Lowell Family Estate - Montgomery-Lowell Family Dinner - Tuesday Evening 

Callie pulled up in front of Isaac’s parents’ home. She turned the engine off which also gave our poor ear drums a break and gave our stomachs time to settle and eyes to focus after all of the unnecessary speeding and lane changes while playing Big Sean’s “Bounce Back.”

“Was it necessary for you to drive like that, Cal?” Bianca asked from the back seat. 

“Look, I don’t question your technique when it comes to art, so don’t question my driving skills. We made it here alive and in one piece, didn’t we?” She countered. Though she had a point, I would never admit this out loud, but she was actually right. True, Callie drove like a bat out of hell, but her turns and lane switches were flawless. 

“Thank God for that,” Bianca deadpanned. Taking off her seatbelt she then reached her arm out in the middle of the driver and front passenger seat with an open hand, “Give me the keys. I’m driving us back home.”

Callie rolled her eyes and smacked her lips, “Fine, you big baby, but I’ll remember this the next time you need a getaway driver,” she pressed the button on the key fob and we heard the trunk open. She finally put the keys in Bianca’s hand.

“Why did you open the trunk?” I asked. 

“I brought one of Morgan’s softball bats along  just in case something or somebody wants to pop off,” she answered matter of factly. 

The car was silent and the three of us stared at our youngest sister in annoyance. “Get your crazy tail out of this car. You’re not using a bat. Can you at least try to pretend like you have some sense? Now y’all see what I have to deal with,” I grumbled. 

“What? I’m just trying to offer my support to Leslie.”

“By beating someone with my daughter’s bat?” Bianca inquired. 

Callie giggled, “Don’t be silly, of course not. You know Jazmine Sullivan’s song “Bust Your Windows.” That’s what I was going to use it for,” she answered us like we were the crazy ones. 

Leslie wasted not another second on remaining in the car trying to understand Callie’s logic. Instead, she hopped out the car and headed for the doorstep of the Lowell family residence. The three of us rushed out of the car as well and followed her. We said nothing while we waited patiently for someone to answer after Leslie rang the doorbell. 

Though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was mentally preparing herself to expose Daisy. Leslie rarely caused any trouble, but for her to stop a marriage that was a few days away was major, that’s why the three of us were posted up behind her. We had her back and no one was going to come at her as long as all of the Noble sisters were around, otherwise they would’ve had an even bigger problem on their hands. 

The front door finally opened and Island’s eyes widened with shock. She came out on the porch where we were and covered her arms because the night air had gotten a little chillier. “Hi ladies. Not that I’m happy to see people who don’t make me sick, but why are you all looking like you’re ready to fight the neighborhood bully?” She joked. 

“No, no. It’s nothing like that,” Leslie assured her, putting her behind her ear. “I was wondering if your brother was home,” she confessed. 

Island smiled wickedly. “Now, Leslie, you know I have multiple brothers, you have to be more specific,” she challenged her best friend.

“C’mon Island. You know who I’m referring to,” Leslie whined.  

“Actually, I don’t,” she smirked, now with her hand on her hips. 

Leslie sighed. “Fine. Island, is Isaac here? I really need to speak to him and it’s urgent that I do so as soon as possible.”

Island’s facial expression changed from teasing to serious, “Is everything okay, Les?”

“Yes, but mostly no. That’s why I need to see him. Is he here?” Leslie questioned yet again. 

Island shook her head no. “I’m sorry he and the guys left about an hour ago headed to the lake for his bachelor party. And I’m sure they’re there already and you know that area can’t get a phone signal either.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit! No, this can be happening,” Leslie cried and walked away from us. She began pacing as we stared at her with concern and sadness. 

“It’s okay, Les. We can all just drive there and tell him,” Callie offered. 

“What difference would it make? The wedding is almost two days away. It doesn’t even matter anymore,” sounding defeated. She stopped her pacing. 

“Don’t give up, it’s never too late when it comes to love. All we have to do is—”

The front door of the house opened and Issac’s parents along with our father and Jacqueline and Daisy stepped out. “Well, would you look at this? Charles, all four of your girls are here. Hello ladies,” greeted Mr. Lowell. 

“Hello,” we all greeted her in unison. Mrs. Lowell came to stand next to her husband, looping her arm around his. “Bianca, it’s so nice to see you. You had such a beautiful wedding ceremony. How is the newlywed life treating you?” Though her voice was pleasant her face told another story. She never took her eyes off of Leslie the entire time she addressed Bianca. As if she was trying to scare her off. 

“It’s going just fine. Thanks for asking,” Bianca said. 

Jacqueline looked like she was on guard while Daisy looked ready to attack. The mother and daughter duo were working my nerves and they hadn’t even spoken to us. 

“What are you girls doing out so late?” Our father asked. 

