Charging down the hall, JC wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. He had at least a thousand things on his mind and he had to get to Melinda’s office, to the studio and make it to the airport in time to get to Mississippi for all of the wedding festivities. He knew Johnny was in the building, because his car was in his spot, so he was also trying to avoid him. He was kicking himself for having to be in LA at WEG’s offices two days before Dev’s wedding, but it was unavoidable.

He had to talk to Melinda about distributing the funds raised at Challenge For The Children. Every year the guys sat down and came up with a list of charities they wanted money to go to. JC had been so busy that had forgotten to get the list to her two weeks ago, and she had been furious when she finally got in touch with him. He had tried to just list off the charities over the phone, but there were other details they had to go over, so he had no choice but to stop by her office on the way to the airport to suck up.

He should be in Mississippi with everyone else, getting Lance and Stasia’s house ready for the wedding. He should be taking trips back and forth to the airport helping Lyn’s family get settled. He stuck his head into Melinda’s office and was slightly annoyed to find it empty. “Mel?” He knew she couldn’t be far, because there was steam coming off of the cup of coffee in the middle of her desk.

There was no answer and now he had to waist time looking for her. He was halfway down the hall when he thought he heard yelling. He looked up and don the hall and didn’t see a soul. The only light that was on was Johnny’s. JC inched his way toward the door and his heart stopped when he heard Johnny again, “Listen Powers! I have paid you almost five hundred thousand dollars in the last three months! I’ve held up my end of the agreement! NOW STAY AWAY FROM LYN AND JC! I swear to God! If you hurt either one of them, I’ll kill you! I’m going to go to the police! I don’t care what pictures you are going to release!” HE suddenly got quiet, “What video? What the hell are you talking about?” JC watched as Johnny’s head fell into his hands. “I can’t send her home to Orlando...SHE DOESN’T WORK FOR ME!” Johnny sighed, “Two hundred and fifty thousand, by Friday...I’ve got it.” He slammed the phone down and then ripped it out of the wall and heaved it across the room.

As JC walked into the office, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears, “What the hell was that all about?” He looked down at the phone, scattered in pieces across the floor.

Johnny’s head whipped up from his hands, “What are you doing here?”

“Why are you talking to Powers about Lyn and I?” JC slammed the door.

“I wasn’t.” Johnny swallowed hard, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“BULL SHIT! I HEARD YOU!” JC glared at the older man.

Johnny ran both hands over his face, “Sit down JC.” Immediately JC realized that the hard, cold Johnny of recent days wasn’t there. There was a change in his stance and in his demeanor.

“I don’t want to sit down. I want you to explain why in the hell you would be talking to Powers about Lyn and I!” He clutched the back of the chair in front of him. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D WORK WITH HIM! I knew you’d turned against us, but I can’t believe you’d sink this low.”

“Stop with the drama and sit down. This is going to take a while. I have a lot to explain to you.”

JC slowly walked around the chair and sat on the edge, “So talk.”

“I don’t know where to begin.” Johnny sighed.

“How do you know Powers?”

“He called me about a six months ago.” Johnny started slowly.

“Why would he call you?” JC’s brow furrowed.

“Because he is an evil bastard.” Johnny laughed cynically, “The first time he called, he said he was going to expose you’re relationship with Lyn. But I laughed him off and said there was no relationship to expose. That time he just went away. I didn’t take him seriously. We had all dealt with a REAL stalker, freak with Stasia, and this guy was a total amateur, I actually laughed about it the first time he called.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There was nothing to tell. He went away. JC, you have to realize, we get hundreds of phone calls a month, people claiming to be the mothers of your children or your long lost sister. Not to mention, his name didn’t mean a thing to me at that point. I didn’t think anything of it until the day Lyn showed up, before the first show, in tears. I knew it had to be him.”

“So why didn’t you say something then?”

“He hadn’t called me again. It didn’t even dawn on me that he might have a way to black mail you or Lyn...or me.”

