Beat It

It’s been ten days since I threw myself at Josh, and I still can’t face him. He threw me away like every other man I have ever been with. I don’t understand what is wrong with me. Am I too much like my mother? Wait, she can get any man she wants even a filthy rich one and get pregnant time and time again. No, I can’t carry a baby to term; I can’t get a man to love me like I deserved to be loved. Nothing is right in my life. Luke has Ali; Charlotte has Gregory; and as weird as it sounds Ariel has April. I always thought Ariel and I would be roommates when we got older. We both love fashion and traveling, even though she has been just about everywhere and I’ve been nowhere. Both of us know there is a world of possibilities out there and now she is back here with us.

As I sit here at my kitchen table drinking my second cup of coffee, I can’t help but think there is something else out there for me. Someone is out there for me, a world of possibilities that I need to find.

“Good morning,” Ali said walking into the kitchen seeing her best friend at the table with the morning paper. “Are you reading that?”

“What,” Paige asked looking up at Ali.

“I asked if you were finished with the paper. Paige, are you sure you want to be alone this weekend,” Ali questioned. “I mean Luke and I don’t have to go up north if you don’t want us to.”

“Everything is fine, just take your trip and have a good time. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I wish I could believe that. After the other week I still don’t want to leave you alone. Did you tell your dad that you were taking those sleeping pills,” Ali wondered knowing the answer already.

“He knows what he needs to know. As it is he has enough to worry about with Charlotte and Ariel. I don’t need him worrying about me too.”

“He has a right to know.”

“Ali, drop it, please. Forget about those pills, forget about Tony and the baby, forget everything and just leave me alone. Go live happy ever after with my brother and forget about me,” Paige shouted before stomping out of the room leaving Ali in shock.

Ali knew something wasn’t right with her best friend, and she had worries about leaving her alone this weekend. What if Paige didn’t something that she couldn’t take back? What if something happened to her or someone else she loved?

Ariel pulled into the parking lot of her new home. It had been six days since she started moving things into the apartment and the rest of her stuff from Chicago would be here in a couple more days. She got out of her car and went to the trunk of her car to grab the three cans of paint she had bought earlier in the day. The owners of the apartment complex told her she could decorate the place however she wanted since she had paid for the apartment in advance and they loved the fact that a famous photographer like her was renting from them.

“What are you doing,” Tommy said noticing his past love carry two cans of paint towards the building.

“Didn’t you know, I moved in last week in the building next to you?”

“Why? You have plenty of money, you can live anywhere. Why move into this place,” Tommy asked. “And don’t you dare say for me.”

“Well if you must know, I thought if I moved here I could help my sister. April needed a place to stay and I thought this was the best place for us to live together.”

“April? Who’s April,” Tommy wondered not knowing the recent Parker family history.

“April is my mom’s daughter with Charles Reed. When my mom left years ago she was pregnant with April and that’s one of the reasons she left.”

“When did you find this out?”

“My mom showed up a few weeks ago in town with April in tow.”

“Your mom is back, wow, never thought that would happen, but I never thought you would come back either,” Tommy huffed looking around the parking lot trying to find someone that needed him.

“I never said I wouldn’t come back,” Ariel pointed out trying to get him to look at her.

“Because you didn’t say anything, you just disappeared in the night like your mom did. You’re more like her than you thought,” Tommy said as he started to walk away. “If you need any help with that, I’ll have Jimmy help you out.”

“Don’t do me any favors,” Ariel shouted watching him leave. “Who’s that,” April wondered a few minutes later as Ariel walked into the apartment. “Sorry, I saw you outside when I was unpacking and noticed the guy.”

“He is my high school sweetheart.”

“Who you dumped before you ran off to Chicago to hook up with Cooper,” April said plopping down on the couch.

“It’s not like that; Cooper and I didn’t meet until five years after I left here. Remember who got you the job at the restaurant, my dad was real hesitant about hiring you, but I talked him into it. I trust you to do the right thing, all of us do.”

“Fine, well I guess you should start painting since I have to go to that wonderful job you got me,” April explained before getting up and grabbing her jacket off the back of the dining room chair and leaving the apartment. April would find out the story about the high school sweetheart even if it met crossing Ariel. She knew that the guy still had a thing for Ariel or he wouldn’t have turned around moments later and watch Ariel walk into the building like he did. April may not be a genius but she knew men and their habits.

“What are we doing here,” Arianna asked her dearest friend as the entered the old and dirty restaurant that wasn’t even close to being up to her standards.

“I needed to tell Charlotte that the final fitting for her dress is tomorrow and to talk to Gregory,” Caroline explained as the two women in designer clothes sat at one of the many empty tables in the family restaurant. “I haven’t been in here in months, nothing has changed.”

