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Nick groaned and rolled over, trying his best to shield his sensitive blue eyes from the blinding rays of sunshine that were flooding in through the open blinds. Snuggling a little further under the blanket, he let out a sigh and tried to go back to sleep. Catching a glimpse of the large, red numbers on the clock across the room, Nick flew out of the warm bed. 10:17. “Shit!” he cried fumbling to find his clothes. “Dee-Dee, why didn’t you wake me up?!”

“What?” she rolled over and her mouth immediately turned up in a smile. “Oh, well, I thought you could use the rest. After last night, well, this morning…we both needed it.”

Nick rolled his eyes at her awful attempt to be a seductress and sat down to put his shoes on. “Don’t start Dee-Dee. I told you I had to be at home before everyone got up. I have a lot of stuff to do today.”

“Oh, I think you can put if off for a little while,” she dropped her voice to what she imagined might be a sexy whisper. Slinking up behind Nick, she wrapped her arms around him and covered his bare shoulder in soft kisses. “I love you, Nick.”

He rolled his eyes again. How many times could one person say that? She threw around that phrase like it was nothing at all and expected him to return it every time. Nick stood up and resumed the search for his t-shirt; he couldn’t leave not wearing a shirt. “Look, Dee, I promised David that I would be at the shop because Gabe can’t work today. Then I have dinner plans with Gram and David tonight. I asked you to get me up at 7:45. Was that too much to ask?”

Poking her pink lips into a pout, Dee-Dee crossed her arms over her chest and flipped her blonde hair. “Nicky…don’t get mad, please. I just thought it would be okay to let you get a little sleep.”

Nick watched as Dee-Dee leaned up and covered his lips with her own. Getting lost in the moment, his hands unconsciously fell to her waist and her hands were wrapped up in his thick hair. Despite Dee-Dee’s obvious attempts to keep him there, Nick broke the kiss and pushed away from her.

“I’m sorry, Dee-Dee, I have to go before I let my grandparents down again. I’ll call you later,” he said and finally found his shirt.

With an irritated sigh, Dee-Dee fell back on the bed. She had to wonder when she would ever get through to him completely.

***

“Good morning, Nick,” David smiled.

“Hey, David. I’m really sorry I’m late,” Nick apologized and immediately took his place behind the counter of the small hardware shop. “I am not leaving this spot until 4:30.”

David smiled broadly and Nick could see the deep lines in his aged face. Even if he wasn’t related to David by blood, he felt like it. Nick didn’t have a single childhood memory that didn’t have David in them. He had heard stories about his “real” grandfather, but in Nick’s eyes, David was as real as one could get. He was genuine and loyal and he never judged anyone. Most of all, David was a friend. “I swear, I’m gonna try and never be late again.”

“Don’t say that, Nick. I don’t mind that you’re late, so stop worrying,” David’s smile widened. “I’m gonna go run some errands, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Then you’ll be free to go.”

“Take your time,” Nick said and picked up a magazine lying on the counter. “I don’t have anything to do tonight other than dinner with the folks.”

Smiling once more, David picked up his hat and car keys and left the store, the small bell attached to the top of the door jingling on his way out.

After a few minutes of silence, Nick decided he could use some music and he pulled the remote control from beneath the counter. He scanned the local stations for a minute or so, but found nothing but commercials so he chose to see what selections David had in the CD player. The first disc was country; Don Williams he was willing to bet. The second was one of Nick’s rock CDs and Nick had to smile at the third one. It was his grandmother’s CD; one she had asked him to make for her. “Good choice,” he grinned to himself.

Sitting back down behind the old-fashioned cash register, Nick resumed flipping through the magazine as Etta James belted out beautiful lyrics. Before long, Nick was singing “At Last” at the top of his lungs right along with her and he didn’t even hear the bell on the door jingle. Unfortunately for him, Nick had his back to the door and he was unaware of his company until he heard the clapping.

“Oh, no,” he closed his eyes tight and slowly turned. He half expected to see Dee-Dee standing there looking on in awe thinking that he had been singing to her. Instead, he found himself staring into the scowling face of a teenage girl.

“Can I help you?” he asked politely, still trying to place the girl on the other side of the register.

“Uh, yeah,” her voice was filled with attitude and she threw her hands on her hips as though she were a queen waiting to be served.

“Okay, what do you need help with?” he came from behind the counter and looked down at the girl. She looks so familiar.

“I need to use the bathroom,” she said and looked around the small store looking for a sign.

“Um, we don’t have a bathroom open to the public,” Nick answered, shrugging his broad shoulders. “Sorry.”

