Angela walked into the kitchen seeing Nick over by the stove working away on cooking something for her. Upon further inspection she realized that he had not one, but three things going at once. Curiously she watched him shift his attention from one to the other, excess energy clearly brewing through his body.

“What’s this?” she couldn’t help but ask seeing him lost inside of his task.

“Breakfast,” he replied glancing over his shoulder at her briefly before returning his focus to work, “I thought you might be hungry.”

“Hungry yes, but this,” she scratched her head lightly. “Well Nick, there’s enough food here for half the island.”

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted,” he confessed reaching out onto the counter to pull forth a plate of chocolate chip pancakes he’d finished earlier, “so I thought I’d give you a little bit of everything.”

“Gee now I feel like I’m here with Kevin,” she mouthed with a small sigh thinking about her best friend’s hunger for well, for food really in general. She accepted the plate Nick offered her and carried it to the table before looking at him again, “So how are you this morning? I can see you have been up for a while.”

“Not that long really,” Nick lied finishing up with the bacon he was working on.

“Nick, I woke up a couple of times last night and it was plain to see that you weren’t in bed. What’s going on,” she questioned seeing him circle around to place the bacon on the center of the table before returning to the stove.

“I just had a few things on my mind,” he shrugged his shoulders lightly, “Nothing really to get too worked up about. I just thought that I’d surprise you with breakfast and…”

“And I think it’s a wonderful offer, but you look tired,” she stepped in closer to him, “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Of course I did,” he nodded finishing up with the eggs. He put them onto a plate before facing her once again, “better than I have in a while.”

“Somehow I seriously doubt that,” she folded her arms in front of her chest eyeing him intently, “Really Nick, what’s going on?”

“I just want to surprise you that’s all,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I mean here you are about to become my wife, so the least I can do is pamper you this morning especially since we have a big day ahead of us. Are you ready for this engagement party?”

“More than you can imagine,” she nodded reaching out to pull him into an embrace before he could walk away from her. “Today holds so many possibilities for us and I for one can’t wait.”

“Neither can I,” Nick replied leaning down to kiss her tenderly, “I just know that this is going to be great. Martha went well out of her way to put something together that everyone will enjoy…”

“Plus it gives us a preview of where we can get married,” she reminded him with a tiny giggle, “I just know you’re going to love it there Nick. It’s truly so very beautiful. I mean I haven’t been over to that side of the island in a while, but I’m telling you now that it’s this magical place. There are so many spots either inside the castle or outside near the water where we could have the wedding. Either way it would be like living out a fairy tale…”

“And no less than a fairy tale is what you deserve,” he vowed hearing the sounds of his hash browns cracking back on the stove, “Hold that thought.”

“Of course,” she nodded sliding in to take a seat by the table. Moments later he joined her with hash browns to add to the various things he’d prepared for them.

“So while we’re on the subject of tonight,” Nick hesitated for just a moment, “About Kevin…”

“I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’m not upset that he’s not going to be there, but you know better than that,” she paused thinking about her best friend’s reaction had left her feeling alienated from him in ways that she hadn’t ever felt before. Still this was something that she wanted and she wasn’t about to let Kevin’s refusal about being there take this away from her. She looked to Nick once again and offered up a sad smile, “If he doesn’t want to be there I can’t force him into it, but even without him that doesn’t change my wanting this for us. I want the party to go off smoothly. I want everything tonight to be wonderful.”

“And it will,” Nick reassured her with a small smile, “I have high hopes for tonight.”

“You and me both,” she replied with a thoughtful expression hating not to have Kevin at one of the turning points of her life, but she knew full well that tonight was going to be a night she’d never forget. Martha and Nick had tried so hard to make it special and she wasn’t about to let Kevin’s attitude about what was happening ruin that for any of them. She couldn’t let it ruin the night for her--not when she was so very close to having everything that she’d always longed for in her life.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kevin looked around his hotel room trying to remember if there was something more he had to take with him on the trip. He’d already booked his flight and while he’d wanted to call Seth and give him a head’s up on what was going on, it seemed that there hadn’t been enough time in the morning. Even now he was sure he was forgetting something--something that he absolutely shouldn’t be leaving behind, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Hearing a knock at his hotel room door, he directed his attention to it wondering what it could be now. He’d already called downstairs to let them know that he would be checking out this afternoon and he’d thought he’d filled out all the proper paperwork on it, but maybe he’d missed something. Something like…

“My charge card,” Kevin mouthed with a gasp realizing that he had to have left it downstairs in his haste. Unable to believe how careless he’d been this morning, Kevin walked over to the door ready to thank whichever hotel employee had been considerate enough to bring it back to him. Opening the door however gave him a new surprise altogether.

“Lose something?” Ria questioned holding his credit card out for him.

“Ria how did you…” he stammered a bit thinking about how he’d hated to leave her this morning. He’d been upset about the idea of going away especially after they’d made love to one another all night long leading into the morning after they‘d been faced with the aftermath of Angela‘s phone call.

“I ran into the bell hop on the way up,” she shrugged her shoulders before offering up a half smile, “when I realized we were going the same place, I told him I was your wife and he gave it to me. Normally I would issue a complaint with the hotel if I were you considering that the guy was too busy checking out some long-legged blonde to really check out the validity of my statement, but hey his doing his job wrong gave me an excuse to be here.”

“You don’t need an excuse to be here,” he ignored the credit card pulling her into his arms in a heavy embrace. Unable to contain himself he kissed her urgently realizing that while they’d said good-bye earlier, he hadn’t been prepared to let her go. He pulled her into his hotel room with him hating the idea of being away from her as their kiss continued.

“Kevin,” she mouthed feeling him holding her up off of the ground, “I think I dropped your credit card.”

“So,” he murmured kissing her again and again, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she sighed as their lips parted, “Of course you haven’t really gone yet and I’m already missing you like crazy.”

