When Merrill finally pulled into the driveway it was midnight, but he could see Duncan through the window reading a book. He sighed, got out of the car and decided he was too tired to get the luggage out. He would wait until morning after a good nights rest. Dragging himself, he slowly made his way up to the front door and startled Duncan as he entered, which gave him a good laugh.

"I'm sorry kid."

"It's alright I was starting to doze off, but now I'm wide awake," Duncan replied. "Oh, by the way, your daughter came by looking for you."

"Sylvia?" Merrill said feeling very surprised. "Did she come by herself or with her family."

"By herself. I told her she could spend the night and I would just head back up the road to my uncle's, but she insisted on going back home."

"Did you tell her where I was?"

Duncan yawned while saying yes and then gave himself a good stretch. "She had no clue that you were going on vacation. I actually felt bad giving her the news after seeing the look on her face. Why didn't you tell your kids that you were going out of town?"

"I'm not a child, Duncan. They don't always need to know where I am."

"Yeah but you're old. You can't be going places all by yourself," Duncan joked.

Merrill rolled his eyes. "Did she say why she stopped by?"

"Nope, wouldn't tell me a word. Just got back into her car and left."

That night, Merrill tossed and turned. Usually the sounds his farm gave off at night were soothing to him, but for some reason it kept him awake instead. He thought a lot about his daughter Sylvia and wondered why she came by and alone to top it off. He couldn't remember the last time she visited him without her family or even her brother Aaron, for that matter.

The morning arrived, so Merrill tried giving his daughter a call but there was no answer. The curiosity of why she came by the farm stayed with him the entire day and even over the week as he called her but could never reach her. He finally left a message, figuring that whatever the reason was for her visit, if it was important then she would call him back. When Merrill's daughter finally returned his call on Sunday morning, they didn't speak for a long time, but she did say that she wanted to bring her kids for a visit.

So once the day of their visit finally arrived, Merrill sat in his recliner pretending not to be anxious while he waited. As much as he tried to sound calm and cool over the phone, he was actually very excited to hear that she would be bringing the kids with her. Just then, he heard the sound of the rubble being crunched over and a car coming to a halt. He thought about greeting his daughter and grandkids at the door but then decided to wait for them to knock. As soon as they did, he swung opened the door for them and his grandchildren immediately filled his quiet home with noise. They hugged him and then rushed past to put their things down. Sylvia trailed behind them but paused to give Merrill a long hug.

"Hi, Pop."

"Hey," he replied as he held her tight.

For most of the visit, Merrill felt anxious and was constantly wondering why Sylvia was visiting so out of the blue? Yet, Merrill tried to enjoy himself with his grandchildren, all the while waiting for the right time to ask Sylvia about why she dropped by just a few days before?

To help keep the kids entertained, they all went down to the river to sit in the sun and do some fishing. Max, who was now fourteen and Joseph, who was twelve, were more independent and didn't need instructions, but Emma, who was six, still loved being doted on by her grandpa. Meanwhile, Sylvia either sat quietly in her lounge seat or tried to fill silent moments by talking about the kids involvement in sports and swimming. Later as the kids splashed at the edge of the shore, and their fishing expedition was long forgotten, Merrill decided to cut to the chase.

"Ok, Sylvia, are you gonna tell me why you stopped by the other day and what brings you here now?"

Sylvia stared at her father while thinking of how to explain and then finally spoke. "I've been thinking a lot about how things went the other night with Aaron and I'm really sorry with how upset we made you. We just worry about you dad. You're out here all alone, there's so much work to be done around here and we can't always be here to keep an eye on you."

"I don't need to be babysat Sylvia. I might be in my seventies but I'm still capable of a lot. Heck just last weekend I was surfing!"

"Surfing?" Sylvia said with disapproval. "Dad you can get hurt. You're not as strong as you use to be."

"And how would you know Sylvia? The only time you or Aaron give a damn about me, is twice a year."

Sylvia let out a sigh and Merrill could see her eyes beginning to water. "Look dad I'm sorry. I'm not trying to treat you like a child. I just worry about you and you're right, I don't come here to see you enough. Which is why I want to change that. I want to come up here with the kids more often. At least once a month." Sylvia looked at her kids as they skipped rocks into the river. "What were you doing in Breeze Bay, dad?"

"A friend of mine moved there so I went to go visit and check out the place."

"A friend? Which friend?"

"No one you know. She was sort of my neighbor. Lived over by the bridge."

"A woman?" Sylvia perked up with a smile.

"Oh it's not what you think. I'm too old to get into a relationship. Besides, she's twenty eight years old, I'm kind of like a father-figure to her."

"Oh," Sylvia said and her smile fell.

