Post by RMT-Mod-Kara on Sept 17, 2016 20:23:05 GMT -5
Colby bounded down the stairs damn near breaking his neck when he half stumbled half fell down the last several. He bolted down the corridor and ducked quickly into B&R. He was careful as he hid behind the clothing racks sure that his sister hadn't seen him come in. But the grin on his face clearly illuminated the excitement he had. He pretended to peruse through clothing.
Not only was he shocked at the news when he heard it but he was hopeful that maybe their family was going to be reunited at last. It was no secret that Colby adored his elder siblings. While he and Brock had been close when Colby was much younger, he had admired Jared because of his business sense for a very long time. Kristen had always been his best friend. So any hint at the thought that the two of them were putting aside their differences was something he had to see for himself.
Sure enough, Kristen hadn't seen the tall, blond, young man dart into the newly opened second location of B & R--on board the Cleopatra--and disappear behind a rack of floor-length dresses, which completely blocked him from view. She hadn't seen him because Kristen was fully immersed in the phone call she'd been in the middle of when Colby had snuck inside.
"What do you mean he was going to ask her out?" she said, sounding both shocked and annoyed at the same time. "You talked him out of it, right?"
She paused while her husband gave her a lengthy answer, giving her a play-by-play of the conversation he'd had with his cousin regarding Kristen's former sister-in-law, Jessica. "Okay, good. Because, even though I like her and all, I think it's a little fishy that she 'just so happened' to move into your cousin's building and 'just so happened' to run into him at a laundromat and 'just so happened' to become 'such great friends' with him."
She moved throughout the racks, completely oblivious that she was, for all intents and purposes, being stalked by her younger brother.
Sneaky, sneaky Colby practically tippy toed around the end of the rack of long dresses. He had to stifle a giggle when he heard Kristen semi-ranting on the phone. Must be Tyler. Poor guy had to listen to Kristen prattle on about someone and their convenient friend. He had no idea that someone was his ex wife, Jessica. He covered his mouth, his eyes dancing as he watched his sister move away from him.
He quickly snuck with very exagerrated motions to the next rack of clothes and ducked down. He kept himself bent at the waist as he practically sprinted to the other end. He could hear her voice as she talked on the phone so he knew exactly where she was location wise. He waited till the last minute before he jumped popping up in front of her as she came to the end of the row, "Ta Da!"
"Surprised" didn't even begin to describe what Colby had just done to his sister. Not even close. "Scared the shit out of" was more accurate.
She jumped with a start and let out a loud, blood-curdling scream right into her phone before she dropped it on the floor with a loud clack, the sound of the battery cover and the battery skidding across the floor as the separated soon followed. But Kristen wasn't even the slightest bit concerned about her phone, not at the moment. At the moment, she was going to kill her little brother.
She stared at Colby with her eyes so wide that they was more white than iris or pupil. She covered her chest in an effort to still her racing heart.
"Jesus-fucking-Christ, Colby!" she exclaimed, swatting her brother with her other hand while she tried not to smile or laugh at his prank.
"Ohhhh, looks like someone has had a tad too much caffeine today!" he laughed hysterically at her reaction but turned and waved at all a couple of guests as they stopped to ensure she was okay. "It's my sister," he mouthed at them gawkers. "She's had wayyy too much caffeine." He smiled and waved then turned his attention back to Kristen.
Stooping down he started to gather up her pieces of the phone laughing even harder cause Tyler was probably shitting a brick on the other side either that or she'd ruptured his eardrum with that shriek.
"You are SUCH an asshole," she said, still trying to fight back a smile as she turned away from him and meandered over to a table with some blouses folded on it and leaned against it while she collected herself. She felt hot and sweaty as blood rushed through her body, turning her face red with embarrassment. "I can't believe you just did that to me. You jerk!"
He pouted out his bottom lip slightly, "Aww, are you trying to hurt my feelings cause you're jumpier than a long tailed cat in room full of rocking chairs?" Picking up the pieces of her phone, "You should have seen your face." He did an impression of her on the phone chattering away and then of a completely exagerrated shocked look accompanied by a falsetto scream.
"Dick," she said, swatting at him and missing. She then reached out and tried to pry her phone out of his hand. "Gimme that!"
He was having way too much fun, "Come on, I want to take you to lunch at Allison's place. I haven't been to the one on the boat yet and since you're here...and I have a couple of hours for lunch."
Handing her phone back to her, he motioned toward the door. "Besides I figured we could catch up over lunch." He smirked, "That is if you think your heart can take it." He covered his own with his hand and did his best Fred Sanford impression, "It's the big one..." He loved TV Land.