“I wish it didn’t have to be like this,” he replied thinking about the plans he’d made to go to Angela’s engagement party. “I wish we had more time.”

“Then I take it you already booked a flight, huh?” she questioned sadly her eyes filled with a darkness that caused Kevin’s heart to ache.

He nodded poignantly, “The plane leaves later this afternoon. I decided I should go to the party and try to be there for Angie.”

“I understand,” she nodded feeling him set her down on the ground again, “She needs you.”

“I know she’s not the only one,” he paused thinking about how he’d left her apartment this morning without really giving them time to talk things through between them, “About this morning…”

“I understand why you feel you need to do this,” she bit down on her lower lip vowing to be strong despite the fact that she wanted him to stay in Coral Valley more than anything, “I know that you have some things you need to figure out. You need to find a way to deal with what’s going on inside of you and get it all sorted out. Maybe that’s what I need too. I mean I have an ex-boyfriend to clear the air with.”

“You mean you’re thinking about seeing him while I’m away,” Kevin felt a pain in his heart at the idea of Ria being with someone else while he was gone.

“Only to explain to him that it’s over,” Ria sighed heavily reaching out to bring her fingers up through his dark hair, “He called earlier this morning right after you left and I let my machine get it. After I heard his message I got to thinking and I realize that maybe I should just be honest with him about just how over things between him and I are. I mean, how can I even think about a relationship with anyone else when my heart tells me that I only want to be with you?”

“Ria I…” Kevin started knowing full well that she was still hurting about what he’d shared with her about his feelings for Angela.

“I know that you have to see if you’re ready to move on and put the page of your life with Angela in your history,” she nodded trying to stay strong even though it was killing her inside, “I want you to be there with her--to share this engagement party with her and to see if you’re really ready to move on with me. If you are, then I promise I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll be here hoping that you come back to me.”

“I love you Ria,” Kevin blurted out kissing her again, “Don’t ever doubt that.”

“I love you too Kevin which is why I need you to know that I’m not giving up on you. I’m not giving up on us and I have faith that things will fall into place for us one way or another,” she explained behind tear-filled eyes, “I love you enough to show you that I’m not going to think that this is the end for us.”

“It’s no where near the end. I promise you that,” Kevin whispered against her lips taking the time to seal the moment in his mind forever as he found himself not really wanting to say good-bye to her now or ever. Ria was someone he had felt a real connection with--someone that his heart had opened up to. She was a woman who loved him and one he’d loved for so very long. To throw all of that away for something that may never be just felt so wrong--so unlike what his heart was telling him to do. Wrapping her up in his arms, Kevin tried to deal with his divided heart wondering if going back to the island again was really the right thing to do after all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Trisha’s eyes slowly opened as she saw the sun peaking through the blinds on her windows. She let out a small yawn as she slowly got out of the bed and walked over to the windows to open the blinds, letting the sun shine in the room.

“Why am I getting up so early?” Trisha asked herself before shrugging her shoulders.

It would have been better to just sleep because her days were becoming more boring. She was going to change that today, she was going to get Ria or someone to hang out with her today whether she wanted to or not. It got kind of old being home alone at her mother’s place while her mother was gone and while Ria was always spending her time with Kevin. There was nothing more that Trisha hated than silence. When she was home, that’s all she was getting. The high peak of her night would be when she was playing solitaire by herself on the computer. Truthfully, that really was not fun at all, it was more of a thing to waste time with.

“Maybe I should call Michael,” Trisha pondered, grabbing the television remote from the coffee table. She lazily fell back onto the couch before turning the television on. “Maybe he can hang out and not make me so bored.”

With that thought in mind, she reached out to grab the phone before hearing a familiar name on the television. Her heart sank as she heard that very name that she never wanted to hear again in her lifetime. Bruce Mathis. Her heartbeat began to race as she took in all the news from what the person on television was giving everyone. As soon as the news cut to a commercial, her body became overwhelmed with a sudden shivering.

“No, this can’t be happening,” Trisha thought aloud, shaking her head slowly. She was refusing the fact that Bruce would be stupid enough to come back. “He can’t be back, not…”

Before she could worry herself any more, she got up from the couch and quickly ran over to the door, double locking it. She ran into every room in the house and made sure all the windows were locked tightly so there would be no easy way to get into the house.

“Please, don’t let him come back for me,” Trisha begged, walking into the bathroom and sitting in the corner of the room. She reached for the phone she had brought into the bathroom before her shaky fingers slowly pushed the numbers to Ria’s cell phone. “Please answer your cell phone Ria. I don’t want to be home alone by myself while he’s out there.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah’s eyes lazily opened as she rolled over in bed, pulling the covers together around her body. She let out a small sigh as she remembered every event that happened last night with her and Diego.

She turned around and reached out to wrap her arm around Diego, but when she touched the bed, the sheets were cool. Quickly, she sat up, looking around the room and saw no sign of Diego.

“Where did he go?” Sarah questioned to herself before hearing a pot in the kitchen hit the floor. Her feet touched the cool carpet as she reached out to grab her robe and wrap it around her body tightly.

When she grabbed the doorknob to the hallway, a picture on her dresser caught her attention before she walked out. She reached out to grab the picture of her and Kyle when they had gone apple picking with Blake and Seth. His arms were wrapped around her waist tightly as he gently kissed her cheek. She remembered when they took this picture Kyle could hardly stand because he had fallen out of the tree and even when the picture was taken she couldn’t stop laughing.

“It’s over,” Sarah muttered to herself, pulling open her drawer before placing the picture in it and closing the drawer. She heard another bang coming from the kitchen before letting out a small laugh. “What in the world is he doing?”

Sarah walked out into the hallway before reaching her kitchen and seeing Diego by the stove cooking something.

“Good morning beautiful,” Diego smiled, looking over his shoulder when he heard Sarah walk into the kitchen. “How are you on this beautiful morning?”

“A little tired,” she answered with a small smile before folding her arms out in front of her chest, “And you?”

