While Nick prepared to keep his promise to CJ and return home to Tampa, Lexie and Jake spent their Sunday morning making love. By 10 o'clock they decided to get up, make the bed, eat a quick breakfast, and head to the beach.

Lexie twisted Jake's wrist a bit and looked at the time as they stood on the beach early Sunday.

"It's almost one. Everyone should be coming back this afternoon." She began to brush the sand off of her legs. "What time is your flight?"

"Seven. I'm skipping class tomorrow."

"Is that a good idea?"

"I'm only taking one until graduation, which is only a few weeks away."

"Well, Nick hasn't said when he's sending CJ back, but Scotty and Christine are due back around 8 or so tonight."

"So, we have plenty of time." Jake smiled with a wink.

"I told you, I don't know when Nick's sending CJ back. I don't want her to walk in on us."

"Of course not, I'm sorry." He shrugged.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm a mom, now, even if it is just a step-mom. I don't want to hurt her. This isn't about her." Lexie looked up at him. "Please don't be sad."

"I'm not, I'm not! I swear!" He laughed nervously.

"I never meant to hurt you. You knew I'd have to go back to my life."

"I know, I know and you're not hurting me. It only hurts me when Nick's a complete ass."

Jake leaned over and began picking up their blankets and towels, packing them in the tote bag. Lexie reached over and ran her fingers through his dark curls. She knelt beside him and pressed her lips to his sun-kissed temple.

"Just remember I love you." She whispered.

"I will." He swallowed hard. "Let's go back to the house. I've got some packing to do."

His face turned toward her and she kissed him full on the mouth, searching it with her tongue until they both collapsed onto the warm sand with their arms around each other. Suddenly they both burst out laughing and got up. They continued to pack the totes and head across the beach to the stairs to the house.

Nick was sure they hadn't seen him. He and CJ had returned to the house and luckily he had sent her directly to her room, which overlooked the driveway and not the beach. She was up there now sorting out her dirty laundry for Cook. He had called for Lexie, but hadn't received an answer.

He hovered back on the deck, just out of sight.

His blood just ran cold when he saw another man with Lexie. He had considered Jake might make advances, but he never dreamed Lexie would. He could feel his hands shaking and his stomach begin to roll. God, I'm going to be sick.

Nick turned to go back in the house and headed straight upstairs. Their bed was sloppily made up, which was always Lexie's style. Cook usually did all of the tucking. He moved from guestroom to guestroom until he found Jake's bags in the farthest room down the hall. His bed was also sloppily made up. Just like Lexie does it.

He wanted to go through the sheets, see if there was any sign that they had been together. None of her clothes were in the room and his were half packed, some on the chair by the window and others on the floor. He didn't have time to look for anything else when he heard them coming up the back stairs laughing.

He was in the hall by the guestroom he had been sleeping in when they spotted him.

"Nick!" Lexie gasped, suddenly flustered. She had been holding Jake's hand, but suddenly let go of it.

"Hey." He nodded to the both of them.

"When did you get here, dude?" Jake smiled easily as though nothing was amiss. He had seen that smile on Kevin's face a number of times over the year.

"Just five minutes ago. CJ is in her room sorting her laundry. I have to do the same." Nick straightened himself to his full height. "I brought back everything from AJ's house."

Lexie's heart wasn't able to catch a regular rhythm. He had brought everything from Orlando home? He's staying?

"That's great, man." Jake lumbered up to him and shook his hand. "You made the right decision." He added with a whisper. Nick just arched an eyebrow at him, let him go, and he headed to his guestroom. "I gotta pack. Remember my flight is at seven."

"You two have a good time?" Nick asked after Jake closed the door on them.

"Uh. . ." Be cool. Be cool. Nothing happened. Nothing happened. She smiled brightly. "Yeah. He just came out for the weekend. You know him, poof, next thing you know he's on a plane and at your front door step."

"Good." Nick nodded, his eyes casting to the plush carpet under his feet. "I'm going to go finish sorting my laundry. Where is Christine?"

"She and Scotty are in Orlando at Disney. He really wanted to go, and it seemed like a good idea to send them."

"Good. I'm going to go finish up. . ." He hitched his thumb at his door then turned to move inside.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?" He looked back at her over his shoulder.

"Are you staying? Here in Tampa?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." He nodded slowly and then lifted his eyes to look at her.

"I'm glad." She answered him, trying to contain her smile, then turned to head into their bedroom no doubt to shower the sand off.

