Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) [COMPLETE]

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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by Earth2Mama »

And of course ... the teenager would be the one to notice! About damn time too. I can't believe everyone else didn't notice the rock on Karen's finger.


Bathroom sports ... fun! Need some more cheats with this bet thing. I hate these bets! NO MORE SEX BETS!


Brooke is still so insecure when it comes to the twins and Adam's role in their lives. I hope this visit will settle those fears once and for all.



Great update! :D
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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by begonia9508 »

Really great part! A lot is going on in their lives and I hope they will have a great time with all the family!
Where are Max and Liz? Visiting Liz's parents? :? That's the visite which won't go well if we think about what's happened b4..... :? :(

Thanks and waiting for more! EVE :wink: :mrgreen:
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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by mary mary »

The sound of nails furiously clicking across the floor followed by Caela’s excited squeal let them know that Buffy and Spike were attempting to take cover.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Why is it that little ones just can't seem to grasp the concept of "don't squeeze"?

Brooke is just too funny worrying about her brothers the way she does...she'll learn eventually that the kind of love her brothers have for her just doesn't go away or get replaced. :roll:

Great chapter as always.

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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by Cardinal »

Brooke is beginning to get irritating with her mulish insistence that her brothers might forget about her and Alex. I think she knows in her heart of hearts they won't abandon her, but she's desperately holding on to the idea that they might. If nothing else, her stubborness shows she's definitely a Guerin.

I like Michael and Amy's impromptu surprise for Maria. Those two are quickly developing a nice closeness. Michael's getting the dad he never had from Adam, and the mom he never had from Amy.
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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by kay_b »

Pregnant?! Where did that come from? :shock:
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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by Eva »

He sighed in relief. “Don’t get me wrong, Maria, if it happened we’d deal with it... no kid of ours would ever question if they were wanted or loved, but...” He leaned in and nipped her neck. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, but it’s good to know you wouldn’t run if that situation came up.”

“I’m through runnin’... you’re kinda stuck with me now.”
Though it was a joke, Michael reacted very mature. He really showed maria can count on him. Even in hard times. I'm glad he changed so much in a short time. Even if it would've been true, it would do a great job as a dad.

Most of the time Brooke seems to be so mature and grown-up but it's in those small situations, when you can clearly see she's insecure, she's still the very young girl she is. Most of us can't always understand her insecurity, but if I look back at the time I was her age... Well, a teenager is well known to overeact, most of the time when it isn't necessary.
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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by sarammlover »

Oh Brooke....so insecure. I hope Maria is super excited Amy is coming to town and not mad at MIchael for keeping it from her. Cute. And I love that Brenden went off on Brooke....everyone is so used to him being so quiet......anyway, great update. I can't wait for more!! Hugs, Sara
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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by rosyrosy2882 »

awww, i love this fic soo much :D
i love michael...and im not much of an M&M fan but this fic is the exception!
Im sooo excited to read Brendans and Michael birthday! I bet it will be amazing!
and michael is such a sweetheart bringing Marias mom over! i love him (:
hahaha and i love their little bet, wonder whos gonna cave in first :?:
but i feel bad for brooke, :( i guess i could understand wheres she coming from but Brendans and michael are right, they need to understand that they will love her not matter what (:

great update!!
rosy (:

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Re: Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 123 - 6/17/10

Post by Maiqu »

Awww Michael love that he got Brendan in on the surprise :D If I had a life like Brooke's I probably would have reacted the same way
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Part 124

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mama: Hm… the others were probably all busy with themselves, lol. But finally someone noticed and now Karen can proudly show “the rock”.

It will definitely be the last no sex thing in this fic!

Brooke is a little worried, but it will pass eventually when things finally start to settle down.

begonia9508: There is really a lot going on with the Guerin family, but things will start to settle down finally. The family meeting will be fun and yes, it will lead to the end of this fic.

M&L? Hm, you will find out today.

mary mary: Brooke is still young end yet, a lot had already happened in her life. Things will start to settle down now though. She will realize that no one will take her brothers away from her.

