Nick let his bag fall to the floor as he stared out into the distance; the view in front of him was like out of a movie. There was a long dirt road, lined up with pure redbud trees that served as guides towards the two story, white, Victorian home. The sky was a soft blue with puffy clouds scattered about and there was a nice warm breeze that hit all the trees sending colorful buds flying around like a rain of cotton.

Nick let out a laugh, his best friend had always said he would retire and move back to his hometown with his little family and buy a big Victorian house. Well, maybe he hadn’t really bought it; it was more like an inheritance. Either way, he was proud of his old partner and best friend for chasing his dreams and being happy.

Nick picked up his bag, pulling it back onto his shoulders and started his trek towards the house. He was a little nervous about letting Kevin convince him to take his summer vacation in Kentucky. What was there to do in the country? How would he deal with being around kids all the time? Then again, being around other people and out of California was refreshing. Anyway, it’s not like he could go to work either; he was on suspension for shooting a suspect and it was going to take a few months to get everything sorted out. Not to mention that his wife had taken a modeling gig for the summer.

After what felt like forever, Nick finally arrived at the red door. He lifted his hand to knock and the door flew open. He jumped back and found himself face to face with Kevin all smiles.

“Well hell little brother, I thought you were giving up on coming. Come in…mi casa, es su casa.” Kevin embraced his old partner as he dragged him into the house.

Nick smiled, “This place is fuckin amazing.”

“Thanks, watch the language, Carter. Sorry Kris doesn’t want us cussing in front of the kids.”

“Sorry! Sure, it won’t be easy, but I’ll make the effort.”

“I do hope you guys make the effort and don’t just say it.” Kristen waddled up to the twosome with a wide smile, wiping down her hands on her apron.

Nick’s hands flew to her round belly, “You two don’t waste time, I see.”

Kristen smacked him on the back and they all laughed. “It was all Kevin’s idea. He wanted to see if we could manage to hit the jackpot with the girl.”

“Well?” Nick’s brows raised in wonder. She was about to pop, so she had to know what she was having. “Don’t tell me you guys did that corny shii-thing where you wait to find out.”

Kevin shook his head, “Hell no!” Kristen’s eyes fell upon him. “Crap! Sorry honey. No, we hit the jackpot!”

“Nice!”

“Yes, I’m outnumbered here. Come into the kitchen guys, I just took out some apple pies.”

The threesome walked into the kitchen. Everything was white and seemed brand new. Not to mention it smelled like cinnamon and apples. In the corner towards the big kitchen nook was Max, Kevin’s one year old, sitting in his highchair, singing and banging on his plate with a spoon. His eyes met with Nick’s, he gave a big toothy grin and went back to playing rock star.

“It’s a shame that Lauren couldn’t make it this summer. “

“Oh, I know. It’s just she’s become a big workaholic.” Nick shrugged clearing his throat. “Where’s Mason? I haven’t seen him in forever.” He took a seat on a bench at the island table, while Kristen busied herself with serving pie. Kevin took a seat next to Nick and asked Max politely to lower his volume.

“Mason is with Lily, my niece; they are picking up her older sister. I hope you don’t mind that they are staying for the summer too.” Kristen stuck a forkful of apple pie in her mouth.

As if young girls wandering around the house could cause him curiousity. He was a married man now. He only had eyes for Lauren, his wife. “Not a problem at all.”

“That’s good. Kevin and I came to an agreement that you can have the pool house to yourself. In case you wanna sleep in, or you just need your privacy.” She smiled and walked out of the kitchen.

Once she was out of sight, Nick and Kevin started to catch up on things. Nick talked about the whole bust and how he had shot the guy in self-defense, but how something had gone wrong and now there was a whole investigation. Kevin patted his best friend on the back and assured him that everything would be fine. It was all just protocol when something like that went down.

“So how is the married life?” Kevin asked. He was now standing over Max making funny faces, just to make his son laugh.

Nick wondered for a split second what it would be like to have a child; to be a father. He then shook it off by remembering that he and Lauren were too busy to raise kids at the time.

