeze, what little there was today brushed her hair as she thought about the question. “I keep saying that I want to go to school so that I could do better for Lucian, but,” Cassie lifted her hands, “here I am spending more and more time away from my son when I could be home taking care of him and knowing that Clifton would take care of me.”
Mac raised an eyebrow. “Do you want Clifton to take care of you?”
“I don’t know. When I think about it it could be nice, you know? But then I think about my mother and what Stavros did... he just up and left and forced her to take care of us children alone. It was hard on her. She didn’t have anything after he left her.”
“Your father--”
Cassie shook her head in defiance. “He’s not my father. Even if he were alive he wouldn’t be my father, either. That man was terrible and the sad thing is I actually wanted to get to know him.” She chuckled nervously. “Be careful what you ask for Mac, let that be a lesson for you.”
“That man, no matter how horrible he was, was your father. He helped bring you into this world.” Mac reminded her.
“He also tried to take me out of the world if you haven’t forgotten. I know what you mean Mac... I understand what you’re trying to say but it helps me sleep at night thinking differently. Thinking that I could have ended up like Callum... so cold and lost...”
“I thought you said Callum was doing better?”
“He is.” Cassie spotted a table for the two to sit at and motioned for them to claim it before someone else had. They were in-between classes and she still had an hour before her next one started. So she had ordered a diet coke and low-fat chips to push back her hunger. “Callum is doing fine. He’s in Seattle now and apparently is in love with the city.”
“Callum made the choice to stray from your -- Stavros’ plan and decided to help you. Now look at him,” Mac sat and placed his double cheeseburger and large Mountain Dew on the table. “He’s off exploring the country and trying to wrong his rights.”
“What’s your point?”
He shrugged. “Maybe if you had given your father a chance--”
“No.” There was a distaste for the conversation that Cassie couldn’t get out of her mouth. As if she had stuffed her mouth with a handful of pennies and was told to swallow them. “I don’t think that Stavros could have changed. Even if we had given him the chance. He tried to kill me, remember?”
“So did Catalina Cortez.”
Cassie scoffed at his defensive plea. “And now she’s locked-up in a sanitarium because of it.”
“What Catalina did was horrible, but she’s changed now Cassie. She made a choice that was wrong and now she wants to make things right. I talk to her... I go visit her on the weekends because I had made a promise to her that I would. She held you at gun point and she shot Patrick Sutton... but she feels remorse.”
“So I should forgive her for nearly leaving my son motherless?”
“You need to forgive your father.” Mac replied sternly, “He was sick in the head Cassie. He was sick and that probably doesn’t give him an excuse for going as far as he did and I thank god that he didn’t get the chance to harm you or Lucian... but you need to forgive him and put this past you so that you can move forward.”
“I thought I was moving forward.” She exclaimed.
“You are. You’re moving forward. I’m sorry.” He replied.
She eye’d him suspiciously before she returned to her snack. “Don’t apologize, Mac. Let’s just change the topic, shall we? Never thought I’d say this but how about we talk about my math class... I don’t know if I understand the lesson ahead of me.”
[.....]
Scene Eight:
Stone Creek; Sage Gardens
Alice’s Haven Cafe; Dining Area
“Thank you.” She said, the words more forced than the smile upon her face. But Kirsten couldn’t let anyone know the disappointment she was feeling. Especially now that she had informed Adrian that he would have a safe place to leave Violet while he was here at work. What better place to leave his daughter than the daycare above the cafe? The place he works. But now. She waved as the inspector left and then glanced down at the slip he had left. There was still so much she had to do in order to secure a license to renovate the place.
“What’s that you have there?”
Kirsten looked up to see her step-mother peering over her shoulder. It took her a moment to process where exactly Caitlyn had come from before she responded to her question. “Just the list of things I need to take care of before I think about renovating the apartment upstairs. I didn’t think it would be this much trouble. Especially since we went through so much with the Inn... I thought it would be a piece of cake.”
“You’re going to have children up there... even baby-proofing a room is hard work.” Caitlyn reminded. She sighed heavily and rubbed Kirsten’s shoulder. “You can do it, I know you can. I just want you to think about if it’s the right time to be splurging on another venture. You already have the cafe and Charlie has the Inn.”
“I promised Adrian that I would have a place for Violet.”
“That’s sweet that you’re looking out for him, Kirsten--”
“But you don’t think I should?”