“Oh, I’m cooking breakfast,” he informed her with a small smirk before setting the cooking spoon down. He grabbed a cloth to wipe his hands as he turned around to look at her. “I’m making strawberry waffles and some other things. I figured sleeping beauty could use a good breakfast.”

“Well, that was very nice of you,” Sarah pointed out with a small nod before letting out a small sigh. “How long have you been up?”

“Not that long,” he stated with a small shrug, leaning up against the counter before letting a small smile escape his lips. “For a while I was up watching you sleep and then I decided I would do something special for you. I thought I would make you some breakfast and I also turned on the news while I was cooking.”

“I see that,” Sarah glanced over her shoulder to look at the television that was in the living room, catching a picture of a man she knew. When she walked over to the couch to watch the news, Diego followed her.

“You have to be kidding me,” Diego shook his head slowly as he took a seat on the edge of the couch, “Look at that. Bruce is back.”

“Not only is he back, but he hurt another person. I can only imagine what he is going to be doing next,” Sarah let out a small sigh before shrugging her shoulders. “Does this town ever have any good news in it? It seems like everything is so miserable around here. Why is that?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Diego mumbled before letting out a small sigh as he stood up. He held his hand out to hers as she took it and he pulled her up to him. “I can tell you I have had some good news lately. My day seemed to be brightening up right around last night.”

“Really?” Sarah let out a small laugh as he nodded slowly. He leaned forward to press a small kiss on her forehead before nodding towards the kitchen.

“How about we eat some breakfast and I will tell you all about it,” Diego suggested with a small wink as she followed him to the kitchen.

“I want to hear all about it,” Sarah declared, looking back at the television for a moment. It was kind of scary to hear all those things about those girls, but at least she knew she had someone to protect her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyle flipped his jacket over his shoulder as he walked up the sidewalk to Russell and Avery’s place. It had been a long night for him because he had been out all this time with Shannon to try and get some answers on Bruce. He really didn’t get anything else other than Bruce wasn’t found. His worries were more centered on Avery, but Shannon had convinced him that Avery knew about everything and she was taken care of.

“I hope Shannon is right about all of this,” Kyle muttered to himself, letting out a small sigh as he grabbed his keys from his pocket and skimmed through them until he found the right one.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open before walking in. His right foot slipped on something as he looked down to see what it was that almost made him fall.

“What in the world,” Kyle’s eyebrows tensed as he kneeled down to pick up the envelope that was slid under the door earlier by someone.

A small scowl peaked through at the corner of his lips as he looked at the writing on the front of the envelope. His name was printed on the front and the writing was Grady’s. Kyle could point out Grady’s hand writing any day. Letting his anger overcome him, Kyle grabbed the letter by the inside and was about to tear it in half before he got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was telling him that he should read whatever Grady wrote him because it seemed a little suspicious that Grady would write something and not give it to Kyle by hand.

“Let’s see what he has to say,” Kyle sighed, kicking the door shut with his the back of his heel before walking over towards the couch to see what it was that Grady had written to him.

He tiredly fell back on the couch as he sank into the seat, trying to get comfortable. He took another look at the envelope before slowly opening it. When he pulled out the letter, it was almost full with words. Kyle slowly read each word of the letter before he dropped it and looked down to his watch on his right wrist.

“You have to be kidding me,” Kyle gulped down before picking the letter back up. He stood up quickly before sliding the note in his pocket. “I have to find him.”

Kyle pulled his car keys out of his pocket as he walked outside after locking the door. He had to know if what Grady was saying in this letter was really true.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Avery snuggled into the warmth beside her feeling the heat of the arm draped around her waist. She smiled inwardly leaning back against the hard body cuddling into hers. Bringing her hand up, she felt a palm over her breast holding her gently as she in turn laced her fingers over his. She kept her eyes closed feeling the warmth of the morning over her. Lips tapered off over her neck in a slow, sensual fashion making her suddenly aware of the evidence of her companion’s arousal pressed in against the small of her back. She let out a soft sigh before rubbing in further against him enjoying the tiny set of shivers that crept in over her body at the feel of his damp kisses on her heated skin.

“Good morning beautiful,” his voice murmured in a familiar, melodic rhythm and almost as soon as she’d found herself entertaining the notion of enjoying spending the day in bed, the voice registered in her head and her eyes snapped open with a gasp.

“Grady!” Avery gulped now suddenly aware of the tantalizing way his thigh nestled in against hers. She felt his hand drop down over her hip, fingertips tracing her curves before his touch dipped in between her thighs seeking out more of a reaction from her.

“Who else were you expecting,” he questioned stroking her gently, his own body growing excited by the nearness of her. He felt the warmth of her beneath his every caress and it was as if the time they’d shared earlier had only intensified since the first moment he’d touched her.

“Grady, you can’t…” Avery gulped reaching out to stop him from touching her in such an intimate fashion. She reached for his hand tearing it away from her before she spun around to see him laying beside her. Her eyes widened as the sheet she’d been draped in only barely hung over his hips leaving little to the imagination before her. Suddenly everything that they’d shared with one another flashed through her mind and she let out another pinched gasp.

“Of course I can,” he laughed lightly seeing her reaction as a sign of her playfulness. He reached for her drawing her lips to his in a heated kiss as his hands tapered off underneath the blankets, urging her thigh around his hip to bring them closer to one another.

Avery opened her mouth feeling his body next to hers--the way he cupped her closer to him, his solid strength at her entrance waiting to tempt her in ways that his tongue had tantalized her over and over again with each soft flick inside of her. She reached out to touch his shoulders feeling his body so warm and inviting beneath her touch. Instinctively she curled her fingers over his shoulders, feeling him take that as a sign that they were on the right track with one another when he pushed himself inside of her causing her to gasp with sudden awareness.