Cardinal: Yep, definitely a Guerin and still a teenager. She overreacts right now but can we be really mad at her after all she has been through in her still young life? She will realize soon, that no one is taking Michael and Brendan away from her.

No one deserves a great family more than Michael does. And finally he seems to get one.

kay_b: Uhm…. Uhm… did ya also read the last part? Lol

Eva: Michael grew up a lot in the last month with Maria. He won’t turn his back on her, no matter what.

Brookes is definitely overreacting, but on the other hand, she has been through a lot of crap lately. Things will settle down now and she will realize that there is nothing to be afraid of.

sarammlover: Brooke is still struggling with the new situation, but she will come along.

We bet the surprise will make Maria very happy!

rosyrosy2882: Welcome to DT world! :) Updates are every Thursday and Sunday.

Yay, we love it every time, when a Dreamer says she likes the Candy storyline, thanks!

About the bet… hm, it won’t take long to find out about, who is gonna win. Who do ya put your money on? The betting office is still open, lol.

Brooke is still struggling with all the changes in the family lately. Things will settle down now though and she will realize, that there is nothing to be afraid of.

Maiqu: Yeah, Brooke is still a teenager and is afraid of losing her brothers. She will realize that there is nothing to worry about though.



Part 124 – Picturing the Future

Karen bit back a grin; she had wondered when someone would notice it.

“Good grief,” Brendan muttered. “We haven’t even started lookin’ at houses yet.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.” She grabbed Karen’s hand. “You two are engaged, aren’t you?”

“Well, of course we’re engaged,” Brendan said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Of course we’re engaged,” Maria mocked as she looked at Karen’s ring. “It’s beautiful, I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

“Thank you.” Karen smiled. “Excuse him... I know I do. His mind doesn’t work the way most people’s minds work.”

“You’re engaged?” Michael asked as he came back into the kitchen, his tone surprised.

Brendan turned to look at them. “Why does everyone act like it’s such a shock?”

“Well, I guess because most people celebrate stuff like that, dumbass,” Michael gave his brother a little smack on the back of his head.

“We did celebrate,” Brendan said as he ducked out of the way. “It was private.”

Brooke snorted into her juice. “Celebrate with an engagement party or an announcement, moron. He wasn’t talkin’ about sex.”

“For once,” Alex muttered.

Brendan looked at Karen, realizing that he had just tripped himself up again. “Did you wanna have an engagement party?” Damn, why hadn’t he thought of that? What good was being a genius if you were socially retarded?

“It’s okay, Bren, really,” she said softly.

Aww, hell, it wasn’t okay. He nodded, but the wheels were already turning. He popped the lid on Caela’s sippy cup and crossed the room to hand it to her.

Michael glanced at his watch. “It’s time for me to get to practice.” He walked around the table and squeezed Karen’s shoulder. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” She reached up to pat his hand. “And thanks for supporting us... it means a lot.”

He nodded and walked over to Maria, bracing his arms on the backrest of her chair. “What’s up, blondie? What ya wanna do?”

“Hmm... nothin’ that we can do right here,” she teased, knowing it would make Alex roll his eyes.

“Not that we could do that anyway, right?”

She tipped her head back and kissed his jaw. “Not until you give in, big boy.”

He smirked. “So ya wanna stay here, go home, or come with me?”

Her eyebrows lifted in interest. “The coach is gonna allow people to watch the practice game today?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, a lot of families come out for the holidays so they’re allowed to watch if they want.”

“I think I’ll go with you then.”

“Okay, can we go from here or do ya need anything from home?”

“Nothin’ I can think of.”

“Alright, let’s go then.”

“What’re you guys doin’ for the rest of today?” Isabel asked after the other couple had left.

Brendan shrugged. “We wanted to look at a house later, but we still have plenty of time until then.”

“Are you gonna stay in the area?” Brooke asked.

“Yeah, actually the house we’re lookin’ at today is only a couple of streets away from here.”

“Really? Does it look out over the ocean?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” She stuck her tongue out at Alex. “Someplace to hang out when you two need your ‘alone’ time.”

