Admitting...

Jeff gives his niece a tight hug. "Mm, it's good to see you too, Katie. Just isn't the same without you around here."

He stands back and holds Katie at arm's length for a moment, then gives her a wink. "Come on. Supper's about ready and I know one frantic aunt who is dying to see you."


Jason returns Wes' handshake, starting to relax just a little. He laughs at the mention of his mom's cooking. "Tell me about it... I've been living off tv dinners - this is gonna be heaven."

Before they know it, supper is under way. Cindy promises to introduce Jason and Kaylee after supper, mentioning that right now she was asleep. Jason doesn't mind a bit, not to admit that it was quite alright with him...he wouldn't mind if it was morning, just to avoid another awkward situation.

Talk is kept light. Jason finds himself skirting around too many issues, or changing too many subjects. He realizes he's done it one too many times when his mother grows fairly quiet, seeming to give up on conversation. Though feeling bad, Jason just can't bring himself to say what he needs to.

By the time Cindy is in the kitchen washing dishes, and Jason and Wes are in the living room, Jason's guilt is too much to handle.

Staring at the carpet for a long while, he finally looks up at Wes. "I...I'm sorry I wasn't that sociable tonight at supper." He swallows hard. "There's just... some things that I... I haven't..."

Jason rolls his eyes at himself and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He glances towards the kitchen where the sound of the running water in the sink will mask anything said in here.

"I haven't been honest with my mom lately, Wes." He gives a nod, finally brave enough to simply state the facts. "I don't know what she's told you but... the truth is, I'm not engaged any more. Camryn broke up with me quite a while ago because of... well... because of something with Katie and me."

His eyes widen slightly, realizing the implications of what he'd just said. "Not...romance or anything. Just, um... the whole... sixth sense thing kinda got...bigger and...."

Jason's voice trails off. He can feel the heat rising to his face. How on earth could he explain something like this? He felt stupid.

Crash and burn. This is not going well.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he regroups. "Bottom line... Camryn's not in the picture anymore...the wedding is off, and my mom still thinks I'm engaged because I've been leading her on."

He's finally courageous enough to look up at Wes again. He felt like a little kid admitting he'd done something wrong. It was weird...he'd never been in that position with a man before...not like this... it had always just been his mom.....

Blinking to refocus, Jason licks his dry lips. "Not to mention, I just got off my crutches recently too. I didn't want Mom worrying about my knee. So now... I have absolutely no idea how to tell her any of this and I feel like a complete and total idiot."