“I’m sure nothings changed in thirty years,” Arianna mumbled. “Is this where your brother is living now?”

“Yeah, he checked out of the hotel late last week and decided to move in here with Charlotte. He’s enjoying it from what I hear,” Caroline commented looking around for her eldest brother and his girlfriend.

“I don’t know why?”

“Arianna, I love you dearly, but you and my brother weren’t a match made in heaven. I mean I know the two of you were engaged for a brief moment, but he is so much at home with Charlotte,” Caroline admitted knowing full well it was the complete truth.

“He was happy with me, not this loser who can’t even clean a spoon,” Arianna demanded as she wiped her spoon with a napkin. “He has all the money he needs, he doesn’t need to work, yet he comes here to help her. I’m sure he is just being nice to her, and there are no sparks between them.”

As she said that she heard giggling from the kitchen as her past love and his new bedmate exited the kitchen. Gregory was chasing Charlotte with a ladle in his hand and Charlotte with a small container of spice in her hand.

“I told you didn’t need anymore,” Charlotte laughed turning around to put her arms around his neck.

“Yeah, you are all the spice I need,” he said before leaning in to kiss her deeply.

Gregory pulled away then made her taste the concoction in the ladle. He had told her he wanted to make her something special for the dinner rush he was sure was sure to come.

“Wow, that is amazing, what is it,” Charlotte asked never tasting something so unique before.

“My aunt’s called it Shrimp Skilletini, you can substitute chicken or sausage for the shrimp,” Gregory stated with delight. He had so many dishes he could create that would help this place gain more business and he also had friends in the advertising business that could get the word around. If things worked out right with a month Juniper’s would be booming.

“He made that for me on our third date,” Arianna whispered across the table to Caroline. “We only ate a little bit because next thing I know we are ripping each others clothes off.”

“That’s really not something I want to hear about my brother, Arianna,” Caroline stated. “Now let’s go up there and talk to them and remember to play nice.”

“It’s me; I was supposed to be the one he ended up with. If he finally marries even if it’s with her, I won’t ever forget my time with your brother. To my dying day I will always love him,” Arianna said grabbing her dear friend’s hand as she got up from the table.

“I know, Arianna, believe me I know how you feel,” Caroline replied knowing full well exactly how her dear friend felt. There was someone in her past that she would never forget either even after she married Dalton.

“What’s going on here,” Jack Parker shouted as he came into the back door of the restaurant seeing Charlotte and Gregory kissing in the middle of the restaurant.

“Dad, umm, hi, Greg made something that you have to try. We were going to serve it as our special tonight,” Charlotte explained breaking away from Gregory.

“Said who, Charlotte, you can’t just change the menu when you please. Our customers are used to the recipes your grandmother created,” Jack explained. “Change isn’t always a good thing.”

“Sir, no offense to the family recipes or tradition for that matter, I just wanted to try and help your family bring in some more customers,” Gregory stated his attentions. “I even called a friend of mine from the Herald and he was going to come in this week to do a review since it has been years since there was a review on this place.”

“We don’t want your kind of help or need it,” Jack ordered. “Now Charlotte I don’t have to remind you again about customers in the kitchen, do I?”

“No, dad, you don’t because as of now, Gregory works here,” she commented hoping she wasn’t making a mistake. “You gave me the management title when you needed time off after Morgan died, and you haven’t changed it. So as of right now, Gregory is Assistant Manager here at Junipers and in charge of the menu.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea,” April wondered sitting next to Ariel in the admissions office of Saunders Bay University. “Mom moved us around so much that it was hard for me to learn anything on the days I did show up.”

“I’ve met a lot of people in my job that are street smart and have a career they adore. You’re street smart, and sometimes that’s enough.”

“I still don’t know about this though,” April replied standing up and grabbing one of the bouchures about the college off the counter.

“Let’s just see how this goes, if you don’t get accepted, we move on. All I’m asking is we give this a try, maybe you might even surprise yourself.”

“How do I pay for it if I do get in?”

“Let’s worry about that one later,” Ariel commented wondering the same thing in fact.

Five minutes later both of the women were sitting in a counselor’s office going through the admissions process.

“Now once you take the placement test we can see where you are at. We will need your school records from the school you graduated from also. Is there a field you are interested in majoring in,” the older gray haired gentlemen asked April.

“Nursing,” April said without hesitating as Ariel looked at her in shock.

“Cassidy,” Ariel said under her breath realizing where the nursing comment came from seconds later.

“What was that, Ms. Parker,” the counselor asked.

“I’m sorry, what about financial aide once she is accepted. She just started living with me since our mother isn’t really around,” Ariel questioned.

