Peace

Laura sets her purse down on the kitchen table, then goes down the hall, checking on Katie, and finding her asleep. She goes back to the living room and gives Wyatt a grateful nod. "Thanks. I feel better now."

Wyatt cocks his head, giving her a look that said she was welcome, but he wasn't a hundred percent pleased. "Laura, having me follow you home isn't going to solve the problem."

"There is no problem."

"Yes...there is." Wyatt looks at her sternly. "You're scared to death."

"I am not." Laura sets her jaw stubbornly. "I just thought that being cautious for a couple days was the wisest thing."

Wyatt sighs, finding arguing useless. "Well look, there's a lot of us around here willing to help you, so if you need more than this, please don't play stubborn. I know one guy in particular who's just waiting on the edge of his seat for you to ask, but for some reason you don't."

Irritation flashes in Laura's eyes. "Nate and I are just friends."

Wyatt can't help his slight smirk. "Yeah, okay. Well that friend of yours probably feels pretty low right about now, seeing as you chose me over him tonight."

"So we left at the same time," Laura defends. "He probably didn't even notice."

"Bull crap." Wyatt's eyes narrow. "He's not stupid, Laura. Half the time you flirt with him, and half the time you push him away like he's an enemy."

Laura's mouth drops open at Wyatt's boldness. "What have you been doing? Spying on me or what? And what gives you the right to..."

"I don't have to spy to see it," Wyatt interrupts. "I just want to know how far you're willing to push... Do you want him to walk away? Do you want him to leave you alone?"

Laura crosses her arms, her eyes drifting from Wyatt's. "I don't know."

"Well you better figure it out. 'Cause you're pushing him away, and no guy will wait around forever. He cares about you, and I don't understand why you won't let him. I know you care about him too."

Laura's eyes shoot back up, the heat rising to her cheeks. "I don't know how you would even come to that conclusion."

Wyatt shakes his head, his tone softening. "It's in your eyes, Laura. But so is fear. Stop letting it get in the way. He's not going to hurt you."

Tears make their way to the surface, despite Laura's desperate attempt to keep them buried. "What if something happens? What if it doesn't work? Or...or feelings change? Or....what if...well anything?"

Wyatt steps forward to take Laura by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Then God will be there to catch you, and so will your friends. Don't live in fear...it's no way of living at all." He pauses, the compassion for his friend showing through. She might be older than Wyatt, but right now, she was proving that deep down, she still had a little girl inside of her. "You can't walk around every day thinking about the 'what ifs'. Live, Laura. Let yourself live. If you truly don't want to have anything more than a friendship with Nate, then that is fine. But if there's anything inside of you that wants him around...that enjoys his attention...that feels protected when he's near...don't let that slip away. He's a good Christian man. It's not like you're contemplating a foolish decision about something that's wrong." As she looks down again, he lifts her chin back up with a finger. "There's only one way you can find out if this is the right path and that's to give it a try. And if you find out that it won't work...then you've simply found your answer, and you can be at peace with that. It's a win-win situation."

Laura bites her lip as a tear escapes to trickle down her face. "And since when did you gain all this wisdom, love genius?"

Wyatt chuckles and straightens, withdrawing from her. "Maybe I've been there." He gives her a wink. "Now...as far as this current situation goes, if you need anything, or if anybody bothers you in the least...you give somebody a call. I don't care who it is, but call."

"Alright." Laura nods in surrender. She watches as Wyatt makes his way back to the door. "Hey, Wyatt?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."


...Laura sits on her bed in her pajamas, one hand stroking Henry, the other holding her phone. A strange sensation tingles in her tummy as she thinks about the conversation she'd had with Wyatt. Was he right? Maybe he was. Had she been that resistant? Yes. Did Nate really feel badly? Probably.

The wind rustles the bushes outside her window, causing a branch to scrape against the screen. The noise makes Laura jump, adrenaline surging through her veins. It was just the wind...that was all.

Swallowing hard, Laura looks at the phone in her hand. All she wanted was someone to tell her that it was okay...that no one was going to bother her tonight...that she was safe here. Con was so far away...Wyatt had already done all he could...

Laura's thumb starts pressing the numbers, her hand shaking just a little bit. Putting the phone to her ear, she waits for an answer. "Nate...it's me..." Tears spring into her eyes. "Can you just talk for a minute?"


Carson grins up at Misty. "Now if there's one thing I've never been called, it's a workaholic." He reaches over to shut off the computer.

"Come to think of it, a ride home would be nice. But only if you let me take you out to supper first." He points a finger at her. "And it's an adventure, not a date."


Con looks out across the dark water that's lit by the moon. He listens to Jamie talk, not opposed to what she's saying...more than likely agreeing with her point about dreams not necessarily coming true, according to God's plan. But he was just a little confused as to why she was talking about this here and now. It seemed a little out of place.

As she continues though, Con starts to get a funny feeling that she was trying to make some direct point that he wasn't quite getting. Though he words about being with him made him feel good, no doubt.

When Jamie finally makes the statement about a family, Con turns his head quickly, his eyes shooting in her direction. So that was it. It was dark, but he could see the look in her eye. And he knew. She'd overheard his conversation with Dan. She knew that he could not have kids of his own.

Con can feel the heat creeping into his face. He hadn't exactly planned on telling Jamie about it like this...here...now. They both were looking forward to the future, but nothing had been spoken of it yet...they were still getting to know each other. But...despite his embarrassment, a part of him is relieved.

Remaining silent for a long while, Con just looks into Jamie's eyes. She knew...and she was okay with it. She'd had dreams of a new family...but she was willing to take this in stride because she loved him. He could ask no more than that. He himself had gotten used to the idea of not having kids, but knowing that Jamie was okay with that too...that it changed nothing between them...it brought a new sense of peace.

Con swallows hard, knowing that he need not explain further now. Jamie didn't know the whys of it all - she didn't know about the accident when he'd been on the force...but that was something he could talk about later. For now, they both knew enough, and that was sufficient.

He reaches over to brush her cheek with his hand, unable to help that his eyes can't leave hers. "I love you, Jamie," he whispers. Ignoring the fact that they were there to watch the kids, he leans over to kiss her on the lips, allowing a tender moment.

Eric and the other boys tramp through the weeds around the trees, making their way back to Con after catching the first bullhead of the night. With Eric in the lead, he emerges first into the small clearing, but skids to a halt as he sees Con and Jamie. Thinking quickly, he spins around, stopping Keith with an arm. "Let's try to catch another one before we show Con, shall we?"

"But I want him to see how big it is," Jake complains, and steps forward.

Eric reaches around to put a hand over Jake's eyes, bringing him back around. "Well if we catch a couple more, then you can prove yours is the biggest."

Clueless as to what Eric was really doing, the three boys are quick to change their minds, and their direction. Eric throws one last glance over his shoulder and grins at the sight, then turns to join his cousins and brother.