“Daddy,” I chimed in, “It’s not that late.” Knowing my dad saw right past my antics, he stared at me until I gave him a straight answer. “We were just driving around town and going to some of our old spots to reminisce and Leslie remembered that she needed to share some information with Island about work. 

Don’t judge me. I said he was looking for a straight answer, not the truth. And to make matters worse, I felt like a little girl because I knew he knew we were all up to something. My dad may not have gotten a son, but that didn’t stop him from being involved in our lives and knowing the four of his daughters like the back of his hand. He knew stuff about us before our mom caught on. He spoiled us, but he also let us know we had limits. Right now, he stared me down and looked just about ready to treat me like a hostile witness. 

“Daddy, calm down,” Leslie smiled, walking up to him. “I wanted to stop by and speak to Island and now that I have, we’re leaving. You all have a good evening. My apologies for interrupting your dinner.” She kissed our father on the cheek and waved to everyone politely before heading back to the car. 

My sisters and I fell in line and got back in the vehicle. Bianca adjusted the front seat to give herself more leg room and rearranged the rear and side view mirrors, “So are you going to let it go or try to get in contact with Isaac?” She asked while making the adjustments. 

Leslie shrugged. “I want to, but maybe this is God’s way of telling me to stop.”

“Grandma used to always tell us that He also works in mysterious ways,” Callie countered. 

“Yeah, she did,” she shrugged looking out the window.

I could see the will to fight for love slowly dying inside of her. I didn’t like that. “How about this,” I offered. “You go home and sleep on it and if you wake up in the morning and you’re really willing to let it go, we’re on board with you, but if you want to drive through those woods, we’ll be on the road with you.”

“You’d really do that?” She turned in her seat looking back at me surprised. 

“We’ve come this far, why stop now?” 

She smiled kindly. “Thanks, I’ll think about it.”

“Cal and Soph, I’m dropping you two off first,” Bianca announced. 

“Did y’all notice how Daisy looked at us?” I inquired. 

“She looked like her normal shifty self to me,” Callie responded. 

“I saw her. Even though she was trying to intimidate us, she looked nervous. Are you thinking she knows we know her secret?” Bianca asked me. 

“I don’t think she has a clue that we know that there’s no baby, otherwise she would’ve done everything in her power to get us off of the Lowell’s property. Keep in mind she has no level of going too low to get what she wants,” I reasoned. 

A few minutes later we were outside our childhood home. Coming to a stop, Bianca put the car in park. “It looks like mom has company,” she said. 

“I’ll pay you twenty bucks if you drive off,” I told her without a second thought. 

“Excuse me?” She laughed. 

“Fine, fifty,” I bargained. 

“Why are you offering me money to leave?”

“Okay, two hundred. That’s my final offer. Take it or leave it. Can we go now?” I asked desperately. 

“No. You need to handle your business,” my big sister advised. 

“Don’t worry, I can take him down, Soph,” Callie spoke in an upset tone. 

“No you won’t,” Bianca ordered. “We’re going to let Sophia be a grown woman and hear him out.”

I began to whine, “Why? He’s the one that made me think he was available when he’s been in a whole relationship with a beauty queen. I’m tired of being the bigger person.”

“Well, I’ll tell you this. The longer you let this situation simmer between you two the worse and more awkward things will get. And I don’t think you want that,” Leslie finally offered her two cents. 

I sighed audibly. “Fine, whatever.” I opened the door and exited, Callie slid out behind me. “See y’all tomorrow.”

“Bye,” Leslie and Bianca said in unison and drove off. 

Callie stood beside me, “I know what Bianca said, but I’m still willing to kick him in the nuts and then you can run in the house.”

I giggled, “As tempting as that is, you know mom would have a fit.”

Callie chuckled, “You're right, but it'd be worth it. Let’s go.” She held my hand, like we were little girls. As we walked up to the front door where our mother and Gunnar sat on the front porch swing talking and laughing. My heart was beating so hard, I had no words for him, yet and still I knew I needed to get this over with. 

“Hi mama,” Callie greeted. “Gunnar,” she glared at him. 

At the moment I didn’t possess the confidence or power to look up. For the life of me, I couldn’t get my act together. “Sophia Christina Noble!” My mother called to me, causing my head to snap up and pay attention. “Are you going to stand there like a lost sheep or are you going to use the manners your father and I taught you and speak to our guest?” 

Looking at Gunnar, I say a quick hello. He greeted me back with a friendlier tone than I offered. The tension was thick to say the least. My mother must’ve felt it too because she cut in after a while.  

“Callie, honey, come in the house with me. I need your help to bake some cookies for the bridal shower tomorrow.”

Upon hearing those words, I grasped tighter to my sister's hand that I was still holding. 

“Ouch,” she whispered sharply. “You’re cutting the circulation off in my hand. Would you relax? Just talk to the man. It’s not like he's going to kidnap you. We’ll be right here in the kitchen if you need us.”

