Walk

Finishing up gathering Domino's things, Scott eventually can't see anything else lying around. Fingering the dog leash, he glances at the clock. "I suppose I need to call Brian to come pick me up."

He pauses shifting his weight a little. "Thanks for... for supper... I, um... I missed your cooking."


Gunner chuckles and slips his arm around Bree. "He's got it bad, huh? I was thinking the same thing about Amanda." He lets his eyes wander around the pond. "Of course, we might have given them a push but if they wind up hating each other, I say we've had no part in it whatsoever."

Grinning, he gives her a squeeze. "Regardless, and even if I keep getting attacked, I'm glad we came."

He sighs with content, then grins at her question. "I don't know. I've been playing this by ear since the beginning." He chuckles again. "Vampires aren't very good with plans. They just attack at will." Giving a teasing growl, he goes for her neck, giving her a playful gnawing kiss.


For the first time since arriving on this little camping trip, JT felt relaxed. He wasn't sure why. But even sitting here with Amanda, the awkwardness seemed to have disappeared somewhere along the way.

"Maybe it is at that."

Grinning, he picks himself up from the ground and brushes off the jeans. Standing over Amanda, he extends his hand. "I'm not allergic to bee stings. Wanna take a walk before supper?"


"Hey, Misty!" Dani smiles and waves as she carries a tray of dirty dishes back towards the kitchen. "That goof is in the kitchen cleaning up a pot of pizza sauce he just dropped all over the floor." She rolls his eyes. "Maybe you can get him in a better mood. I'll tell him you're here in case he didn't hear you come in."

She continues to the kitchen but almost runs right into Carson, who is just pulling his car keys from his pocket. It was too warm out for a jacket but his baseball cap was on and it was very much evident he'd been on his way out.

Skidding to a halt at the counter, his eyebrows shoot up at seeing Misty. "Well hello, Love." He tucks his keys back into his pocket. "I was just... on my way out for a break." He smiles. "Looks like the break came to me though."

The bell on the door rings and his eyes snap up to see Jaz enter then turn right back around and go out again. Without missing a beat, his gaze swings back to Misty, a smile still on his face. "Hungry?"


"Axel!"

Axel turns from the workbench just in time to be run into and squeezed in a tight hug. "Whoa!" he laughs and sets his wrench aside to return the enthusiastic hug. "You're gonna get grease all over yourself there, Kiddo."

Liz pulls back and grins, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I don't care. It's how I say hello."

"I hope you don't say hello to everyone like that." Axel ruffles her hair. "I got your message that you might be in town, but I didn't know when."

"Yeah... Dad and I came to see Jason."

Axel nods knowingly. "Lots of folks have been worried about him. How's he doing?"

"Um... he's pulling through we think." Liz tries not to let her emotions show, but it wasn't easy. She didn't know Jason very well, but he was her brother, after all, so having seen him on his deathbed hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience. "He woke up a couple days ago, you know, and the doctor at TJY thinks he's gonna be okay. I... just needed to get away for a while. Sorry I didn't call first."

"Naw, it's okay." Axel cocks his head. "Nick come?"

"No. He um... well, I guess the thought of meeting his dying brother sorta freaked him out."

"I can understand that." A slight pause follows, and Axel picks up his wrench again. "Soon as I'm finished here, I'm on lunch break. Meeting Jess if you wanna join us."

Liz bites her lip, hating to impose. "Really? Dad said if he needed to come pick me up I could just call him. I don't want to interrupt your day."

Axel rolls his eyes. "Anybody who calls my little sister an interruption is gonna have to answer to me."

Liz giggles sheepishly. "Yeah, okay. I'd love to do lunch with you and Jess. So you two are...?" She lifts her eyebrows expectantly.

Axel quirks a grin, but only before ducking under the hood of the car. "We're still dating, if that's what you're asking."

"Mm-hmm..." Liz folds her arms, a teasing twinkle in her eye. She was glad to see Axel was still with Jess though. She hadn't said so, but she thought they were awfully cute together.

Axel's smile couldn't be seen, but it was still there. It didn't take him long to finish the car he was working on, then clean up. On the way out to his own car, with Liz in tow, he calls Jess on his cell phone. "Hey, it's me. Got company for lunch. Liz is visiting. You want us to pick you up from work, or you want to meet us somewhere?"


Still on the lookout, Mick sees immediately when Dan returns. Except...he was alone. Mick's pulse picks up. No Dylan? Had Dan not found him? What had happened?

Holding his tongue, he sets aside one last hay bale and meets Dan halfway down the barn aisle. He doesn't even have time for a greeting before he's told the truth. Dylan really was gone. Even after talking to Dan. He blinks. Receiving Dan's apology next was a little surprising, but Mick doesn't interrupt. Opening his mouth right after, he doesn't even get any words out and Dan is already walking away.

