Who's to stop you

Knowing that he'd made Ryan feel good made all of this worth it to Tal, and he can't help but smile. If she only knew how good it made him feel.

With Ryan crawling closer and giving him a kiss, Tal returns it lightly. He's about to say something, but stops as Ryan surprises him by coming the rest of the way onto his lap. Not minding it in the least though, his arms slip around her to hold her close. Her words of thanks only prove to bring another smile. "You keep saying things like that, I'm liable to get a big head."

He turns his gaze to look down at Ryan's face as she rested on his shoulder, and he grins. Giving her another soft kiss, he settles back into the couch and puts his feet up on the coffee table with a contented sigh. If asked a month ago if he thought he'd ever be holding Ryan McKade in his arms, he would have laughed outright. He had to admit though... it was an even nicer feeling than he'd imagined.


Dylan quirks one of his eyebrows at Ashlee's suggestion of sitting together. Was she trying to suggest something to make him feel better, or her? He couldn't quite tell. But maybe she hid her insecurities as well as he did.

Taking another bite of his HoHo, he licks some chocolate off his finger. "It's not very easy for someone like me to have fun around here. Besides, I've never been much of a trend setter." He tosses her a glance, rethinking his reply. "But I told you before you could sit wherever you wanted to." It still didn't seem to sound right though, especially when he looked over at her again. She did look just a bit lonely. Maybe she loved adventure, but it still had to be hard to move out here.

A little smile turns up just one corner of his mouth and he shrugs. "So next time I eat in the dining room, who's to stop you from sitting at my table?"


Part of Eric wanted Rosetta to go away and leave him alone. And part of him just wanted to get everything off his chest and out of the way. His eyes rise just a little to see her when she sits on the bed, though he's still quiet.

Shifting a little, he winces and readjusts his ice packs. "Fell while I was comin' down outta my truck," he mutters. "Ice on the step and I didn't see it. That was almost a week ago and it still won't leave me be." But his deep bruising was not what was really bothering him and the long silence that follows proves it. As his right hand fidgets with the bedspread, his eyes lower again.

"Ya know... I look around at everybody here, and what y'all have." His tone was quiet... subdued. "You got someone to love... someone to love you back. Even Jeff and Trent have their daughters. Everyone just... fits. It's like... like one big puzzle put together." His fingers still fiddle with the blanket. "Except I'm an extra piece."

Eric eventually lifts his eyes again. There were unshed tears there. There were emotions that were so much deeper than simple sadness. It was loneliness. Misery. Guilt. Disappointment. "That's all I wanted," he almost whispers. "Just a sliver of what everybody else has. But I guess we don't always get what we want, do we?"

Finally bringing up his other hand, he wriggles his empty ring finger for Rosetta to see. "Y'all got your wish on this one." A wry sort of grin sadly comes to his lips. "The good thing is I've finally proved to everyone just how stupid I am so now there'll never be any more doubt."

Sighing, Eric knew this all was far from funny... but he wasn't really joking anyway. He looks at his sister's eyes, just wishing he could go back in time and change everything. "She disappeared a few days after we were married," he finally explains quietly. "I looked everywhere, but she never showed up. When I realized my bank accounts had been drained, I new she was gone for good. I... thought I was helping her pay off a loan, but I guess I was giving her access so she could take everything." And it was everything. It was no secret that Eric had his life's savings stored up for whenever he quit driving truck. And now, every penny was gone.

He purses his lips and shrugs. "I followed a couple leads. Found out she's probably in Mexico with her partner - a man... con artist she's been with for years. There's also nothing I can do since I willingly gave her access to my accounts." It was a little easier to say out loud than he thought it would be. But maybe that was the result of working through it for several weeks.

Eric nods slowly. "So... I am... officially broke, which unfortunately means I'll be mooching off you guys before I can somehow scrape together enough to get out of your hair again. But... I'm sure that won't come as a surprise to all of you who knew what a fool I was being."

He looks down once more. "And I should probably apologize to you while I still have the guts."