Each bedroom door closed, including CJ's. She leaned against the door, her juvenile mind whirling.

Christine? I thought her name was Ann. Christine? Could she be my mother?

Nick's trembling fingers dialed Brian's number the best they could. He didn't answer, so Nick left a message for him to call immediately. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if it was true or not. Had they slept together? If they had, why would she be glad he had come home to stay? Of course, she wouldn't tell him if she was leaving him for Jake because there was the divorce settlement.

Blindly, he went through his bags and sorted his laundry, repacking one bag with the dirty items and carrying it downstairs. Jake and Lexie hadn't reappeared, but CJ had. She was already in the laundry room sorting her whites and colors. Nick had always insisted CJ not be too dependent on Cook and learn to fend for herself.

"Hey, Dad." She smiled up at him.

"Hey, angel." He smiled back. "You willing to sort my things, too?"

"No. I don't want to touch your underwear! That's gross!" She laughed at him.

"Okay, okay. I was trying to get out of it."

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"What ever happened to my mother?"

The silence was deafening and Nick's head was spinning. He wasn't sure how much more he could take at the moment so he admitted he just didn't know.

"You don't know where she is or anything?"

"I have no idea, C." He continued to work through the laundry, adding CJ's whites to the washer and throwing his in there as well. "When she left us, she never came back."

"Never?"

"Never." He tried to sound firm and sure, but he wasn't so sure that was happening.

"Okay." She shrugged. "I was just wondering. I'm going to go finish my homework. Bye!" She turned on her heels and ran from the laundry room.

Nick gripped the sides of the washer and tried to control his breathing. His head was spinning and his heart was racing. What is happening? What's going on?

His hands were shaking as he started the machine and scooped the laundry soap, dropping it in there.

"You okay, man?" He heard Jake ask from the doorway. "Lexie sent me down to drop these towels off."

Nick looked over at him, standing tall and young in the threshold of his laundry room and shook his head. Nick closed the lid on the washer and stood up straight.

"No, I think I'm going to be sick."

Nick went to bed, convincing everyone he had eaten something bad. He said goodbye to Jake and then retired to his room. CJ ended up going with Jake and Lexie to the airport.

Nick slept while they were gone and woke just to answer his cell phone. It was Brian.

"What's up?" Brian asked. "I got your message, you sounded shaky."

"I was. I am." He mumbled, trying to wake up.

"What happened? Everyone okay?"

"Everyone, but me." Nick groaned. "I came home to Tampa, Brian. I found Lexie with Jake."

"What?!" Brian gasped. "In bed?"

"No, at the beach. She kissed him and then he laid on top of her as they made out." And between her legs, but Nick couldn't utter those words.

"No way, I don't believe that."

"I saw it with my own eyes! They were holding hands all the way into the house. Hell, I caught them holding hands in the damn hallway."

"I just can't believe that of Lexie. I just can't. How sure are you they actually slept together? Maybe they were just being flirty."

"I'm not sure." Nick admitted. "If she did sleep with him, it's my own damn fault. I left her after all."

"I just can't believe she slept with him, Nick. Jake's my nephew, and Lexie. . .well, Lexie just isn't like that." Brian concluded. "I think they were just being flirty. Kids do that. We did that."

"I don't know what to think." Nick groaned. "I don't know what to do now. I promised CJ I'd come home and talk to her, but I wasn't expecting to see her on the beach with Jake."

"You could always just ask her."

"Point blank? Just, 'Lexie, did you sleep with Jake?'" Nick snorted.

"I don't know why not. I mean you saw them on the beach together."

"She doesn't know that. She doesn't know I saw them."

"Well, you've got two ways to go, buddy. Confront her or don't confront her and live with suspicion."

"What if she doesn't tell me the truth? What if they really are together now and they are just waiting for the album release to go for a settlement?"

"Damn, you've given this some thought!" Brian declared. "I can't make the call for you, only you can do that. If she does tell you that they slept together, but she wants to stay with you, are you willing to forgive her?"

"I don't know."

"Nick."

"The real question is can I live without her? Is that what you're trying to ask me or is the real question can I live with her knowing she's been with another man, knowing that she's been unfaithful to me."

"Well, can you?"

"I don't know, Bri, I really, really just don't know."

Unable to tell each other a proper goodbye with CJ with them, Jake and Lexie kept it light and friendly. Sharing a hug with each of them, Jake boarded his flight with a smile and a wave. As soon as his back was turned, the smile vanished and he walked to his seat.

