Babysitter

Hunter's smile remains, and for several moments, he's quiet, just studying Katie's face. His heart was thumping in his chest from the excitement of surprising her, from feeling her sweet kiss, and from seeing how pleased she was to see him again. He'd believed her texts that she'd missed him, but her reception now proved it, and it made him feel good. 

"Dinner sounds like a wonderful idea, as long as you pick where and let it be my treat." 

Without warning, he spins Katie around and flops down in her chair before pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist. "So..." He peers around her shoulder at her computer. "How much work you got left today?" He wriggles his fingers teasingly on her ribs. "'Cause I'm starving."

Jaz squints a little at Jamie, trying to figure out just how a woman like her could not only forgive Carson, but move past it all and see him as a changed man. Granted, Jaz had seen a changed man too, but Carson hadn't ever harmed her either. 

"God, huh?" She takes another bite of her sandwich, skeptical of that whole thing. "Carson's been talking about God a lot. Prays all the time. Kinda strange seeing him do that. When I knew him last, he woulda laughed at the word 'prayer,' let alone been into religion." 

Con gives her a soft sort of smile. "Funny thing is... he's still not into religion."

Jaz furrows her brow, confused. 

Con lets her wonder for a minute before going on. "There's a big difference between having a relationship with God and religion. Religion is what man's created to make him feel good about rules, regulations and control. A relationship with God is the true way to a changed heart."

Jaz mulls over that thought for a few moments, not quite sure she fully understood, but it seemed to make a little bit of sense at least. Not that it was for her, but it made sense for people who wanted something like that. "Well, I'm not so sure about the whole God thing, but I do have to admit that Carson's a different man. The guy he used to be wouldn't have put up such a fight to save his wife, that's for sure. I didn't think I'd ever see a man who would do anything - even give his life - for someone he loved. He proved me wrong, I guess." She shrugs. "It's a bummer there'll probably be people who won't believe that he and I didn't have something going on, but we didn't." 

Con nods. "There are consequences to everything." Finishing off his food, he glances at his watch and sighs. "I gotta get back to the office. You two ladies be okay 'til this evening, or you want me to send one of the guys back here to keep an eye on things?" His question was directed more to Jamie than Jaz - he knew both women could take care of themselves quite well when in danger, but that didn't mean that he took his responsibility lightly either.

Ariel quirks an eyebrow at Trey's invitation. He did seem rather persistent - she'd give him that. She wasn't sure how she felt about him though... He was nice and all, but was there anything more? She really didn't know. He was cute and he'd been quite sweet lately. But did she want anything more than friends? At this point, she just couldn't decide what she really wanted. After starting out the way they had, she still saw a lost little boy who needed a babysitter more than anything else. Colt had warned her not to treat him like a kid, but remembering some of the ways Trey had been, it wasn't always easy. It probably didn't help that she worked with kids on a daily basis, but that really was beside the point. At the moment, she really didn't know whether Trey deserved to be treated like a man or not. On the plus side though, she did like being picked up in Pete's car.

Giving a light laugh, she grabs a glass from the cupboard to pour herself some iced tea. "Pete's car is always fun. And..." 

She pauses as she takes a sip of tea, taking another moment to decide her answer. "I don't have anything going on tonight. If I stay home, I'll just end up working or falling asleep with five cats in front of the television." She shrugs to Slinky, who was intently staring up at her.

"So yeah, we can do dinner. Where we going, and what time you wanna swing by?"

...After feeding the cats, tidying up the living room, showering and changing clothes, there wasn't a whole lot of time left before Trey would come. Ariel grimaces at herself in the mirror, while trying to figure out what to do with her hair. Finally she just leaves it down, letting it fall wherever it wanted. 

Ready to go, she sits near the living room window, watching the street so Trey wouldn't have to wait long.