“Is your mother deceased?”

“No,” Ariel and April said similtiounasuly.

“How about your father?”

“I’ve never met the man,” April confessed remembering that her father was one of the descendants of the founder fathers of Saunders Bay.

“Well we will have to base your status under their income until you are twenty-five to receive any financial aide unless you’re married,” the counselor explained.

“Oh, great,” April sighed knowing that her mother couldn’t help and her father was filthy rich.

“We can set up the test for tomorrow at nine in the morning, then once we get your records we can move from there,” the counselor informed April.

“Thank you,” April said knowing that there was no way she could get financial aide now.

As the two women drove to Junipers for April’s first shift at the family restaurant neither of them realized they were thinking the same thing.

“I think it’s time you met your father,” Ariel said. “From what I have heard of the man he isn’t as ruthless or demanding as his counterparts.”

“What if he doesn’t help me,” April thought. “He doesn’t need to, I mean mom has extorted money from the man from years and look what happened.”

“This is different, April, and you know it. You want to do the right thing now, you are living with me and you have a job, that’s more than we can say about our mother.”

“Yeah, about our mother, did the hotel tell you anything?”

“No, all I know is when housekeeping came the next morning all of her stuff was gone and the keycard was on the table. She never checked out just disappeared in the night like she did before.”

“Yeah she has made a habit of doing that,” April stated as the Ariel turned into the parking lot. “Okay, I guess this is it. I just hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“Like I said before, April, you’re trying and that is all that really counts. And whatever you do just ignore Charlotte, she doesn’t mean half of the things she says,” Ariel informed her half-sister. “I’ll be back at eight to pick you up.”

“Wait, Ariel, thanks again for everything. You’re the first person that has given me a second chance and you don’t know how much I appreciate it,” April confessed.

“You’re family, it’s what we do,” Ariel said before pulling away.

“Where are we going Ali,” Luke asked his beloved girlfriend after an hour as the passenger in his beat Chevy truck.

“Trust me,” Ali replied as she accelerated another file miles per hour on interstate one-thirty-one North.

“I just wish you would tell me where we are going. You told me that you got this weekend off for me, and I didn’t make any plans with Jeremy or Josh. So what is going on?”

“There is so much drama going on right now with our families and school that I thought we deserved a weekend away. If you want to go home and spend the weekend with the boys instead of a romantic weekend with me, I will turn this truck around in an instant.”

“No, that’s not it, Ali. I am just not a fan of surprises these days. With my sisters lives there has been enough surprises this past month to last me a lifetime.”

“I know, right. I worked with April yesterday and it just seems a bit strange. She is nice enough but you can just tell she didn’t grow up with the rest of you,” Ali explained. “Paige told me that Ariel and April are living together now and that April is going to be starting at the university next semester.”

“Yeah, who would have thought,” Luke sighed. He had enough to worry about with Rory, Rick and the baby. Now he had to worry about his sisters even more than before. He adored Ali, but keeping the secret about the baby was tearing him up inside.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to turn around and go home,” Ali asked once again yet desperately hoping he would agree to this weekend away.

“No, I’m fine, lead on, my lady,” he mumbled while putting his head back and closing his eyes.

Ali looked over at the man she was completely and totally in love with and remembered how tired and distant he had become lately. She gained the courage to reach over and put her hand on his thigh and squeezing it lightly then her hand crept further north until he opened his eyes and looked at her.

“As much as I would enjoy this right now, you need to keep your eyes on the road since I don’t know where we are going,” Luke said putting his hand over hers and moving it to the space between them on the seat.

“Sure,” she commented as she felt a pang in her chest on the fact that he turned her away.

Ali kept driving north for another hour and half with only a bit of conversation with Luke. She was beginning to have a feeling that this weekend wasn’t her brightest idea. Maybe he would turn her away, maybe all he wanted was someone to hold at night and he just didn’t find her as desirable as she thought he did. Whatever was going on with Luke she would find out by the end of the weekend?

“What’s wrong,” Benjamin Donnelly asked his daughter as he sat across from her in the posh restaurant in the middle of the afternoon.

Caroline twirled the cloth napkin in her hands that were hidden underneath the table. It was a nervous trait she had for years and even when she tried she couldn’t always hide. This man was her father, the man she looked up to, the second most important man in her life next to her fiancé.

“I’m going to ask Gregory to walk me down the aisle,” Caroline stated quickly before taking a bite of her salad.

“The wedding is in two days, sweetheart.”

“I know that daddy, but the fighting between the two of you has to stop for all of our sakes.”

“Don’t worry about your brother and me,” Benjamin said using the sharp knife to cut his juicy red steak.