"Oh! So you think making fun of me is going to get me to go to lunch with you, is that it?" she posited then shook her head. "I don't know. You tried to scare me to death. That doesn't really get me in the 'oh, let's do lunch' kind of mood," she answered. She was teasing him. She'd end up letting him take her to Lila's for lunch but first she was going to give him some more hell for pulling that prank on her and deliberately scaring the bejeezus out of her.
He was still clearly amused by her reaction, "Aw, don't be cruel. How often is that you get to go out to eat with your favorite brother?" He gave her a playful look, "You can admit it...I know I'm your favorite."
Kristen leveled her gaze on her brother, her brow knitted together in a look that questioned his seriousness.
"Considering your competition, I don't think that's really something I'd be bragging about," she countered teasingly.
"Let me get my purse," she then said before he could give her another smart-ass retort then turned away, quickly disappearing into the back room to grab her bag and let the two saleswomen on shift know that she was going to lunch. She appeared a few moments later, trailed by the saleswomen who immediately split off and headed for the two customers that had not yet been helped.
"All right, Mr. I'm-Buying, I'm ready."
Colby laughed lightly as she bolted off to tend to things so they could go to lunch. He waited for his sister to join him at that door. He was feeling extremely patient on this particular day and his entire demeanor seemed to convey this - he smiled at guests of the Cleopatra as they passed by. It was likely they probably thought him an employee of either the casino or the store.
"Yes, well, you do have somewhat of a point. My competition hasn't exactly been at the top of their games lately. though.." he glanced around, "It seems at least Jared is doing well. He's gotten out of the family business and settled here." He shrugged, "I have to admit sometimes I'm envious."
Kristen's smile vanished at the mention of their elder brother's name. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be in any kind of business arrangement with Jared but Beth and Kate had out-voted her--before Beth decided to sell her share of the business and, by that time, it was too late to back out of opening a second store on the Cleopatra since they'd already invested a hefty sum of money into it. Regardless of how it looked, Kristen loathed having her business even remotely involved with one owned by the man who tried to kill her. And that was what Jared would always be to her: a murderer. Not her brother.
"Can we not talk about him?" she said, slowing her pace as her desire to have lunch with Colby suddenly diminished.
"Sure," he felt her tension and he immediately regretted mentioning their brother. He put an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry, Kristen. I didn't mean to upset you." He hugged her from the side as they walked.
"I know it probably doesn't really mean that much but I'm really proud of you...and B&R Couture," he smiled at her.
"Thanks," she said, giving him a light nudge with her elbow. She brushed a stray strand of blond hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear as Colby led her across the promenade and toward Lila's. "But I'm not really sure what there is to be proud of. It's mostly Kate, she does all the designs now. All I do is keep an eye on the books and make sure we're paying our bills on time."
Colby took on the most playfully patronizing tone he could come up with. "Well young lady, let's see here. You've got yourself a successful business even if Ms. Roberts is the brains behind the whole operation..." He got a funny expression on his face, "Wait, scratch that. YOUR the brains behind the whole operation and she's just the pretty face, right?"
He smirked at his last sentence keeping their interaction light as they finally entered Lilas. He walked with her to a table against the far wall. He liked being where he could see the door and had a fast exit through the back if he needed one. Not that he anticipated many if any problems on his brother's yacht.
"Yeah, something like that," she said with a proud look on her face. Just as she was sitting down, Kristen was interrupted by her cell phone going off in her purse. Pulling it out, she glanced at the caller-ID and saw that it was Tyler again. Given the way their conversation had been interrupted, she knew it would be mean to kick him to voice mail. The last thing he'd heard was her blood-curdling scream. If all he got was her voice mail, he'd start to worry that something had happened to her.
"Just a sec, I gotta take this," she said to Colby before flipping the phone open.
"Hey, sweetie!....No, no, I'm fine. That was just Colby. He snuck into the store and hid behind some of the racks and jumped out at me. Nearly gave me a damn heart-attack," she narrowed her eyes teasingly at her brother as she relayed the details of his little prank to her husband. "Yeah, I know, right....Oh, I'm sure you do!....Yeah, I'll tell him. You have a good day. Love you, too. Bye."
After hanging up and slipping her phone back into her purse, Kristen slid into her seat and started to unfold her napkin. "I'm supposed to tell you that Tyler's going to kick your ass next time he sees you," she said with a big grin.
