Belle was sitting at the kitchen table, Seth was planted in the other room in front of the television and Olivia was asleep in her playpen, across the table Jade sat drinking her tea.

"He won't talk about what happened, I keep...trying and...he just won't," Belle said with a shrug.

"Prison was probably hard for him Belle, it's a time I doubt he wants to remember."

"I needed him...I'm so...angry and hurt and...I don't know what I'm feeling."

Belle leaned forward wrapping both hands around her mug of hot tea that she hadn't touched.

"He's had a rough few years, then Maggie..." Jade pointed out.

"So have I," Belle said.

"I know."

"I just...I have so much to say and so many questions and I...I need to talk about it. I can't keep living in this house with these kids and have him around and never know..."

"Is he living at home still?" Jade asked.

"No, the last I heard he had bought a small house...he gave me the address in case of an emergency."

"Then go, go now. Tell him what you need to and get it off your chest, " Jade encouraged.

"Do you really think I should?"

"You were in love with him for a long time, long after he went to jail and...he deserves to know that. You deserve some closure."

Belle rolled the idea around in her head, Jade was right she did need closure if she ever hoped to move on with Landon.

******************************************************************************************

She left the children at home with Jade, hoping Alex would be more willing to cooperate if there didn't have a small audience watching and listening to them.

She was listening to her phone give her directions and looking at the houses on the street, they were all decent family sized. Most were around the same size as Maggies, and she thought that was weird since he lived alone.

She came up in front of a two-story house, it had a large yard and curved driveway, a front porch and from the road, it looked like some construction was going on.

She parked at one end of the driveway, taking a minute to steel her nerve. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the weathered photograph, staring at it for a long minute.

When she turned back to the house Alex was standing on his porch and he was not alone.

He was wearing loose blue jeans, a gray shirt, and no shoes. A woman about his age with long red hair was smiling at him her hand on his arm.

She was wearing a red cocktail dress and black heels, Belle stared a second longer. The woman leaned in for a chaste kiss that Alex allowed.

When the woman turned to exit the porch Belle moved.

Dropping the photograph she slid down in her seat as far as physically possible, hoping to hide in her car.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, she heard a car door and a few minutes later a car exit the other end of the curved driveway.

She waited another minute, maybe two. Hoping it was enough time for Alex to have gone back inside, it wasn't.

A soft knock jolter her to attention and she jumped before gazing up at Alex, he was leaning with one arm on the roof of her car and had knocked on her window.

With a sheepish grin and blush, she sat up in her seat and rolled down her window.

"Uhm...Hello," She offered.

"Hello, do you want to come inside or stay out here stalking me all day."

She blushed even more and reached for her door handle, he moved to open the door for her closing it once she had climbed out.

She followed him silently up to the house and inside, the house was clearly being remodeled. Drop cloths and wooden sawhorses scattered every room but no workmen were to be seen.

"Can I get you some tea?" He asked leading her into a sunshine yellow kitchen.

"No, I didn't come for tea. I...I...don't know why I cam here."

"Is something wrong with the kids?"

"No, they're fine."

She took a seat at a bar stool trying to figure out what to say, where to start but her mind kept going back to the redhead she saw kissing him on his porch.

"Do you need money?" He asked, taking a drink of coffee.

"Is that what you think? That I'm only interested in your money?"

"No...I mean. I don't want to," He admitted.

"I have money, your money...Alex. I never spent a dime of it." She told him.

"Why? I gave it to you, for your future."

"I didn't want your money...even then. I wanted you," She admitted, looking up at him.

He glanced away from her then turned to the sink tossing the rest of his coffee down the drain and setting the cup in the sink.

"Okay, so what's up?"

He turned to lean back against the sink, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Who was the redhead?" She asked.

He gave her a crooked grin that made her heart skip a beat.

"Jealous?"

"No...I...I just..." She shrugged, not sure what to say.

"Her name is Holly, she's a friend of my parents that my dad arranged for me to date. He's hoping she'll be a good influence."

"Oh, that's great. Is it working out?"

"Honestly, I don't know. She's a good person she's nice, well-bred, good college, beautiful, sweet but...I'm an ex-con. I'm a recovering alcoholic, it's just...difficult and I'm not sure I'm ready."

"You deserve to be happy with someone," She said honestly.

"I was once, I was happy when I was with you."

She fell quiet, turning her attention to the pattern on the marble countertop in front of her.

"I was happy too, you...shut me out."

"I did it for you, don't you know that?"

"I do...I can even understand why you thought it was for the best but...I wrote to you...almost every week for years and you never replied and I needed you, Alex. Did you even read my letters?"

He looked away but she saw a muscle in his jaw tick, he was getting irritated with this conversation and she didn't want that. She wasn't here to guilt him or belittle him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't come here to fight."

"Then why are you here Belle? You shouldn't be here at all, our only connection the only one we can ever have is the kids."

"I know."

She rubbed her temples with one hand, suddenly she was exhausted. Emotionally, physically and mentally, suddenly the last ten years didn't seem so far away anymore.

Before she knew it he was at her side, turning her on the stool and taking her in his arms. He pulled her against his strong chest, was he always built so much bigger than her? or did he work out in prison?

"How can you even stand to be near me? I ruined your life." She said into his shirt.

He shook his head, holding her tighter and kissing the top of her head. He held her a long moment then he took a step back, reaching out to tip up her chin and get her to look at him.

She was crying as she stared up at him, into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The man that she had loved for most of her life and realized a part of her still did and maybe always would.

As if reading her mind he frowned a little, his thumb stroking across her wet cheek a few times as if waging an internal war on himself.

"Damn me," He said under his breath before he leaned forward and kissed her.

It took her by surprise at first when his lips met hers, urgently and passionately. Then she stood from her seat, her hands gripping his shirt and kissing him back.

He moved both his hands to frame her face kissing her passionately, His lips devouring hers just the way she had dreamed they would for the past ten years. Just like he had when she was a teenager.

Suddenly nothing mattered, their past, his jail time, the children, what she wanted to tell him, Holly, his father, none of it mattered now but his lips and skin on hers.

Her hands moved first gripping the bottom of his shirt and stripping it over his head, he pulled away from her lips just long enough for it to come off. Then he was back pulling her close and kissing her again.

He moved to lift her onto the counter, pulling her legs around his hips grinding into hers until a delicious and familiar ache began to grow.

His hands dropped to her shirt, sliding under it up her stomach and ribcage, cupping her breasts through her bra.

He pulled back just as suddenly as he had kissed her, taking quick steps away from her.

"I can't, I can't do this. Not again." He said quickly.

He shook his head, refusing to look at her while she stood in shock unable to look at anything but him.

"I...I'm sorry Belle, I can't."

He left the room, leaving her alone in the bright kitchen. Her heart pounding until it hurt and her hands shaking with adrenaline. Pushing a shaking hand through her hair she hurried from the house to her car.

She climbed in, her entire body now trembling as she turned the key and then drove away.