“I’m not saying that at all darling. I think it’s a great thing that you want to help out your friends,” Kirsten could tell that there was a ‘but’ after that compliment so she mentally prepared herself for it, “But you need to remember that Adrian was once --”
Kirsten shook her head. “This isn’t about me fulfilling some sort of past fantasy about Adrian and I, Caitlyn. Before you even say anything I want you to know that I love and will always love my husband. Adrian is still one of my closest friends and I really need someone here to help with the cafe.”
“Then hire me?”
“I already offered Adrian the job and he has been training for weeks.” Kirsten protested. “Besides, you’ve done a lot better helping Megan cope with her parents being business owners. I just can’t believe that we have been so neglectful towards her.”
Caitlyn patted her step-daughter’s hand. “Megan is a strong girl, I know she understands what you’re doing here. All I ask is for the two of you to take into mind her best interests.”
“Thank you Caitlyn, we definitely will have that discussion when I get home.” Kirsten gulped. She forced another false smile and took not of how many she has passed off today.
“I hope that you do.” She assured Kirsten. “I don’t mind taking care of your daughter, Kirsten. She has become like my own in these last couple of years. So just know that you’ll always have me here, but you need to learn how to balance things out and take care of Megan on your own as well.”
“If this is leading into a lecture, I can do just fine on my own--”
Caitlyn raised her hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Good. Because if you don’t drop this conversation I just might take it that way, Caitlyn. Like you’ve said, I have so much on my plate as it is. I don’t need my step-mother coming into my place of business just to remind me how horrible I am as a parent.”
“I didn’t mean that!”
Kirsten shook it off. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’ll have a talk with Charlie, tonight.”
[.....]
Scene Nine:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Sutton Enterprises; Gillian Sutton Crenshaw’s Office
“It looks like I am going to be having a conversation with my daughter soon.” Patrick greeted, he lingered in the doorway long enough for his half-sister to look up before he invited himself in. He watched her through the corner of his eye as he scanned what once was his own office in the not so distant past. He turned on his heel and faced Kimberly. “Where is she?”
Kimberly scoffed. “At the hospital looking after her husband,” she rolled her eyes and moved her attention between the screen before her and her half-brother, “like an obedient wife should do.”
“You should know.”
He had no idea why his daughter would continue to disappoint him by trusting Kimberly with the family business. It ate at Patrick while he tried to distract himself with Helen’s magazine franchise. He embedded himself into his wife’s company just so he could have something to distract him. But it still ate at him. So upon walking into Gillian’s office to find Kimberly sitting at her desk looking smug -- Patrick cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“You’re nothing here Kimberly.” He directed, “I don’t know who you think you are but you’re not getting the last laugh. I never gave you that honor and neither did our father. He used you to close-out deals with other companies. He pimped you out --”
“Our father took me in.” Kimberly snipped.
But Patrick wasn’t having it. He shook his head in amusement. “Do you really think that because Cutler Sutton let you use the family name that he only had good intentions for you? Are you really that naive Kimberly?”
“Listen, my egotistical jack-ass of a half-brother,” Kimberly replied, “I’m not here to talk about how I destroyed your childhood. Especially since you spent most of it destroying it on your own.” She held up her hand. “Don’t give your opinion. I’m here because your daughter asked me to help while she was taking care of her husband. The very same man I’m certain sure you pushed down a flight of stairs in the first place. See... you destroy your own life. Exhibit A.”
“If you need to talk to Gillian I suggest you go to the hospital... where she is.” Kimberly added. “But if I could give you some advice, I think you should just leave your daughter alone. She’s really hurting Patrick and having her father ridicule her choices won’t make matters better.”
He brushed her off and peered out of the window. “How is Damien doing?”
He caught Kimberly’s eye and knew she wasn’t buying this change of attitude. After all, Patrick wasn’t buying it either. Neither of them wanted to be cordial with each other -- actually, Patrick didn’t know anyone he wanted to be cordial with. So instead he shrugged and chuckled under his breath.
“I’ll just stop. I’m not finished with you yet Kim and I am not going to just let up so easily about my daughter letting you have control over my father’s company. But for her sake. Right now. I am going to focus on my marriage to Helen and the company we are running together.”
“You know,” Kimberly drew, she let him linger in the doorway before continuing, “If you would let your guards down and trust the people around you you probably would still be running our father’s company, Patrick.
He smugly shook his head and left.
[.....]