“I don’t have to worry about the two of you at my wedding because I would prefer that you stay away from it,” Caroline demanded with as much conviction as she could.

“Sweetheart, I’m your father, I am paying for the wedding, and you want me to stay away,” Benjamin asked without raising his voice. He didn’t want to make a scene and he didn’t know what had come over his sweet daughter. She was the only one he could count on, the only one that always had his back.

“I know what you are planning to do to Gregory.”

“What are you talking about,” he asked his daughter showing no emotion on his face or in his words.

“Put a stop to it or you will lose more than Gregory, but until then I would prefer you stay away from my wedding,” Caroline explained before throwing her napkin on the table and leaving the table.

Benjamin waved for the waiter then he took his cell phone out from his inside jacket pocket dialing the now familiar number.

“It’s Donnelly. I need an update,” he said, “that’s not good enough. Make it happen in the next forty-eight hours and I’ll give you double.”

“Wow, this place is amazing,” Luke said opening the double doors to the second-story balcony that overlooked Lake Michigan.

Ali stood in front of the door leading to the private bath she had requested. She couldn’t believe this was it, as she looked around the room where she would lose her virginity. The room had light blue and white striped wallpaper with a four-poster queen size bed with its hand-carved mahogany posts and the matching mahogany chest against one wall and a bench at the end of the bed. Against the wall adjacent to the double doors leading to the balcony was a fireplace with some logs sitting beside it ready to be lit anytime. The sun would be setting soon and their night of lovemaking would begin, she was a bottle of nerves and anticipation all into one. The suitcase carrying her surprise for Luke was sitting on the bed and she wanted to begin their night now watching him stand over the balcony taking in the scenery around him. The view she was getting of his tight firm behind was making her hungry and not for food but for the man giving her butterflies in her stomach.

“Well, I’m starving,” Luke said turning around catching the look on Ali’s face. Her eyes were fixed on him as she licked her lips then looked to the bed and then back at him. “I think we should go out to dinner instead of eating downstairs with a bunch of older people. I’m sure the food is great here, but I’m in the mood for something else. What about you?”

“What,” Ali asked finally coming out of the fog called love.

“I was saying that we should drive into town and find something instead of eating here,” Luke explained knowing she didn’t want to leave the comfort of the room.

“I figured we could stay here especially since we drove three hours to get here. Then I thought we could come back here, start a fire, and relax a bit.”

“Let’s just get something to eat first, and then see how it goes once we get back,” he said grabbing his beat-up jean jacket he had since high school. He knew what Ali was planning and if things weren’t so complicated he would go for it. He wanted her so badly, he knew how she felt for him and how he felt about her, yet he knew what would happen if they did make love.

Gregory looked into the large bay window of the designer’s studio. It was ten in the morning and he wanted to be in the restaurant helping his love with her restaurant; instead he was meeting his sister. He pushed open the glass door and entered Line Designs, the fashion boutique that was her baby, the one thing she knew how to do well. Walking into the boutique, Gregory began to wonder if Charlotte would wear any of these clothes, if he should buy her something nice for a night out on the town.

“She seems like the jeans and t-shirt type,” Arianna stated coming up to Gregory from the back of the studio as he looked at the dresses on the rack.

“Charlotte, her name is Charlotte,” Gregory replied turning away from the rack of short cocktail dresses and looking at the woman who held his heart at one point. She stood there eyeing him like a piece of meat in a skin tight short red halter dress.

“She isn’t your type,” Arianna claimed.

“And you are?”

“I was at one time in your life, I can be that person again,” Arianna announced as she stepped closer to him and putting her hand on his chest.

“No, you can’t, Ari. I’ve grown up, why can’t you see that? I want something that is simple and easy.”

“Yeah, I did hear she’s very easy.”

“See this is what I mean. Charlotte doesn’t play games; her biggest priority is her daughter, her family, and that restaurant. Your first priority is you, it always has been and I’m really tired of it.”

“Gregory, you made it, I’m sorry to pull you away from the restaurant. As you can see I really can’t leave,” Caroline said coming out from the back of the boutique as Arianna stepped back from Gregory.

His little sister had her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail with steel pins all over her shirt and a cloth tape measure hanging around her neck.

“No problem, all of Charlotte’s sisters are working at the restaurant this weekend to cover for the wedding,” Gregory pointed out.

“How many sisters does she have,” Arianna wondered.

“Ari, do you think you can run this tuxedo to Dalton at the office. I had to make a few alterations on his brother’s suit,” Caroline asked ignoring Arianna’s last comment and grabbing the garment bag hanging up behind the counter.