Colby settled into his seat and waited as Kristen carried on her conversation with her husband. "Ohhh, I'll be sure to double my security anytime I plan to be within a five mile radius of the hospital." He was obviously only kidding around. Tyler was a good man. He was good to Kristen and he was good to their babies. Colby couldn't have asked for better for Kristen. He could tell she was happy and that's really all that mattered to him.
"I trust your husband is doing well," even though he was asking her a question, it was phrased much more like a statement.
"Yeah, he's good," Kristen said with a nod while she flattened her napkin across her lap. "I actually don't get to see him all that often anymore. He's so busy with school and his volunteering at the hospital that most of the time he comes home late. And then he's usually just exhausted."
She paused and took a drink of her water before continuing.
"Then he wakes up giddy as a damn school-boy now that we have a baby on the way," she added, dropping the news on her little brother as if it were the most casual thing ever.
"I could swear I just heard you say you were pregnant again," Colby was stunned by the news. "You guys just had twins. Kristen, are you sure that's good - I mean for your health and all?"
"I don't know," she said with a shrug of uncertainty. She was uncertain whether she was ready for another baby, whether she wanted another baby. But whether she was ready or wanted it was a moot point. She was already pregnant. It wasn't something she could just undo. She didn't believe in abortion, at least, not as birth control. Rape or incest or for the health of the mother, sure, but not as birth control. And it was definitely something she could never do. Not to her own child and not to Tyler, who was so excited to become a father again, no matter how soon it was.
"The doctor said this one could be high risk. He said gaining then losing then regaining weight isn't good for my body, it could put a lot of strain on my heart and kidneys. He said he wants me to come in more frequently than I did before, at least for a while, so he can keep an eye on my blood pressure and blood sugar level."
"And Tyler is comfortable with the added risk? I mean he's aware of it, right?" Colby studied her for a long moment. Damn, he needed to marry someone like Kristen. Someone who would love him like that...maybe he'd found her? Belle and Kristen were a lot a like even if neither of them wanted to admit it. Belle had been good to him - she seemed to really get that he worked hard and she seemed to appreciate it. He was starting to feel 'happy' again. Maybe it was just that they were having a baby and who wouldn't be happy over that?
"Kristen, if you need anything please...just call me. I'll do what I can to help...if your babysitter isn't available or something. I wouldn't mind watching the boys for you. I need to learn anyway - I don't plan on being a hands off father to Gabrielle."
His offer to watch Eli and Jacob sent a chill down Kristen's spine. She immediately took a drink of water, stalling for time to come up with some kind of response that wouldn't come across as too suspicious. Why was he so interested in seeing Eli and Jake? God, what if he knew? No, he couldn't. It wasn't possible. But what if he suspected? What if... . What if Jessica had changed her mind? It was too much of a coincidence that she just so happened to make friends with Tyler's cousin. And now Colby was suddenly wanting to play baby-sitter? Colby, who threw a fit whenever he was forced to cancel his plans with his friends to sit down to one of Vanessa's dinners? He wanted to baby-sit?
"Thanks, but Charlie's been great. I mean, she's probably the most reliable babysitter I've ever heard of," she said, trying to deflect his offer without drawing suspicion.
Colby missed the entire part of their exchange where Kristen freaked out. He smiled and nodded, "It's good that you have someone that you can count on like that. It's unfortunate that it's can't be our family."
He took a deep breath and glanced over the menu, "I think I'm gonna try the fish and chips. Allison said they were trying something new with them. I figure I should probably test them out."
"That sounds good, actually. I'll have the same," Kristen said, folding up her menu and handing it back their server. She then took another drink of her water to fill the brief silence between her and Colby, giving the server time to move a safe distance away, before she asked: "So...what were you doing here today?" she asked, referring Jared's cruise liner.
"I came to see you, of course!" he smiled at her. He was comfortable with her and couldn't fathom why it might be of interest for him to be on Jared's yacht.
"Okay okay so I had an ulterior motive." He then held up two fingers, "Make that two ulterior motives. The first of which is to tell you what I've already told you...I'm proud of you for being here and being able to set aside what ever differences you and Jared have had in the past. I think family helping family is a good thing."
"Differences?" Kristen repeated the word back to him with indignation. Leaning back in her seat, she folded her arms over her chest in a defensive posture. "Jared and I don't have differences. He tried to have me killed, Colby. And I sure as hell haven't set that aside. Kate and Beth made a business decision while I was on my honeymoon and, by the time I got back, it was too late to undo it. That's all this is, me dealing with a situation I'd rather not be in but I can't change. Jared Lefabre is just as dead to me as he was the day he hired some goon to break into our house and drop a grandfather clock on me. Just as dead as Vanessa was to me the day she shot Tyler," she said. She wasn't going to bother sugar-coating anything she felt. She hadn't before, she didn't see the need to start now.