Scene Ten:
Stone Creek; 813 Crystal Hill St., Stone Creek. [Bayou Oaks Condos #16]
William Maverick’s Condo
After her meeting with her mother, all Diem could do was think about William Maverick. There had been a time when that was all she wanted; to be with him. It had been a very long a difficult part of her life that Diem had boxed up for so many years. She had forgotten what it felt like to be at odds with her family. After the lunch with her mother she knew what had to be done. Diem no longer was in the right where it involved William and Leia.
So she rushed to her car and drove to his apartment. William needed to hear her apologize for being so ruthless and selfish. Tears clouded her judgement now. Her entire thought process was becoming more than mush as she climbed the stairs to his apartment. The elevator had taken too long to get to her and the ‘dinging’ sound it made was taunting. William needed to be in Leia’s life.
Diem knocked on the door to his apartment and waited as patiently as she could. She imagined William answering the door and then shutting it on her face and leaving her out in the cold. Diem took a deep breath and knocked again. Wondering why it was taking him so long to answer the door. A third knock revealed the apartment door unlocked.
“William?” Diem called out. Immediately panic erupted from the pit of Diem’s stomach as she cautiously entered the apartment. “Is anyone in here?”
Her shoulders slumped and her eyes observed the short hallway into the place. He was gone. There wasn’t one sign of him still living there and it crushed her. Diem was too late. She had become her father. The very man that Diem had come to despise was now looking back at her through a mirror that hung on a wall across from her.
Nathan Joplin’s blood coursed through her veins and they now felt cold. She shivered, wrung her hands out and then turned to leave the apartment. What was she to do with herself now? Who could she turn to that would understand what she had done?
She found herself in the hallway where she bumped into her uncle Jeremy Joplin and collapsed into his arms. It took Diem a moment before she was able to lift her dead-weight and help her uncle carry her into his own condo. He sat her down on the couch and went to make tea for the younger Joplin.
As she recalled every conversation she had with William and her father and her mother, Colleen she began to feel light-headed. As if a boulder had finally lifted off of her shoulders and her body was now filling-up with fresh air. It felt good... but tiresome.
“You’re not like your father,” Jeremy Joplin advised. “You’re better than him Diem.”
She shook her head. “I wanted William to leave town so that I didn’t feel discomforted by his presence and then I pressured him to do so. I made him leave his daughter behind. I’m just like my father. I’ve become that bastard.”
“If William wanted to re-connect with Leia he would have stayed.”
“That’s not what bothers me.” Diem replied, her hands wrapped around the cup of warm tea that her uncle had made her. She looked at the older man and frowned. If there was anyone in the world who had been like a father figure to her, it was her own father’s brother; Jeremy Joplin. “What bothers me is what am I supposed to tell Leia?”
Jeremy patted her shoulder. “The truth.”
[.....]
[.....]
Scene Eleven:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condos #15]
Marina Thurlow’s Home
“If I bump into something,” Marina trailed as she held her hands out in front of her body. Covering her eyes, Ryan Bauer rustled behind her with a pearly-white smile. She had been threatening him since Ryan had met her downstairs, after the day she had -- including this morning with Ryan, her mother and Patrick Sutton -- all she wanted to do was take a nice long bath. But Ryan had insisted that they have dinner together. It wasn’t a concept she wanted to immediately turndown and after a couple hours of sifting through her thoughts at work she agreed.
Marina stopped walking and bent down. Obviously aware that they were in her apartment she felt around for the coffee table that her grandmother had had shipped to her from Paris two years ago. Ryan watched her and then guided her towards the dining room. She let out a yelp as he spun her around.
“We are almost there.” He whispered in her ear.
“Please stop the serial killer clues, Ryan.” Marina rebuffed with a short chuckle. “It’s starting to give me flashbacks to when Cassie was held hostage here.”
Ryan chuckled. “You can’t have flashbacks if you weren’t involved.” He reminded her, but humored her none-the-less. He sat her down at the dining room table and looked out before them. A huge feast was waiting. The man had planned this all afternoon because he knew a quiet night in was what they had needed. Especially if he was going to be working for both Damien Crenshaw and Patrick Sutton.
“Okay, I’m going to remove my hands but keep your eyes closed until I say so.” He instructed; Ryan moved into the kitchen and grabbed the last dish of their meal. He knew that if he left anything out that Marina would insist on getting it and he didn’t want her to lift a finger.
Holding a bottle of glistening red wine he smirked. “Open your eyes.”