“Don’t you know that’s illegal? You’re supposed to have a bathroom that’s available to your customers,” she stepped closer and shook her head with as much attitude as any teenage girl could have.

“Well, then in your case it’s not illegal because you are not a customer. Sorry,” he gave his best smile and picked his magazine back up. Glancing over the top of the tattered pages, Nick watched in amusement as the young brunette stormed out of the store.

After a few minutes, Nick heard the bell jingle once again and waited before he turned around. He wanted to see how long he could mess with this girl.

“Excuse me?” a soft, annoyed sounding voice came from behind him.

“Yes?” he asked, still flipping the pages of the magazine. Turning around, his amusement faded and his stomach turned to knots. “Lizzie…”

“Nick,” she said, the frustration quickly fading from her tone. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“You never asked,” he quipped with a grin. “It’s my grandparents’ shop…I just fill in from time to time.”

“Oh, I see,” she smiled. “Nick, do you think you could possibly bend the rules a little and let my daughter use your restroom? We’re just on our way out to the beach and we didn’t know anywhere else to go.”

“Sure, it’s right back there,” he pointed to the door marked “private.”

“Sorry about her attitude,” Elisabeth said quietly as she watched Kaitlyn stomp off to the tiny bathroom. “She’s mad at the world and takes it out on anyone who crosses her path.”

“It’s okay,” he smiled. “So, you’re going to catch some rays and get a nice tan, huh?”

“Yeah, but I practically had to drag her out of the house,” she rolled her eyes and pushed her hair away from her face. “I love it outside, but if she had her way she’d stay cooped up in her bedroom all day long listening to that dark rock.”

They were interrupted by the familiar jingle of the bell on the door. Nick smiled as Robert Butler and a small boy walked through the door. “Hey Mr. Butler,” he greeted politely. Smiling at the boy he said, “Well, hey there little man, how are you?”

“Fine,” Jacob said shyly and kept his eyes to the ground.

“Hi Dad,” Elisabeth gave him a kiss on the cheek and then stooped down to her son’s eye level. “Hey sweetheart, are you and Papa done already?”

Nick looked on in surprise at the fact that Elisabeth was Robert Butler’s daughter. He had known she made a good living as an attorney and was comfortable financially, but he had no idea just how comfortable she was. “What can I do for you today, Mr. Butler?”

“Not a thing, Nick,” he smiled and ruffled his grandson’s hair. “Jake spotted Lizzie in here and wanted to come see her. We’re actually on our way to the pier.”

“Well, I wanna go with Papa and Jake,” Kaitlyn’s attitude laden voice filled the conversations.

“I thought we were gonna go lay out on the beach and spend some time together since you didn’t want to go shopping,” Elisabeth turned to her daughter.

“We can do that some other time. I would rather spend some time with Papa,” she answered and walked past them out the door.

“I’ll talk to her, Lizzie,” Robert said and turned to follow Kaitlyn. “See you later sweetie, g’bye Nick.”

“See ya around Mr. Butler.”

Elisabeth let out a frustrated sigh and turned to see that Nick looked rather uncomfortable. “I’m sorry about that. I told you, she hates me.”

Nick was messing with the tattered magazine on the counter, folding and unfolding the corner of a page. Looking into Elisabeth’s deep brown eyes, he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on Elisabeth. You know exactly what I mean.”

She was momentarily stunned by the tone of his voice, but quickly put up her defense. “Since when do I have to justify myself to you? Or anyone in this town for that matter? What difference does it make if Robert and Abigail Butler are my parents?”

Shifting his gaze from her intense stare, Nick sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so hostile…it’s just…I didn’t expect you to be Elisabeth Butler. It’s just…you’re from an entirely different world than I am.”

Elisabeth smiled and Nick found himself captured by her essence. She was everything he had ever looked for in a woman and here she was right in front of him, but still out of reach. How unfair could things get?

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “That is a crock and you know it! I am no different from you just because of money. God, do you know how many times I have wanted to be someone different just because of my stupid last name? Everyone I have ever met has been threatened by me just because I come from money. I hate money.”

Nick smiled as he watched her cheeks flushed in anger and her brown eyes darkened. “I know this is gonna sound like a horrible make up line, but you look cute when you’re mad. Your nose does this little twitch thing,” he pointed to her nose.

Elisabeth covered her nose and her eyes widened. “It does not!”

“Yes, it does,” he laughed. “It’s too cute, though. Hey, can I make up for overreacting?”

“Nick, you don’t have to do that,” she protested. As much as she knew she already liked him, she couldn’t keep her mother’s words out of her mind.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Just let me take you to dinner again tonight,” his blue eyes were pleading with her.