For the rest of the afternoon Merrill continued to be a good host. He prepared a late lunch after playing by the river, played his guitar for the kids, to which his granddaughter Emma tried to sing along with her head on his shoulder, and then he played board games with them. As the evening arrived, Sylvia gathered her children and together they loaded back into the car and drove off but not before promising to return in a couple of weeks.

As he watched them drive off, Merrill sighed heavily. Overall it had been a good day. Peaceful. Yet, somewhere inside his heart, he knew his kids weren't going to change and that despite Sylvia's promise, she most likely wouldn't return in two weeks.

🌊🌊🌊

When Lucinda went back to work at the Barrel Wave, she was surprised to find that there were customers who missed her. They teased Raif about where he had kept her hidden for the last couple of weeks and for the first time she felt as if they had accepted her in the town. Never before had she felt more at ease serving coffee and making sandwiches at the Barrel Wave before. Her bliss had become Breeze Bay... and Raif. So as the weeks past and she continued to set her roots in the sleepy beach town, Lucinda couldn't have foreseen the storm that was brewing.

One night as she was in the cafe working on the bookkeeping, she could hear Raif talking to someone outside of the office. It wasn't the usual tone he took with customers so it peaked Lucinda's curiosity. She rolled her chair closer to the office door and listened.

"It's alright. I know your mother by now. She still hates my guts."

"No Raif, it's not right what she did. When she told me, I was furious. It doesn't matter how many times I try to explain that it was my fault for not telling them the complete truth. She remembers things HER way." There was a long pause which caused Lucinda to strain her ears to listen for more. "I'm so sorry Raif."

"Like I said, it's alright," Raif replied with some sadness in his tone.

"No, it's not. I should've told my parents the truth from the very begining, and I'm sorry about the way things ended between us. I was being so selfish, yet at the same time I didn't want to disappoint anyone... so I was a coward instead."

"You're not a coward, don't be so hard on yourself. We were just kids."

"Oh Raif..." the mystery voice murmured. "You have no idea just how selfish I was back then..."

"Look, I get it. We were in separate colleges, you wanted to be free and date other people. It's ok to do that in college. I'm not upset with you."

"Do you always have to be so understanding? I was the biggest coward!" The woman's voice exclaimed and Lucinda was finally putting together the pieces that it was Raif's ex girlfriend, Rachel. "I got really drunk at a party and slept with a guy there."

"I'm sorry what?" Raif rattled off, but Rachel kept going.

"I was so ashamed of what I did, so when I came to visit during the summer, I put up a wall to hide my feelings and I felt that the best thing to do was to break up with you."

There was another pause of silence and after a while Lucinda could hear Raif clear his throat before speaking again. "Let me get this straight Rachel. The real reason we broke up was because you cheated on me? And you're just telling me now, after all of these years? Why! Why now?"

Lucinda's eyes widened. She knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop, but it was really hard to ignore the conversation, especially when it involved a man she was sleeping with... and was falling in love with. As she inched close to hear them, she could make out sniffling sounds.

"I'm sorry Raif, I really didn't want to hurt you. I loved you so much back then, but I was also conflicted with my feelings of being in a serious relationship so young. You were my first everything, and the more I got to experience life outside of our little bubble, the more I wanted freedom, but I'm ashamed of what I did. I truly am. You didn't deserve that, no one does." Rachel blew out a breath to calm herself and then continued but her voice was still a little shakey. "I've carried this guilt with me for all of these years, constantly wondering if I should tell you. Then when my mother told me what she said to your new girlfriend... you're not a cheater Raif, you've always been a loyal guy, so I knew I had to make it right."

"Which explains you showing up here out of the blue?"

"I usually avoid coming into town whenever I visit my parents," she explained. "I'm always afraid I'll bump to bump into you, but after what my mother did, I needed to come see you and apologize."

"Why?" He asked in a clipped tone. "Why not just carry on with your lie? You have for all of these years, so why all of a sudden do you care about what your mother says to me or my girlfriend? You've never cared before."

"Because... because from what I hear you're quite in love with this woman and I just wanted to make things right. After what I did to you, it's only fair."

"Yeah well, your mom sure did create a few waves between Lucinda and me, but we got through it."

"Good, I'm glad," Rachel said quickly, followed by another pause of silence.

"So... with you coming clean, does it mean your mom knows about you cheating on me now?" Raif asked.

"Not yet. I needed to tell you first."

"I almost wish that you didn't tell me..." Raif sighed. "After all of these years, I don't really see a point."

"There's more..."

"More?" Raif exclaimed.

"Yes, but now is probably not the best time to talk about it."

"Well you've already dropped one bomb on me. What's another one!" Raif said in frustration.