“We haven’t bought it yet, Brooke.”

“Doesn’t have to be that one just as long as it’s close. I mean, if Michael and Maria are gonna build a place and his property’s outside the city I’d need a car...” Her eyebrows lifted as she looked at her oldest brother. “I’ll be getting my license soon... so, I should probably have a car.”

Alex groaned. “We’ll talk about that next year.”

“Next year?” Brooke complained. “I think we should talk about it now. Next year it’s all gonna be about the new baby!”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Next Year is only a day and a half away. Patience.”

She grinned to herself and glanced over at Brendan. “So, since you guys are gonna go look at a house this afternoon... you want me to babysit Caela for you?”

“You wanna do that?” Karen asked, surprised.

“Sure, why not?”

“I’m just surprised since I always thought no teenager wants to babybsit.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m doin’ anything else and you guys probably don’t get much time to be alone, so... ya know, if ya wanna leave her here I’ll watch her.”

Brendan nodded. “She’ll probably sleep most of the time since we need to leave after lunch.”

“See? That’ll work out fine for everyone.” Brooke grinned. “You guys just enjoy yourselves.”

*****

Maria looked up from the property map she had been studying and frowned when she realized that Michael had taken the exit for the park instead of staying on the freeway. His practice had ended almost an hour earlier and then they had gone out afterwards with Kyle, Tess, Max and Liz to grab something quick to eat before they all went their separate ways.

“Where’re we goin’?”

“The park.”

“Yes, I can see that, but why?”

He rolled his eyes and pulled into the parking lot, his dark gaze scanning over the park as his gaze zeroed in on her bench. It didn’t matter what day it was or who was sitting on the bench, in his mind it would always be hers. “C’mon, just get outta the car and come with me.”

She sighed. “Fine, I’m comin’, Mr. Mysterious.”

He reached for her hand as they met up at the sidewalk and he straightened his shirt and ran his hand over his hair as they walked towards the center of the park.

“Are you nervous or something?”

“What? No, why?”

She shrugged. “Because you just checked your shirt.”

“I just um...” He paused and turned to face her. “I wanted to introduce you to someone who kinda means a lot to me.”

“Okayyy,” she said slowly. Who could he mean? She had no clue.

They resumed walking and he took a deep breath as they neared the bench and Ms. Judy looked up.

Maria looked back and forth between the old woman and her boyfriend. Did he mean her?

He tugged on her hand when he felt her hesitate. “Hey, Ms. Judy,” he called as they neared her bench and he could hear her pecking away on the keyboard.

“Michael,” the old woman said, surprised to see him.

“How’s the column comin’ along?” He grinned when she waved the question off and he could see the interest in her eyes as she looked at Maria. “I wanted to bring my girl by and introduce her. Maria, this’s Ms. Judy, she does an advice column and she’s got some pretty damn good advice.” He grinned at the older woman. “Ms. Judy, I want you to meet the girl who’s taught me what love is.” Yeah, he felt a little stupid saying it out loud, but it was true and he wanted to make sure she knew it.

Maria smiled and offered her hand. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

Ms. Judy shook the girl’s hand and smiled. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

She glanced at Michael. “Have ya been talkin’ about me?”

“That blowup we had at the cabin? That whole stupid no-sex agreement we had at the beginning? She’s the one I talked to about all of it.”

Maria groaned in amusement and turned to Ms. Judy. “Well, I guess ya know all about the drama then.”

“The road to true love is never easy, girl. And people with the kind of passion he has – and you too, I suspect – never take the easy path.”

Maria glanced at Michael and grinned. “He was a piece of work in the beginning.”

Ms. Judy snorted. “I think that can be said for both of you.”

“Yeah, true,” she leaned in closer to Michael.

The old woman smiled. “I’m glad to see you happy,” she said sincerely. “Both of you.”

Michael pulled Maria back against his chest. “Are you gonna celebrate New Year’s Ms. Judy?”

“At my age I celebrate every chance I get.” She smiled mischievously and winked. “Know where any good parties are?”