“Okay, dinner would be nice,” she smiled. “What time?”

“I’ll pick you up at 6:30,” he smiled. “Be ready to have a good time.”

“You betcha…I’d say you should come prepared, too.”

***

To Nick’s surprise, David showed up a little less than a half hour after Elisabeth left. He had offered to stay and work the rest of the afternoon, but David insisted that he go home and enjoy himself instead of being stuck inside the stuffy hardware shop. Now he was sitting in his kitchen staring at the small black and white television that was playing Days of Our Lives and eating a small lunch. He couldn’t help but be enthralled by the love triangles and all the drama unfolding. When he heard Winnie enter the kitchen, he quickly flipped the channel only to find another soap opera. Damn, I’m caught.

“So, what’s going on with Beau and Hope?” Winnie asked with a knowing smile. “Anything worth watching?”

Nick’s cheeks flushed pink and he took a sip of his soda. “Nothin’ but the same old stuff. How did you know that’s what I was watching?”

“Sweetheart, I’m old but I’m not stupid,” she laughed. “You’ve always loved that show. So, do you have any plans tonight?”

Fidgeting with the tab on his Pepsi can, Nick gave a short nod. “Actually, I’m having dinner with a friend.”

Winnie opened the freezer and pulled out some hamburger meat. Putting it into the sink, she turned on a slow stream of water to thaw out the meat she and David would be having for supper. “Oh, well, would this friend be Darla Dawn?”

Nick had to laugh at his grandmother. She never hardly ever used nicknames. “No, Gram, don’t worry. It’s someone you don’t know,” he said before he even thought about it. But, of course, she did know Elisabeth. Everyone that had been living in Sunset Beach for the last decade knew Elisabeth Butler. “We’re only going to dinner…I doubt there will be any sailing tonight.”

“There had better not be,” her voice was firm. “It’s supposed to storm tonight so I had better not hear of you being on that boat if it does.”

“Gram,” he walked over and wrapped his grandmother in a loving hug. “You know me better than that. I’ll call and let you know what’s going on, okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“Hey, hit me one right here,” he grinned and pointed to his cheek. Winnie laughed but pecked her grandson where his finger had been. “Love ya, Gram.”

***

“So, where are you going tonight?” Kaitlyn asked, startling Elisabeth.

Glancing at her daughter, Elisabeth couldn’t help but be reminded of herself. Their resemblance had always been striking; they were often mistaken for being sisters instead of mother and daughter. Sweeping her long dark hair away from her face, Elisabeth offered a shrug and turned back to the mirror. She was trying very hard to ignore the hard stare that was boring into the back of her head. Kaitlyn may have only been 13, but she knew what buttons to push. She wasn’t stupid by any means.

“You’re going out with that guy aren’t you?” Kaitlyn asked, trying to get under her mother’s skin.

Loosing all patience with the interrogation that was going on, Elisabeth turned to face her daughter. “Since when do you start questioning my whereabouts? Have you forgotten I’m your mother?”

“It’s kinda hard not to forget when you’re trying so hard to be my friend. Why are you going out with someone else when you know that’s wrong? What would Daddy think?”

Elisabeth had to struggle to keep from laughing aloud. What would Joshua think? He would hate it, and he would tell me that I would not be going out with anyone. Yet, he would be out on the town with the next big breasted bimbo to shove her implants under his nose. She was infuriated at the thought, but kept her anger to herself. “If you must know, Katy, I’m going out with some old friends that I went to school with.”

Rolling her large, coffee colored eyes, Kaitlyn huffed what sounded like “yeah right” and stomped off to her bedroom just two doors down. “I swear, my parents will have to buy new doors for every room in this house.”

Feeling a presence behind her, Elisabeth turned and found Jake staring at her with wide, hazel eyes. “Mommy, where are you going?”

Pulling him onto her lap, she rested her head on top of his. “I’m going out with some friends. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Why did Katy get mad again?” he asked, his innocent voice tinged with sadness. “She gets mad a lot.”

“Yeah, she’s just upset with me. Don’t you worry about her, baby. Why don’t you go get Papa to play a game with you and I’ll be down there to tell you bye in a few minutes.”

When Jake scampered out of the room, Elisabeth turned once more and stared at her reflection in the mirror. “I hope this is right,” she whispered to herself. If this wasn’t as right as it felt, she would be proving her mother right and that was not something she wanted to do. Taking a deep breath, Elisabeth couldn’t help but wonder…I’ve heard love is better the second time around…is that what this is for me? She took one final look at herself in the mirror and felt herself hoping that this was, indeed, her second chance at being happy. After all, everyone deserves to be happy, right?