Mick raises his hand and is about to call after him, when he stops. Dropping his hand, he swallows hard, his shoulders lowering in surrender. He felt as if the fight had been sucked out of him. So he allows the silence to remain, and turns back to his work...


...It was the next day, late in the evening. Jade had enjoyed some time after supper with Dan, and now just wanted some hot chocolate to relax before bed. It had been a weird day. With the news of Dylan spreading quickly, everyone had questions but no one wanted to bring it up. The pickup had been retrieved from town yesterday, and no one knew which direction Dylan had gone. Surprisingly, Mick had been very quiet about the whole thing, never once saying a word to Dan or even Jade. It almost worried her. She knew that Mick was debating calling her mother and letting her know about everything - Jade couldn't blame him for hesitating. While her mother would want to know, Jade knew she'd freak, and she wouldn't want to be her dad in that position either.

Entering the dining hall quietly, Jade expected to find it empty. She'd use the microwave then take her hot cocoa back to her bunkhouse. But seeing a small lamp on at the other end, she was surprised to find someone else in here. Approaching slowly, she saw Mick sitting off in the corner, and a pang of pity hits her heart. He looked so tired. Was he okay?

She goes to the kitchen and makes her hot chocolate, changing her plan. Quietly joining Mick near the fireplace, she finds her own chair. Then sitting near him, she's silent for several minutes, sipping her cocoa slowly. Eventually, she feels his eyes and glances over to find him indeed staring at her. She smiles a little. "What?"

He shakes his head. "I'm just wondering which split second it was when you changed from a little girl into a woman. I must have missed it."

Her smile widens, a little color filling her cheeks. "Aw, Daddy."

Mick returns the smile. "You haven't called me that since you were a little girl."

She chuckles softly. "Maybe I should have more often."

Mick's eyes drift down to his empty coffee mug and he's quiet for a few moments. He'd claimed this spot as just somewhere peaceful to think. After yesterday, today had been a very long day with too much time to consider where Dylan might be and if he was alright. He'd found himself retreating just to try and remain sane. "I'm sorry, Jade."

Her brow furrows. "What for?"

"For being a lousy dad, I guess."

Getting up, Jade moves to join him on the couch. So that's why he was in here all alone and so sad looking. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" Mick shakes his head. "I abandoned you and your brother. I pushed you away when you came here. I've done nothing but make your brother mad. I've fought you over almost all of your own decisions. And now I did such a good job that Dylan's really gone. What part of any of that isn't lousy?"

Jade truly felt bad for her father, and her eyes showed it. Setting her hot drink aside, she reaches out to set a hand on his arm. "For years after you left, I dreamed of finding you. I didn't understand everything but I wouldn't believe the bad things Grandma said about you. There were many nights I cried myself to sleep because I missed you so much." She swallows hard as she sees tears pooling in Mick's eyes. "Then when we were here in Texas that one time and I slipped away to come here, I didn't know whether to hate you or not. But I just knew I wanted to find out for myself who you were and if you really didn't want me." She shrugs. "There for a while, I thought it was true. I felt pushed away when you didn't want me to stay. But..."

Shifting a little, she sits sideways, making sure Mick was still listening. "Somehow I always knew that even if you were rough with me, you did love me. You were just trying to spare me the danger of being here. Oh, there were days that I didn't believe it. But as time went on, I understood why it seemed like you were pushing me away."

Mick's shoulders drooped as he relived the pain of saying goodbye to his children, then being reunited and torn apart again multiple times. "I was just-"

Jade grips his arm, stopping him so she could continue. "I guess down deep, I knew there was a chance for me to gain back my dad as long as I didn't give up. When you let me come visit, it felt like maybe I was getting a taste of what I'd always wanted." It was her turn to feel the tears building. "I know I was stubborn and you didn't always like the choices I made, but... this felt like home. Not just because it's a nice place but...but because you were here. I could finally be with my dad again." She brushes away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. "I love Mom to pieces, don't get me wrong. I've always liked Ben too - he's a good guy and a good stepfather. But...I'm here because of you. Sure, there's Dan and that swayed some of my decisions. But I wouldn't have come at all if I hadn't wanted to be near you."

Mick takes Jade's hand in his and gives it a squeeze. "I'm sorry I've been so tough on you. I don't know how you ever saw past all of my mistakes to want me in your life that much."

Jade smiles. "Well...maybe somewhere along the way I figured out that you hadn't had much practice being a dad, so...maybe that made it a little easier to forgive the mistakes."

Mick chuckles. "When did you get to be so smart?"

