Jory stepped out of the law office looking down at the file he carried. He was just handed his first case and he couldn't be more excited. Of course, the partners were testing him with it. It was a simple divorce case. Both sides agreed on everything but the pets. How much easier could it get? His stomach rumbled angrily while he waited for the light to change. Working across from his family's diner was a blessing indeed. As he stepped off the curb, he heard the revving engine of a motorcycle. He pulled himself back just in time as the bike flew around the corner and came to a halt at the light just inches from him.

"That's quite a bike," he said, smiling good-naturedly.

Spencer squinted over the purring of the motorcycle. Yes, that guy was talking to him. He grinned and tossed his hair a little, patting the side of the bike. "Thanks! Got it for my sixteenth birthday," he said, mentally adding that it was before he'd gotten his motorcycle operator's license as well.

"You might want to wear a helmet though," Jory continued. "I don't think that the police will be very happy with you if you don't."

"Yeah, probably," Spencer shrugged, knowing that the police around Conlan's Glen generally had better things to do than get on his case about wearing a helmet. "Maybe I'll get a helmet for my next birthday."

"I had a bike once. I think I was about your age. What are you 17? 18? I loved having a bike," he added. Of course, he had loved it until he'd crashed it into the back of Luke's car. He'd given up on it after that and it was probably still sitting in the garage waiting for him to come back to it. "You fix bikes or just drive them?"

Spencer pulled around into the parking lot of the diner they were in front of, so he wouldn't hold up traffic any more, and turned the bike off. He'd wanted something new -- this appeared to be it. "I'm sixteen going on seventeen," he mock-sang the song from the Sound of Music, laughing at his own pathetic voice. "I drive them mostly," he said, becoming serious about his favorite subject. "I race Motocross. I'm just getting into learning how to keep my own bikes up, though." He wondered if ANYONE in Conlan's Glen had seen the feature article about him that was tucked away in page four of the Sports section of the Observer except for Nana and her friends.

"I'll tell you what. I've been trying to get rid of my old bike for ages. It probably needs a lot of work, but it's yours if you want it. It's not as nice as yours," Jory noted in admiration of the kid's bike. "But it might be an okay project. If you want it that is." Getting rid of it would make Maura tremendously happy too. She couldn't bitch about it anymore and one less bitch from Maura was always a blessing.

"Hey, anything that would let me tear apart a bike without hurting my baby is right up my alley," Spencer said, swinging off the bike and eyeing Connie's. "Wonder if they have any of that Chocolate Sin Pie stuff today," he murmured to himself.

"I know the owner if you want a piece," Jory replied. "Come on. Let's talk details inside." He led the teen to the door and held it open. Joanie was at the hostess stand and he nodded in greeting. "Hi Joanie. Tell Dad I need a piece of Chocolate Sin Pie at the counter." Joanie nodded briefly and turned away to answer the phone. "Hope you don't mind sitting at the counter. My sister hates it when I use booths."

"Oh, your family owns this gig?" Spencer asked, looking around, as though seeing the place in a new light. "My Nana loves to eat at this place." He smiled and dug into the pie, looking over at the man and saying with his mouth full, "What's she got against booths?"

"She says that the booths are for paying customers. She gives me free meals so I can't complain," he offered his hand to the teen. "I'm Jory Conlan by the way."

"Ahhhh," Spencer nodded. "It is all clear to me now." He took Jory's hand and shook it firmly. "Spencer Davison. Nice to meet you." He looked Jory over again, noticing how his suit contrasted to the ratty blue jean shorts and t-shirt that Spencer was wearing. "So what kind of a job do you have that puts you in a monkey suit on a weekend?"

"I'm a lawyer most of the time so unfortunately that means me in a monkey suit is a familiar sight. You want another piece of that?" He asked pointing at the almost gone piece of pie.

"Like I could turn down an offer like that?" Spencer asked, swallowing the last bite and washing it down it a long gulp of Coke. "So you're a lawyer, huh? That would be a fun thing to do, I guess. Screaming at murderers and giving people the death penalty would be pretty damn cool."

Jory shrugged. "I'm not quite up to the screaming at murderers stuff. Try simple divorce cases and you'll find my specialty of the moment."

"Ah," Spencer said, trailing off and poking at his pie, taking another huge mouthful. Divorces weren't his thing, really. "So if you don't ride bikes any more, what do you do?"

Well now there was a question for the ages. What did he do? He hung around Connie's and ate...a lot. He harassed Luke every once in a while. But other than that, he didn't really do a whole lot. He shrugged again at Spencer and smiled. "Nothing I guess. Makes me pretty boring, I suppose."