“What do you mean black mail you?” JC knew the color was draining out of his face.

“I have made so many mistakes. I should have gone to the police, but I didn’t because I thought I could make him go away...I thought if I just paid him the money he asked for, he’d go away...now he wants another two hundred and fifty grand.”

“Another?”

“I’ve paid him five hundred thousand dollars already. I’m almost out of the money Stasia paid to buy me out of Free Lance.”

“So this is why you didn’t want her with us?”

“In the beginning, I thought she would be able to go back to Orlando, I would have paid him and she could have her job back and no one would ever know what happened.” Johnny closed his eyes, “Then all hell broke loose.”

“What happened?” JC’s tongue was thick and dry and he could seem to clear his head.

“I paid him twenty-five grand to begin with, right about the same time Lyn filed her law suit, which was exactly the right thing to do. But the lawsuit actually gave him some leverage. First, he could give Lyn her job back. Second, you guys were getting together, and he claimed he had pictures of her kissing someone else, and he would leak them to the press.” “I KNOW THAT! She hasn’t kissed anyone since you’ve been together, but BEFORE she has, and the press wouldn’t care when it ACTUALLY happened, not to mention the fact that the date on the pictures has been altered.”

“What pictures?” JC was starting to feel dizzy.

Johnny got up and crossed the room to a locked file cabinet, he pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the cabinet. Reaching into the top drawer, he pulled out an envelope. He opened it and held out the contents, “These.”

JC took the photos with a shaking hand, “What are these?”

“They are pictures of Lyn...and a guy.”

JC scanned the first picture. Lyn was sitting on her balcony, her head was thrown back and she was obviously laughing. And standing behind her, with his mouth on her neck, and his arms wrapped around her was Reagan. The next picture was the two of them kissing, Lyn looked rigid and as if she was trying to push him back. There were fifteen pictures, all of them were of Lyn and Reagan, kissing or doing things normal couples do. JC couldn’t help but notice that Lyn didn’t look completely at ease in any of the pictures, the only problem was, Reagan was slobbering all over her in most of them. “Reagan.” JC ran his hand over his face.

“Who’s Reagan?” Johnny asked.

“Lyn’s ex-boyfriend, and Powers attorney, as well as his step-son.”

“Oh God.”

“These are all dated this year, but they were all taken AT LEAST two years ago.” JC glance up at Johnny.

“Are you positive it was that long ago?”

JC rolled his eyes, “She is my best friend, I think I know when they broke up. The guy is a pig.”

“I can tell. Who took these pictures?”

“I have no clue. Who would take surveillance pictures of themselves? He is a freak though, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“JC, if I don’t pay him, he’s going to release the pictures.”

“So I’ll tell Lyn about all of this, we’ll go to the police and we’ll make a public statement.” JC ran his hand through his hair.

“It isn’t that easy.” Johnny shook his head, “It isn’t that easy because I was too stupid to do the right thing in the very beginning.”

“Of course it’s that easy.” JC started to stand up.

“If any of us go to the police, or the papers, he’s going to release the video.”

“What video?” JC felt his pulse quicken as he fell back into the chair.

“He says he has a video.”

“WHAT VIDEO?”

“JC, he claims to have a video, that would...embarrass Lyn.”

“Embarrass her HOW?”

“He claims to have a video of Lyn and a guy being...intimate.”

JC’s entire world ripped apart and the pieces pounded into his heart with perfect accuracy. He was shaken to the core, “Oh my God.” He knew that even the possibility that such a video existed would tear her apart.

“JC , I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”

“What does he WANT?”

“He wants her back in Orlando. He wants her to go back to work, for less money than she was making and he wants her to drop the lawsuit.”

“She isn’t going to do any of that.” He was quiet, “Why did you do all of this? Why would you give him all of this money? This had nothing to do with you...you could have just walked away.”