Though her words were meant to soothe me, I was still tense. Knowing that I would keep her with me forever if I could, I reluctantly loosened my grip on Callie’s hand. She left to go in the house with our mother. I stood in my spot silently waiting for him to speak. 

“Would you like to sit?” He offered me the open spot on the swing he was still sitting on. 

I shook my head no and walked up the stairs to stand across from him. I felt a mixture of nervousness, frustration and I don’t know why or how, but there was still a magnetic pull towards him whenever he was around. Granted the man was like wine and got finer with time, but it was more than his physical features. It was the fact that he made me feel like no other man could. Of all the men I have dated, none ever came close to him. Montell was close, but that was before his true colors started showing. 

And despite Gunnar using me to get information about Montell and ghosting me for years, he was my one and only true love, but that didn’t mean I was going to be a fool for anybody, true love included. No sir. No ma’am. 

Dealing with Gunnar wasn’t going to be easy by means, especially considering how strained things were between us. Therefore, I had to think fast and create boundaries, mainly for myself, to remember that he was no longer mine. “How may I help you, Detective? Do you have more questions about Montell? I’ve already told you all that I know,” using my professional voice. 

“No, I’m not here because of that,” he paused and ran a hand through his hair. I took this time to look and see what he was wearing. He must've come here after work. He wore casual black boots, dark denim jeans, a light blue button down shirt, the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and a dark blue tie underneath a forest green waistcoat. His clothes did nothing to hide his physique, it only enhanced it. He started talking again, “Well, I am here for that, but not to question you. I’m here to apologize,” he clarified. 

I looked at him strangely, “For doing your job? Don’t be silly, your job is to keep Laurel Springs safe. No apology is necessary, Detective.” I waved him off, feigning ignorance like what happened last week hadn’t deeply hurt my feelings. Weakness wasn’t a good look for me. I had to be strong. 

He sighed, knowing I was going to be stubborn until the end. “You know what I mean, Sophia,” he replied. “Look, I know I really fucked up by leading you on the way I did. It was disrespectful and you deserve better.”

I stared at him, unmoved by his generic apology. “Is that all?” I asked, ready to be done with this conversation. 

“What do you mean ‘is that all?’ I came to apologize and you’re acting like…” He stopped mid sentence and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees with his head hung down. I continued to allow him to gather his thoughts because the minute he came at me sideways, I would no longer be held responsible for my actions. 

He rose from the swing and walked over in my direction. I was trying to stay calm, but I always admired the way his confidence shined through. I had to look away. I needed to get myself together. I’m still supposed to be mad and use it as leverage to leave without looking back, but the closer he got the more I felt my resolve dying. I put my hand up to stop him from getting closer. 

“Though I think I’ll regret asking you this, why are you here, Brock?” 

He finally looked at me without any hidden agenda or fear. Who would’ve thought me calling him by his last name like I used to would snap him out of the weird state of mind he’s been in since I’ve been back in town. “I wanted to know if you really meant what you said about not trusting me anymore.”

“To be honest, I don’t think you’d ever do anything to put me or the girls in harm’s way, but there’s something different about you now. You’re more guarded and I don’t think I ever gave you a reason to feel like you had to hide things from me. When you decided to leave after I gave you that ultimatum and you cut me off, I knew we wouldn’t be the same, but I didn’t think I’d come back to this either,” I gestured my hands to his form. “You’ve changed.”

He unexpectedly grabbed my hand. Looking down at our hands that were joined, it felt exhilarating, but also tainted with more questions and grief. My will to stay neutral was depleting by the second until I couldn’t hold back any longer. “Why her? Is it because she comes from a rich family? Did you cut me off because I have children with another man? Tell me the truth. Don’t string me along like I’m some back up plan, Brock.” I rambled. 

He lifted my gaze by raising my chin with his free hand and answered, “Listen to me, sunshine. It’s none of those things. And I know it’s my fault, but it makes me upset that you would think that low of me.”

I heard myself speak in a tone that I haven’t used with him since we first got together that was shy yet curious. “What else was I supposed to think? You never answered any of my texts or updated me about what’s going on in your life. I never stopped caring about you. I was left to put the pieces together and figure out you didn’t want me anymore.” I was so open, and I didn’t even care. This is why it was dangerous for me to be around him because teenage Sophia was making a comeback. Insert face palm emoji here. 

He was still holding my chin, and he was a lot closer to me. It was the type of close that was enough to make the good folks of Laurel Springs gossip about it. “I know my actions made you think that I didn’t care, but that was far from the truth. I had a lot going on and didn’t want you and the girls in the middle of it. My plan was to come back to you three.”

“After you had your fun with the beauty queen though,” I stated bluntly, removing his hand from my face. 