"All anyone in this family knows how to do is to hurt people. Nothing more. Vanessa lied to you for almost your entire life then, after you found out the truth, she went crazy and shot my boyfriend, the man I eventually married. Jared tried to kill me. And God only knows how many people he's killed before or since then. Brock screwed around on his wife, twice. You...broke my wrist, and you shot your brother-in-law in the leg and left him with a limp that he's going to have for the rest of his life. And I'm not even going to go into everything Brandi's done over the years."
She scoffed and shook her head before continuing.
"Look, ever since the boys were born, I've started to realize that you can't help who you love. Sometimes you love people even though they do awful things, to you or to other people. Deep down, I know I still love Jared and Vanessa and Brandi, despite everything they've done. But it doesn't mean I have to forgive them and it sure as hell doesn't mean I have to forget, or understand. Family doesn't do the kinds of things this one has done to each other. Just because I have a store on Jared's casino or just because I'm cordial and friendly with you and Brock doesn't mean I want any of you to have a substantial part in my life. Because I don't. I'll never trust Jared. I'll never let him anywhere near my family or my personal life. If Brock gets his life in straightened up and grows he hell up then, yeah, maybe he and I can work on rebuilding something. But, as long as you stay at the company, as long as you keep pretending that what you've done wasn't wrong and stop trying to excuse it or it explain it, then this--"
She motioned at the table with her hand, obviously referring to the lunch they'd just had together.
"--isn't going to become a regular thing any time soon."
Colby sat there stunned. His eyes were on her but he couldn't move for the longest moment. Did she really just say that to him? Did she really say that she wanted nothing to do with him? His brows knitted slightly. The playful young man who had been there moments before vanished. He nodded, "I...I'm sorry then." He stood, he'd at least take care of the bill for her. She wanted nothing else to do with him then so be it. He had no one. That's how she wanted it...she'd said as much.
He flagged down the server, "Could you please box up mine to go? Unfortunately, I just received word that my sister has died and I ... I need to go." He was hurt...devastated. He had thought that she had forgiven him, but from what she'd just said, she had not. She had only been tolerating him. "Interesting ... Vanessa may have lied to me all my life, but you...you were always my safe place." He clenched his jaw and averted his eyes from her.
"You don't want a safe place, Colby," she countered. She refused to let him guilt her. She refused to let him guilt her. She refused to let him guilt her. He was a grown man now. He wasn't a little boy anymore. She shifted in her seat.
"You want an enabler. You want me to tell you that everything is fine and that everything you do is okay as long as you have good reasons. Well, it's not. Everything isn't fine and everything you do isn't okay just because you think you have good reasons for doing them. Jared thought he had good reasons to have me killed. Didn't make it fine or okay or right. Vanessa thought she had good reasons for shooting my husband. Didn't make it fine or right or okay. Why would that be different for you?"
She let her question linger in the air then scooted forward in her seat and leaned toward him.
"Your wife lost your baby and the first thing you did was divorce her, Colby. Then, you permanently injured her brother. By shooting him in the leg. I don't care what reasons you think you have for doing that, it was wrong, Colby. And the fact that you can't see that terrifies me. It makes me wonder: How many other people have you hurt? How many people have you killed since you took over the company? How much like Jared are you?"
"I've never asked for your forgiveness. I explained to you why I did what I had to do. Just because you refuse to see it doesn't mean your viewpoint is right, Kristen. Jessica would have been killed if I hadn't ensured that she left the state. Do you understand that? No, you don't because you sit on your high and mighty little pedestal casting down judgement on the rest of us for making decisions that you didn't support. You can only look the other way for so long, Kristen." He stared at her, his voice eerily calm.
"It seems the lesson you have learned is that when you hurl so many insults at those of us you say you love....you aren't so unlike us. You're just a little more passive about it." He clenched his jaw, "Mark my word, Kristen. Someday...you'll find yourself alone and miserable and those of us who would have been there for you will be long gone."
He tossed money onto the table, "You know what hurts the most? It's that Belle was right...she told me what kind of person you were. She told me that you couldn't forgive anyone of even the slightest transgression. I mean who the fuck cares that Belle slept with Luke Mercer in high school? Is he really so important to you that you'd hang on to all that bitterness?" He took his to go lunch, "You keep telling yourself that you're better than the rest of us and holding onto whatever holier than though bullshit you've bought into...but one day Kristen the blinders will fall off and you'll see the big picture."
