"That's not what I meant."
He leaned on the back of the car, looking in another direction.
"Cole, please don't do this. We had a wonderful night. Let's not spoil it now. I love you with all my heart. You know I do."
"So, you think that me pouring out my heart to you is spoiling the night?"
"No. I just meant…"
"Don't worry about it."
"Cole?"
"Don't worry about it. Forget I ever said anything."
"Come on, Cole. Are you serious? Can you just put yourself in my shoes for a minute? If you took just a half a second to look at the roller coaster of a life I've had before now, I think you would better understand. I'm not saying no. I just need to think it through."
We stood in silence for another minute. I knew his feelings were hurt, but I was hoping he would understand.
"It's getting late. Send me a message to let me know when you get in,” he said.
"Okay."
Cole walked back toward the front porch. There was no kiss and no hug, just a somber end to the evening.
Rebecca
If Ethan and I were going to be working together, I needed to lay down a few ground rules. He was nothing like the guy I knew back in high school. Yet, he was behaving as if we were still best friends who hadn't lost track of time.
I waited until we were alone and told him what was on my mind.
"Listen, we have to lay down some ground rules if we're going to be working on the same case. Rule number one, I'm not helping you, so stop asking me a ton of questions. That's what your legal assistant is for. My job is to defend my client."
"I didn't expect that you would,” he responded.
"Good. Rule number two, you will treat me as a professional colleague at all times. I'm not the same Rebecca you knew from Pelican High. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
I grunted at his snarky response.
"Is that all?" he said.
"For now, it is."
"You've changed a lot. The Rebecca Matthews I knew had a little fire and passion in her but was always nice to me. I don't recognize this Rebecca at all."
"What did you expect would happen when you started calling me by my nickname in front of my colleagues? No one calls me Becks at work. You didn't think I would be embarrassed or that people would wonder why you were being so personal?"
"Okay, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"You were just showing off. You're trying way too hard to make a name for yourself, but nobody cares, Ethan."
"Rebecca."
"What?"
"I'm sorry."
It was about time he showed me a little respect.
"Can we start over?"
"How?" I said.
"Well, let's start with the basics. How have you been?"
I was way past the point of wanting to have small talk.
"I'm fine, Ethan, thanks for asking. Look, I have to run. I'll see you in court on Friday morning."
I left him standing in the hallway with his briefcase in hand.
I planned to work from home this afternoon, but not before stopping to check on my parents first.
I drove with my convertible top down and the radio playing all the way to their front door. From the looks of things, I wasn't the only sibling who decided to stop by for a visit.
"Hi, Aunt Rebecca."
"Hey, Maggie. Where have you been, girlie? I haven't seen you and Aidan in a while."
My niece and nephew were covering the driveway with sidewalk chalk.
"We've mostly been at the pool every day."
"Come here and give me some sugar."
They gave me a hug and wet kisses before returning to their drawings.
"Is your Mom inside?"
"Yes, she just went to get us some more chalk. She'll be right back."
"Alright. I'm going to go inside to see Gram. Make sure you stay nearby where we can see you."
"Okay."
Abby and I almost bumped right into each other at the door.
"Hey, Abby."
"Hi. Long time no see. Where have you been lately?"
I put my bag down on the couch.
"Working non-stop. Apparently, I'm too busy for my own good. I can't remember the last time I saw the kids."
"I guess it comes with the territory of being a lawyer,” she said.
"Yeah, I guess. How's Wyatt?"
"He's pretty good. Thankfully he's been able to adjust his schedule to work from home a couple of days a week, so it's nice."
"I'm going to do the same thing this afternoon. Just thought I'd stop by and see what Mom and Dad were up to first."
"Mom is digging around a few boxes looking for some more sidewalk chalk and Dad…"
Dad walked in while Abby was talking and finished her sentence.
"Dad is ready for his afternoon nap!"
Ever since dad had the incident with wandering away from home, it made me realize just how precious life is. Thankfully, it hasn't happened since then. However, I think everyone functions very differently as a result.
"Dad, you definitely have the right idea. A nap sounds pretty nice right about now. Either that or squeezing in some beach time, which I never seem to get enough of these days."
Abby gave Dad a pillow to use while sitting in his recliner.
"Speaking of beach time. I'm not sure how we all got out of the habit of Saturday morning breakfast and beach time together, but we need to find a way to get it started again,” Abby said.
"Somebody pinch me. I must be dreaming. My older sister actually wants to spend time with me?"
"Don't spoil it, Rebecca. I just think it was a nice tradition that all of us had going, and somehow we're letting our busy schedules get in the way. I'd hate for all of us to look back one day and regret it."
"True. I'm sure it's going to be even more difficult for Payton with the grand opening. I have to make it my business to stop by the store tomorrow. I know it's a big day for her."
"She'd like that a lot. We're all going over to show our support