“Sure,” Arianna said taking the bag from his dear friend a wide grin across her face.

Seconds later the brother and sister were alone for the first time in the boutique.

“There are a few alterations on the bridesmaid dresses I had to fix since I fired my stream stress last night,” Caroline explained, “then I had to call the caterer this morning and cancel the extra lamb and the dessert table.”

“Why are you cancelling?”

“I uninvited daddy to the wedding yesterday, so I’ve decided to cancel a few things at the wedding to cut costs.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I overhead him on the phone the other day telling someone that you needed to be taken care of. Greg, I think daddy put a hit out on you.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Gregory replied. “And if you told him to stay away from the wedding he is likely to make sure I don’t make it either.”

“Why?”

“Because you are his most prized possession, Caroline, you always have been,” Gregory pointed out with his hands waving. “He tolerates Tyler because he hasn’t defied father like I have, which leaves you and Ella. Since the moment mother turned on father, you have been his princess.”

“Why does our family have to be so dysfunctional?”

“Whose family isn’t, Caroline? Look at Charlotte’s family, their mother disappeared years ago and comes back to inform them that they have another sister. Their father gets remarried, but his second wife dies giving birth to their only child together. They have had it worse than us, but they don’t have the money like we do, they only have one another.”

“You really care about Charlotte, don’t you,” Caroline asked her big brother just realizing now how much he adored the eldest Parker.

“I have fallen crazy in love with her, and would give her the world if she asked,” Gregory answered staring outside the large bay window remembering last night with Charlotte and how after Juniper’s had closed they sat together on the couch and she fell asleep with him rubbing her feet.

“I like Charlotte, don’t get me wrong, she has been nothing but supportive.”

"But."

“It’s Tyler, he fell head over heels for her so fast then it went downhill from there. I know it’s not her; it’s that restaurant she tries to run, it brings her down.”

“I’m going to fix the restaurant problem soon enough,” Gregory stated turning to his sister. He had many plans for that restaurant and for Charlotte, but bringing down his father was his first priority.

It had been days since he had last seen her yet he tried to figure out what he would say to her since she had walked away from him in the hospital. Now he walked into the restaurant where he had come to within his first couple of days in Saunders Bay hoping to talk to the woman who haunted his dreams. He had tried to call her several times since she told him the news about his daughter and about the baby she had lost with the man that had tried to kill him. He sat down at one of the tables near the bar so he couldn’t be missed. The restaurant wasn’t very busy for the lunch hour but what he had heard from his source the restaurant was never very busy. If he could he would help with that, but business wasn’t part of his forte.

“Welcome to Juniper’s, our lunch special is cob salad,” the waitress said to him without looking down at the patron while he looked at the menu.

Suddenly it dawned him that he recognized that voice, he had hurt before, he knew her very well. He looked up to see his ex-lover, the mother of his daughter – April Carson.

“Hello, April,” Brandon stated making her drop the pad and pen in her hand. She never looked down at her patrons, since she wasn’t use to making an honest living.

“Brandon, what are you doing here,” she asked staring at the young man who stole her heart months ago.

“I was hoping to see your sister, Paige, but you and I do have things to talk about.”

“Paige called this morning and said she was taking a few days off. Her dad wasn’t very pleased since we are short staffed this weekend as it is,” April announced picking up the pad and pen off of the floor. “So just order something so I can get back to work.”

“Tell me what time you get off work, so we can talk about our daughter,” Brandon demanded, “and after that I’ll take the special with a diet.”

“Thank you and I get out at seven-thirty,” she replied before turning away towards the kitchen.

Brandon wanted to hate April for what she did to him. He wanted to loathe her, yet all he could feel was pity. They shared something special at one time and now they shared a daughter; a daughter he wanted to know and love. If that meant getting close to April once again he would do it, he would do anything to find his daughter.

It was one-fifteen in the afternoon and Ali was beginning to feel that this weekend trip was a bust. She had woken up at nine-thirty to an empty bed with Luke nowhere to be found. Last night had not turned out how she wanted it to since when they had gotten back from dinner he had complained about how tired he was from the long drive. So he had gone to bed leaving Ali alone the rest of the night. She had started a fire and wrapped herself up in a blanket sitting in front of the fire alone and pondering what she needed to do next. Now she was sitting on the bed reading a book she had found downstairs in the den after she had ate lunch alone.

Ali put the book down when she heard the door open and in walked Luke who she hadn’t seen since she had fallen asleep next to him the night before.

“Hey there,” Luke said taking off his jacket and throwing it on the bed and heading to the bathroom closing the door.

“Hi,” Ali said softly not knowing if he had heard her or not.