“No, it’s not like that. I can’t explain it right now, but I promise I will,” he answered. There was clearly a lot left unsaid. 

“It’s work stuff, right?” I asked sarcastically. He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. “I won’t chase you around town, like Leslie. You only get one strike.” I surprised myself with my response. Using my index finger I poked him in the center of his muscular chest (that I was trying not to focus on) to warn him of his fate if he crossed me. “You make a fool out of me, Brock, I swear I will kill you myself.”

He smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist. I instantly melted into him. “I guess it's a good thing I always play to win. 

“Is that so?” I asked. Here’s where I blame my next actions on old habits truly dying hard. I wrapped his tie around my hand and brought him down to my height and placed a gentle kiss on his lips and moved my head back and gasped in shock. With an apology on the tip of my tongue, I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes. He wanted more. It was at this moment I knew I was a lost cause. I threw both of my arms around his neck to hold on to the moment and went in for another kiss that held every emotion and feeling that I had for this man. I wanted him something fierce. As I was trying to make him feel a way, Brock certainly was doing the same for me. His touch and embrace felt like home and floating on air. 

Finally pulling back, we rested our foreheads against each other. It didn’t take me having eye contact with him to know he felt exactly what I felt and saw. Undeniable chemistry and fireworks. 

Before you roll your eyes and write me off, I did warn you about there being a magnetic pull. If you need any more proof of unexplainable behavior, we can refer back to the cheesecake incident. To be honest, maybe subconsciously I wanted to remind him of what he would miss out on. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt. 

“Gunnar, honey. What’s going on?” A feminine voice spoke.

Spoke too soon. 

Reality settled back in. I separated myself from Gunnar quickly. It was his girlfriend, Alexandria. And that’s when spontaneity left me high and dry and now I was silently panicking about what just took place. Oh my goodness! How could I let myself fall so easily for this man again? Maybe he’ll break things off with her. He isn’t a two-timer, or maybe he is and he’s just playing more mind games. My thoughts were going crazy. 

“Lexi, what are you doing here?” He asked nervously.  

She stared between the both of us suspiciously and finally answered his question. “I saw that you forgot your toothbrush and I stopped by Isaac’s parents’ home to catch you before you left for the bachelor party, but Daisy told me you had to stop by to ask Sophia more questions about her incident, but it looks like that wasn’t the case,” she said disgustedly. 

I shifted uncomfortably, realizing that that floating on air feeling came from Gunnar lifting me off the ground. I was also surprised to realize my legs were wrapped around his waist. I could only imagine how this looked, especially to his girlfriend. I gave his shoulders a strong tap to put me down. Taking the hint, I was once again standing on my own two feet. Great, now Laurel Springs had yet another reason to talk about me. Hold up a minute, he told me he wasn’t here to question me and I’m sure that Alexandria has no reason to lie even though she did catch us in a compromising position. And why do I feel like what’s about to follow will lead this night further into the pit of regret?

I decided the womanly thing to do was apologize with the small town belle charm and grace my mother taught me. “Goodness gracious,” I raised one hand to my forehead and the other to the center of my chest and chuckled lightly, but not too much. “Miss Alexandria, I’d like to apologize to you. I threw myself at poor Detective Brock not knowing he was courting someone. Don’t be mad at him. It was all my fault,” I gave her my most pitiful look, which was quite easy to display at the moment. 

Gunnar’s girlfriend looked at me skeptically. After a few more seconds she gave in. “No worries,” she smiled. “I know that my Gunnar Bear has such an irresistible, old fashioned gentleman-like charm, it can dazzle even the strongest of women. Am I right?” She giggled. 

You’re preaching to the choir, sister. 

I turned back to Gunnar, hoping he would understand what I was actually trying to say to him. “Detective, I’m really sorry about what happened earlier. I forced myself on you and said things that I didn’t mean. It must be all this fresh air making me light headed and causing me to speak out of turn and act so out of character. Please forgive me for that mishap.

You and Alexandria make such a lovely couple and I will not be the one to stand in the way of something so beautiful. Now if you two will please excuse me,” I walked over to the door. “I have to prepare for more bridal events for Daisy in the morning.  Have a safe trip to the bachelor party, Detective and I hope you two both have a lovely evening.” I hightailed it into the house so fast you would’ve thought I was running from a psychopathic serial killer. 

When I finally made it to the safety of my childhood bedroom, I fell back on my bed and laughed at the irony of the predicament I found myself in. From trying to sabotage a wedding, to the fiasco with Montell and Gunnar’s personality switches, all the way to being caught trying to climb him like a tree a few minutes ago. Tears started falling from my eyes from how hard I laughed. I couldn’t tell if it was from joy or sadness. At this point maybe it was both. 

“It’s really time to get out of this town and I need to add ‘get a man of my own’ to my to do list,” I said aloud to myself. 

Come on Friday.