“Are ya kiddin’? This area’s full of good parties.”

“I don’t mean senior citizen parties at the old folks’ home... I still like to live you know.”

“Well, you should come and watch the football game tomorrow then,” Maria said. “Have ya ever seen Michael play?”

“Every game for the past year,” she admitted. She shook her head when his mouth dropped open in surprise. “No, you didn’t know... you wouldn’t have allowed it if you had, so there.”

“You should definitely come tomorrow then and pray to God with me and the rest of his family that he won’t get hurt again.”

“Oh, I’ll be there.” She grinned. “50-yard line, just like every other game.”

“Never saw you there before,” Michael mumbled.

“I don’t like to draw attention to myself unless it’s on my terms.” She reached over and took his hand. “You’ve always been a very good friend to me, Michael, and I’ve watched you grow and change over the past year.” She smiled and the unshed tears in her eyes sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight. “You’ve had your difficulties in the past, but I’m very proud of the man you’re becoming.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

“You should come and sit with us this time,” Maria said.

Ms. Judy smiled and nodded. “It would be an honor to do so. I’ve noticed recently that you’ve gotten quite the cheering section... your family?”

Michael sat down on the bench net to the old woman and pulled Maria into his lap, linking their hands together. “Yeah, my family stuff kinda took on a life of its own and it seems like it refuses to stop growing.”

The old woman’s speculative gaze slid over Michael’s girlfriend and she bit back a grin when they both shook their heads negatively. “So, no little ones for you yet?”

“No, not right now. But both of my brothers.”

“My goodness, both of them?”

“Yeah, my twin brother’s already a dad and my older brother will be in a few months.”

“How are things with the rest of your family?” she asked gently. It was a sensitive subject and she didn’t want to upset him.

He shrugged. “I met my real father and he’s coming out here. You’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Your real... Oh, my, and it hasn’t been that long since we’ve talked.”

“I found out that Hank isn’t my biological father...” he said, glancing out into the park.

Her fingertips brushed against his shoulder even as she saw the tension in him ease at Maria’s touch. “Your biological father... he’s a good man?”

He nodded. “Couldn’t get any worse, could it?”

“It’s safer to never ask that question.” She smiled and nodded. “He’s a good man.”

“And he has five other kids,” Maria added.

“My goodness... five more? In addition to your other brothers and sister? Your family is growing very fast, Michael.”

“Told you so.”

“Pretty soon you’re gonna need more than just a row or two at the games... you’ll need your own section.”

“Well, Adam lives in Carson City, so he won’t be here all that often.”

Ms. Judy chuckled. “I’ll bet he and his family make it down for all the big games though.”

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know, yet. We’ll see.”

“Have some faith, Michael. You’re worth a long drive... and so much more.” She rubbed his shoulder when he shifted uncomfortably. He was still learning to believe that about himself.

They stayed silent for a little while until Ms Judy spoke up again. “What about your mother?”

He tensed up again. “She’s up in New York. Think she might be movin’ here sometime after the first of the year.”

She nodded. “How do you feel about that?”

“Don’t really like it. She knew me an’ Bren weren’t Hank’s and she kept it away from us... she knew Hank was...” He clenched his teeth together and looked away.

Maria turned to look at him, making him look back at her. “Easy, okay?”

He nodded, the movement jerky. He looked at Ms. Judy. “Is it wrong for me to not want anything to do with her?”
“No, that’s okay. You have to do what feels right to you, Michael.”

“I don’t want her here... I want her anywhere but someplace where I might run into her.”

It hurt to hear a son talk that way about his mother, but she could understand where he was coming from.

“We’ll avoid her whenever it’s necessary, okay?” Maria said. “You don’t have to spend time with her just because Alex might want that.”

“No, I know... he might’ve pushed it about her movin’ here but he wouldn’t try to push things between us like that.”

“So what’re ya gonna do on this beautiful day?” the older woman asked to lighten the mood.

“We’re goin’ out to that piece of property I picked up a while back.” Michael couldn’t control the smile as he glanced at Maria. “We’re gonna build a house out there.”