“I missed this,” he mouthed pulling her hips in against his as he continued to move fluidly inside of her, causing the friction to build between them with every thought out movement he made inside of her. His fingers tapered off over her hair, his green eyes causing her stomach to be tied in knots as he cupped her bottom guiding her in over him. Before long he fell back onto the mattress carrying her over with him as the pleasure began to build between them.

“Grady…” Avery tried to think rational--to say something to keep her from falling into this position with him--from savoring the feel of him inside of her.

How she’d gone from being asleep to suddenly being on top of him, feeling him move inside of her, his hands pressed firmly over her hips guiding her movements over him made no sense. Leaning forward, she reached out to touch his chest only to feel him bend upward to catch her breast between his lips. His tongue traced over her causing her to cry out in ecstasy. She reached out to him, her fingers tangling in his dark hair as things progressed between them becoming far less rational and more primal by the second.

Avery was certain that she had something to say to him, something that she wanted to remember to tell him, but as they made love to one another in such a sudden, frantic fashion, she lost all train of thought. Her nails scratched down over his back in a frenzied movement causing him to groan beneath her. He bit down on her lip sending a strange combination of pleasure and pain through her. Her nails raked over him as he pulled her up onto her knees bringing her down over him with crashing urgency again and again until finally rationality flew out the window entirely with the first waves of desire that rocked over them. He sought out her lips kissing her roughly as pleasure poured over the both of them bringing them to sweet surrender lost in one another’s arms.

Avery’s head dropped down on his shoulder, feeling her heart pounding in her chest at the impromptu love making between them. It had been wild, intense and absolutely the last thing she’d planned on this morning. Now as Grady held her in his arms, he placed tiny butterfly kisses over her shoulder his tongue tracing over her skin with a soft flick.

“It is a good morning indeed, isn’t it,” he murmured nibbling on her earlobe, his damp body still pressed in against hers.

“Grady,” Avery closed her eyes trying to regain as sense of clarity after what had just transpired between them. Her arms were still around him, legs still hugging his body inside of her and yet in that stunning afterglow when bliss should’ve carried over her, something else carried of her. Guilt. Her body shuddered as she pulled herself off of him much to his dismay.

“Avery, what is it,” he questioned watching her fall back onto her side of the bed, turning her back to him. She pulled the sheet up over her body closing her eyes as she fought to get control of what was happening inside of her. He sensed something was bothering her and he reached over to touch her shoulder gently, “What is it sweetheart?”

“This is wrong Grady,” Avery bit back on her emotions straining to keep herself from appreciating the way that he touched her. She felt tears threatening as she spoke up again, “We shouldn’t have done this.”

“Of course we should’ve,” Grady tipped in over her to drop a kiss over the side of her neck, “Granted I didn’t give you much warning just now, but it was still good, wasn’t it?”

“Grady…of course it was good, but…” she let out a small whimper, “We shouldn’t have done this.”

“Yes we should’ve,” he nudged her slightly in an attempt to pull her in closer to him, “and maybe if we’re lucky we can fit a little more of this in before the day is over.”

“No Grady, you’re not getting it,” she finally blurted out finding the courage to face him at long last, “Grady we never should’ve let things get this far between us. You were upset last night. My God you tried to kill yourself and…”

“And you saved me Avery,” he swept his thumb against her cheek gazing lovingly into her brown eyes, “You found me at my lowest point and you brought me back to life. And I’m very grateful for that.”

“I’m grateful too, but Grady, that’s where it should’ve ended,” she explained feeling him move in to kiss her. She turned her head away from his catching the disappointment that passed from his lips. “I should’ve tried to help you---should’ve tried to take you home instead of allowing us to do this. We never, ever should’ve…”

“Yes, we should,” he forced her to face him again his green eyes burning with passion and desire, “Avery, if you think that this is because of what happened last night, you’re wrong.”

“Grady when you tried to kill yourself you were feeling vulnerable and….” she started again only to feel his finger over her lips to silence her.

“Avery my trying to kill myself had absolutely nothing to with our making love. It had everything to do with what’s been happening between us for a while now,” he insisted sliding his fingers into her dark hair drawing her nearer to him, “This is something that we’ve both wanted for so very long…”

“No,” she argued shaking her head in response, “Grady, that’s not true. I‘m married to Brant and I love him…”

“No you don’t,” he shook his head at her, his mouth hovering over hers in a sinfully tempting whisper, “You never loved him Avery. We both know that.”

“Yes I do,” she argued with him. “Grady I promised him that I would be the kind of wife he needed--the kind of wife he could love and trust and I swore to be faithful to him and…”

“And you can’t help your heart Avery. Your heart told you that you and I were meant to be together last night--just like we’re meant to be together now. We have a connection between us--a connection that has been years in the making,” he mouthed urgently feeling her hesitation to give in to what he was saying to her.

“No Grady. This was a mistake. I’m married to Brant and I love him. He’s been good to me and…” she tried to reason with him, thoughts of her husband clouding her mind. As she thought of him, her heart sank, her mind remembering all the things he’d accused her and Grady of back before this was even remotely close to happening. Time after time she’d told him that this would never happen, that she would never, ever fall into this, but now…

“Forget about Brant. There’s no need to ruin a perfectly good morning between us now that we’re off to a good start,” he pleaded once more before bridging the distance between them with a heated kiss trying to remind her of all the reasons to forget about the husband who had walked out on her when what they had now was something worth holding onto--worth focusing on. They had passion and fire and he was certain that if she would just forget what was expected of her, she would see full well that the last thing in the world that should be on her mind at a time like this was Brant.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Brant watched the last of his luggage being taken out of the hotel room and a smile pressed over his lips. Yes, everything was in order now. The flight would be taking off later this afternoon and soon very soon everything would fall into place. Soon he would be able to fix the mess his brother made--be able to get back home and call it a victory. That in itself was sounding really good right about now.