Spencer nodded. "Yep, it does." He slurped his next bite of pie, and thought. "You need a hobby or something, man."

"You think? Unfortunately, nothing seems to interest me anymore. I take it you fill your time with bikes. Do you just ride them or what? Maybe I could take that up again," Jory laughed.

"Oh, I do the bikes, riding and racing... I do rock climbing and bungee jumping, and I'm playing guitar too. I want to join a band, eventually. I keep myself plenty busy. But you could probably ride bikes... but not in a suit," Spencer cracked, finishing his Coke with a loud slurp.

"Racing? Like as in winning first place type racing? Maybe I'll come watch you sometime and that can be my hobby. It might be all I have time for." He checked his watch and sighed. "Lunch is over for me. Gotta get back to the office. But it was nice meeting you. And if you want the bike, meet me here tomorrow and I'll take you over to my house to get it."

"Yeah, racing. Just took second in a race this past weekend," Spencer trailed off, nodding and getting up with Jory. "That sounds good. I'll be here. It was nice to meet you, Jory."

"Second? That's pretty impressive. Now I know I'll have to see you race sometime," Jory remarked heading for the front door. "See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, later!" Spencer gave Jory a wave and hopped on his bike, tearing off toward the park, to see what other manner of trouble he could cause.

Scene 2:

Hallie drummed her fingers lightly on her desk. She was at her office, even if it was a Sunday. Quiet places with no family members were hard to come by at Four Winds. The Foundation was the only safe place she could think of to go to sort out what she knew of Gwen's dirty little secret. She took out a notepad and a pen, staring silently at the blank page before she began making notes.

So far, she knew that the secret involved Gwen, Morgan Birch, and Jamie. She also knew that Ellen knew it. Or thought she did and that Uncle James had known as well before he died. What else did she know? Precious little. She knew that Morgan and Gwen had dated for a time and that someone named Isabella Allen was ready, willing, and able to tell all. But just who was Isabelle Allen and where to find her was a mystery.

Jamie was born in Richmond, that much Hallie knew. But Uncle James and Gwen had married in the Glen. Either place was as good a place to start as any. The County Clerk might have some information about Isabelle. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. Maybe Dane could help her, she thought remembering his new position at The Observer. Maybe there was a mention of the elusive Isabelle in the old editions.

A light tap on the door broke her concentration. She looked up and frowned at the sight before her. "Gwen, How lovely to see you. What brings you here on a Sunday?" She asked, sliding the notepad aside and out of view.

"Two things actually. I've brought the design book from the bakery. You have to choose a cake by Tuesday." She laid the book on Hallie's desk before making herself comfortable on the sofa opposite Hallie.

"Thank you. I'll look at it in a while. What's the other thing Gwen?" Hallie asked, trying to hide her discomfort at Gwen's sudden appearance.

"Hallie, I'm worried about you. Where were you Friday night? No one saw you come in that night or leave early Saturday. And Father Callahan called for you Saturday after you missed your counseling session. Come to think of it, I don't think I saw or heard from Luke that day. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. I had dinner with a friend. We had a little too much to drink so she offered to let me crash at her apartment. No need to be worried," Hallie lied. Gwen was the last person in the world she would confide in about Stephen. In fact, the less Gwen knew about that, the better. "I should have called but I just didn't think about it. And of course, I feel terrible about missing my session with Father Callahan. Luke was terribly upset by the whole thing. But I'll make it up to him." She offered Gwen the best smile she could muster under the circumstances.

"Well, I hope so. Luke is really a charming young man. Not at all like that last man you were planning to marry. Stephen Roth. I remember him as very ruthless. I'm glad you moved on, Hallie," Gwen said sweetly, standing up. "I would think that being involved with Stephen would be quite...cumbersome. Not to mention unsettling. He's not a nice man, Hallie. You've done a wonderful job with the man you have now. Don't lose him," Gwen added before waving and floating out of the office.

Hallie stared after Gwen. What on earth was that all about? Could she know about the other night? No, she reminded herself. Stephen wouldn't tell. Not until he was sure he would never have her and then...well, then he might. Time for another preemptive strike, she thought, collecting her purse and the notepad. He didn't have her, but he could think that he did.

Scene 3:

"She moved here?" Maura asked again, the surprise evident on her face. Jude nodded, pacing across the front porch of the Conlan home, trying to make sense of Cynthia's presence. "That's kind of odd, don't you think?"

"Yes, I do think so. But Maura, there's more to it than just that," he said taking a seat next to her on the steps. "She's working at ME. I'm going to see her whether I want to or not."