After a couple of minutes he had not come out and then she heard the shower be turned on. She didn’t know what to do anymore. Everything she had planned for this weekend was ending up on the cutting room floor. All she had wanted to do was show him how much she loved him; she wanted to give him what he had wanted from the beginning, a physical relationship. Yet he couldn’t spend even five minutes alone with her these days.

“Screw it,” she told herself as she got up from the bed and began to shed her clothes. She grabbed the doorknob to the bathroom and took in a deep breath and went for it as she entered the bathroom.

Luke hadn’t heard the door or notice the shower curtain open.

“Hi,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his chest with the water beating down on them. He instantly jumped back making her slip and fall back catching her against the back of the tub.

“What the hell are you doing,” Luke shouted before reaching down turning the water off. He reached out of the shower grabbed a towel off the shelf and wrapped it around his waist.

“I was trying to surprise you,” Ali said sitting in the tub with her knees curled up to her chest realizing she had made a horrible mistake.

“No, you were trying to give me a heart attack,” Luke snarled before grabbing another towel and throwing it at Ali. “Get dressed. I’ll meet you at the truck in ten minutes, we’re leaving.”

“No! I’m not leaving. I paid for this room for two nights and we are staying for those two nights.”

“Why, Ali? Why did you bring me up here? Why are you doing this to me?”

“Why are you acting like such a jerk? This isn’t like you,” Ali commented beginning to cry.

“Fine, I’m getting dressed and going out for a drink. If you want to come with me, meet me downstairs in five.”

“Okay,” she mumbled through the tears and suddenly he was gone leaving her alone in the bathtub crying her heart out.

She didn’t know what to do any more, maybe he wasn’t the man she thought he was. Maybe she had made a mistake getting involved with her best friend’s brother.

“Now you know what to do, right,” Charlotte asked Ariel as she finished pinning up her hair.

“I have everything under control, Charlotte,” Ariel replied watching her older sister in the mirror like she had when they were much younger.

“If Ella wakes up just have Ashley take a break downstairs and come up here to sing to her. If someone calls in sick I have a list in the office that you can call start from the top and just work your way down,” Charlotte explained putting the finishing touches before she had to leave for the rehearsal wedding.

“Charlotte, I know your routine, I have gotten to know the rest of the waitresses the past few weeks since I’ve been back. I know how you like to run things and I’m not going to change anything. Go out tonight have a good time and tomorrow at the wedding and maybe it will give that new guy of yours some ideas.”

“No, that is the last thing I want, Ariel. I tried that once remember and it didn’t work out.”

“That’s because it was with the wrong Donnelly,” Ariel argued with a smile across her face. “This guy is different.”

“Yes, he is, but that doesn’t mean I want to marry him,” Charlotte explained before a knock on the door interrupted them.

“You look fantastic and I better get downstairs,” Ariel said opening the bedroom door to find Gregory on the other side.

Ariel walked past him and walked down the hallway shaking her head at her sister’s love life. None of the Parker children had ever had a lasting relationship and Ariel had hoped Charlotte would break that tread.

“You look amazing,” Gregory told Charlotte as he reached for her twirling her around to get a full view of the woman he adored.

“Thank you. The dress your sister sent over fit like a glove. How does she do it?”

“I’m not sure, but speaking of my sister I have some news on the festivities.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t have to worry about my father hassling us the next two days. He has been uninvited to the wedding because of something Caroline overhead. I’m now walking my sister down the aisle.”

“What? I mean your father can be a ruthless bastard, but what could she have overheard to turn her own father away.”

“She overheard our father putting a hit on me.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Charlotte yelled slamming her hand on her dresser knocking over the last picture that was ever taken of Juniper Parker, Charlotte’s grandmother.

“Get in line, sweetheart,” Gregory said realizing that the list was getting longer of the people who wanted to bring down Benjamin Donnelly.

“How about we go for a walk,” Luke asked Ali as they exited the bar and grill that they had spent the last two hours in.

“Sure,” Ali replied following Luke like she had done since they had left the bed and breakfast earlier in the day. She didn’t want to push the issues that were hanging between them, so they sat at the bar watching the basketball game that was airing on one of the televisions. He hadn’t said much to her within those two hours, and it was beginning to drive her crazy.

“This morning I found this trail that lead to the beach. I came down here and just watched the waves then took a run for a few hours.”

“So that’s where you were.”

“Where did you think I disappeared too?”

“I was afraid that you found someone else, Luke. You and I come from different worlds and it wasn’t until this weekend that I figured that out,” Ali admitted catching up to his step.

“I told you before I’ve never felt this way before and it’s scary. I didn’t want to ruin our time together, but I know I have,” Luke explained reaching out for Ali’s hand.