Looking to his cell phone that still say on the dresser, he contemplated whether or not to share his good news with Avery. Thus far he’d kind of kept away from her hoping that the time would give them both room to cool off a bit. He closed his eyes remembering their less than wonderful parting with one another. How he’d hated to leave things so unsettled between them, yet when he thought of everything that had been going on over the last few months, he was wondering if they’d ever truly be able to fix what was going wrong with them.

Moving over towards the bed, Brant took a seat and reached for his phone. He started to dial Avery’s number thinking about all the things he’d have to share with her--about all the accomplishments he’d made during this trip and suddenly a smile lifted over his lips. If he could make this kind of ground with Ken, then he was certain he could make it with his wife. Now more eager than ever to fill her in on the details, Brant started to push send, but before he finished his cell phone started to ring.

“Hello,” he answered quickly realizing it was the pilot calling to confirm their flight plan. They went over it a couple times before Brant hung up the phone realizing he had to be on his way. He thought about calling Avery once again, but decided that he’d be home soon enough. They could talk things out then and maybe just maybe they would be able to fix the things that had been going wrong with them for some time now. Yes, that did sound like it was in the cards for them indeed, but first it was time to do what was needed to get Ken’s life right on track again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Please can I have another call,” Michelle begged to the new guy that had just came into the room. She tugged on the cold bars of her cell tightly before letting out a small frown. “I think I dialed the wrong number and I promise I only need this one last call. I swear. Can I please…”

“Listen lady, I can’t do that,” the officer tried to explain, walking over towards the cell, “If I could, I would. I just can’t risk something like that.”

“Well, do you think you bend the rules a bit? Just for me,” Michelle’s dark brown eyes begged the man before her as the man simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Fine, but you have to make it quick,” the officer began, pulling his keys out as he searched for the right one to unlock Michelle’s cell door.

“Thank you so much,” Michelle smiled widely as the officer put the key into the lock. “I will make it real quick, I promise.”

“Good,” the officer muttered, opening the door and Michelle slowly walked out, “because I hope you know I can get in trouble for doing this. The phone is right there.”

“I know,” she nodded slowly, feeling the officer grab onto her arm and lead her towards the phone. “I think I can handle it.”

“I know you can handle it,” the officer declared before shrugging his shoulders, “but I don’t want to risk you running off. People have tried it and they never get away with it.”

“I won’t run,” she scowled, rolling her eyes as she slowly picked up the phone, “Once I get through to my fiancé, I am going home. Now if you will excuse me, I have to make this call.”

“Go ahead,” the officer held his hands up in the air as he took a step closer to her, “but I am standing right here.”

“I don’t care where you stand,” Michelle rolled her eyes before quickly dialing the number to Ken’s hotel room. She remembered it from when he had told her what it was from the other day. Yesterday she couldn’t remember it, but that was because of obvious reasons. She heard the constant sound of the ringing before letting out a small groan. “Please be there Ken.”

“Hello,” a groggy sounding Ken picked up the phone before hearing a small squeak on the other end of the phone. “Michelle?”

“Ken, it’s me,” Michelle replied in a small amount of quickness, “I need your help.”

“What is it?” Ken questioned, sitting straighter than he was just moments earlier. “Where have you been all night Michelle?”

“In jail,” she answered with a small shake of her head, “you would never believe the things that Shannon did to me. They took advantage of me Ken and I got put in jail.”

“Stop kidding with me Michelle,” Ken chuckled, shaking his head slowly as he thought of what she had just told him. “Shannon and Don would never do that.”

“You want to bet on that?” Michelle muttered, rolling her eyes at the stupidity coming from Ken. She knew that Shannon had pulled this on her the other night, there was no other way she got here. “That bitch and your so called friend got me put in jail. They want to have us ruined. They want to ruin my life and my wedding. They want to try and keep you away from you. Oh, Kenny--it’s horrible. I’m stuck here in the local jail until I get bailed out.”

“You’re not kidding,” Ken gulped after hearing the seriousness behind Michelle’s voice. Why would Don and Shannon do something like this to Michelle? Let alone him. “I’ll be there in a couple minutes okay? I promise, I am going to get you out of this.”

“Thank you so much Ken,” Michelle smiled to herself before hearing Ken hang up with her. She hung up the phone before turning around to face the officer. “He’s coming to get me.”

“I’m sure he is,” the officer nodded before grabbing her arm once more, “but before he gets here, I still have to keep you in a jail cell.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyle ran up to Elliot and Cheryl’s door and he began to knock rapidly. His stomach was tied in knots with worry as he thought about the words that Grady had written to him on the letter earlier. He couldn’t let those things happen, not now.

“Kyle,” Elliot quickly opened the door to see a very pale Kyle before him. “Kyle, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kyle answered quickly as Elliot motioned Kyle to come inside. Kyle felt the side of his jeans to make sure he still had the letter that Grady wrote him in pocket. “Listen, I need to ask you something.”

“What is it son?” Elliot questioned, watching Kyle take in a deep breath as Cheryl walking down the hallway caught both of their attentions.

“What’s wrong Elliot?” Cheryl wondered before spotting Kyle and letting out a small smile. “Kyle, it’s nice to see you again. What can we do for you?”

“It‘s nice to see the both of you too, but Mr. Denton,” Kyle began, looking away from Cheryl for one moment and back at Elliot so he could get his question out.

“Please, call me Elliot,” Elliot sighed, seeing Kyle nod slowly before folding his arms out in front of his chest. “What’s wrong Kyle? What’s bothering you?”

“I was hoping that you could tell me if Grady was here. I really need to talk to him,” Kyle informed them as he saw Elliot give Cheryl a small glance. “Elliot? What is it?”

“That worries me Elliot,” Cheryl declared, placing her hand over her mouth after she spoke up.

“What? What happened?” Kyle questioned quickly as Elliot shrugged his shoulders. “Is Grady here? Is he okay?”

“We don’t know, we don’t know where Grady is,” Elliot looked forward into Kyle’s worried eyes. “It’s kind of worrying us because two people have come here looking for him in a real hurry.”

