Brooke nervously wraps her fingers on the hotel room table in front of her. When this whole plan formed in her mind just a couple days before she hadn't taken into account how awkward it would be, or how little she knew about what to say to him, let alone how he would be have. Nothing bad had happened, but Gary isn't himself, not that she expected him to be.

Now she is supposed to have a meal with both Gary and Peter's mother! As she sits staring at the two outfits she has to choose from she remembers that not only has it been three days since she last talked to Jaelyn, but she didn't even tell her best friend her fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants idea! Quickly she grabs her phone and searches for Jaelyn's contact.

Three rings and then a, "Hey girl, you finally remembered me!"

Brooke can't help the laugh that escapes her, but suddenly confusion overcomes her. "Wait, how did you know that?"

Now it is Jaelyn's turn to laugh. "What you didn't think that your brother, or my brother, wouldn't spill the beans?"

"Okay, I guess that was really naïve of me, but I do have to say that I obviously haven't been a good friend either! I mean I didn't even tell you my off the wall plan." With every word her voice becomes a little bit louder, and a bit higher.

Jaelyn giggles followed by a groan. "Oh girl, you are making me laugh way too much. This baby is mashing against my ribs so, so much. Anyway, enough about this big one, what is all this craziness about?"

Brooke hops up from the uncomfortable chair and plops back on the bed. "Well, Gary wasn't being himself, and I knew he wouldn't with the things he is going through, but I couldn't just sit there and not do something to help him. So, this idea popped into my head and I kind of went with it without thinking." She ends with a sigh and rubs her free hand over her face.

"But it isn't going as planned?" It is more of a question then a statement and Brooke can almost see her best friend's arched eyebrows.

"I didn't really have a plan," she quickly adds, "I know, I know, that's were I first went wrong! It's just the longer I'm here the more out of place I feel, the more I realize how little I know Gary, and how to help him. I feel like this was all just a huge mistake!"

Jaelyn allows there to be a moment of only the hum of the phone line for a moment before she speaks again, "Did someone tell you that?"

This stops Brooke's spinning thoughts a second. No, none of the people she has come face to face with so far have actually said the words. Did they have to though? Aren't things implied sometimes? "I guess not."

"So then why are you here moping to me that no one wants you there?" Jaelyn screeches with a slight chuckle in her voice. "Go! Go do some fun things, along with whatever you have planned. Enjoy yourself a bit while you are gone. Take Gary along with you if you want or whatever you want to do, but don't worry about what everyone else does or doesn't want you to do. This baby is about to put me in the crazy ward if I don't get up from here, so I'll talk to you later!"

"Thanks Jae! You are the best friend I could ever ask for."

With a swipe of her hand and a slight blush on her cheeks Jaelyn counters, "Don't get all sappy on me!"

After they say their goodbyes Brooke hops from the bed and begins to throw her clothes around until she finds exactly what she wants to wear. A light blue paisley print dress that hits her just about her knees. She pairs it with a pair of her favorite sandals and a simple cactus pendent necklace.

In a matter of a half an hour she is dressed up, her hair done in a bun, and ready to check out the stores of downtown Midland. She grabs her car keys and heads out the hotel to first find a snack before she gets too heavily into her hobby of window shopping.

In just a few short minutes of navigating through the traffic Brooke spots a frozen yogurt ad on a bill board. She takes the exit as directed and finds herself at the cutely decorated shop. As she steps inside she pushes her sun glasses onto the top of her head and scans the menu board for the perfect flavor. Frozen yogurt and smoothies are her food weakness.

It takes her a full thirty minutes to get her large cup of strawberry frozen yogurt, because everyone apparently had the exact same idea, to get frozen yogurt, and the line was long enough to wrap around the capital building. She does, however, manage to find a set on a bench, on the shop's side patio, to enjoy her treat on.

With a smile on her face and Caleb and Kelsey's worship medely albumn playing through her car she heads off to see what kind of clothing boutiques Midland, Texas has.
***

Gary runs his plastic black comb under the running hotel sink water then runs it through his hair. When he feels as though he looks at least half way presentable he slips on his tall topped boots, grabs his hat and trudges his way out of the hotel to the small Mexican food joint where he is meeting Carol.