“The married life…Um is ok. Sometimes a little complicated, but we are surviving. Why the hell are women so bossy?” Nick thought he’d ask Kevin; he knew everything.

Kevin had scooped out Max from his highchair and was twirling him around. Max was in a fit of giggles. “I dunno. Maybe that’s how they keep us in line, it’s just in our eyes they are bossy. I mean if Kristen didn’t boss me around. I’d spend my time in the studio writing music, playing with my kids and just watching my favorite TV shows.”

Nick let out a laugh. He had a point.

The twosome turned their heads when they heard a car pull up in front of the house. Doors slammed shut and there was a ruckus as the front door swung open. Kevin smiled, two young women came to a halt as they tried to level their breathing and Mason flew into the house and crashed into his father.

“Hey you guys. Mason say hi to your uncle Nick.” Mason ran up to Nick and hugged his legs. Kevin smiled. “Hey Piper and Lily this here is my best friend and ex-partner Nick Carter. Nick these are Kristen’s, two nieces.

Nick licked his lips as he looked from one girl to the other. They were totally different; he wouldn’t have guessed they were sisters. They were both tall and slender, but one had gray eyes, a face full of freckles and waves of brown hair that cascaded down to her thighs.

“I’m Lily!” the freckled one stuck out her manicured hand and smiled timidly.

Nick took her hand and gave it a shake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Nick or you can call me Carter.” Their hands dropped to their sides.

The older one had lighter eyes and her hair was much shorter and darker, she had more to look at in the tiny shorts and cut off shirt she was wearing. “I’m Piper…nice to meet you, Carter.” She also smiled, but Nick could swear the smile was flirty.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Nick scratched the back of his head and leaned over to grab his bag. Being around women at the moment made him really uncomfortable. “Hey Kevin, you mind showing me to where I’ll be staying. I’m a bit tired.”

“Yeah, sure! I’ll be back ladies.” Kevin headed out towards the patio. Nick followed as he looked back to check out the two women once again. “Don’t even think about it Carter.”

“I wasn’t even…I’m a married man.”

The truth was he didn’t even know if he was still married. Lauren had left in a hurry that day, after a really nasty argument and it had been three weeks since he’d seen her. Quite frankly he didn’t miss her or her bickering. He felt free…didn’t that mean he was free.

Lily stared out the window as she finished unpacking her things. She was in love with the room she had chosen, it was lavender and beige and the bed was huge. She had a corner window that gave her a whole view of the country side. It was so different from the views in California; at the moment she didn’t miss the city. She really needed a break from the crowds, traffic and her family.

“Uncle Kevin’s best friend is a hottie. I think they said he’s married.” Piper interrupted Lily’s thoughts.

Lily rolled her eyes at her older sister. They were only three years apart, but she always had the feeling that she was the older one. “You better not be thinking about it. He is definitely married.” The two young women stared out the window watching Kevin and Nick making way towards the pool house.

Piper wasn’t lying; Nick Carter was pretty damn hot.

“What does married even mean? He’s probably here trying to run away from his wife and needs someone to spend some time with.” Piper bit the tip of her finger and gave her sister a wink.

“You’re disgusting, sis.” Lily threw one of her pillows at her sister and continued to make her room a little homier. A bunch of papers fell out of one of the bags and they both bent down to pick them up. Lily tried hard to scoop them all up at once, but a few envelopes floated back down to the floor as she stuffed the rest in a drawer.

Piper picked them up and nosily looked through them. One of the envelopes caught her attention since it read ‘City of Hope-Cancer Research Center’ she sat up with wonder in her eyes and waved it at Lily.

“What the hell is this?”

Lily swallowed hard, as she snatched the envelope out of her sister’s hand. “Would you stay out of my things, Jesus!”

“Lily, what the hell is that for? Is everything ok?” Piper wasn’t joking at the moment, her look was serious and the anticipation of her sister’s answer was killing her.

“Everything is fine, crazy. I requested a volunteer packet from them the other day and they barely sent me a response. There is nothing to worry about.” She opened the drawer and stuffed the envelope all the way at the bottom of the pile.

Piper placed a hand over her heart and gave a soft laugh, “Fuck Lily, you almost gave me a heart attack. You know grandma died of cancer. You would tell us if something is wrong …right?”