“Wow, I see ya don’t need any advice from me anymore,” Ms. Judy joked.

Michael shook his head as he met her gaze. “You’ve saved me from myself more than once, Ms. Judy. I don’t ever discount your advice... and I doubt I’m ever gonna stop needin’ it from time to time.”

“You’re always welcome to it,” she told him. “So are you, Maria.”

He nodded silently and glanced out at the water, absently listening to Maria and Ms. Judy talk for a few minutes before he checked his watch. “We should probably get goin’,” he said as he pressed a kiss to Maria’s shoulder. “If we get out there after dark, there’s not gonna be much to see.”

Maria nodded. She couldn’t wait to see the place. “Okay, let’s go then. I really wanna look at it.”

“Well?” he muttered when she didn’t move from his lap. “What’re you waitin’ for? An engraved invitation?”

She rolled her eyes and turned to Ms. Judy. “It was really nice to meet you. We’ll see you tomorrow then,” she got up from his lap and waited for him to say goodbye.

He took the older woman’s hand and after a moment he looked up at her. “Thanks... for everything you’ve done for me.”

She waved him off. “I didn’t do anything, Michael. I just listened most of the time.”

“Uh-huh, well, that advice column doesn’t write itself, does it?” Michael stood and leaned down to press a kiss to Ms. Judy’s cheek. “I’ll be lookin’ for ya tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”

They walked back to the car in a comfortable silence and climbed inside. Michael looked over at her as he backed out of the parking space. “What?”

“She’s proud of you.”

He headed for the exit and turned toward the street that would lead them to the freeway, shrugging at her comment.

*****

Liz was laughing at something Max had just said as she led the way to the girl’s apartment on the second floor. “Max, you did not tell your sister that!”

“I swear that is exactly what I told her.” He laughed and shook his head as he reached past her to unlock the door and open it for her. “Of course my sister knows how to get revenge and I can promise you she – “

“Liz?”

Max shifted to block the doorway as he turned to see who had spoken and he felt his protective instincts kick in when he recognized her father. Jeff Parker had obviously been sitting on the steps that led up to the third floor while he was waiting for his daughter to return. “Somethin’ we can help you with, Mr. Parker?” he asked warily.

“I’m here to talk to Liz.” He sighed heavily when he saw the look of hesitation on the younger man’s face.

“It’s alright, Max,” Liz said as she moved up next to him and placed a hand on his arm. She could feel the tension in him and her free hand settled on the small of his back, rubbing gentle circles to calm him down. “Why’re you here, Dad?”

Jeff took a deep breath when he realized that she hadn’t expected her parents to respond to her request to come for a visit. “I thought we could talk.”

“Max…?”

“I’m here, darlin’.” He met her father’s gaze. “And I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Jeff nodded in understanding.

“Where’s Mom?”

“Well, um… honey, your mom…”

“Maybe we should go inside,” Max suggested when he realized what the man was trying to say.

Liz entered the apartment ahead of her boyfriend and father and she went straight into the kitchen and started taking glasses out of the cabinet. “So, Mom didn’t want to see me?” she asked as she filled them with ice. “I’m assuming that’s why she isn’t with you.” She glanced at him as she dumped the ice from each glass back into the ice bucket. “Or is she just… at the hotel?”

Max hurt for her when he saw the hopeful expression on her face. She knew as well as he did that her mom hadn’t come to California with her dad, but she was holding onto that hope in spite of the obvious truth.

“I’m sorry, Lizzie,” Jeff apologized. “I tried to get her to come with me, but…” He wished he could come up with something that would actually excuse Nancy’s decision to remain at home but his little girl deserved better than that from him. “Your mother has always been a very stubborn woman and she thinks she’s right about this.”

Max came up behind her and placed his hands over hers, stilling her nervous movements. “Just let it go, darlin’.”

“My mom doesn’t wanna see me, Max,” she said quietly as she turned in his arms and held onto him.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, rubbing her back and wishing he could do more for her. He turned his head to look at the older man and he could see the pain in the man’s eyes and he knew the guy was hurting because his daughter was hurting.