"Please Raif. If we could meet for lunch or something so we can finish talking? My mom is down the street at the grocery store and she has no idea I snuck over here."

"Fine," he said angrily. "The last thing I want is for your mother to storm in here and accuse me of holding you hostage."

"I'll call you tomorrow with a time, ok?"

"Can't wait," he replied sarcastically.

Lucinda didn't even have to see Raif to know that he was truly upset, she could just hear it in his tone. It was a strange feeling that came over her, a sudden onset of jealousy. Up until now, Rachel was just an ex girlfriend in Raif's past, but now here she was, barreling back into his life. She could hear him letting out a big sigh and then his footsteps walking towards the office. She quickly shuffled herself back to the desk and busied herself with the bookkeeping again, just in time for him to walk in. Raif paused at the door in surprise. He had forgotten that Lucinda was still in the office.

"So I take it you heard everything?"

She turned to him and nodded yes, then stood up and wrapped her arms around him. It was bizzare consoling a boyfriend who was sad over his ex girlfriend cheating on him. Then again, it had been so long since Lucinda had been in a relationship that she forgot how sometimes they came with baggage.

🌊🌊🌊

After putting things off with Rachel until Sunday, Raif should've anticipated how angry she would be with him. However, he could never predict just how angry, or the major, major, info bomb she dropped in the middle of her angry rant. There they stood in the middle of his empty cafe and his jaw was completely on the floor. If Raif had not already been stunned by Rachel's news of cheating on him back in college, he definitely was in shock now.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"You heard me." She arched her brow at him.

"I did..." Raif trailed off as he scrubbed his face and then took a seat. "I'm just really hoping I'm either hallucinating or you're messing with me."

Rachel shook her head with a scoff, "Yeah, cause I have nothing better to do than lie to you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You have before."

"Not about something as serious as this!" she growled.

"So why now!" he clipped at her. "Why after all of this time would you tell me about this now? You could've kept on lying and living your merry little life and I would have never been the wiser!"

"Because you deserve to know!" she shouted.

"But why now!?" he shouted back.

Rachel looked to the floor as she adjusted the purse still slung over her shoulder. Letting out a sigh she said, "Because my son deserves to know who his real father is."

Anger. Sadness. Betrayal. There weren't enough words to describe how Raif felt about the news Rachel had spilled. Now he struggled to figure out how to tell Lucinda about it. His hands couldn't even stop shaking, let alone his head which was still spinning, so how would he possibly explain things to her? He was falling hard for Lucinda and for the first time in a long time, he was actually dating someone with the potential for it to blossom into something more. But what if the news turned her away? With a deep breath he decided to go over to her apartment and just pull the bandaid off.

Reaching her door, he blew out some air and knocked. A few seconds past before he could hear Lucinda's feet shuffling towards the door, which brought a smile across his face. Maybe he could just hold her, close his eyes and then wake up in bed realizing it was all just a bizarre dream? Then the door unlocked and Raif was greeted with Lucinda's eager warm embrace. Taking his hand, she lead him to the sofa to sit and then rubbed his knuckles while asking how his meeting with Rachel went. Raif leaned his head against the backrest and groaned.

"That bad, huh?" Lucinda asked and wrapped her arms around him.

"You have no idea..." he sighed.

She rested her head on his chest and replied, "It's ok, you don't have to talk about it right now. You can tell me tomorrow, if you want."

He pushed himself up, adjusting himself into a straighter position, which caused Lucinda to scoot back, but he didn't want her far away from him. So he cupped his hands behind her knees and pulled her legs over him. Then he propped Lucinda's shoulders toward him so he could look her in the eyes.

"Comfortable?" she chuckled.

"I just need to look you directly in the eyes while saying what I'm about to say." He swallowed.

"Hey." Lucinda wrapped her hands around the back of his neck as her brows furrowed together with concern. "You don't have to explain anything to me right now. We can just go to bed and you can tell me tomorrow."

"No, I think I should tell you now."

"Ok," she replied, caressing his neck with her thumb.

"Rachel has a son I've never known about."

"Oh?" Lucinda asked feeling confused as to why it was so important for Raif to know that Rachel had a son, but then she understood. "He's yours?"

"According to Rachel at least."

"Wait..." She adjusted herself and tucked her legs under her bottom. "If she's had a child all of these years, one that is supposed to be yours, wouldn't her parents have said something a long time ago? And why didn't she say anything!?" Lucinda replied with some anger in her voice. "How old is he?"

"He's going to be thirteen."

"Wow! So for thirteen years she's been hiding him from you!" Lucinda practically shouted.

