No smile

Jade was so overwhelmed with emotion that she didn't even know how to reply to Dan. He made he feel so good and so very special. Some people might feel as though they were second best since he had had a previous relationship. But knowing Dan's background, Jade couldn't feel more honored that he had chosen her after all that had happened. Any woman would be lucky for his attentions after what he'd been through and after having someone else in his life that meant that much to him. The fact that he had picked her.... another tear forms in Jade's eye and she hugs him again, almost afraid this was all a dream. She was young... she'd hardly yet lived... but she wouldn't give this up for the world. Someone wanted to spend the rest of their life with her and he would be hers forever. This was a Christmas she would never forget.

Finally drawing back, Jade slips her hand into Dan's, her face beaming brightly. Closing the front door she almost drags Dan down to the kitchen where both Jill and Ben were working around the stove preparing the food that smelled so good.

"Mom?"

Jill turns around, her eyebrows rising to see a visitor. "Well hello. Who is this, Jade?"

"This is Dan." Jade's eyes sparkle. "He came all the way up here to surprise me for Christmas."

"How nice!" Jill smiles her approval, seeing how happy her daughter was. "Welcome, Dan. We've heard so much about you. I hope you're planning on staying for dinner."

"Oh, he will," Jade assures. Biting her lip, she can't help the smile that seemed to be permanently pasted on her face. Leaning her back against Dan, she stands in front of him, her face flushed with the excitement she felt. Slowly, she holds up her left hand, showing off the ring.

At first, Jill didn't understand, then she realized what was going on. Her eyes widen in shock and she takes a quick look at Ben then back to Jade. "Wha... he... you..."

Jade nods. "Uh-huh. That was his surprise."

Blinking, Jill isn't even sure how to respond. Her baby girl was home for Christmas and all of a sudden not only did she have a boyfriend they knew nothing about, but he had just proposed to her? And she had accepted? "Jade, I..." She blinks again and holds out her arms. "Oh, honey."

Jade goes to embrace her mom, her excitement bubbling over. "Isn't it gorgeous?" She shows off her ring closer so her mom could get a better look.

"Yes... it is." Jill was still in shock. "Are... are you sure about this? I mean... you haven't known him for that long and.... you're so young still... seventeen..." She reaches out to straighten a lock of Jade's hair, her motherly instincts kicking in. "This is really what you want?"

Jade nods without hesitation. "It's not like we're getting married tomorrow," she assures. She hadn't exactly talked to Dan about that, but she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't rush this. "But yeah... yeah, it's what I want." Hope shone in her eyes, searching for approval. She might or might not need parental consent by the time she and Dan married, but that wasn't the point. She needed to know her mom would support her and be there for her.

Jill looks over to Dan again, studying him for a moment. He was certainly a handsome young man and he seemed nice. Jade was so excited... and she did have a good head on her shoulders, even if she did seem flighty at times. How could Jill rob her this moment? Even if they would have to have a more serious talk about it later, right now it was a time for joy and she wouldn't steal it from her daughter. Not on Christmas. If this was to be, then it was to be. Heaven knew she'd followed her heart once too. Maybe it hadn't ended well, but at the time, Jill would have followed Mick anywhere, regardless of what her parents thought. And Jade had both her mom's and Mick's strong will flowing through her veins. Jill simply had to trust that she knew what she was doing, even if she was still so very young. Thankfully, it sounded like they would wait a while until they actually got married.

Looking back to her daughter, a smile comes to Jill's lips and she hugs Jade close. "I'm so happy for you, honey."

Watching the scene take place, Ben's own eyes are wide. A little grin quirks the corner of his mouth though and he steps closer to Dan. "Well... you know how to make an entrance, I'll give you that."

Extending hand to shake, he holds Dan's hand firmly. "Congratulations, son. Looks like you've won this young lady's heart. I guess my teasing about her being in love wasn't a joke."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "I hope you know what you're getting into though. Jade's quite the spitfire."


"Mm-hmm." Trent confirms Thirteen's guess about the curry comb. Letting go of her hand, he walks to retrieve the little rubber brush and returns again, still standing behind her. She was small enough and his arms were long enough that it wasn't hard for him to place both his hands on top of hers, showing her the proper way to groom a horse.

Making sure her hands are slipped into the straps on both brushes, he moves her right hand around in circles, gently but with enough pressure to bring out dust that hadn't even been seen. Then with several swift strokes with the other brush and the dust disappears into the air and into the soft bristles. Trent guides her hands together to use the curry to scrape the dust out of the other brush and then return to the starting point again.

"Circle, circle, circle. Brush one two, scrape." His voice was soft and mellow, matching his body language from the evening before - defeated and weary. Now that he was here though, he felt like he couldn't pull himself away. He hadn't planned on talking to her again, but at least standing behind her, he didn't have to get up the courage to look her in the eye. He wasn't so sure he could.

"Sometimes I wish life was as easy as brushing a horse," he admits quietly, still guiding her hands. "To be able to sweep away all the bad... leave a clean slate... but it just doesn't work that way. The dirt is still there... and I see it every day."

He swallows hard, his hands dropping from hers, though he remains standing behind her. "I don't deserve to be a father, Jasm... Thirteen. There's too much dirt."


"Aw... it's not so un-merry," Gunner assures Bree. "Not now that I got to hear your voice."

He does his best to sound positive, though on the inside he'd been feeling low. "I've been looking at the stars too," he confirms. He glances to the tiny barred window. It wasn't much, but he looked out every night. "Our hands have moved by now... we'll have to find them again next time we go stargazing."

Hearing Bree's promise to visit, he lets a long pause linger. He could feel her on the other end of the line and didn't want to let go. He missed her hugs. "I'll look forward to your visit. I've missed you too. They don't have rootbeer floats around here and cinnamon gum is non-existent."

He grins a little. "My three staples. If I get at least to see you then that'll tide me over a while."

Pausing again, he knew that she needed reassurance. "I'm okay, Bree... it's all gonna work out. Can you trust me on that?"


Dylan looks up for just a moment to see Rosetta, then his gaze falls again. He shrugs in response to her offer, but that was all.

Mick intervenes. "Leftovers sound great. Neither of us have had breakfast yet so we both could use a little something if it's not too much work."

Before he can go much farther, he's being run into by a little locomotive. "Whoa, bud!" Mick laughs and ruffles BJ's hair. Though the boy was getting too big to be held, Mick sweeps him up anyway, spinning him around, then just holding him. "You thought, but how could I not come home to you, huh?" He kisses his forehead then sets him down. "Good land, I think you've grown six inches," he exaggerates.

Spying the checkers board, he grins and shakes his head. "Let your dad eat some breakfast then we'll play some, alright?"

Giving the boy an extra hug, he reassures him he's not going anywhere soon. "Go get all the pieces and then come back." Once alone again, Mick motions to Dylan to come sit at the table with him.

Dylan had been watching the interaction between Mick and BJ and one could see the wheels turning in his head. But what conclusions he was drawing were hidden behind his blank stare. There wasn't even a trace of a smile anywhere.

He grudgingly obeys and sits at the table, now having the tabletop to stare at instead of the floor.

Mick gives a little sigh and finds Rosetta's eyes, moving his hands up then letting them drop. He was at his wits end. But at least Dylan was here and not threatening to sneak off.