His heart is racing and he feels as though there is a weight on his chest as he ponders what Carol might want to talk to him about. Nearly everything for Peter's funeral has been worked out, what could possibly still be hanging in the air?

Pulling the door open he steps inside and lets his eyes adjust to the light. He glances around the room until he spots Carol sitting at the little table by the window. With a deep breath and a silent prayer he forces his legs to carry him over to sit across from her.

"Sorry I'm late," he shamefully apologizes while taking his seat.

Carol waves her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad you could make it."

"Always," he assures her as he cocks his black felt hat back away from his eyes. Until now he hasn't noticed just how sweaty his palms really are.

There is a long awkward pause of silence before Carol clears her throat her throat and places her hand on top of his that is laying on the table. "I know you are hurting, probably more than I am, so I hate to put another thing on your shoulders." She takes a deep breath which causes Gary to meet her gaze.

He wants to deny that he could possibly be hurting more than she is, but his lips won't move. Not a single sound will come from them no matter how hard he tries.

"I can't think of anyone that I would rather have than you," she continues, "To take care of the ranch."
***

Brooke scurries around the small conference room kitchen of the hotel. Nothing about the hotel is large and the conference room is no exception. There isn't quite enough counter space for all of her pots and pans for the dinner and with the stress and worry that it won't be just perfect her frustration levels are climbing rapidly.

She turns around, hitting a pot, with one swift grab she narrowly saves it from hitting the grime covered tile. A annoyed groan bubbles out of her. Rather harshly, she places the pan at the back of the counter. Dumping a bit of water in the sauce pan on the stove she closes her eyes as the lid clatters back on it. As she takes deep breathes she hears soft music.

Her curiosity gets the best of her and she tiptoes across the floor until she is peeking around the corner. A smile, tear, and gasp all fight for control of her emotions as she spots Gary sitting at a table with his head bowed, his bible in front of him, and a traveling CD player across the table from him. As she listens closer she notices the song is one she has never heard before.

Her eyes grow wide as he begins to sing with the words.

"I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God," his deep voice cracks making the love and passion he has for Jesus Christ evident.

Suddenly Brooke feels as though she is interrupting and she scurries back into the kitchen. As she finished heating the meal up she can't get the image of Gary in a deep conversation with God out of her head. It causes her all kinds of confusion, because she isn't sure how it makes her feel.

Thirty or so minutes later Brooke finds herself at a small table with a woman she has barely met, and a man who she can't get out of her mind. No one knows what to say as they sit together and slowly eat their food. She feels bad that she can't come up with something to say or talk about but her mind just won't focus!

Finally Carol breaks the silence, "Where do you work, Brooke?"

Caught off guard by a question directed to herself Brooke blushes with a smile. "I am a hair stylist and a small salon there in Fort Stockton."

"Oh! Awesome, do you enjoy it?"

Brooke lays her fork on the side of her paper plate now fully into the conversation. "I do, I feel like I'm helping people feel beautiful."

Carol nods with a smile. "That's great!" Her gaze turns to Gary who is staring intently at his food. "Gary? You okay?"

His head quickly pops up and he looks around. "What's that? Oh, yeah, I'm good."

Brooke and Carol share and glance at one another then back at Gary. When Carol catches Brooke's gaze she makes a tiny swatting motion signaling to overlook his odd response. "Will you be staying in town long?"

"Oh I don't know. I haven't really thought about it much."

Carol grins slightly. "Well if you aren't busy tomorrow afternoon I would love to show you around some of my favorite shops. Of course Gary can come along if he wants to."

This time as they both look at him his head doesn't shoot up in surprise, but instead he smiles slightly and shakes his head. "I'm okay, I'll let you ladies cover the shopping sprees."

Later, after they finished eating Gary lay on his hotel room bed. He felt bad for how distant and dull he had been at the meal, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he and Carol had talked about earlier. He made his decision now he just has to talk to both Carol and Brooke.