Not only was he shocked at the news when he heard it but he was hopeful that maybe their family was going to be reunited at last. It was no secret that Colby adored his elder siblings. While he and Brock had been close when Colby was much younger, he had admired Jared because of his business sense for a very long time. Kristen had always been his best friend. So any hint at the thought that the two of them were putting aside their differences was something he had to see for himself.
Sure enough, Kristen hadn't seen the tall, blond, young man dart into the newly opened second location of B & R--on board the Cleopatra--and disappear behind a rack of floor-length dresses, which completely blocked him from view. She hadn't seen him because Kristen was fully immersed in the phone call she'd been in the middle of when Colby had snuck inside.
"What do you mean he was going to ask her out?" she said, sounding both shocked and annoyed at the same time. "You talked him out of it, right?"
She paused while her husband gave her a lengthy answer, giving her a play-by-play of the conversation he'd had with his cousin regarding Kristen's former sister-in-law, Jessica. "Okay, good. Because, even though I like her and all, I think it's a little fishy that she 'just so happened' to move into your cousin's building and 'just so happened' to run into him at a laundromat and 'just so happened' to become 'such great friends' with him."
She moved throughout the racks, completely oblivious that she was, for all intents and purposes, being stalked by her younger brother.
Sneaky, sneaky Colby practically tippy toed around the end of the rack of long dresses. He had to stifle a giggle when he heard Kristen semi-ranting on the phone. Must be Tyler. Poor guy had to listen to Kristen prattle on about someone and their convenient friend. He had no idea that someone was his ex wife, Jessica. He covered his mouth, his eyes dancing as he watched his sister move away from him.
He quickly snuck with very exagerrated motions to the next rack of clothes and ducked down. He kept himself bent at the waist as he practically sprinted to the other end. He could hear her voice as she talked on the phone so he knew exactly where she was location wise. He waited till the last minute before he jumped popping up in front of her as she came to the end of the row, "Ta Da!"
"Surprised" didn't even begin to describe what Colby had just done to his sister. Not even close. "Scared the shit out of" was more accurate.
She jumped with a start and let out a loud, blood-curdling scream right into her phone before she dropped it on the floor with a loud clack, the sound of the battery cover and the battery skidding across the floor as the separated soon followed. But Kristen wasn't even the slightest bit concerned about her phone, not at the moment. At the moment, she was going to kill her little brother.
She stared at Colby with her eyes so wide that they was more white than iris or pupil. She covered her chest in an effort to still her racing heart.
"Jesus-fucking-Christ, Colby!" she exclaimed, swatting her brother with her other hand while she tried not to smile or laugh at his prank.
"Ohhhh, looks like someone has had a tad too much caffeine today!" he laughed hysterically at her reaction but turned and waved at all a couple of guests as they stopped to ensure she was okay. "It's my sister," he mouthed at them gawkers. "She's had wayyy too much caffeine." He smiled and waved then turned his attention back to Kristen.
Stooping down he started to gather up her pieces of the phone laughing even harder cause Tyler was probably shitting a brick on the other side either that or she'd ruptured his eardrum with that shriek.
"You are SUCH an asshole," she said, still trying to fight back a smile as she turned away from him and meandered over to a table with some blouses folded on it and leaned against it while she collected herself. She felt hot and sweaty as blood rushed through her body, turning her face red with embarrassment. "I can't believe you just did that to me. You jerk!"
He pouted out his bottom lip slightly, "Aww, are you trying to hurt my feelings cause you're jumpier than a long tailed cat in room full of rocking chairs?" Picking up the pieces of her phone, "You should have seen your face." He did an impression of her on the phone chattering away and then of a completely exagerrated shocked look accompanied by a falsetto scream.
"Dick," she said, swatting at him and missing. She then reached out and tried to pry her phone out of his hand. "Gimme that!"
He was having way too much fun, "Come on, I want to take you to lunch at Allison's place. I haven't been to the one on the boat yet and since you're here...and I have a couple of hours for lunch."
Handing her phone back to her, he motioned toward the door. "Besides I figured we could catch up over lunch." He smirked, "That is if you think your heart can take it." He covered his own with his hand and did his best Fred Sanford impression, "It's the big one..." He loved TV Land.