“I can’t believe you did all this!” Marina gleamed. She held her hands to her face and looked around at the table. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Ryan was capable of being romantic; she witnessed this when he tried to woe her back from Ian. It was just that she didn’t think he would take the hint that she wanted to stay in tonight.
“I just figured you wanted to stay in. We spend so much time running around and doing errands for one another. We go to work and by the time either of us want to do anything it’s too late to do so. So I just wanted to have a nice peaceful dinner -- no distractions. Just the two of us.”
Marina smiled, tears in her eyes. “Did you make this?”
He shook his head and blushed. “I ordered it in from Gladys’.”
“That’s the best answer I’ve heard all day. No secrets. No lies.” She moved around. “So can we eat all of this? I’m so starving.”
“That’s what it’s here for.”
[.....]
Scene Twelve:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condo’s #29]
Dizzy Robert’s Apartment
“We should talk.” Dizzy Roberts spoke in the doorway as her boyfriend entered the apartment. The way he moved around the placed alerted her that maybe it wasn’t the right time for this. But she needed to speak her mind before her thoughts exploded through it. She followed him closely with her eyes as he began to settle in. “Did you hear me?”
“I did.” Mac replied.
This angered her even more. When she was younger her mother had once told Dizzy that she should learn to control her anger. But it only angered her even more that her mother would say such a thing. So instead she threw her ‘pet rock’ through the glass sliding door and earned herself two months of being grounded. She was at odds with her mother ever since.
She kept herself cool as she tried to rationalize her train-of-thought. Even though they weren’t as hot and heavy like in the beginning of their relationship she knew he still cared for her. It wasn’t a question to ponder but Dizzy had been pondering for three hours. “I thought you were supposed to be home three hours ago?”
Mac looked at her, he shrugged. “I’m sorry, I just lost track of time. I’ll be more considerate next time, okay?”
It killed her to be this woman. Dizzy didn’t want to be angry. She didn’t want to be clutching her hands so tightly that she could feel the imprints of her finger nails just digging away. But she couldn't help it. There was a part of her that wanted to freeze time and just keep Mac there in front of her, forever. Part of her wanted to control his every move so that she didn’t have to worry so much.
“You can’t just apologize all the time. Sometimes you need to just follow through, Mac. You told me that you’d be home three hours ago and I made plans for us to go see a movie and have a late dinner but then you didn’t show up... do you even care about me anymore?”
The words only caused Dizzy more anger as they echoed in her head. She was being so needy and so manipulative and this was never the woman she intended to be. It was all too much for her. The tension between the two of them just continued to build as she fought her own wishes and desires. She turned from him and scoffed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Mac replied.
Dizzy turned back to him. “Where were you?”
He opened his mouth to say something and she waited eagerly to hear his words. But then rested back on the soles of her feet when he didn’t say anything. Her eyes, they fell in fret. “Can I at least know where you were? If nothing else?”
“I went to see Catalina --”
“Why?” Dizzy bit her tongue. She tried to compose herself and tried to figure out another approach to the conversation without seeming like the crazy girlfriend she had avoided for so long. “Is there a reason why you’re still seeing that woman?”
“She was a friend.”
“That woman is fucking crazy!” Dizzy spat.
Mac’s eyes grew in surprise.
She covered her mouth and let her eyes tear-up. “I just mean that woman is getting a hell of a lot more time than I am. I’m you’re girlfriend Mac! I have an actual career. I’m not the one locked away in some mental institute just withering away! You should be here!” She couldn’t contain it anymore. “I just don’t see why you pick her over me... why you --”
“I’m sorry Dizzy but Catalina is a friend of mine and I owe it to her to stay by her side. Besides I thought you would understand that more than anybody. I knew that Cassie wouldn’t understand... but I thought you would at least understand.”
Dizzy’s mouth dropped open. “You talked to Cassie about her already?”
“We do go to school together, so yeah, I did.”
“I can’t do this anymore!” Dizzy replied. “I’m turning into this crazy person. I’m hearing voices in my head that keep trying to rattle me up and then when I want you to be here to keep me calm you’re off talking to Cassie... or Catalina. What am I supposed to do, Mac?”
He walked over to Dizzy. “Just take a deep breath.”
“If I take anymore deep breath’s my head is going to explode! I’m not this crazy woman that is standing here and freaking you out. But I can’t help it when I’m with you, Mac. I just try to distract myself but all I hear is my biological clock ticking. Then there’s Cassie --”
“She means nothing to me.”
