Natalie and Taylor now sat in the park together. Both had ice cream from Dairy Queen as they sat there, eating in silence at first. Then Taylor wiped a strand of hair from Natalie's face, and she looked over at him sadly. Tears still streamed down her face. She understood why Ashley didn't want her around, and a part of her agreed that it was time for her to move on. Nathan was in jail and there wasn't really a reason for her to stick around. But the fact that Taylor wasn't willing to let her go was what stopped her, and she wondered if that meant he still had some leftover feelings for her. Finally breaking the silence, she asked him the million dollar question. " Why do you keep me around, Taylor? You have everything you could want, but you are risking your life with Ashley for me. Why is that?"
Taylor put a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, and thought about it a moment. He hadn't even taken the time to think about what he was doing. All he knew, was he felt like had to protect Natalie. Not just his kids. He swallowed his bite, and looked her way. " You know I still care about you, Natalie. I always will, and I just... I guess I feel responsible in a way. I left you for her, and you... you took a step in the wrong direction. But I guess if I'm to be completely honest, I... a part of me still loves you."
She smiled a little. It felt nice to hear that come from his mouth. " Taylor, I really needed to hear that. I did. Because I still love you. And it hurts because I see you with her, and you look so happy with her."
" She makes me happy in a lot of ways, but she is no you. You've made some mistakes lately that have pissed me off to no end, but you are still an amazing and tough woman. You have always been able to pull through the rough times, and you continue to do so." He said, smiling at her. " I miss you, Natalie. I love her, but you never once gave me a reason to wonder if I made the wrong decision of being with you. That's all she does lately is fight with me. I'm beginning to wonder if I made the right move in leaving you for her." With a sigh, he took another bite of his ice cream.
She finished her ice cream, and kissed him on the cheek. She wiped his hair away from her face, and then made the bold move of bringing her lips to his. He didn't respond at first. But soon their tongues were entangled in each other. He kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her. When they pulled out of the kiss, neither said anything. She just laid her head on his shoulder, and he held her close.
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Zac had left the house that afternoon to go on a walk with the kids. It had been a nice warm day out, so he had dressed George for the weather and headed out the door. Kate was staying back to clean up the house and make up a late lunch for all of them. Junia and Shepherd were just a few steps ahead of him, and he watched closely as the two laughed and talked.
HIm and Kate were still struggling a bit, although things seemed to be better between them for the most part. He was still pissed that she had kept the truth about Natalie from him. It shouldn't affect him anymore, he knew that. After all, the kids and her were now safe. But after hearing that Nathan had attacked Ashley, he couldn't help it. If things had been done differently, it probably wouldn't have happened. He knew it was affecting his brother's relationship with Ashley, and that the two were growing further apart. That bothered him too. She was family, and to see her hurting did hurt him.
He tried not to think about any of that as he walked. Junia and Shepherd were playing tag as they walked to the park, running circles around him and George. With a laugh, he stopped pushing his son for a moment and picked Junia up as she went by him. He playfully tickled her before setting her back down. She giggled, and smiled up at him.
When they reached the park, he saw something he didn't expect to see. Taylor and Natalie held each other in their arms, occasionally kissing each other on the lips. His heart sank for Ashley. She loved her brother so much, and now here he was kissing Natalie. The last time anyone had done something to warn Ashley, it ended up badly. There had been that huge fight of course between Taylor and Natalie, which he knew about at this point. But he didn't want for Ashley to find out from another source either.