Jade shrugs. "Maybe some of Dan's insightfulness has rubbed off on me."

Mick cocks his head and studies her shining eyes. "You really love him, don't you?"

"I better." Jade laughs. "Or else I better get this ring off my finger pretty quick." Pausing, she nods with a little more seriousness. "Yeah... yeah, I do. I'd follow him anywhere."

"How come you two haven't gone off and gotten married like you want?"

"Because we respect you too much. We know how you feel and... Dan looks up to you as his boss and friend, and I look up to you as my dad. Neither of us want to make the road rougher than it already is."

Mick sighs deeply. "I love you, Jade, and I'm sorry if I've caused you grief the last couple years. Maybe you're right... maybe I really haven't had enough practice being a dad." His eyes drift downward. "I'm sorry for all those times I lost my temper or handled things the wrong way. I...I hope someday I'll get it right."

"Daddy..." Jade waits for him to look back up at her. "You already have. I'm not perfect either, you know. Just because you make mistakes doesn't make you a lousy father."

Mick manages another smile and reaches out to brush her cheek. "Thanks. I guess no one is ever too old to learn, huh?"

"I suppose not."

"Well, I'm glad you're still here. And I'm glad you never listened to me when I said I thought you shouldn't stay. You're a bright spot in my life, I love you and... dangerous or not, I'm glad you're living here at the ranch."

Jade smiles and squeezes his hand. She'd known that, inside, but was glad to finally hear him say it. "Thanks. And I love you too."

Mick finally sets his empty cup aside and sits up a little straighter. "At least I've got you. Looks like I messed up one too many times with Dylan, though."

Jade resumes sipping her hot chocolate. "He's always been stubborn," she muses.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"I think he got that from me."

Jade chuckles. "So did I, but you don't hear me complaining."

"I suppose not. But you haven't been in quite as much trouble as your brother either." Mick shakes his head. "You two get along? I hardly ever see you together."

"Oh... yeah, I guess we get along alright." Jade shrugs. "We're not as close as I wish though."

"Was it always that way?"

"Kind of. When we were little, we were close I guess. But once we were in school we sorta went separate ways. I had my friends, he had his. I did well in school, he didn't. We bickered a lot. I think deep down we woulda protected each other with our lives if we'd had to, but we never said so."

"What happened?"

"Dylan changed when he started getting in trouble. I could tell just by looking at him that he was into bad stuff, but Mom and Ben either didn't see it or didn't want to believe it. They just punished him when he got caught doing things like stealing or breaking into the school. I asked Dylan once what was really going on but he shut me off. I'd see him at school with the older boys, girls with loose reputations, and I caught him smoking once. He was more careful after that to hide from me, but there were plenty nights I looked out the window to see him sneaking away from the house."

Mick purses his lips. "So you didn't know the truth either."

"About him being abused by those other guys and forced into stuff? No, I didn't. He was so cold towards me that I believed it was all his own choices. I backed off and we really didn't talk anymore. When I started coming here, I thought he might be interested, but I guess he wasn't. Then when I decided to stay here, he didn't seem to care."

"I guess I've been pretty hard on him."

"Yeah..." Jade gives her father a sidelong glance. "You have."

"Think I've ruined things for good?"

"Whether or not things are ruined, you can't take all the blame, you know. Maybe you were rough, but Dylan retaliates against everything. At the same time... I guess if I'd been through what he has... well, I might have just as bad of an attitude as he has."

Mick shakes his head slowly. "I know I shouldn't have assumed things about him and Ashlee like I did, but I was just afraid he'd been stupid and I didn't want to see him live through any more consequences from bad decisions."

"I know." Jade tries her best to be comforting. Whether Mick had been wrong or not, now wasn't the time to criticize. "Remember a few minutes ago when you said maybe you just hadn't had enough practice being a dad? Maybe this is just one of the lessons along the way." She gives him a crooked grin. "Regardless, you're being too hard on yourself. Dylan wasn't told to leave - that was his choice."

"Yeah... I guess you're right. Not sure I can get over feeling guilty though, especially if something happens to him."

"Then we'll pray nothing does."


...An hour later, Mick is wandering to the main house, tired, bone weary, yet not ready to go to bed. It was late. He'd said goodnight to Jade shortly after they'd talked about Dylan, and it appeared everyone else was in bed now. The stars were shining brightly - it was a beautiful night sky that normally he'd enjoy. But tonight, his thoughts were too clouded.

Reaching the house, instead of going inside, he eases down on the porch swing. Pulling his jacket collar up a little more, he settles back and sways gently back and forth, pushing with one leg. The quiet creaking would probably alert Rosetta that he was outside. But...maybe that's what he secretly wanted.