Dizzy turned to him and rolled her eyes. “I wish I could believe that. But maybe this is what we need. Maybe we aren’t meant to be together? We have both been pondering that question for so long. I’ve laid awake at night and I hear you. I hear you laying next to me with your eyes wide awake Mac. Neither of us are getting any sleep. Both of us are going crazy.”
“I care so much about you, Dizzy.”
She put a finger to his lips. “I know. But you’re not in love with me. I’m letting you go Mac because you’re too young to feel so guilty. Because I can’t turn into my mother. I think that we should stop seeing each other so that I can go back to working my life away and so that you can go pursue Cassie Lakhani...”
“I don’t want that.” Mac pleaded.
Dizzy stepped away. The anger inside of her was dissipating with every word she spoke. Her voice began to fade in her own mind. She leaned against the nearest chair for support. “You’ve always wanted that, ever since we first met. We’ve both lied to ourself for way too long.”
“Do you remember when we first kissed?”
She lowered her head. “That was so long ago.”
“But do you remember?” Dizzy nodded her head. “I lied about not loving Cassie and I’m sorry for that. But I do care a lot about you, Dizzy. We have been through so much since then that I can’t let it not be for nothing.”
“It’s not.” She assured him. “I’ve learned a lot. Like never to date a younger man again.” A slight chuckle escaped her otherwise tortured emotions. “We have to let each other go. We are toxic together. It’s not going to work for either of us.”
“I think you might be right.” Mac whispered.
Dizzy looked up. “I’m always right, I thought you knew that?”
[.....]
Scene Thirteen:
1509 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Briggs Home]
Clifton, Cassie & Lucian’s Home
Cassie placed her slumbering child into his crib for the night. Very subtly she twirled her hair into a ponytail and took a deep breath before letting it fall to her shoulders and down her back. The feel of her hair falling into place calmed her otherwise worrisome mind. This was what she had needed to happen. For there to finally be some peace in her life so that she could move forward. The chant, as it had become, ran through her mind as she leaned down and kissed the sleeping toddler.
She stepped back and watched from a distance for a moment.
Clifton Briggs had declared he was ready to take care of herself and their child and for the first time in a long time she felt like she could just breath without worry. Cassie turned the bedroom light off and smirked at the thought of building a family with Clifton. It was exactly what she needed. The doorway, a hue of blue from the nightlight now vacant as she made her way down the hall and into her bedroom she now shared with Clifton. He was still out for the day, more than likely at the club. As the owner he would most likely be gone all night.
It didn’t stop Cassie from barricading herself in the bathroom. She looked around at the bathroom; twin sinks sat snug below a wall-to-wall mirror. On the right wall a golden florescent light hung low, creating a dim light in the wide bathroom. Not bothering to flick on the over-light to expose herself to more light, Cassie made her way over to the mirror and watched the wrinkles on her face.
How so long ago it felt like she’d never age. Now her face grew tiresome as she tried to juggle what was now her life. There was a scar above her cheekbone now, from a fight that she wanted to forever forget. A scar that reminded her of a man that took her childhood away not too long ago. Cassie turned towards the shower and the object on the edge of the counter caught her sight.
She hovered over it. Cassie furrowed her brow. It was something she had been avoiding ever since she went to put Lucian down for the night. Somewhere in her routine of rocking the toddler to sleep she had forgotten about it completely but now it sat there. Reminding her of the confusion that once ignited her thoughts.
Cassie picked the object up and observed it. How thin and light it was and yet it held more fear and questions then she ever thought possible. The pink plus sign on the object gave way to a sea of new questions as she found her bearings and sat upon the ledge of the bathtub.
She was pregnant.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
+ Cassie Lakhani confides in the one person who has been through everything with her since Lucian was born, about the secret she was now keeping and the repurcussions it would have on everyone around her.
+ Damien Crenshaw was pushed down a flight of stairs and the investigation into his near death is now being pursued, heavily. As the suspects begin to scamper for alibi’s one seems to be cleared of the crime at hand. While another is taken into custody.
+ With his current relationship behind him, Mac Kern starts to rebuild his life and finds that an old ally still has their eye on him. Will Mac try to rekindle the sparks with old flame, Cassie Lakhani, and at what costs is he willing to take?
+ Helen Tyree Sutton brings out the big guns when she hears of a situation that could damper her current standings. But will her actions only cause more distrust and turmoil for her family? Or can she pull through...
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