“I mistakenly thought I was protecting all of you from this. If you hated me, and I was able to sell my shares of Free Lance to Stasia, I could pay him and he would go away. I never thought he would keep doing it or that his threats would get worse. I knew we could deal with a few pictures, but that Lyn would be embarrassed. I thought I could avoid that. I knew that if you didn’t hate me, one of you would pick up on what was going on, you all know me too well to hide something like this from you. So if none of you would get near me, I didn’t have to worry about it. I was going to tell you when it was all over that I had a chemical imbalance and that I was better now, I was going to apologize to you and Lyn and everyone else and everything was going to be fine.”

JC shook his head, they should have known. One of them should have picked up on it. They DID know Johnny, but they had all been willing to believe that he had simply changed over night, “How could we have been so stupid?”

“None of you were stupid. I was. Now I just don’t know what to do.”

“You pay him. I am going to have to find a way to tell Lyn about this.”

“JC, I know I don’t know her as well as you do, but won’t it kill her knowing that someone violated her in that way? I mean...”

“Yes.”

“Maybe we could do something...maybe we could get back at this guy without her having to find out...the problem is, the long she’s out of Orlando, the worse this guy gets.”

“She has to go back.” JC nodded, “That might keep him quiet long enough to get at Powers and Reagan.”

“How are you going to get her to go back, without telling her why.”

“I have no idea. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with her being away.” JC looked down at his hands, “If it weren’t for what I do...she could still be teaching. She never would have been a target, because she would not have been able to pay his blackmail money. I am destroying her life.”

“This guy is a nut, and I am the one that allowed this thing to snowball out of control.”

JC looked up, “We didn’t give you any credit for being the person you are. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t want you to. I WANTED you all to hate me.”

JC smirked, “Yeah well, it worked.”

Walking off of the plane, JC was greeted by Chris and Lisy. He bent down and scooped up the little girl, “Hey you!” He kissed her cheek.

“Where’s my big hug?” Chris held out his arms.

JC rolled his eyes, “Get away from me.”

“Some thanks I get for coming to pick up your sorry butt.”

“Thank you Chris.”

“Happy to help...ok, actually I didn’t want to come out here, but when I knocked over one of the tents, they made me leave...”

“How did you manage that?”

“It wasn’t my fault...there was this scooter thing...and I MAY have lost control going down the hill behind the house...but wouldn’t it have been cool if I would have hit the smooth dance floor and then done a flip into the pool?”

JC laughed, “Where did the plan go wrong?”

Chris shook his head sadly, “Tent stakes.”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Nah.” Chris took JC’s back pack so JC could carry Lis.

“Are you having fun Lisy?”

“Uh huh. I got to go swimming with Joey and Justin and Lance took me out on the lake.”

“So all of the guys are being helpful, huh?”

“Stasia and Al told them to get out of the way ‘cause they laughed when Chris knocked down the tent.”

“Lisy, your sister hates being called Al.”

Lis grinned, “I know.”

JC and Chris both laughed and JC hugged her tightly, “You are so much like her it frightens me.”

When Chris punched the security code into the gate and it slowly opened, JC’s jaw dropped. There were trucks lining the driveway. Caterers were unloading dish and glasses. The florist had six huge vans full of flowers that were being unloaded by a small army. Lance and Stasia had turned their home into a wedding wonderland.

There were fifteen people placing candles in white bags on small floral platforms all along the driveway. The front door was draped with a floral swag and all of the bushes had small white lights that were being tested.

Lisy struggled to get out of the backseat when she saw Lyn standing near the pool directing people. She ran down the hill and JC smiled as he watch Lyn bend down to pick up the small version of herself. Lis must have been talking about JC, because Lyn looked up the hill, shaded her eyes and waved happily at him. He waved and walked with Chris who looked over at him, “What’s bugging you? Did Melinda really lay into you about the numbers?”

“No...I’m just tired...and I ran into Johnny.”