“Of course I would, stupid. Now can you go change so we can help Kristen with dinner? You’re driving me crazy and it’s my vacation time.”

Dinner time was a little awkward with the new house guest at the table. Lily was comfortable with her aunt and uncle, not to mention the kids, but the simple presence of the hot blonde man made her much more quiet than usual. The food was passed around, there was conversation, laughing, but she just wasn’t interested in joining in. If anything, she was feeling a little queasy and had barely touched her plate.

“So…Lily how are things with school and work?” Her stomach coiled when she realized Kristen was talking to her. The bile rose to her throat and she tried really hard to swallow it right back down. She smiled without looking up from her plate. She knew all the eyes were on her and she didn’t want to meet anyone’s gaze.

“School is slow and work is pretty exhausting.”

“Lily here is a paramedic and she’s studying to be a nurse.” Kristen boasted about her niece proudly.

She moved her gaze slowly away from her plate and up at the rest of the people at the table. Her stomach coiled again when her eyes met with Nick’s.

“Sorry for asking, but how old are you?” Nick asked.

She didn’t really hear what Nick had said. She just saw his mouth move and his eyes continue to bore into hers. Their eye contact was broken when something flew in Nick’s direction from the other end of the table and landed all over his white t-shirt. Everyone gasped in horror; with exception of Max who was giggling like someone was tickling him.

“Oh my God, Nick. I’m so sorry.” Kristen stood up in horror.

Nick turned to look at Max who was still in a fit of laughter as he threw another spoonful at the table. “It’s ok, Kris. I will survive…please sit down.” He laughed and turned his gaze back at Lily.

“She’s twenty-three.” Piper blurted out breaking the awkward silence. “I’m really jealous because she looks eighteen.” Piper answered for Lily, something that really bothered her about her older sister.

A warm feeling spread through Lily’s body and she felt the bile rise way passed her throat this time. There was no way she’d be able to swallow it back down this time. She stood up abruptly excused herself and rushed to the bathroom.

It hurt as her stomach strained with each heave. She flushed, washed her face and tried to think up quickly what she would tell everyone about her little performance. There was a knock at the door and she could hear Kristen asking her ‘if everything was ok’.

“Yes, aunt K, everything is fine.” She slowly opened the door and gave a weak smile. “I’m so sorry about ruining dinner. I think the long drive from the airport made my stomach queasy. Can you please excuse me with everyone? I’m going to go lay down.”

Kristen patted her niece’s back, although she was giving her an explanation, she was concerned. “Sure, go ahead and get some rest. I’ll let everyone know you aren’t feeling well.”

She’d never tell anyone…ever.

That evening after the really awkward dinner and a long chat about how the house had come along with Kristen and Kevin, Nick lay on his bed shirtless; he still wondered how Max’s spaghetti had ended up all over his shirt. He smiled as he remembered the blob of noodles flying across the table and landing on him. While everyone else at the table gasped in horror, Max’s giggles had filled the air. This in return, had infected, Nick who had joined him in the laughing. Nick lifted his head when he heard noise coming from outside.

Curiously he opened the door to the pool house and took a step outside. Dim lights flickered through the waves of water in the pool. He noticed someone sitting on one of the patio chairs; it was one of the girls and she was sniffling.

“Hello? Piper? Lily?” Nick spoke softly, not wanting to startle whoever it was.

Speaking softly obviously didn’t work, because whoever it was, leaped up knocking into Nick and sending them both into the pool. Although it was the summertime, the water was freezing and Nick felt many parts of him shrivel up. Water splashed into his mouth as he moved his hands and legs to keep afloat. He swam up to the edge and took hold of the other person and pulled her against him. They both held onto the edge and Nick easily pulled himself up and out of the pool, then reached down to help the mystery woman.

“I’m so sorry! I’m such a klutz…you startled me.” Lily continued to ramble, but then as her eyes met with Nick’s she quickly shut down.