"Oh! So you think making fun of me is going to get me to go to lunch with you, is that it?" she posited then shook her head. "I don't know. You tried to scare me to death. That doesn't really get me in the 'oh, let's do lunch' kind of mood," she answered. She was teasing him. She'd end up letting him take her to Lila's for lunch but first she was going to give him some more hell for pulling that prank on her and deliberately scaring the bejeezus out of her.
He was still clearly amused by her reaction, "Aw, don't be cruel. How often is that you get to go out to eat with your favorite brother?" He gave her a playful look, "You can admit it...I know I'm your favorite."
Kristen leveled her gaze on her brother, her brow knitted together in a look that questioned his seriousness.
"Considering your competition, I don't think that's really something I'd be bragging about," she countered teasingly.
"Let me get my purse," she then said before he could give her another smart-ass retort then turned away, quickly disappearing into the back room to grab her bag and let the two saleswomen on shift know that she was going to lunch. She appeared a few moments later, trailed by the saleswomen who immediately split off and headed for the two customers that had not yet been helped.
"All right, Mr. I'm-Buying, I'm ready."
Colby laughed lightly as she bolted off to tend to things so they could go to lunch. He waited for his sister to join him at that door. He was feeling extremely patient on this particular day and his entire demeanor seemed to convey this - he smiled at guests of the Cleopatra as they passed by. It was likely they probably thought him an employee of either the casino or the store.
"Yes, well, you do have somewhat of a point. My competition hasn't exactly been at the top of their games lately. though.." he glanced around, "It seems at least Jared is doing well. He's gotten out of the family business and settled here." He shrugged, "I have to admit sometimes I'm envious."
Kristen's smile vanished at the mention of their elder brother's name. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be in any kind of business arrangement with Jared but Beth and Kate had out-voted her--before Beth decided to sell her share of the business and, by that time, it was too late to back out of opening a second store on the Cleopatra since they'd already invested a hefty sum of money into it. Regardless of how it looked, Kristen loathed having her business even remotely involved with one owned by the man who tried to kill her. And that was what Jared would always be to her: a murderer. Not her brother.
"Can we not talk about him?" she said, slowing her pace as her desire to have lunch with Colby suddenly diminished.
"Sure," he felt her tension and he immediately regretted mentioning their brother. He put an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry, Kristen. I didn't mean to upset you." He hugged her from the side as they walked.
"I know it probably doesn't really mean that much but I'm really proud of you...and B&R Couture," he smiled at her.
"Thanks," she said, giving him a light nudge with her elbow. She brushed a stray strand of blond hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear as Colby led her across the promenade and toward Lila's. "But I'm not really sure what there is to be proud of. It's mostly Kate, she does all the designs now. All I do is keep an eye on the books and make sure we're paying our bills on time."
Colby took on the most playfully patronizing tone he could come up with. "Well young lady, let's see here. You've got yourself a successful business even if Ms. Roberts is the brains behind the whole operation..." He got a funny expression on his face, "Wait, scratch that. YOUR the brains behind the whole operation and she's just the pretty face, right?"
He smirked at his last sentence keeping their interaction light as they finally entered Lilas. He walked with her to a table against the far wall. He liked being where he could see the door and had a fast exit through the back if he needed one. Not that he anticipated many if any problems on his brother's yacht.
"Yeah, something like that," she said with a proud look on her face. Just as she was sitting down, Kristen was interrupted by her cell phone going off in her purse. Pulling it out, she glanced at the caller-ID and saw that it was Tyler again. Given the way their conversation had been interrupted, she knew it would be mean to kick him to voice mail. The last thing he'd heard was her blood-curdling scream. If all he got was her voice mail, he'd start to worry that something had happened to her.
"Just a sec, I gotta take this," she said to Colby before flipping the phone open.
"Hey, sweetie!....No, no, I'm fine. That was just Colby. He snuck into the store and hid behind some of the racks and jumped out at me. Nearly gave me a damn heart-attack," she narrowed her eyes teasingly at her brother as she relayed the details of his little prank to her husband. "Yeah, I know, right....Oh, I'm sure you do!....Yeah, I'll tell him. You have a good day. Love you, too. Bye."
After hanging up and slipping her phone back into her purse, Kristen slid into her seat and started to unfold her napkin. "I'm supposed to tell you that Tyler's going to kick your ass next time he sees you," she said with a big grin.
Colby settled into his seat and waited as Kristen carried on her conversation with her husband. "Ohhh, I'll be sure to double my security anytime I plan to be within a five mile radius of the hospital." He was obviously only kidding around. Tyler was a good man. He was good to Kristen and he was good to their babies. Colby couldn't have asked for better for Kristen. He could tell she was happy and that's really all that mattered to him.