“Sorry about your luck.” Chris smacked him on the back.

“Where is my dog?” JC looked around.

“This is the worst thing ever.” Chris shook his head sadly, “All of the dogs are in the house being fitted for their floral collars.”

“Why is that the worst thing ever?”

“Busta is a BOY dog, he should have a tux, not some girly flower collar.”

“He’ll live.”

“I’m not sure.”

“He lived through the stupid jester hat...and that picture was posted all over the internet.”

“That was CUTE AS HELL!”

“Tell yourself whatever you want, but he could not have been happy about that stupid hat.”

Lyn jogged up and kissed him, “How was your trip?”

“It was fine. I’m beat. What can I do to help?”

Lyn narrowed her eyes at Chris, “Keep him away from EVERYTHING!”

“I SAID I WAS SORRY!”

“The tent guy was ticked. He had JUST gotten back to his store when we called and told him that he had to come back. As a matter of fact...go down there and apologize.” Lyn pointed at the man hoisting the tent back into place.

“I don’t think I should. That guy is HUGE!”

“GO!” Lyn pointed again.

“This sucks!”

“Maybe next time you will THINK before you fly down a hill into a tent on a caterer’s cart.”

Chris cocked his head at her, “Now Lyn, think about that. I just can’t help myself...you know that.”

Lyn couldn’t help but laugh, “Just go apologize.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

JC was still holding her against his chest, “I love you.”

She cocked her head, “Well thanks. I happen to love you too.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed him lightly, “Now come on, I’m going to put you to work.”

“I’m at your service.”

Lisy squirmed between them and Lyn set her down, “Lis, Dev’s dress just arrived. If you go wash your hands and find Dev or Cat they’ll show it to you.”

“OK!” Lis took off running for the house.

Lyn slipped her arm around JC’s waist, “I’m looking at you, and I’m seeing more than just being tired in your eyes. What happened?”

He sighed, “I ran into Johnny.”

She rolled her eyes, “Enough said. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It wasn’t so bad.”

She nodded, “I’m glad to hear that.” She walked quietly for a moment then plastered a smile on her face, “So, can I ask you to round up the guys to go pick up all of the tuxes? All of you who own you own, need to pick them up at Lance’s dry cleaner. The rest need to get them from the tux shop.”

“I think I can do that. Are you enjoying yourself at all?”

“Immensely. I love all of this stuff. Stasia and I stayed up late last night working...and giggling. I LOVE this job.” She stopped, “Would I be insane if I decided to keep doing this rather than teaching?”

“I thought teaching was your passion.”

“It is...or was, I don’t know...”

“It’s up to you.” JC smiled weakly.

“Thanks for the insight.” She rolled her eyes.

“One of these days you are going to roll your eyes right out of your head.” He smirked.

“And it will most likely be your fault...or Bren’s.” She watched as her sister sauntered up the lawn toward them.

“JC! HI!” Bren stopped in front of them and hugged him.

“Hi Bren. How was your trip?”

“Oh I suppose it was fine. I’m not a fan of commercial flying.”

“I see.” He laughed, “It’s all about private jets?”

“Once you’ve tasted the good life, why go back?”

“That’s one way to look at it.” He kissed Lyn’s temple, “I’ll talk to you later.”

“OK.”

“Bye Bren.” JC jogged off to find the rest of the guys.

Lyn was running in three directions all at the same time. JC had tried several times to talk to her, but she simply didn’t have time. He wasn’t even able to talk to her at night, because she was staying at Stasia’s old house, which was now her Mississippi home. He missed her laying next to him at night, quietly talking about everything that had happened during the day.

Now he was sitting with Joey, folding wedding programs in half, because the printer had sent them flat in error. He was watching Lyn run up and down the stairs gathering things for Dev and all of the other bride’s maids.