“We still have one more night together before you go back to the real world,” Ali murmured with a smile across her face.

“Race you down to the beach,” Luke said before letting go of her hand and taking off for the small hills ahead of them.

Ali watched him run away from her one more time wondering if he would keep doing that to her. She knew they hadn’t made love before for many reasons, the main reason was she wasn’t ready, but now she was and now he kept running away. Her mind began to wonder if it wasn’t just her insecurities that kept them physically apart all this time.

She walked over the last hill to find him sitting as close to the water as he could without getting wet. At times he looked like a little boy and these were one of these times curled up staring at the water. She walked up behind him and sat down on the sand next to him. The breeze from the cold November air sent chills down Ali’s spine and sitting outside next to the beach with a thin jacket wasn’t keeping her warm enough.

“Growing up when dad could get a weekend away from the restaurant, he would bring me up north fishing on weekends. It was just the guys weekend he would tell me, something that his father did for him and that I would do for my son one day,” Luke said staring out into the cold water. “He would tell me that being our father was the most important job he could ever have.”

“I remember having play dates with Paige at that restaurant. The two of us would play upstairs for hours and he would tell us that anytime we were hungry just to come downstairs at a table and he would bring us anything we wanted. We would even help him with customers if we got too restless,” Ali explained remembering growing up being a friend of the Parker children.

“It didn’t matter how many customers were in that restaurant he would make time for his kids,” Luke stated. “I want to give my children the same dedication.”

“I didn’t know you wanted children,” Ali said knowing full well that this was a conversation they needed to talk about especially if they engaged into a sexual relationship.

“I didn’t know I wanted them either until all of this happened,” he clarified not getting into any more detail. He got up from the sand brushing it off from the back of his jeans. “We better get back before it starts to snow.”

As soon as he said that flurries began to fall from the sky making Ali stick her tongue out to catch them like she did when she was a child. She felt his eyes on her watching as her tongue moved like she was licking a lollipop and suddenly she knew she was turning him on.

“Come here,” he said grabbing her hand and pulling her up next to his burning hot body. “Let’s get back to that room where you can really put that tongue to use.”

And then they were off running towards the truck as the snow began to fall harder clinging to their body. When they reached the passenger’s side door he pushed her against the cold steel of the truck and crashed his lips against hers. His hands went under her jacket and shirt and felt like fire on her skin. She couldn’t get enough of him and if they didn’t stop right there they would end up making love against the truck on a cold November night in the snow.

“We have to stop,” Ali sighed as she pulled away putting her head on his shoulder. “At least go somewhere more comfortable.”

“Okay,” Luke replied reaching around Ali to open the truck door to let her in.

They were finally on their way; going forward to something neither of them could take back because once they made love they would always be bound together.

“Wow, I’ve been here a couple of times before but I still can’t get used to how beautiful it is,” Charlotte said as she stepped into the Regency Hotel with its high ceilings, marble floors, and crystal chandeliers hanging above them.

“I know, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the Wexler,” Gregory replied remembering their first night together in the Wexler Hotel.

“A night I will never forget,” she whispered gripping onto his arm a bit tighter and putting her head on his left shoulder as they began to walk through the lobby towards the dining hall where the reception for the Donnelly/Reed wedding would be tomorrow.

“Stay tuned, sweetheart, because there will be even more unforgettable nights,” he stated kissing the top of her head.

In the shadows stood a man close enough to be hear every word they spoke yet far enough away to be unseen. He laughed a bit once Gregory and Charlotte entered the dining hall knowing that neither of them realized what was in store for them tonight.

“This will be the night you will never forget,” the man declared before he went back into the shadows and disappeared.

Inside of the dining hall there were hundreds of tables set up with bouquets of white and red roses as the centerpiece for each table.

“They did a great job, didn’t they,” Caroline said watching Charlotte admire the centerpieces of roses. “I decided to go with the roses instead of the lilies.”

“I like the roses,” Charlotte replied remembering that she had never received roses before not even from Tyler when they were together.

“Greg, thanks again for doing this for me,” Caroline told her brother. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“There is no place I would rather be,” he commented putting his arm around his sister and leading both ladies to the rest of the wedding party that had assembled near the center of the room.

“Charlotte, nice to see you again,” Dalton said noticing the smile across his fiancé’s face now that the dinner could start.

“You remember, my brother, don’t you, sweetie,” Caroline asked her fiancé.

“Gregory, right, it’s been a very long time,” Dalton replied putting his hand out to shake the new part of the wedding party.

“Yes, it is, Dalton, I’m glad you are making an honest woman out of my sister, finally.”

“Yeah, well I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else,” Dalton explained reaching out for his darling’s hand. “How about a dance?”