"I trust your husband is doing well," even though he was asking her a question, it was phrased much more like a statement.
"Yeah, he's good," Kristen said with a nod while she flattened her napkin across her lap. "I actually don't get to see him all that often anymore. He's so busy with school and his volunteering at the hospital that most of the time he comes home late. And then he's usually just exhausted."
She paused and took a drink of her water before continuing.
"Then he wakes up giddy as a damn school-boy now that we have a baby on the way," she added, dropping the news on her little brother as if it were the most casual thing ever.
"I could swear I just heard you say you were pregnant again," Colby was stunned by the news. "You guys just had twins. Kristen, are you sure that's good - I mean for your health and all?"
"I don't know," she said with a shrug of uncertainty. She was uncertain whether she was ready for another baby, whether she wanted another baby. But whether she was ready or wanted it was a moot point. She was already pregnant. It wasn't something she could just undo. She didn't believe in abortion, at least, not as birth control. Rape or incest or for the health of the mother, sure, but not as birth control. And it was definitely something she could never do. Not to her own child and not to Tyler, who was so excited to become a father again, no matter how soon it was.
"The doctor said this one could be high risk. He said gaining then losing then regaining weight isn't good for my body, it could put a lot of strain on my heart and kidneys. He said he wants me to come in more frequently than I did before, at least for a while, so he can keep an eye on my blood pressure and blood sugar level."
"And Tyler is comfortable with the added risk? I mean he's aware of it, right?" Colby studied her for a long moment. Damn, he needed to marry someone like Kristen. Someone who would love him like that...maybe he'd found her? Belle and Kristen were a lot a like even if neither of them wanted to admit it. Belle had been good to him - she seemed to really get that he worked hard and she seemed to appreciate it. He was starting to feel 'happy' again. Maybe it was just that they were having a baby and who wouldn't be happy over that?
"Kristen, if you need anything please...just call me. I'll do what I can to help...if your babysitter isn't available or something. I wouldn't mind watching the boys for you. I need to learn anyway - I don't plan on being a hands off father to Gabrielle."
His offer to watch Eli and Jacob sent a chill down Kristen's spine. She immediately took a drink of water, stalling for time to come up with some kind of response that wouldn't come across as too suspicious. Why was he so interested in seeing Eli and Jake? God, what if he knew? No, he couldn't. It wasn't possible. But what if he suspected? What if... . What if Jessica had changed her mind? It was too much of a coincidence that she just so happened to make friends with Tyler's cousin. And now Colby was suddenly wanting to play baby-sitter? Colby, who threw a fit whenever he was forced to cancel his plans with his friends to sit down to one of Vanessa's dinners? He wanted to baby-sit?
"Thanks, but Charlie's been great. I mean, she's probably the most reliable babysitter I've ever heard of," she said, trying to deflect his offer without drawing suspicion.
Colby missed the entire part of their exchange where Kristen freaked out. He smiled and nodded, "It's good that you have someone that you can count on like that. It's unfortunate that it's can't be our family."
He took a deep breath and glanced over the menu, "I think I'm gonna try the fish and chips. Allison said they were trying something new with them. I figure I should probably test them out."
"That sounds good, actually. I'll have the same," Kristen said, folding up her menu and handing it back their server. She then took another drink of her water to fill the brief silence between her and Colby, giving the server time to move a safe distance away, before she asked: "So...what were you doing here today?" she asked, referring Jared's cruise liner.
"I came to see you, of course!" he smiled at her. He was comfortable with her and couldn't fathom why it might be of interest for him to be on Jared's yacht.
"Okay okay so I had an ulterior motive." He then held up two fingers, "Make that two ulterior motives. The first of which is to tell you what I've already told you...I'm proud of you for being here and being able to set aside what ever differences you and Jared have had in the past. I think family helping family is a good thing."
"Differences?" Kristen repeated the word back to him with indignation. Leaning back in her seat, she folded her arms over her chest in a defensive posture. "Jared and I don't have differences. He tried to have me killed, Colby. And I sure as hell haven't set that aside. Kate and Beth made a business decision while I was on my honeymoon and, by the time I got back, it was too late to undo it. That's all this is, me dealing with a situation I'd rather not be in but I can't change. Jared Lefabre is just as dead to me as he was the day he hired some goon to break into our house and drop a grandfather clock on me. Just as dead as Vanessa was to me the day she shot Tyler," she said. She wasn't going to bother sugar-coating anything she felt. She hadn't before, she didn't see the need to start now.