Her hair was done already, and looked perfect. Her make-up looked great too, and every time she dashed back up the stairs, he got to see a flash of her long leg peak out of her bathrobe. Guest would be arriving in less than an hour and he knew he wasn’t going to have a chance to talk to her before hand.

“Don’t you think?” Joey asked.

“Huh?”

“I said Lance and Stasia will be next...to get married...don’t you think?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“Where is your head?!” Joey swatted at his hand.

“Huh?”

“You just folded all of those the wrong way! You aren’t paying attention to a word I say.”

“Sorry. I’m just thinking.”

“About WHAT? Crap...can you iron paper? These all have creases now.”

“Not without starting a fire.” JC smiled.

“Oh, now you’re going to be funny? JC, what is up with you?”

“I’m fine Joe. I’ll fix these. There were a bunch of extras anyway.”

“You need to get your head on straight before this wedding starts. Do you have you’re toast done?”

“I’m going to wing it. I don’t want it to be all rehearsed. I want it to be from my heart.” JC went back to folding programs.

Lis ran up, dressed in her red dress, looking like a porcelain doll. Her auburn curls were piled on top of her head with flowers tucked in around it. She was carrying her red satin mary-janes. She grinned up at JC, “Will you help me?”

“You look just like a princess!” He smiled brightly, “I’d love to help you!” She held her arms up and he lifted her onto his lap, “Are you all ready?”

“Uh huh. I like the way you put my shoes on.”

“On the right feet?”

“Yeah.” She giggled.

“Are you going to save a dance for me?”

Joey laughed, “And one for me too!”

“Yeah!” Lis smiled as JC buckled her left shoe.

“There you go miss. All set.”

“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek.

“You are very welcome.” He set her on the floor and said, “Will you spin around for us?”

She was happy to oblige and Joey and JC both clapped and whistled.

JC glanced at his watch, “SHOOT! I have to change!” He stopped what he was doing and made his way to his room upstairs.

He jumped in the shower and rushed through washing himself. He slowed down his pace to shave and emerged ten minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist. He jumped when he found Lyn sitting on the edge of his bed smiling brightly, still wearing her bathrobe, “Well hi there.” He crossed the room, “Shouldn’t you be getting dressed and playing girly girl with your sisters and Stasia?”

“I was a little more interested in a little girl/boy action with you.” She winked.

“ALLYN! We have to be ready in like fifteen minutes.” He rested his hands on her shoulders.

“What have you got on under that towel Mr. Chasez?”

“LYN!”

“I’m just curious.” She grinned, “I feel like we haven’t seen each other all week. You wanted to talk to me before. What’s up?”

“We can’t talk NOW, it’s not that simple. We need to sit down and talk.”

“I have a feeling this isn’t going to make me happy.”

“I’m not sure how you’re going to feel. But I’m changing the subject, your hair looks pretty.”

“I hate that something is bothering you. But you’re complimenting me, so...we’ll move on.” Her hazel eyes were dancing and she whispered, “Do I have to ask you to kiss me?”

“No.” He lowered his head and when his lips met hers, it felt like their first kiss. Lyn’s head began to spin. JC was kissing her like he never had before, clinging to her, crushing her against his chest. Her nails bit into his bare shoulders and they both fell back against the bed. JC’s lips found her neck and Lyn moaned. She kissed the top of his head and cupped his cheeks to pull his face back up to hers. They were both lost in one another, JC’s hands slid up her sides and her leg wrapped around his.

Her arms were pulling him tighter against her when the door flew open and Lance walked in with an arm load of formal wear, “JC, I have your tux and you have mine and we have to be...OH GOD! I’M SO SORRY!” He turned around so fast he walked straight into the door.

JC sighed and kissed her nose, “Hi Lance.”

“SO SORRY! MORE SORRY THEN YOU WILL EVER KNOW!”

“I shouldn’t be here anyway.” Lyn smiled, she had never seen Lance quite this shade of red before.

“I shouldn’t be here!” Lance was trying to grab the doorknob.