“Liz, this isn’t your fault,” Jeff assured her.

“I can’t talk about this with you right now, Dad,” she whispered, her voice thick. “Max…”

“Go on,” he said, shifting to make sure her dad couldn’t follow her when she fled the room and ran down the hall. “Let her go, Mr. Parker,” he advised. “She needs some time.”

Jeff nodded. “I’ll go back to the hotel and perhaps if she feels up to it later…”

“I know Liz, and she’ll wanna talk to you, sir. She’s hurt and right now she’s tryin’ to figure out whether to be glad you came or upset that her mom chose not to. Just give her some time and let her sort her feelings out.”

“I have my cell phone, so when she’s ready to talk just tell her to give me a call.”

“And how long should I tell her you’re stayin’ for?”

It only took moments for Jeff to answer. “Tell her I’m here until she’s ready to sit down and talk. I’m not gonna lose my daughter and I’ll do whatever she needs me to do.”

Max nodded. “I’ll let ‘er know.” He walked the other man to the door. “I’m glad you decided to come up and visit her, Mr. Parker.”

“I just hope it’s not too late.”

“Liz has a big heart and she’ll talk to you when she’s had a little time to sort things out.”

Jeff turned and shook Max’s hand. “Thank you… for takin’ care of her.”

“I always will, Mr. Parker.” He smiled and waited for Jeff to walk down the steps. “Always will,” he repeated to himself as he shut the door. He turned to go down the hallway that led to Liz’s bedroom, hoping that she wouldn’t have too hard a time dealing with her father’s sudden appearance.

*****

Michael left the highway and turned the car onto a much smaller street, one that looked more like the kind of road used by people on ATV’s or dirt bikes. They kept driving for a few more miles and Maria looked out the window, wondering how much longer the drive would take. She gasped when water suddenly appeared on the other side of the little hill they had just passed. The water surface kept growing the longer they drove. She held her hand above her eyes to protect them from the sun that was high in the sky and was also reflected by the water.

She glanced at Michael, surprised when he suddenly stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. “Here we are,” he said softly and glanced at her. “I know, we’re kinda in the middle of nowhere out here, but if ya follow this path,” he gestured to their left, “you reach a small suburb of Long Beach in just a few miles.

She shoved her door open and climbed out. “It’s amazing, Michael.” She walked a few steps away from the car and glanced out at the lake, already deciding that this was probably the nicest place she had ever been. It was so quiet and still not too far away from Long Beach.

He came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yeah?”

“I didn’t know places like this existed so close to Long Beach.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t either until I came out here for the first time.”

“How’d ya find it?”

He sighed. “By accident. I had only been in college for a few weeks when Hank and my mother stopped by to see how we are doin’. Well, I suppose I should say they stopped in to see how Brendan was doing… It was one of these days again, the ones where Hank let me know one more time that he didn’t care about me. I was upset and just started to drive.” He shrugged, “I took this road accidentally because I had no clue where I was and then this poster appeared out of nowhere, saying that this place was for sale. I didn’t know if I’d use it for anything someday, but I just called the cell number on the poster and a few weeks later it was mine.”

Maria rubbed her hands over his lower arms. “You’d never think that someone would sell a place like this.”

“The realtor told me that a couple had owned it, but they got divorced before they even started to build the house. So they sold the place again.”

She made a face. “That’s not a bad omen, right?”

He chuckled. “No, we can’t get divorced.” He turned around and looked out over the land and water, turning his mind loose for a few minutes. “The side facin’ the water has to be glass,” he said after a while.

She nodded. “Yeah and the back deck should be wood with stairs leading down to a small pier.”

“We could have two decks out here... first and second floor. The one on the second floor could lead out off of the master bedroom.” He grinned. “Gotta have a hot tub too.”

“Oh, and we need a big kitchen with one of those islands in the middle,” she added, already picturing it in her head.

“Stainless steel appliances or somethin’ more traditional?”

“Definitely stainless steel,” she decided.