"All anyone in this family knows how to do is to hurt people. Nothing more. Vanessa lied to you for almost your entire life then, after you found out the truth, she went crazy and shot my boyfriend, the man I eventually married. Jared tried to kill me. And God only knows how many people he's killed before or since then. Brock screwed around on his wife, twice. You...broke my wrist, and you shot your brother-in-law in the leg and left him with a limp that he's going to have for the rest of his life. And I'm not even going to go into everything Brandi's done over the years."
She scoffed and shook her head before continuing.
"Look, ever since the boys were born, I've started to realize that you can't help who you love. Sometimes you love people even though they do awful things, to you or to other people. Deep down, I know I still love Jared and Vanessa and Brandi, despite everything they've done. But it doesn't mean I have to forgive them and it sure as hell doesn't mean I have to forget, or understand. Family doesn't do the kinds of things this one has done to each other. Just because I have a store on Jared's casino or just because I'm cordial and friendly with you and Brock doesn't mean I want any of you to have a substantial part in my life. Because I don't. I'll never trust Jared. I'll never let him anywhere near my family or my personal life. If Brock gets his life in straightened up and grows he hell up then, yeah, maybe he and I can work on rebuilding something. But, as long as you stay at the company, as long as you keep pretending that what you've done wasn't wrong and stop trying to excuse it or it explain it, then this--"
She motioned at the table with her hand, obviously referring to the lunch they'd just had together.
"--isn't going to become a regular thing any time soon."
Colby sat there stunned. His eyes were on her but he couldn't move for the longest moment. Did she really just say that to him? Did she really say that she wanted nothing to do with him? His brows knitted slightly. The playful young man who had been there moments before vanished. He nodded, "I...I'm sorry then." He stood, he'd at least take care of the bill for her. She wanted nothing else to do with him then so be it. He had no one. That's how she wanted it...she'd said as much.
He flagged down the server, "Could you please box up mine to go? Unfortunately, I just received word that my sister has died and I ... I need to go." He was hurt...devastated. He had thought that she had forgiven him, but from what she'd just said, she had not. She had only been tolerating him. "Interesting ... Vanessa may have lied to me all my life, but you...you were always my safe place." He clenched his jaw and averted his eyes from her.
"You don't want a safe place, Colby," she countered. She refused to let him guilt her. She refused to let him guilt her. She refused to let him guilt her. He was a grown man now. He wasn't a little boy anymore. She shifted in her seat.
"You want an enabler. You want me to tell you that everything is fine and that everything you do is okay as long as you have good reasons. Well, it's not. Everything isn't fine and everything you do isn't okay just because you think you have good reasons for doing them. Jared thought he had good reasons to have me killed. Didn't make it fine or okay or right. Vanessa thought she had good reasons for shooting my husband. Didn't make it fine or right or okay. Why would that be different for you?"
She let her question linger in the air then scooted forward in her seat and leaned toward him.
"Your wife lost your baby and the first thing you did was divorce her, Colby. Then, you permanently injured her brother. By shooting him in the leg. I don't care what reasons you think you have for doing that, it was wrong, Colby. And the fact that you can't see that terrifies me. It makes me wonder: How many other people have you hurt? How many people have you killed since you took over the company? How much like Jared are you?"
"I've never asked for your forgiveness. I explained to you why I did what I had to do. Just because you refuse to see it doesn't mean your viewpoint is right, Kristen. Jessica would have been killed if I hadn't ensured that she left the state. Do you understand that? No, you don't because you sit on your high and mighty little pedestal casting down judgement on the rest of us for making decisions that you didn't support. You can only look the other way for so long, Kristen." He stared at her, his voice eerily calm.
"It seems the lesson you have learned is that when you hurl so many insults at those of us you say you love....you aren't so unlike us. You're just a little more passive about it." He clenched his jaw, "Mark my word, Kristen. Someday...you'll find yourself alone and miserable and those of us who would have been there for you will be long gone."
He tossed money onto the table, "You know what hurts the most? It's that Belle was right...she told me what kind of person you were. She told me that you couldn't forgive anyone of even the slightest transgression. I mean who the fuck cares that Belle slept with Luke Mercer in high school? Is he really so important to you that you'd hang on to all that bitterness?" He took his to go lunch, "You keep telling yourself that you're better than the rest of us and holding onto whatever holier than though bullshit you've bought into...but one day Kristen the blinders will fall off and you'll see the big picture."