“Calm down. It’s ok.” Lyn laughed as she pushed herself up off of the bed, “I have to go get into my dress now. I’ll see you guys downstairs.” She kissed JC and patted Lance on the head.

When the door closed Lance hung his head, “I have done that twice to you in the same room. I am worse than Chris.”

“Not worse...maybe the same.” JC grinned.

“I thought all of the girls were together.” Lance tossed JC his tux.

“I did too, until I got out of the shower and Lyn was waiting for me.”

“I love those surprise.” Lance smirked.

“Lyn waits for you to finish showering?” JC laughed.

“STASIA! NOT LYN!”

“I was kidding. You are more shades of red then I knew existed.”

“I can tell.”

JC began to dress, “Hey Lance?”

“Yeah?” Lance was trying to fasten his cufflinks.

“You know the whole thing with Johnny?”

Lance looked up from his sleeve, “Yeah.”

“Do you think we...reacted too quickly? Like maybe there was a good reason for how he was acting and we were all too stupid to notice it?”

“I don’t know. Man he was brutal a few times. We’ve known him for so long, I never thought he was capable of acting the way he did, but it happened so many times. But can I tell you, I seriously had doubts about hating him when he showed up at Stasia’s party. He gave her the perfect gift, I think he was trying to let us know he doesn’t hate us or something...I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking a lot lately.” JC shrugged.

“So I’ve noticed. You’ve been preoccupied since you got back from LA.”

“I know.”

“You need to talk?”

“I need to talk to Lyn.”

“You have all day tomorrow.”

“I know.”

Dani knocked lightly, “Can you guys keep the dogs in here for a few minutes?”

“Sure.” JC said tied his shoe.

All five dogs ran in with floral collars on. Lance laughed, “Leave it up to our women to think of every last detail.”

“No kidding.” JC laughed.

Chris came walking in, “I’m supposed to take the pooches downstairs now.” He caught sight of Busta and groaned, “OH BUSTA! What have they done to you? Look at this girly collar! They have destroyed the pug appeal buddy!”

“He looks cute.” Lance scratched Busta’s head.

“He’s not a girlie dog! JUST SHUT UP LANCE!”

Lance and JC both rolled their eyes.

The aisle was flanked by row and rows of white chairs. The end of each row had small wreath of roses. The priest was standing at the end of the aisle with Ryan on his left. JC and Lance stood shoulder to shoulder immediately behind Ryan, followed by the rest of the groomsmen. Bren was first down the aisle. She was stunning, her dark hair was up and the red, strapless gown she had chosen looked perfect on her.

Cat was next, her boat neck, sleeveless dress was classic and she looked beautiful. Stasia was beaming as she made her was toward them, the look of pride on Lance’s face was unmistakable.

When Lyn stepped into his line of sight, JC’s knees got weak. She took his breath away. She was happier than he had ever seen her, and her eyes were locked on his. He loved the way her eyes danced when she was happy. Lyn was glowing and JC had never been so proud of her. She had pulled the entire day together in just three short weeks.

Lyn stopped next to the priest and turned to watch Lis walk down the aisle, dropping rose petals as she made her way. JC couldn’t believe how beautiful the little girl looked. She looked so much like Lyn and she carried herself with the same grace.

JC was pulled from his thoughts when the music changed. All heads turned and Dev stepped out with her parents on either side of her. A lump quickly developed in his throat, none of them had been sure if Da was going to attend the ceremony, let alone walk Dev down the aisle.

Lyn watched her sister closely, Dev was happy and Ryan was beaming. As they exchanged vows, everyone present was touched. When the finally kissed, everyone cheered and applauded. Dev and Ryan walked happily down the aisle as Mr. And Mrs. Tedder, with Lyn and JC close behind them. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “You did an amazing job putting this together. I’m proud of you.”

She beamed up at him, “Thanks.” He held her arm tightly in his.