He found his seat and unpacked his mp3 player and set it up so he could listen to it once they were in the air. He sat at his window seat and looked out over the airport. He couldn't see Lexie and CJ from where he was sitting.

What have I done? He asked himself. Had it really happened? As he thought about it, his body began to tingle. He had lied through his teeth the entire weekend. He hated Nick Carter for what he did to her. Couldn't he see that she was trying to do all of this for him and his daughter?

I do love her. I love her so much. Why did I leave her there? I should have begged her to leave him and to come back to Seattle with me. But Jake knew she would never leave Nick or CJ or her family. She had done that once and she would never run away again.

Nick coming back so soon had been a total surprise. They hadn't been expecting him, as a matter of fact, he had convinced her to make love one last time before he packed and that's where they were headed. Thank God he hadn't caught them together.

I'll never have her again. Ever. He had to convince himself of that, because he didn't want to waste his whole life waiting for something that would probably never happen. Lexie would never leave Nick. He had to find away to move on.

Suddenly his cell phone rang and he reached to answer it. It was his Dad.

"Hi, Son." He heard his Dad say.

"Hi, Dad."

"I heard you were in Tampa."

How the hell did he find that out?! Nick! Nick must have told him.

"Uh. . .yeah. I was visiting a couple more radio stations down here looking for summer work."

"You didn't see Lexie?"

"Yeah, uh. . .she put me up."

"How come you didn't call, we could have had lunch or something."

"Sorry, I was pretty busy."

"Okay, I just wanted to check up on you. Where are you now?"

"I'm on the plane heading home, Dad."

"Really."

"We're about to take off. I need to get off the phone."

"Oh, okay. Well, have a good flight. Love you."

"Love you, too, Dad."

Jake hung up with his hands shaking. What did Nick tell my Dad? Jake quickly dialed Lexie's cell and she answered cheerfully.

"Lex, my Dad just called. He knew I was in Tampa. Nick must have told him."

"He tells them everything." She looked over at CJ as they stood in the terminal waiting for his flight to taxi out.

"I'll take it to my grave, I swear."

"Me, too."

"I love you, Lexie."

"Me, too."

Kevin set down his cell phone on the table, his concern written all over his face. He had barely believed Brian when he had called to question him about Jake and Jake's feelings for Lexie. He watched Sabrina walk toward him in the New Orleans condo they had purchased together. He had given her the money to put down and they kept the place in her name to keep it out of the divorce settlement. My God, she's so beautiful.

"So, what did he say?" Sabrina set a cup of coffee down in front of him and took the seat at the dinning room table with him.

"Nothing really. Just said he was trying to hook up with some radio stations here for summer work. He's worked in both Tampa and Orlando before during the summers."

"You think Nick has a leg to stand on?"

"I don't know. I love my son, but if family history is any indication. . ." Kevin began.

"Stop it! Jake made his own choices if he had an affair with Lexie. That has nothing to do with you." She scolded him. "Besides, it's not really fair of any of us to accuse them of anything. We don't know what happened. Besides, if I were to put money on it, I'd say Lexie would remain faithful to Nick. No matter what."

"I would, too." He nodded as he reached for the steaming cup. "Did you finish going over those papers from the lawyer? Are they good enough to present to Kristen?"

"I think so. Everything you wanted is in there, including the homes and a custody agreement for Dwayne."

"I know Jake will understand, but I sometimes wonder about the other boys. Gerald worships the ground his mother walks on and who knows what the hell Josh thinks."

"They are all grown, except for Dwayne."

"I know, I know. I never wanted it like this, honey. I didn't want to break up my family in order for me to be happy."

"Kevin, you've done more to keep it together than any other man would have. You stayed married to her after she had a child with another man. No one can expect much more of you than that. You were there when that child's father wasn't. You supported him, you've educated him, you taught him to fish and ride horses. . ."

"In every sense of the word, he is my son. No less than the other boys." Kevin said firmly. "I promised her forever."

"She promised you, too. She broke her promise to you first. You've done all you can do, Kevin." She shrugged. "You can stay married if you want. I can go." She got to her feet and he was quickly on his, pulling her into his arms.

"Don't ever leave me. Please don't go. You are the reason I can feel my heart beat." He murmured before he kissed her. He looked into her eyes. "I don't know what Jake and Lexie have done, but I pray to God they haven't made the same stupid mistakes I have or that Kristen has or AJ for that matter. I pray that my son finds the same happiness I have found."