"Wow. She's really thought this out."

"What are you talking about?" Jude asked giving her a sidelong glance.

"Jude, she wants you back. You said that at one time you were madly in love with her. It stands to reason that she felt the same way for you. Now that her husband is gone, I guess she thinks that you two can be together at last. She's thinking like any woman would in that situation. It sounds to me like she never loved Senator Mitchell. So there's no extended mourning period. It makes sense to her to come find you. Especially after you left her in Washington after the funeral."

"But I don't want her," Jude replied dropping his head into his hands. Maura ran her hand along the back of his neck, smiling at him.

"Sometimes a woman doesn't realize that until it's too late. You just have to keep telling her...as nicely as you can."

"She broke me, Maura. When Derek found out about us, I begged her to divorce him and come with me. You know what she said? She said she could never do that because Derek was a senator. What kind of reason is that to stay with someone? She didn't even take up for me when he threatened me. And now she wants me back? I just don't understand it."

"Some people just don't know what they have until it's gone," Maura said softly with a trace of wistfulness in her voice. "Sometimes it takes losing the person you love to realize how much that person meant to you."

Jude raised his head and studied Maura. "Is that the voice of experience?"

"I haven't been as honest with you and you've been with me, Jude," Maura began, shifting her body away from him. "I...I used to be engaged. And I walked away from it because I thought it was for the best. But he's here now and it's really hard seeing him."

"Maura...don't see him then. You don't need to. I'll keep you busy."

"You don't understand. He's dating my sister. I don't really have much of a choice. I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have told you all that," she sighed.

"No, it's good that you did. Honesty is really important to me. I need people to tell me the truth even if it hurts. And I know that had to hurt." He touched her cheek gently. "Do you still love him?" He could see the argument she was having with herself as it played out in her eyes. Somehow, he had hoped her answer might have been a very quick no. But his luck had run out a long time ago.

"I don't think so. It drives me crazy to know that he's spending his nights with Jillie, but she and I have always been at odds and I just naturally get annoyed whenever she does something I don't like. Besides, I'm not dumb. Why would I put myself through all of that again? It's just stupid."

"You're not stupid. And I do understand how you feel. Really. I don't know how I feel about Cynthia either."

"What a pair we are," Maura muttered sadly. Jude wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"I wouldn't want to be a pair with anyone else but you. Who knows? Maybe we're meant for each other." He gave her his best lopsided grin catching her off guard. She bit her lip to keep from laughing and buried her head in his shoulder.

"I think that for once, I would very much like that to be the case," she said with a small giggle. Jude nodded in agreement. For once, it would be nice to love the safe one and not the wild card.

Scene 4:

Dusty tied her apron quickly, slamming her locker shut with her hip a she did so. Only one more week of this crap to go and then she would be working at a real company making better money and not having to put up with her brother or his bitchy girlfriend or the Conlans. Well, all but one and that one was just fine with her. The Conlan women were all stuck up and self-righteous and Dusty had no use for any of them. Jory was okay, a little shy and quiet, but okay. But Luke. He was the prize in the bottom of the cereal box.

In just a few days she would be his intern and she could think of nothing that gave her more pleasure than that. Sure, Luke was engaged, but plans changed all the time. She could tell he wasn't in love with Hallie Lennox. And even if she couldn't tell, practically the whole town knew it was a business deal. Luke had big plans for himself and Dusty saw herself as part of those plans whether Luke did or not. He just needed to have his eyes open.

"Quit daydreaming. You've got tables to wait on," Noah said prodding her shoulder.

"Okay, slave driver. I'm going. I can't wait until I'm done working here," she added sticking her tongue out at him.

"You think working for Luke is going to be better than working for Maura?" Noah asked skeptically.

"Yes!  What kind of question is that? I'm tired of Maura yelling at me all the time," Dusty snapped. "And don't tell me she doesn't yell. She does, ask Dinah. She just doesn't yell at you."

"Luke is kind of a jerk too."

"Drop it. I can take care of myself."

"Like you took care of yourself with Gabriel?" Dusty flinched at the name and took a deep breath.

"You promised you would never say his name again," she replied, her face flushing with anger.

"I'm sorry, but someone has to remind you what happens when you don't think things through. Do you want to put yourself in that situation again?"

"Working for Luke Conlan is nothing like what happened with Gabriel! Stay out of my business, Noah," she hissed, turning on her heel and pushing her way out the door past Dinah who had just entered.

"What was that about?" Dinah inquired staring after Dusty.

"Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you," she grinned. Luke turned a bright red and fled from the office. Life, he thought, hurrying to his car, was one big joke.