“Who has come to look for him other than me?” Kyle wondered, taking a step back towards the door as Elliot began to spoke.

“Well, there was you,” Elliot nodded slowly before looking up to see Kyle listening carefully to every word he was saying. “And then there was Avery.”

“Avery came to see him?” Kyle repeated the words they had just said before seeing Elliot nod once more. “So if I find her, Grady may be with her.”

“Maybe,” Elliot shrugged watching Kyle walk towards the front door, “Kyle.”

“Yeah,” Kyle looked back at Elliot seeing Elliot take a step forward and place his hand on his shoulder.

“If you find him, would you give us a call?” Elliot saw Kyle nod slowly before opening the door.

“I promise,” Kyle got out before walking out of the house and leaving Elliot and Cheryl alone to themselves.

He had to find Grady, he couldn’t let this pass by. This was something too big to let go.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Do you not like this breakfast or something?” Diego questioned, watching Sarah slowly pick at the breakfast before her. “You hardly even ate any of your waffles.”

“Well, they kind of remind me of something,” Sarah began picking at her waffles before looking up at Diego. She could tell from the look on his face that he was worried about her. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”

“Then why do you seem so down?” Diego watched Sarah carefully before seeing her look back down at her plate. “Am I not that good of a cook?”

“Oh, you’re wonderful,” Sarah tried to assured him, knowing that she really hadn’t eaten any of his food. Her mind was too tied up to even think right now, let alone eat. “I’ve just been thinking.”

“Thinking about something that obviously is making you feel down,” Diego added, setting his fork down slowly before grabbing the maple syrup from the table. “Hey, can you do me a favor and look up at me for a second?”

“Why?” Sarah looked up at Diego, only to feel him squirt her in the face with some syrup. “Oh you are so dead. You are going to pay for that.”

“Oh, I am now?” Diego laughed, watching as she stood up from her chair and he did the same. He picked up his plate as she picked up hers. “What are you going to hit me with? Take your best shot.”

“Okay,” Sarah nodded, grabbing the ketchup from the table before placing her plate back down. She squeezed it all over his white shirt as he looked down at what she did. “I made a piece of art.”

“A piece of art,” Diego muttered, reaching across the table and dumping his plate of food over Sarah’s head, watching as some of the eggs stuck to her hair. “A great hair job.”

“Come here,” Sarah ran over towards Diego with the plate as she slipped and fell into his arms. Her plate flew back as she heard the crash of the plate and then the squeal of another woman. Sarah looked around and saw a figure standing in the corner of her kitchen as she jumped back and placed her hand over her head. “Oh my gosh, you scared me to death.”

“Cori?” Diego questioned, watching as an egg slid down the front of Cori’s face and then fell to the ground. “What in the world are you doing here?”

“That’s what I would like to know about you,” Cori began, taking a step forward as Diego moved back and away from Sarah. “What in the world is going on here?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was all happening again. From the tempting kisses to the soft caresses, Grady was doing his best to try to show Avery the intensity of the passion between them, but regardless of how wonderful it felt to be in his arms, Avery knew full well what a mistake they were making. Pressing her hands firmly into his chest, she pushed him away from her, her eyes divided by pleasure and guilt as he looked at her.

“Avery, I love you,” Grady mouthed attempting to get closer to her again.

“Grady stop please,” she scooted over to her end of the bed bringing the sheet with her, “What we are doing is wrong. This was stupid and it never should’ve happened. My being here with you is wrong. I don’t regret saving your life, but our making love…”

“Was wonderful,” he reached for her again feeling her closing herself off. “It was everything I’d always thought it would be between us and more considering that…”

“That I’m a horrible person,” she blurted out unable to contain her tears, “I have a husband who loves me and trusts me and look what I’ve done to hurt him.”

“Trusts you?” Grady repeated with a grumble, “Avery, more like he’s someone who wants to control you. He tells you who you can see and what you can do and that’s not right.”

“Grady, he kept trying to warn me this would happen. He kept saying that I would do this and I kept telling him that no I wouldn’t fall into that trap. I kept promising him that I would never, ever hurt him like this and look what I’ve done,” she blurted out tears falling more freely as her body trembled underneath the sheet guilt riding over her, “All he did was love me and I’ve just kept hurting him over and over again…”

“Avery stop this. You’re not a horrible person,” Grady reached for her again feeling her stiffen beneath his touch, “You were just following your heart and it lead you to me. It lead you to this place to save me and if you hadn’t been here for me, then I wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“Saving your life wasn’t what was wrong Grady. Making love was what was,” she forced herself to face him knowing that she would have to deal with the consequences of her actions. Suddenly feeling very vulnerable and awful about herself and the way she’d just caved in to the moment with him, she wished like hell she could take it all back. “Brant didn’t deserve this.”

“No Avery, he didn’t deserve you. Regardless of what the world thinks about you and I, the truth is that we have a connection that no one else out there could ever understand,” he started to explain his own emotions to her, “There’s something about the two of us that while we’ve tried to ignore it, nothing else comes close to what it is we bring out in one another.”

“Grady, you just lost Jade. You remember the love of your life, don’t you?” she blurted out now overwhelmed with her tears, “You were hurt and vulnerable and I took advantage of that. I should’ve been the one to put a stop to this--to make things right and…”

“You did make things right. Don’t you see how lost I was before last night? Avery, I’m not going to deny that I loved Jade and I’d give anything to have her back,” he explained his voice raw with emotion, “She was the great love of my life and in losing her I felt like there was nothing left for me in this world. Life as I knew it was meaningless and I had no purpose until you walked into the room last night…”

“Grady I was just trying to be your friend--to help you and…” her words were silenced by the feel of his finger over her lips.

“Avery, I know that Jade sent you to me last night. She knew how desperate I was and how close to the edge I was. She brought you here to keep me from doing myself in,” he reached for her bringing her into his arms again, “Can’t you see that you’ve been my angel since she’s been gone? Don’t you understand that this was supposed to happen? That we were meant to be?”