Stasia looked happily up at Lance as they got to the far end of the aisle, “Our house is perfect weddings.”

Lance pulled her against his chest, “OUR HOUSE! I love that!”

She giggled, “Good, because you’re stuck with a roommate!”

He smirked, “Roommate huh?”

“Yeah.”

The photographer took tons of pictures and the bartender kept all of their glasses full as they posed. After all of the pictures were done, the group moved into the tents and found their spots at the head table. Lance waited for everyone to take their seats before taking the microphone, “Hi everyone! I want to take this opportunity to welcome everyone on behalf of Ryan and Dev. As Best Man Number One, I get to make the first toast of the night. When I met Ryan, I instantly knew he was talented. I never realized how BRILLIANT he was. The man was smart enough to land one of the McLachlan girls. I know from seeing them together how much they love one another and I am excited to be part of this day with them. Here’s to Ryan and Dev!”

He shook Ryan’s hand and kissed Dev on the cheek. Lyn stood up and cleared her throat, “Ok, it’s the one and only Maid of Honor’s turn. Ryan needed two men to do the job one McLachlan can do.” She grinned at JC and Lance. “I cannot explain to you what it’s like to grow up with four sisters. There is nothing in the world like a sister. No one can be a better friend or a bigger pain in the butt. Dev has always been more of a friend than a pain, and I am lucky to have her. Now, as wonderful as sisters are, there were days that I wanted to trade one of them in for a brother. But on those days when I would lock myself in my room and wish for a brother, I never dreamt that I would actually get one, especially not one as wonderful as Ryan. So I’d like everyone to raise their glasses to Number Four and the newest member of our clan, our brother Number Six!” Dev jumped up and kissed her sister. Ryan wiped at a tear and hugged both of them.

JC stood, and swallowed hard, “I’m not so sure I agree with Lance being Best Man Number One, but we’ll settle that out back later.” Lance held up both hands, and everyone laughed. JC’s tone changed quickly, “I remember a conversation I had with Devony, not all that long ago, we talked about how I was not only Lyn’s friend...but her’s as well.” He smiled down at Dev, who’s hand was being held tightly by Ryan, “I was right Dev.” She nodded up at him, “That same day, we had a conversation in which she asked me why it was that she had such bad luck with men. I told her that day that she would meet the man that would love her the way that she DESERVED to be loved. I was right again Dev.” She nodded vigorously as he continued, “I have always looked at Dev like a sister, and I am so achingly proud of you today. Ryan is the man to love you the way you deserve to be loved. Take care of each other. To Dev and Ryan!”

Dev had tears streaming steadily down her cheeks when she stood up to hug him, “Thank you for being my friend.”

JC kissed her cheek, “I love you Dev.”

Ryan stood up next to them, “I promise I’ll take care of her.”

“I know you will.” JC hugged him.

A few hours later JC slipped his arm around Lyn’s shoulders, “Have time for a dance?”

“I think I can make the time for you.”

They walked to the dance floor as Ice Cream began. She looked surprised and he chuckled, “I pulled a few strings.”

“I’m glad you did.” They moved together gently, “Your toast was great.”

“Your’s wasn’t bad either. We’re a couple of saps.”

Lyn sighed, “Bethany brought a bunch of letters from my class last year. I forgot how much I loved all of them.”

JC leaned back, “Missing them?”

She shrugged, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You’re a great teacher.” He said quietly.

She smirked, “Yeah, I know.”

The most of the guests were gone, and Lyn was up in the house saying good-bye to Bethany. JC notice Brenna sitting by herself at the far end of the pool, “What’s up Bren?” He sat down next to her on the bench, and realized she was crying.

“I realized today that all of my sisters love one another, but not me...and there is no reason they SHOULD love me. I’m nasty to them.”

“Bren, they do love you...they just think you’re...challenging.”

“I have never done anything nice for any of them.” She sighed, “I suck.”