“Dalton, there is no music, and we really need to get started,” Caroline said as Dalton hugged her.

“What about Tyler,” Arianna asked coming up from behind Gregory and Charlotte. “Are you forgetting your other brother?”

“He won’t be making it,” Dalton said remembering the phone call he made earlier in the day. All he wanted was his wedding to go on without a hitch and having the two Donnelly brothers going at it.

“He’s come down with something,” Caroline stated not knowing the reason behind her younger brother’s disappearance tonight but hoping he would be well enough for the wedding tomorrow.

“It’s probably Erica,” Charlotte mumbled to Gregory.

“Let’s me introduce you to the rest of the gang,” Caroline said leading Charlotte over to four people standing over by the table where the cake would be served at. “Charlotte, this is my dear friend Jennifer Newman and her husband Mick. And Dalton’s college buddy, Jordon Sullivan and his wife Jaime. Everyone this is Charlotte, my brother’s girlfriend.”

“Which brother,” Colin wondered coming up to the group with a drink in his hand like usual.

“Great to see you too, Colin,” Charlotte retorted. “Has your father been here yet?”

“He called and said he had a short meeting that came up but he would be here shortly,” Caroline replied remembering what Dalton had told her.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and the loudspeaker was turned on frightening Caroline and the rest of the party.

“What’s going on,” Dalton questioned reaching for his soon to be bride.

“I don’t know,” Caroline answered. “Who’s there?”

“Do you think you could have this wedding without me, my dear princess,” Benjamin announced over the speaker.

Caroline looked around the room trying to find her father but the lights were dimmed so low that she could only see a couple of feet in front of her. Caroline could tell her fiancé was next to her, the Newman’s and the Sullivan’s but she couldn’t see Colin, Gregory or Charlotte.

“My princess, I gave you everything you ever wanted. You were the only family I had left after your brothers turned their backs on the family. I am even the one that put you and Dalton together after that doctor dropped you like a bad habit. By the way, darling, why do you think he did that?”

“What doctor friend,” Dalton asked dropping Caroline’s hand.

“Doctor Burton,” Jaime said remembering the night Caroline showed up at her house crying over the dear doctor. “Dr. Jake Burton.”

“You told me it was mutual,” Dalton stated stepping away from Caroline. “You lied to me.”

“See, princess, you turn your back on me, and I can back twice as strong,” Benjamin laughed at his daughter’s misery. “Wait, what are you doing here? No!”

All of a sudden a gunshot rang out in the room making everyone jump and Caroline scream out for her father. Within a few seconds the lights in the room were back on making everyone blink a couple of times to adjust their eyes to the sudden light.

“Daddy,” Caroline shouted looking around for her father and yelled at the few people standing in the room, “help me look for him.”

“It’s too late,” Dalton said noticing the bloody handprint on the wall near the double doors that lead out to the lobby of the hotel.

A scream from the lobby sent Caroline running for the doors and several seconds later Caroline tried to make her way through the crowd of people in the lobby. Once Caroline made her way to the center of the crowd she found Charlotte standing over her father’s dead body.

“I love you,” Ali stated rolling over up on her elbow to look at the man who had just made love to her. “I should have told you that before this, but I didn’t. So I’m telling you now.”

Luke laid there next to her naked body. He couldn’t believe he had succumbed to this. He was a horrible human being and he knew it. There was only way to make it right.

“There is something I need to say before you go on with your declaration of love for me. I’m not the person you think I am,” Luke explained.

“You’re the man I love, the man who loves me,” Ali commented noticing the worried look across Luke’s face. “You do love me, don’t you?”

“We really need to talk when we get back to town. I think we should just get some sleep,” Luke said rolling away from her and closing his eyes.

“No, Luke, you can’t make love to me and then tell me we have to talk when we get home. Tell me now, do you love me or not?”

“I didn’t want this, Ali, I’m sorry if you think I did. I didn’t want to come up here this weekend. I didn’t want any of this,” he replied realizing she wouldn’t just drop it, he opened his eyes and reached over to turn the bedside lamp on then thought better of it. He didn’t want to see the sorrow in her eyes when he did this.

“What are you saying, Luke,” she asked sitting up pulling the blankets up to cover her body.

“I think we need to go our separate ways, I’m sorry,” he murmured before closing his eyes for the last time that night not having enough energy or courage to explain in more detail why he was doing this to her now.

“Luke,” Ali cried realizing he wasn’t going to answer her. She rolled away from him curled up into a ball and cried herself to sleep realizing that the best night of her life had now turned into a nightmare. Finally making love to the man was supposed to make her feel like a woman and yet all she was felt was empty and hallow.