"Please, just let me explain from the beginning, ok?" Raif replied and rubbed his eyes before continuing. He looked tired. "We slept together the summer she came back from college... a few times. Anyway, we did what our friends at the time called, 'breakup sex'. It's when you have one last go at--"

"I know what it is!" Lucinda snapped.

"Ok. Just let me explain everything before you start ripping my head off."

"I'm sorry," Lucinda replied as she shifted her gaze down.

"After she returned to college for fall semester she noticed that she missed a period. At first she thought it was delayed because of stress, but then the following month when it didn't come again, she got scared. She took a pregnancy test, which came back positive, but she was certain that the baby belonged to the guy from the party. Apparently she slept with him about a week before sleeping with me and she couldn't remember if he put a condom on or not."

"And I'm guessing you did wear one?"

"No... but I always pulled out." When Lucinda narrowed her eyes at him as if he was an idiot, he held his hands up. "I know what you're thinking, but we were young and stupid and thought that 'pulling out' was enough to keep us safe." Raif began fussing with the pillows on the sofa as he continued. "Rachel was scared to tell her parents about her pregnancy, especially because at the time she was certain the baby belonged to the other guy. She lied to them and told them that the father was a guy she began dating after we broke up and she made them promise to never tell me about it. Which surprisingly they kept their promise."

"So then why was Eaddie so upset with you and thinks you cheated on Rachel? After all, she claims Rachel was your fiancé."

"I know, it's one big mess. It's hard for me to completely understand everything too. I think she got confused because before Rachel found out about being pregnant she told her mom that we were taking a break and 'maybe' getting back together at some point. Plus, Eaddie has always been irrational and very dramatic." Raif paused to take in a deep breath and then let it out in one long flow.

Lucinda took his hands and massaged his knuckles. "Go on. I'm still listening."

"Jump to a few years later, she and the other guy break up, but they continue sharing custody of the kid. According to Rachel, the boy looks a lot like her, so she didn't notice his resemblance to me when he was small. Then one day she was rifling through old photos of us as kids and apparently his resemblance to me is uncanny. It freaked her out, so she secretly got a paternity test done and after the results came back negative for her ex, she came clean to him. However, she's kept the truth from her parents and everyone else. She thought it would be easier that way, especially on her son... our son."

"Sure, easier for her!" Lucinda adjusted herself and folded her arms. "Raif, you have a son who's life you've missed out on for thirteen years! If Eaddie hadn't cornered me weeks ago, then who knows how much longer Rachel would have held onto this secret. And why now? Why come back into your life to drop this bomb now? Is it because of me?"

"I don't think so..." Raif rubbed his neck.

"Are you sure? Because it's awfully suspicious that she would tell you all of this now. Is she jealous? Is she hoping she can win you back so you can be a family? Really Raif, what's her real motive here?"

"She said she wanted her son to know who his real father is," Raif replied with a shrug.

"But now? After all of this time?" Lucinda repeated. "Not to mention how unfair it is to drag this kid through whatever ulterior motive she has! How cruel will it be when he finds out he's been lied to all his life, and that his mom kept his real father from him? That's not fair for a kid to go through."

"I know... you're right," Raif whispered as he rubbed Lucinda's knee.

"Will she let you see him?"

"For now, Rachel says no."

"No!?" Lucinda exclaimed.

"Babe, I know you're pist, I am too." He caressed her face, and Lucinda's anger softened at the sound of his affectionate term for her. "But I'd like to have a paternity test done first. Maybe just so I know for certain that Rachel is telling the truth."

"I'm sorry for getting so upset," she said as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. "I just... I can't..." She shook her head. "How could she lie, for so long, about something so monumental? It's not right. It's downright cruel. So if she's lying about all of this, I swear I'll claw her eyes out."

Raif let off a soft chuckle as he ran a hand up and down her back. "Remind me never to piss you off."

"Come on," she said as she got up from the sofa and took him by the hands. "You've had a long night, so we should go to bed."

As he let her guide him towards the bedroom he said, "I'm not even that tired with this whole bomb dropped on me. I doubt I'll catch a wink of sleep."

"Good." She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Cause tonight I plan to help you forget about your troubles for a while."

Instantly the tension from his shoulders eased. "The best thing I've ever heard all day!"

That night they made love instead of their usual fuel driven passion for each other. They moved slowly, neither of them bothering to rush towards a release, but instead taking their time as Lucinda used her body to soothe Raif. Some time late in the night, once their exhaustion consumed them, they cuddled with limbs and legs tangled together. As Lucinda drifted off to sleep with her skin still warm and clammy with sweat, Raif watched over her, admiring the rosy glow to her flushed face. He was in love with her and suddenly worried if Rachel's revelation would push her away?

He couldn't lose her. Not now.