He nodded. “Countertops... granite or marble?”

“Granite.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Lotta windows... natural light’s better.”

She leaned her head back against his chest and looked up at him. “I love you.”

“’Cause I think natural light’s better?”

She smiled. “Yeah, and because you are who you are.”

He shrugged. “Well, whatever works for you.”

“How many kid’s rooms?” she asked, biting her lip as she waited for an answer.
“As many as you want.”

She chuckled. “Well, I guess we could always extend the house.”

“So, no numbers in mind?” he teased.

She shrugged. “I think two or three would be cool.”

“We have enough we could have our own field hockey team.”

“Um... how many players on a field hockey team?”

“About 11 I think... 16 if you count the ones on the bench.”

She snorted. “No way, I don’t wanna be pregnant the next 10 years or somethin’.”

He laughed. “I don’t really care how many kids we have, baby. They’re all gonna be loved and wanted an’ that’s really all that matters.”

“Right. And it’s all good as long as we stay together. Can we go down to the water?”

“I know you’re always sayin’ we can’t know about the future and where we’re gonna be and who we’re gonna be with but... I think we’re gonna be together for a long time.” He turned and motioned to a nearly hidden path. “We can go down that way.”

She grabbed his hand and followed him. “What makes you so sure?”

“’Cause as naive as it sounds we love each other... and because we’re both stubborn as hell an’ we’re not gonna let go.”

“You Guerin boys are amazing,” she teased. “So sure of your women and your futures.”

“What’s not to be sure of? I know you an’ I know me...” He shrugged. “What else do I need to know?”

“I wish we could time travel. I’m really curious about where we’ll be by the end of college.”

“Where’s the fun in that? The journey’s where all the fun is.”

“Still!” she told him, but then dropped the subject. “It’s amazing here.”

“Yeah. It faces east so the sun’ll come up over the lake.” He turned and pointed at the high hills behind them that were covered in ponderosa pine. “Sun’ll set behind us.” He rolled his eyes. Yeah, point out the obvious, dumbass.

“NO...” she said, playfully surprised.

“Yeah, I know... obvious, right?” He winced. “We’ll have to be creative with the bedroom... get the best of mornin’ and night.”

“I’m pretty sure our genius minds will work something out there.”

He snorted. “Yeah, guess so.”

“How far does your property go?”

“I got about 20 acres with the option to pick up more.”

“Wow, that’s pretty big.”

“Yeah... lotta room. I love the city, but the peace and quiet out here can’t be beat.”

She chuckled. “I doubt that anything but nature can be heard here.”

“For now,” he agreed.

“For now?”

“Soon as I get you naked it’ll never be quiet again,” he joked.

She laughed. “I guess it’s pretty safe that no one will hear me except you out here.”

He snorted. “We’ll see.”

She smacked his shoulder. “I’m not that loud, big boy.”

“I beg to differ.”

She rolled her eyes and glanced at her watch. “We should probably get back. It’s already 6pm.”

“Got big plans without me tonight?”

“Well, maybe we’re gonna have a big sex toy party tonight,” she teased.

His eyebrows lifted. “Sex toys?”

“Yeah, ya know.... vibrators, handcuffs, lubes... all the fun stuff.”

“Really? Gonna bring some gifts home?”

“Sure. I’m gonna test them out first tonight though.”

“Huh-uh,” he denied. “Not without me.”

“Well, I doubt that tonight will include any sex toys to be honest. Seriously, with a pregnant woman and your sister around? And I doubt that Liz is ready for that either.”

“Max would probably enjoy any education you can give his girl.”

She snorted. “Not gonna happen. What’re your plans for tonight? And remember, flirting is not an option anymore,” she teased.

He wrinkled his nose. “I think we’re just gonna hang out over at the apartment an’ I’m not gonna flirt with any of the guys.” He wasn’t gonna flirt with anyone else either, but that wasn’t the point.

Her phone started to ring. “It’s a message from Isabel. I told her I’d come over earlier to help get the food ready, so we’d better hurry.”

“Alright, let’s go.”
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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