When Blake heard Rena, he stepped out from behind the door. She could read uneasiness in his face. No one introduced her to Courtney. "Did I come at a bad time?"

Ian leaned on his haunches. "This timing couldn't be more perfect." Blake gave him a withering look.

"We weren't expecting you," said Clarissa.

"Actually I came to see Blake. I wanted to apologize for not calling you this morning. I overslept. Actually I did call, but you didn't answer."

Blake quickly grabbed her arm. "Can we step outside for a minute?"

His fiancé stood up and reached for Rena's hand. Blake looked as if he were going to crack. Rena shook her hand gingerly. "You must be Courtney, Blake's fiancé. I'm Rena Blackshear, Ian's sister. I've heard so much about you."

Ian looked confused, like Rena had just messed up the best scandal in town, and Clarissa's mouth dropped open. Blake was stunned. Rena was surely hoping that her face did not betray the calm words that she had just spoken. Turmoil was churning in her heart.

"Wow, so Ian has a sister. I never knew it. Clarissa, why didn't you tell me you had a daughter?"

Clarissa didn't know what to say, and Blake was dumbfounded. The tension in the room was thick as a morning fog. Rena didn't like being the center of attention. She was determined to display a calm exterior under the mounting unrest.

"Oh, I'm the black sheep, but I'm certain that you will hear a lot more about me now," she said, turning to Blake with a smug look on her face.

Clarissa quickly amended Rena's statement. "What she means is that we haven't had much contact over the years. You see, she lives in New York. I didn't have the opportunity to raise her. Rena's father raised her."

"You had plenty of opportunity."

Blake stepped between Rena and Courtney. "Give us just a minute."

He took Rena by the arm and led her through the door. She was doing everything that she could to maintain composure, but inwardly she was on a steep, emotional cliff. Once the door closed behind him, he spun her against the wall and whispered. "I didn't know that you knew. That's why I asked you to call me this morning. I planned to take you out to breakfast and tell you. I wanted you to hear it from me first. I couldn't tell you yesterday, you had to deal with way too much."

As they looked at each other, there was clearly another conversation going on, yet unspoken. He was inches from her face. What she saw was a broken heart. Rena knew that there was no way he could not see her regret. They were locked in a heated gaze. Sensations from the past were welling up inside her. She remembered their torrid kisses in this very hall and wanted them at this moment more than ever before. "I never meant to hurt you," she whispered.

Just then, Courtney opened the door and Blake stepped back. "I was just coming to look for you, Blake. The seamstress just called and asked if you can come right now to be measured. She said, 'Sorry for the short notice.'"

Blake snapped his attention away from Rena. "Sure, I'll go."

Courtney smiled at Blake and then turned to Rena. "Did y'all finish your business? I know you said you came to see Blake."

"I didn't know that you would be here and was actually coming over to ask him if the two of you can have dinner with me Wednesday night. We can do it right here after the restaurant closes. I really know my way around this place and I'm an awesome cook."

Before Blake could say anything, Courtney accepted the invitation. "I think that would be a great idea. I'd like to get to know you as much as I know Ian and Clarissa. Ian can be a bear sometimes, but they are both wonderful people."

"You know what else? I won't be here very long, but while I'm here I am going to help you guys plan the wedding."

Blake choked. "Well, that's sweet of you, but we're really getting along fine with the plans."

"That's not what I heard. How can you turn me down, Blake? You know that I'm one of the best event planners in the country."

"Blake, is that true?"

Blake gave Rena a condescending look and then an endearing smile to Courtney. "She's in the hospitality business and manages one of the largest hotels in New York."

"Well, this is marvelous because we've been overwhelmed trying to put everything together."

"But Rena, you're really here to take care of things with your mom and..."

"You leave that to me. You and I both know that for me to pull off your wedding will be a snap. Plus, it will help me to cope with what's going on – you know, work therapy."

After Rena left the restaurant she had a cab take her into town to rent a car. She drove off in a hybrid. It was difficult to find a place that could rent a car based on her current taste, but she was fortunate to find a steel grey BMW i3. She intended to wrap up her business in Savannah quickly and put plenty of miles on this gas-saver while doing so. She called the hospital to speak with the elder Dr. Clark and they told her that he was out of the office today. She took a chance that he just might be at home. She dreaded the thought of visiting her old home, but she needed to find out what was really going on with her mother.

During the drive, the changes had her mind feeling like a ping-pong ball being hit this direction and that. She knew meeting with Dr. Clark was going to add another layer of concern, but she didn't have a choice. It was a weird feeling parking the car, knowing you had a key to the house and couldn't use it. She had to ring the bell twice before Dr. Clark came to the door. The last time she'd seen him he was a handsome young doctor. Now, he was quite a bit older, wore glasses, but was still quite a distinguished looking man with silver hair that used to be blonde.

"Rena Blackshear, I heard you were in town and it's so good to see you."

She was amazed when she stepped inside. The place was immaculate. Dr. Clark had extremely good taste. The bones of the house looked the same but the style was completely something that she wouldn't have imagined. The only thing she could relate to was the wall of French doors leading out to the beachfront. When she looked through the windows, she recalled swimming with Blake in the surf.

Dr. Clark tapped her on the shoulder. "Let's go sit down."

"My, Dr. Clark, you've restored this place back to its true era. It looks more like an antique store. It's beautiful."

"Thank you, dear. I can't imagine what you must feel like after living here for most of your life. Can I get you a cup of peach tea?"

She wanted to say a shot of gin, but she didn't drink. "That would be nice. There's nothing like the way we make peach tea in Georgia. I do miss it."

Rena walked through the room as she waited for Dr. Clark to come back. All the loveliness and happy times that she remembered were now only a memory, and even if her mother did return to this place and restored the furniture back to its original setting it would still never be the same. Something would always be missing, like the squeak of the bed because it always sat on the same piece of wood for ages. Or, like the table next to the window, where the sun always set on one particular spot. How about walking into your bedroom with its own familiar scent? All of that was gone. Weird. This was all too weird.

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***Author Note***

To: My Beloved Readers

From: Jaspira

How did I come up with Only You?  As a writer  you need to be able to find inspiration from any and everything.  Once you find a point of inspiration then unleash your mind to create.  If you listen to your mind it will form the story.  It's like magic.  Things just come together.  One of my favorite events in life was visiting Savannah, GA.  I thought about how that beach town made me feel.  It's a charming town, the people are sweet, it has a romantic look and feel, couples walk arm and arm together on the streets since its a vacation destination.  The shops are quaint. The houses are antebellum gorgeous.  The trees are so old and beautiful.  If they could talk they'd have stories to tell.  So I challenged myself. What story can you tell of unrequited love? What life challenges can you create in other characters that will enhance the love story?  Then I unleashed my mind. You can do it too!