“Hey, if you sucked, would you CARE about this? No. Bren, it’s never too late to try.” He looked at his hands, “It’s never too late to try.”

She looked at him, “You aren’t talking about me...what do you need to try?”

“I’m going to trust you Bren. I need to talk this out, and you say you want to change your relationship with your sisters, so help me figure out how to help her.”

JC explained his conversation with Johnny, and the fact that Lyn had told him she missed her students. He sighed, “How do I tell her she needs to go back to Orlando? Brenna, as long as she and I are together...”

“She’s going to stay.” Bren said quietly.

“You think so too?”

“I don’t WANT her to go back, but until Johnny and I can nail Powers and Reagan...I don’t see any other way. They are only going to get worse if she isn’t there. I’m not sure why they want her there so badly...”

“They know the only way she would go back is if you two broke up. Which would cause her pain, which is what they want.”

“How do I send her back, WITHOUT breaking up with her?”

Bren looked at the pool, “JC, you can’t find anything out with her here, unless you tell her. If you tell her, she is going to want to do something about it.”

“They can’t know she knows, or they are going to release the video, and that would kill her.”

Bren shrugged, “So start a fight, piss her off, and she’ll go home.”

“Bren, she isn’t going to dump me because I start a fight.”

“So what would make her go home?” Bren caught sight of Lyn walking out onto the deck, “And think fast, because she is heading this way.”

Lyn noticed Bren’s red dress from across the yard. She was surprised to see JC sitting with her, talking. She couldn’t hear their conversation, but she could tell that it was intense. She started down the path in their direction, hoping to talk JC into letting her stay with him at Lance and Stasia’s that night.

“I don’t want to hurt her.” JC’s voice was raw.

“So DON’T hurt her, TELL her.”

“I CAN’T Bren!”

“Well then PISS HER OFF.”

“I pray she’ll forgive me for this one day.” Lyn was already at the opposite end of the pool when JC leaned closer to Bren, “I’m going to kiss you.”

“WHAT?” Bren hissed.

“I’m going to kiss you. I guarantee she’ll be on a flight home by morning.”

Bren closed her eyes tightly, “She doesn’t like me anyway...”

JC cupped her cheek and slowly moved closer. His lips barely touched hers, but they both clutched at one another and Bren moaned. JC slide his hand to the back of her head and then moved his mouth toward her neck. She giggled, even though he never actually made contact.

Lyn actually felt as if her heart had been torn from her chest, “JC?”

He slowly raised his head, “Oh shit, Lyn.”

“How could you?” She turned on her heel, covering her mouth with her hand and running back in the direction of the house.

She burst through the door into the kitchen, where Justin was eating another piece of cake. She ran past him into the garage. He sprang to his feet and followed her, “LYN! STOP! WHAT HAPPENED?”

She was sobbing uncontrollably, “Where in the hell are my keys?”

“What happened?” Justin grabbed her shoulders.

. “I have to go! I have to get out of here!” She was shaking and she dropped the keys she had just found on the hook near the door.

Justin picked them up, “I’ll drive, where are we going?”

“I have to go.”

“OK. OK. We’re going.” He stopped asking questions and climbed behind the wheel of her car.

Brenna was sitting in the living room at Lance’s house when Justin walked through the door at 5:45 in the morning, “Is Lyn OK?”

He walked right by her without a word. He stormed up the stairs two at a time, not breaking his stride until he threw JC’s door open, causing it to crash against the wall. JC was wide awake, sitting in a chair in the corner, “You’re a bastard!”

“I know.” JC said quietly.

Justin looked around the room, “Blarney, COME!” The dog jumped up from her place on the bed with Tipperary and ran over to his feet.

JC turned tired eyes to meet Justin’s, “How is she?”

Justin picked Blarney up off of the floor, and then pointed at JC, “You lost the right to ask how she is.” As quickly as he’d burst into the room, he was gone.