“Grady no…” Avery started her words muffled by his finger over her lips.

“Regardless of whether or not you’re ready to face it Avery, I know this was supposed to happen--that we were supposed to happen. I mean think about it. We have a history with one another and we both lost someone we love,” Grady continued his voice impassioned as he tried to reach out to her, “Everything that lead us up to this point was supposed to happen. Russ and Jade wanted us to find one another--to hold onto each other and comfort one another now that they’re gone.”

“No Grady,” she shook her head refusing to accept his words, “I was wrong. This was wrong…”

“Avery I love you and I know you love me. I could feel it when we made love. I can feel it when we’re together--in the way that you look at me. I know you love me like I love you,” Grady leaned in to kiss her pressing his lips to hers in a soft, tender display.

“No,” Avery shook her head refusing to give in to the emotions running high between them, “I need to go home. I need to see Brant and tell him the truth about this before I lose him forever. I want to go home.”

“Your home is with me. We belong together,” Grady pleaded reaching for her hand just before she crawled out of bed, “Avery you can’t deny how right this felt between us.”

“Regardless of how it felt Grady, I have to make up for my mistakes. I have to go to Brant and fix this somehow,” Avery insisted desperately bringing her fingers up through her hair.

She pulled herself out of bed watching Grady mirror the movement and step in towards her, his green eyes penetrating her and making her feel as if she would crumble to pieces if he touched her again. Bringing the sheet she’d carried with her up over her body to hide herself from him, she tried to look away not to focus on the way he was before her vulnerable and bearing his heart to her. Her gaze dropped over his now naked form before she forced herself to finally focus on the far corner of the room.

“The only mistake you’ll be making is if you lie to yourself and walk away from us--from what we have together because as much as you want to fight it, you love me. I know you love me even if you feel like you can’t act upon it,” he watched her closely taking a small step towards her as he feared what she would do if he pushed her buttons at the wrong time, “Avery I felt it when we were together. I still feel it and every time I look at you, I know that everything is pointing towards our needing to be together. We were supposed to be with each other.”

“No Grady this was never, ever supposed to happen,” she shook her head refusing to hear his words. She felt him touch her, felt his hand brush up against her shoulder before he urged her to meet his eyes again.

“Avery, everything that’s happened between us--our being together and making love, it was fate,” he began desperate to get her to stop thinking about what she felt she had to be in a moment like this after they’d finally broken through the barriers and bared their souls completely to one another. He’d seen the real her last night when they were lost in one another’s arms, when she saved him from himself and even now that she’d pushed the walls back up around her, he could still feel the woman he loved so very much before him. She was afraid, but he knew her heart. He knew his own.

“No Grady,” she replied with a small sob, “that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t believe in fate.”

“Avery,” Grady called out after her reaching out to her only to feel her rush away from him. His eyes followed her to the bathroom listening to the sounds of her slamming the door and locking it in her retreat. Even now he could hear her crying on the other side of the door. He took a step forward knocking on the door lightly in the hopes that she would open up, but with each passing moment he felt as if he could lose her--as if everything they’d shared with one another was slipping further and further out of his reach.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So are you two ready for this,” Martha questioned over the other end of the phone line as she spoke to Angela. “I was out there this morning and I’ve got to tell you sugar the place looks fantastic. They have it all being set up in the ballroom for the party tonight and you wouldn’t believe what they did with it.”

“I can’t wait,” Angela grinned thinking about the night she had ahead of her. After the breakfast with Nick, they’d taken a walk down by the water just enjoying the warm weather on the beach. They’d returned a short while ago after their walk turned into something of a sand fight that got rather heated between them. Things were getting passionate, but that was when Nick discovered that sand and love making hadn’t mixed. They’d returned for a shower and Nick was in there now, but before Angela could join him Martha had called to give her the details on tonight’s festivities. “This is going to be great.”

“It sure is honey,” Martha agreed readily, “Did you ever get a hold of Kevin?”

“He’s not coming,” Angela confessed really not wanting to get into the details of what it was that prompted Kevin not to agree to be there.

“Couldn’t reach him?” Martha asked a bit worried.

“Something like that,” Angela replied thinking about the phone call she and Kevin had with one another, “but don’t worry it’s going to be wonderful even without him there.”

“Sure honey whatever makes you happy,” Martha replied unconvinced of what Angela was telling her. “Look I’ve got to run over to the bar for a bit so if you and Nick want to ride over with me tonight you can.”

“Thanks Martha. I really appreciate it and if we do, then I’ll let you know,” Angela paused thinking about the great lengths her friend had gone to in order to ensure that today was going to be nothing less than wonderful for all of them. “I really appreciate all that you’ve done for us. Words can’t even begin to express how grateful Nick and I are for what you’ve given us.”

“Hey, honey you know I’d do just about anything for you,” Martha replied with a warmth that made Angela smile, “You just have yourselves a wonderful party tonight and an even better wedding with an incredible honeymoon. That’s all I could ever ask for there for the both of you.”

“Thanks Martha. I’m sure that we’ll do all that we can to make sure that happens,” Angela promised excitement flooding over her. While she wanted Kevin to be there, she knew that she would be asking for a miracle in making that one happen. She wasn’t about to beg him to come back and at the same time while she wanted him to share this with her, a part of her understood why he felt that he couldn’t.

Hanging up the phone Angela listened to hear that Nick was still in the shower. Smiling she kicked off her shoes pulling her t-shirt up over her head before stripping down leaving a trail of clothing all the way to his bathroom. She opened the door stepping inside to see his silhouette from behind the frosted glass. She couldn’t help but smile imagining what it would be like to have him with her for the rest of her days. It was such a wonderful thought to know that she would have someone as wonderful as Nick with her from here on out. Unable to stay away from him any longer she opened up the shower door and stepped in behind him.

“Save any hot water for me,” she questioned leaning up on her toes as her arms wrapped around his torso.