Nick recognized Lily right away. Her gaze was spellbinding; it had to be those eyes she had. He couldn’t even pin point their color. He was still trying to catch his breath and water was dripping off his body. Lily couldn’t help but to scan his bare chest and notice that his pants were barely clinging on to his hips. She shook as the warm breeze hit her wet body.

“It’s ok. Are you ok? Maybe I should get you a towel…It’s quite the walk back to the house.”

“Um…” She thought about being in the same room as him and it made her a little uneasy. “Maybe…I should---“

He was surprised when he saw her pretty eyes roll to the back of her head and her body came crashing towards him. He caught her like she weighed nothing and lifted her up into his arms. Nervously, he took her back to the pool house and laid her down on the bed.

She was out cold.

“Are you alright?” He softly patted the side of her face and then checked her pulse. She was alive. He decided to leave her there and just cover her up so she wouldn’t be cold. He grabbed dry clothes and changed in the bathroom while mumbling to himself. The last thing he needed was for Kristen and Kevin to think that he was being smooth on their nieces when he was still kinda married.

He opened the bathroom door hoping that Lily had woken up and left, or that she had at least woken up so he could walk her back to the house. Slowly he rounded the corner of the room and to his luck; Lily was still sound asleep.

So far the first day in Lexington, Kentucky had turned out to be pretty interesting. Nick grabbed a pillow and extra blanket and headed out the door.

Lily shivered as her eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the dim light casting through the windows. She jumped when she realized that she wasn’t in her own room. Her head was flooded with thoughts as she tried to process how she had gotten where she was. Her clothes felt damp against her body and she shivered one more time. Little by little she advanced towards the door and carefully opened it, her eyes blinked against the sunlight as she pulled the door open.

Her eyes scanned the place and she smiled when she saw him curled up like a baby on one of the pool side chairs. Everything suddenly came back to her; she remembered sitting down crying, he’d come up to her and she’d been so startled they’d collided and fallen into the pool.

“You’re blocking my heater!” Nick muttered.

Lily gasped at the sound of Nick’s voice, a rush of embarrassment rushed through her body turning her cheeks red. Not only was she embarrassed about the night before, but the fact of being caught staring at him, was mortifying.

“I’m sorry. I was trying to remember what the heck happened last night.” Her cheeks burned.

Nick smiled as he sat up, stretching out and yawning. “You want a recap?”

They both grinned as he stood up and approached her. Lily nodded her head; the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of what a clumsy person she was. “No thanks. I think I remember clearly…just don’t understand why I didn’t go home.” She couldn’t remember that one minor detail of why she was sleeping in someone else’s bed, besides her own.

Nick headed back to the pool house to put on some shoes, the least he could do was walk Lily back to the house. He pulled on his boots, quickly threw some water on his face to finish waking up and threw on a hoodie. Lily was standing at the door hugging herself; the morning was colder than she remembered them being.

“Here you can wear this.” He took another sweater off the bed and handed it to her. Without saying anything she put the sweater on and instantly felt warm.

“I wanted to thank you for last night. It definitely wasn’t my intention to push you into the pool.” Lily giggled.

Nick smiled and stuffed his hands deep into his pockets. “Eh…I had debated on taking a swim earlier.” They both laughed. “Are you feeling ok though?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You fainted after I helped you out of the pool. That’s why I left you on my bed.”

Lily’s stomach flipped; it was like she had no more control over what happened to her body. “Oh…maybe it was the rush of the cold.”

“Yeah, it could be. That water was freezing last night.”

They came to a stop at the glass doors in the backyard. “Thanks again for helping me. Can we not tell anyone about the fainting? I don’t want to worry anyone.”

“Sure. You’re secret is safe with me.” Nick grinned and looked down at Lily.

Shyly she looked up at him; he was much taller than she was. Nervously she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, and cringed realizing that was a move she usually made when a guy made her feel nervous.

“Well I should get inside before everyone else gets up.” She took a few steps towards him, stood on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

He just smiled.

She headed towards the door and remembered the sweater wasn’t hers. “Oh, I almost forgot to give back your sweater.” Lily began to take it off.

“It’s ok; you can give it to me later.” He gave her a short wave and turned to walk back to the pool house. Nick smiled. On the positive side of things; maybe this summer wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined.