A/N: This is the last update for the weekend. I hope you all have a lovely week. 

Happy reading!

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I wasn't great on spiritual beliefs. But in that moment I was praying for a miracle to happen. If I were the first person to react, I knew a man who's drawn to chaos would find a way to create one. On the twentieth time I chanted the prayer on my head, a hand was placed on my left shoulder, making me look up at the new addition to the company. My prayer had been answered.

"I thought you have a meeting with you father," Gabe stated without greeting Stephen. The mood he was in was palpable in the room.

"Is that why you all decided to head out and had fun without me?" he countered in challenge.

In the corner of my eyes, I noticed Lenna visibly flinched at the tone of Stephen's voice.

"There was no need for us to find a reason to go out and have fun today. Don't twist this situation on how you see it," Gabe defended without the slightest intimidation from him. "So why are you here? And how did you even know we are here?"

"Can't I be here to join my family?" he pointed loudly, growing more attention in our direction.

I felt Gabe tightened his grip on my shoulder. I kept my face passive while allowing him to fight back the sore thumb.

"Shut the mouth of yours!" Gabe hissed softly. His voice was low enough that I wasn't sure Stephen heard. But from the grim expression on his face, he got the message. "Get up! Leave Lenna and Gavin for today. We will see you when we get home." He continued in command.

"You can't...!" Stephen countered but was cut off when Gabe took a step forward, almost bumping on the table.

My eyes darted at Gavin out of worry since he was in Stephan's arm. I saw Lenna's hand never left his wrist. The little boy looked frightened yet keeping it calm. I wanted to tell him it was okay and ruffled his hair for his bravery.

I watched Stephen handed Gavin back to Lenna, who hurriedly took him away from him as he mumbled a few profanities in defeat. "I want them home before five, got it? And I will be visiting," Stephen called out one last time as he left the table.

It wasn't until Archie talked I noticed his presence behind me. "I couldn't believe the prick found out about today. Did you think someone followed us here, or one of his goons saw us?"

"I saw Lenard when we were heading the lodge. I think it was him." Gabe replied to him as he let his hand go from my shoulder.

But I was no longer interested in their conversation. I leaned across the table and touched Lenna's arm. She was giving light kissed on Gavin's forehead while whispering softly to him, which I couldn't hear. From the remorse look on the little boy's face, she was giving him encouragement and assurance.

"Are you okay?" I asked her softly, stopping her from chanting words to Gavin.

"I'm fine. Thank you for staying, but I apologize for letting you sit through it." She replied guiltily. "I hope I didn't ruin your day."

"No. I had fun. Thank you for inviting me."

She gave me an answering smile before Gabe took our attention. We decided it would be better to have our lunch in town. Before heading back, we bought a take out meal for Gavin, since he was already hungry.

Arriving back, Gabe treated us for some smoked ribs. I wasn't one to deny a mouth-watering temptation. We stayed in the restaurant for a good hour, eating and chatting. After having our meal, they dropped me off at my place. They parked the car in the curb near the house. I was out of the car when Lenna spoke up.

"It's been awhile since I saw this place. I bet it was a pain clearing out the mess," she remarked softly, her hand brushing Gavin hair as he lay down on her lap. I peered over the rolled down window.

"You bet. The place was snowing with dust," I chuckled in agreement.

"Thank you for today, again."

"I hope we didn't scary you off and bribed you with those smoked ribs," Gabe interjected from the driver seat.

"Don't worry, sir. I was bribed and pampered enough," I humored for good measure.

"You should've gone mountain biking with us, Kyle," Archie voiced echoed from our last conversation at the restaurant. He seemed to find it insulting I had missed out the fun.

"Next time, Archie," I called out in reply, evading a definite answer. I turned and walked towards the porch. Once I got to the top of the stairs, I noticed the car was still there. With a quick wave, I waited and watched the car drove away.

As the car disappeared and turned by the end of the street, I lingered by the porch looking a bit dazed. While another car passed, I snapped out of my trance. I was about to head inside when I heard a high-pitched voice calling out to me. Instinctively, I turned towards the sound and found my neighbor, waving her free hand at me with a plastic container on the other hand.

"Kyle! Good afternoon. I'm sorry for interrupting your day, but I had made some extra pasta here and I was hoping if you wanted a plate," she sounded insisting rather than asking for my choice.

She kept on walking until she reached by the end of the front porch steps. Before she reached the house, I picked in my head for her name. It was Grace. "Thank you, Ma'am." I said as I placed my things by the wooden floor and got the plate out of her hand.

"No problem, dear. You can keep the plate. It's disposable," she instructed stepping down the porch after I got a good hold on the plate.

"Got it. Thank you again."

She stayed for a second; a look of curiosity crossed her face. Not to be rude, I waited until she got it out of her system.

"Were those the Heath with you?" she hesitantly asked and pointed her thumb towards the direction the car had gone.

"Ah... No?" I replied with uncertainty.

"I could have sworn I saw Gabriel Heath by the wheel," she pointed out.

"You mean Gabe?" I countered.

"Ah, yes! I forgot he preferred to be called Gabe." She giggled shyly at her mistake. "So, I guessed the other people inside the car where Lenna, Archie and little Gavin?"

"Yes. They invited me for hiking and sightseeing at the mountain resort. It was really kind of them."

"I didn't know you were acquainted. Well, Mrs. Wilde was quiet fond of Lenna. She and a few of the older women in town always gathered up at the bakeshop in the morning. On some days, Lenna always visited here. She mostly stayed over when she gets into a fight with the father of her son – from when they were still dating. I feel bad, especially now she has little Gavin." From how the conversation was heading, she was expecting for me to share some sort of information to her.

I remained passive while I listened to her story. She didn't sway me. "Thank you again, Grace. I think I should head inside and clean up." I pointed distinctly, trying to finish up our little chat.

"I apologize for keeping you. I will head back now," she nodded and slowly pacing away from the house.

"Have a lovely evening." I called out lastly before grabbing my bag and got inside the house before anyone could pry my attention again.

Getting inside the house, I placed the bag by the couch and placed dinner by the dining table. Though I appreciated Grace for the meal, her words had slightly soured my mood. She made me rethink about what happened a few hours ago. Grace painting a portrait of her past made me curious to know more about Lenna. And it would seem Luke's late-grandmother knew well enough about her situation.

The next morning I headed out to work with an empty stomach. I oversleep since my mind kept wondering towards Lenna and her relationship with Stephen. It doesn't take a blind man to know Stephen was Gavin's father. But it doesn't slip my mind how Lenna was in a relationship she couldn't seem to get away.

When I got to the store, Benji was nowhere in sight yet the sign was open. As I was about to call him, a teenage boy – around the age of thirteen to fifteen – walked up from the direction of the back office. He hadn't noticed my arrival from the visible headphones he had on. Since the store was empty, it wouldn't take awhile for him to notice me.

Reaching the middle of the aisle, the boy finally looked up and stopped his advance. It took him a moment to respond and took off his headphones.

"Hey... ah... do you need some help finding something?" he asked, stammering to find the right words.

"I'm good." I responded, studying the boy's feature for a second. "And how may I help you?" I countered back his question.

"What? Why do I need your help?" His eyebrow creased in confusion.

"What were you doing back there?" I replied with another question and gestured towards the direction he came.

"What do you mean?" he probed again, his expression turning serious.

But before I could question the boy's suspicious act, Benji entered the store with a box in hand. He grunted from the weight.

"Kyle. You're here." He greeted as his eyes wandered towards the boy. "And I can see you got acquainted with my grandson already."

"Wait! That's the guy you told me Pops!" The boy exclaimed in surprise as he studied my stature. His expression turned from wary to familiar as he approached me. And then he held out his hand. "I'm Brent. Nice to meet you!"

I accepted his hand and lightly shook it. "Kyle. Nice to meet you, Brent."

"He is going to be working here, Kyle. It's his punishment for getting a week expulsion from school," Benji grumbled as he placed the box by the cashier counter. "When your father hears about this, you're just glad I took you in kid."

"This time Pops it wasn't my fault. I just got caught in the crowd and couldn't defend myself. Mr. Quinton held a grudge against me for blowing up the fuse in chemistry class. What was the point in having an experiment and learn something if you don't experiment?" Brent argued in his defense.

"You almost burn down the school kid," Benji reasoned back with conviction.

"They were just overreacting..." Brent mumbled under his breath as he headed up towards the counter.

I chuckled at the kid's free spirited character. The store would be a little livelier with him from now on.

"How was the trip yesterday?" Benji turned his interrogative eye on me. "Anything interesting that happened?"

"Nothing that would interest you," I responded evasively and headed towards the back room for my store apron.

"I doubt that! That wasn't what I heard from Gabe last night." He called out; his words luring me like bait.

I stopped and turned slightly in his direction, studying his smug face. "I saw him last night and the topic came up." He added, turning the rest of my body in his direction in frustration.

"What did he say?" I asked and sighed in defeat.

"It wasn't what he said, but how he said it." Benji smiled before he continued. "You did great by staying with Lenna."

I nodded in response. After he said those words, Benji turned back around and headed towards the back room with a wave. Staring at his retreating back, a small proud smile escaped my guarded lips. All those self-doubt I had bottled up yesterday and last night was gone.

Once I nursed back my good mood, I started work around the store. Brent was capable of manning the register after monitoring him serving at least five customers in the morning. As afternoon approach and the day came to a close, I grabbed the bucket and mop to clean up before closing time. Around seven, we entertained our last customer with Benji by the counter. Brent helped me restocked a few products on the shelves.

"We'll finish up everything here, Kyle. You can go and eat your dinner now." Benji stated.

"Thank you," I replied while tugging the end of the tie from my work apron. I turned to Brent, who was kneeing down while restocking the lower shelf. "Are you going to be okay here?"

The boy looked up with a satisfied smile. "I can finish these up. And besides, the more work I do, the lesser days my punishment would be."

"Not this time, kid. I got a call from your father a few hours ago, and he is pissed." Benji interjected.

"What? And you didn't even share that information with me a few hours ago, Pops?" Brent stood up and stared at his grandfather in disbelief.

"I forgot," Benji brushed off in reply.

"You're not senile, Pops."

"And you better remember it next time you do something crazy again."

I watched in amusement at their banter before returning my work apron. Once I was done, I excused myself and headed across the street to Carol's Diner for a quick bite. Since it was pass dinner rush hour, my meal was served quicker. Under fifteen minutes, I finished my meal and jogged back across the street where my truck was parked for most of the day. I gave Benji and Brent, who just closed the front door of the store, one last quick wave before I jumped in the truck. From there, I drove back to the current place I called home.

Two blocks afar from my street, the traffic light turned red, stopping me across the bakeshop. Out of impulse, my eyes wandered in that direction. Most stores in the street where closed, and based from the week I've stayed in town, I noted how all businesses started to close their stores around nine – with the exemption of bars and twenty four hour fast food stores and cafés.

For a moment my heart sank as I watched the dim light on the bakeshop, but then the front door of the shop opened. And on cue, there she was. In her work uniform with her hair tied up in ponytail, seeing her for the first time today, it felt like we hadn't spent the whole day yesterday. I glanced back at the traffic light, which hadn't change for the past few seconds I watched her. There were only a few minutes left to make the decision, but it wasn't tough knowing what was my course of action.

Glancing on my side mirror on the almost empty street, I slowly parked the truck on the nearest spot by the pavement. I hadn't noticed anything unusual around her until it was too late. As I turned off the truck's ignition, I faintly heard her distinct voice shouting. When I looked up, Stephen stood in front of her, gripping her wrist like a metal clamp. Lenna didn't stood by and relentlessly tugged her arm away from him. Her voice continued to echo in the background in defiance.

"Let me go Stephen! Let me go!"

There was a moment I hesitated, but now that I saw her and after the events yesterday, the doubt subsided like it hadn't existed in my thoughts. I jumped out of the truck with my fist balled up and jogged toward their direction. Thirty things rushed through my head on reasons not to start up a brawl.

On the last second, before my heart decided to take the risk, Lenna's eyes caught a glimpse of my presence. Even it was only a second our eyes met, the interaction changed my decision. Finally, I voiced out and made my presence known.

"Hey! You heard the lady. Let her go, god dammit!" My voice ringed with anger and venom, even I felt like I was hearing a different person.

Stephen spun around at the same time. His eyes were filled with annoyance. He was about to make a reply, but from the moment I distracted him, Lenna pulled away from him. And with that moment of release, Lenna took a calculated step with her right hand balled up. In one swift move, her right hook connected with Stephen's cheek. The impact stunned both of us.

Briefly, Stephen reached up a hand to sooth where Lenna punched him. But then he was able to compose himself and retaliated. In the spur of the moment, he was about to hit her back. Since I was positioned close to him, I grabbed his hand that was about to hit her and pushed him away.

"Don't you even dare!" I hissed in warning and watched him stumble from my sudden attack.

"Who the fucking hell do you think you are?" Stephen yelled back, fuming in rage.

I was about to reply when Lenna grabbed my arm and spoke in my stead. "He's with me. And if you think that I would do whatever you say because of Gavin, you are over your head. If you'll fight me for his custody, I won't hesitate for a second in fighting back. You don't deserve his praise or his love."

"Don't think I would forget this even if you came crawling back to me when you no longer have enough money for his expenses," Stephen threatened back.

"Like you even paid me a cent since I gave birth to him." Lenna countered coolly before turning away from him. "Don't you dare come back here just to see me. Even if I don't want it, he is still your son. If you actually want to see him, then you can find me."

With those words, everything turned silent. Lenna hadn't waited for his comeback and dragged me away. It took a second to understand where she was headed until my eyes landed towards my truck.

"You wouldn't mind if I hitch a ride home, would you?" Her voice was almost a whisper beside me.

"Are you sure it is home you want to go right now?" I inquired, peering at her hand that still gripped my arm.

"I'm not sure myself."

"I saw a café still open."

Her hand tightened for a second before she let go. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Without looking at me, Lenna headed towards the front passenger door as I got inside the driver seat. I took a quick glance in the direction where we left Stephen. Standing with a brooding look, he remained unmoving like a vulture studying its prey. I didn't back down on his stare until I heard Lenna's side of the door close. After tonight, I knew I had put myself in a game I no longer play with an intention to win.