“I was starting to think that you’d forgotten all about me,” he replied turning to face her, “Where were you?”

“Martha called. She said they have pretty much everything set up at the castle and she’s heading on over in a little bit again. She said if we wanted to go with her we could,” she explained feeling him wrap his arms around her.

“Hmm, sounds nice. I suppose we could do that,” he leaned down to press a kiss over her shoulder, “Of course that is if we don’t get too distracted before hand.”

“Nick,” she swatted at his chest playfully a laugh bubbling up inside of her, “now come on. We can’t be late to our own engagement party. That would look bad. Really bad.”

“Says who,” he questioned wiggling his brow before moving in to kiss her again.

“I’m not sure,” she mouthed in between kisses, “but I’m sure that someone said it somewhere.”

“Hmm, well why don’t we let that someone worry about it instead of our having to think about it,” he suggested in a small whisper, “because as it stands I see plenty of reason to celebrate right here with me in this shower right here and now.”

“Hmm, well since you put it that way, I suppose I don’t see anything really all that wrong with being fashionably late,” she laughed lightly throwing caution to the wind and enjoying this time with the man she loved all the while looking forward to all that still lay ahead of them through the years. Yes they had a promising future indeed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ria, I don’t want you to stay here,” Kevin finally blurted out after their kisses had died down.

“What?” she questioned lazily finding it hard to get over that warm and fuzzy feeling that being in his arms had brought to her.

“I said I don’t want you to stay here. I want you to go with me,” he whispered squeezing her in his arms.

“With you where?” she replied giving him a strange look.

“To the island--to the party tonight,” Kevin continued a smile touching over the corners of his lips. “I mean I don’t see why I can’t take you there with me.”

“Kevin, you can’t be serious,” she offered up with a small laugh seeing the dark awareness behind his eyes. She tried to process what he was saying to her when a thought occurred to her, “You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you?”

“No, I haven’t,” he shook his head adamantly, “Losing my mind would be leaving now and not taking you with me. Ria, I love you and I think it’s time that I show you just what that means. I have a few things that I need to prove to you--to show you so that you can understand where my heart is on this matter. I need you to see that…”

“Kevin you don’t have to do that. That’s what I wasn’t trying to push you for,” she began uneasily wondering if he was doing this because she’d guilted him into it.

“No Ria. I want to. I know that Angie needs me there, but beyond that, well I honestly don’t see why I can’t take you. Yes, I know this is about Angie and Nick, but Ria you and I have something special. I don’t want you to think for a second that it doesn’t mean the world to me which is why I really think that…” Kevin began to explain only to be interrupted by the sound of Ria’s cell phone ringing.

“Kevin I…” Ria started apologetically as she pulled out her phone seeing that it was Trisha. She showed him and he nodded as she answered. “Hey Trisha what’s going on?”

“Ria, he’s still out there. He’s in Coral Valley and they don’t know where he is,” Trisha explained in a panic, her voice a pinched squeal. “It’s all over the news. The police don’t know where to look and he’s killed another woman. He’s still out there and…”

“Honey where are you,” Ria asked worry evident in her voice.

“I’m at mom’s place right now, but Ria I’m so scared. What if he knows where I am? What if he’s going to come back and murder me like he did that other woman?” Trisha’s voice grew shaky with fear as Ria looked to Kevin. “They said that he’s not one to let women get away and…”

“Stay put and keep the doors locked. I’ll be right there to see you. Don’t let anyone in until I get there,” Ria warned quickly her fears mounting about her sister’s safety.

“Okay, but hurry,” Trisha pleaded hanging up the phone.

“Kevin, I’m sorry but I have to go to Trisha. She saw something on the news about the guy who attacked her still being in town somewhere and…” Ria began apologetically.

“Say no more. Let’s go to her,” Kevin declared knowing full well how much Trisha needed the both of them right now.

“But what about your flight? What about Angela’s party?” Ria blinked back at him with obvious confusion.

“It can wait, but this can’t. I can always book a later flight,” Kevin announced ready to go with Ria to help Trisha. He wasn’t sure what the story was with the madman who had attacked her, but he vowed that he would do what was necessary to make sure that the man never hurt her again. That much he was going to make happen before he left town again. As far as he was concerned no one was going to get the chance to hurt Ria or Trisha ever again. Not when he was there to protect them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey Ken,” Don yelled out after knocking on Ken’s hotel room door for quite a while. “Ken, it’s Don. Come on.”

Don decided that he should come in and check if Ken was still waiting around like an idiot for Michelle. He knew that Ken would be suspicious that Michelle hadn’t come home last night and he knew that Ken would probably try and find her. If he knew Ken well enough, Ken would be waiting for Don to show up so they could go looking for her. If Ken would just wake up, Don would take him to all the wrong places and lead Ken to believe that Michelle left him, but without getting an answer from Ken--it was starting to worry him. If his plan didn’t go through, they really didn’t have a second plan. Ken had to still be sleeping, that had to be what was going on. Ken must have been a real deep sleeper.

Without wanting to wait any longer for Ken to get out of bed, Don pulled out the extra hotel room key that he had gotten for Ken’s room and opened the door. He took a look around before noticing that Ken was not in his room.

“I knew I should have come earlier,” Don cursed himself before letting out a small sigh as he looked around the room. “Damn, she must have got to him.”

Don quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed Brant’s number before walking towards the window and looking outside to see if Ken had just left.

“Hello,” Brant answered his cell phone as Don let out a long sigh, “What’s up Don? Got good news for me?”

“Far from it,” Don sighed, running his hand along the back of his neck slowly. He heard let out a small sigh of worry as Don thought of a way to tell him what was going on.

“What’s wrong?” Brant questioned, hearing Don’s silence over the other end. “What the problem?”

“We have quite a very large problem on our hands right now,” Don began, walking over towards the door to the hotel room, “Ken is missing.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

...to be continued...