She sighed, growing genuinely depressed over the holiday season. Everything got hectic this time of year—even this lonely place. There was always someone running in at the last minute to pick up a dress or suit for a Christmas party.

As Helen began opening procedures, the bell above the door signaled the entrance of the morning's first customer. She turned around and smiled at John Ross Ewing. “Good morning!” she said in a falsely cheerful voice. Helen couldn't help it…it was all she could manage.

John Ross glanced down at his watch and returned her greeting with “I need to pick up my suit…they told me last night that it would be ready this morning.”

Helen frowned. Everyone had left early the night before due to a bout of wintry weather that was supposed to hit Dallas. Fortunately it had missed the city, but most of the dry cleaning hadn't been done.

“Sure…what's your name sir?”

“John Ross Ewing.”

Helen stared at him momentarily and then scanned the list of completed jobs. There was no John Ross Ewing on the list.

“Would it be under any other name?”

John Ross sighed. He was in a hurry and he had a million and one things to do before the funeral. “If it were under another name, I would have told you.”

Helen slanted her eyes and scanned the list again. “I'm sorry Mr. …Ewing. We'll have it ready for you before noon.”

“I was told it would be ready this morning…not 'before noon'.” John Ross was growing tired of this. It was the last thing he needed after all he'd been through this week.

“This morning is before noon,” Helen snapped. She was tired of this man's attitude.

“Look, if you want to be smart about this, then I'll gladly take my business to another place.”

Helen leaned forward on the counter almost daring him. “Would you?”

“Yes, to keep from dealing with you again, I probably would!”

“What? So you think I'm at fault here? Is that it!?”

“You didn't have my suit ready. It's incompetent people like you in this world that keep screwing things up.”

“You have no right to say that to me! Why do all of you high and mighty Ewings think you can just stomp all over us little people!”

“Get me a manager…” John Ross was fed up with this. All he wanted was to get his suit and go—be it dirty or not.

“I'm afraid I can't do that!” Helen ran into the back room and searched through a stack of clothes until she found the one with John Ross' name on it. She grabbed it and ran back out to the counter where she hurled it at him. “There's your suit. Take it somewhere else!”

“Is there a problem here?” The voice came from behind them and Helen's eyes went wide when she saw it was her boss.

John Ross turned around. “As a matter of fact there is. I came here to pick up my suit…they told me last night that it would be ready this morning and when I told her that, she was determined to be rude about the whole thing.”

“ME!?” Helen was appalled. HE was the one who had started off being rude! Rich people just had absolutely no consideration for anybody

“Customer's always right Helen, ya know that,” her boss said.

“Not when the customer is an arrogant, stuck-up Ewing!” Helen had had enough.

The man turned around. She had just insulted a Ewing! The Ewings had always frequented his business. “Helen! You are fired!” He turned back to John Ross and began to apologize profusely. “Mr. Ewing, I offer you my deepest apologies and I promise you this won't happen again. And don't worry about paying for this…it'll be done within the hour and delivered to you…”

Helen glared at them both and then she walked briskly out of the building, crying as she went. Now she had no job. Ten years of loyal service at that hellhole and she was fired because a Ewing got an attitude with her?

Now Helen had no source of income. How in the world would she manage to feed herself and Amelia?

No answer and now she could tell that the shower was clearly not running. Where was he? And why did he leave? She frowned and turned to her mirror, where she found a note taped there.

Dear Kaitlin,

I'm sorry I had to leave you so early this morning, but I had a breakfast meeting. I would love to make it up to you if you will honor me by accompanying me to lunch. Please call my secretary and inform her whether you can make it. I look forward to seeing you again.

Rex

The deadline for the next delivery of oil to meet the Petrol contract was looming nearer and nearer and still he hadn't received the plans for the new drill from the spy he had planted at Wentworth. If he was going to come through for his dad again and prove that he was worthy of the job, he needed a break soon.

The door to his office swung open and Ace walked in. “Hey man.”

Eric was not in the mood for small talk. “Do you have a reason for barging into my office? Or are you just getting bored sitting around taking my money while you do nothing?!”

“It's a good thing you're such a nice guy, or I might decide to quit.”

“You mean that if I weren't holding on to a certain video tape, you'd quit. Don't act like you're doing me any favors, Ace.”

Ace sat down on a small couch and put his feet up on the table in front of him. He smirked, “I love you too, man. Alas, my time here may be coming to an end soon anyway.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

Ace held up a disc. “A friend of yours got this to me last night.”

Eric jumped up and ran around his desk, taking the disc out of Ace's hand. “You mean this is it? The design… everything?”

“Man, you really need to chill. You're definitely going to have a heart attack before you hit thirty. Cut down on the caffeine; start going to a gym, or something.”

Eric's face was turning red and felt like strangling Ace. “Answer my question! Is this everything here?”

“Okay, okay… The deal is we're very close. They're smart, you know, not putting everything on the same disc… But this is a big piece of the puzzle.”

Eric looked at the disc in his hand as he slowly walked back to his desk and sat down. “What's on it?”

“Plans, the design. You know, how to build the thing.”

“That's great. What else do we need? Take it down to the lab and tell them you've just come up with this plan and have them start making it!”

“Hold up. It ain't that easy, man. You got to know what to build the thing out of. There are a lot of the details that aren't here. You need to have your spy go fishin' again, there's at least one more disc, maybe two.”

Eric slammed his fist down on his desk. “Damn it! I don't have time for this! We need that oil now…”

“Don't yell at me, I just told you what's there, I didn't get it.”

Eric wasn't listening; he was going to have to turn up the heat on his little spy. Time was running out and he had come too far to fail now!

About a week before he'd received a phone call from a doctor in Kansas, informing him that his Aunt Lil had suffered a stroke. Ray had talked to her and she'd expressed her worry over not being able to take care of the farm. She needed to say no more, because Ray was on the next flight to Kansas.

He'd called twice, apologizing to Donna for leaving so quickly and had made her promise to bring the kids out to the farm for Christmas. At the moment, Lil's recovery had made no progress so it was beginning to look like Ray might be minding the farm until well into the new year.

Donna rolled out the dough for her favorite Christmas cookies and then cut out shapes of Christmas trees, gingerbread men, and candy canes. She hadn't had much of a chance to get into the Christmas spirit until lately, but now the Christmas bug had bitten her hard.

She was concentrating so deeply on her cookie making that she didn't see Margaret walk around and propped an elbow up opposite her on the kitchen counter. Margaret pinched a bite of cookie dough, despite Donna's disapproving look.

“No plans for the day?” Donna asked.

“Are you kidding? I've got finals all next week…no way I'm leaving this house.”

Donna sighed. “I just wish your brother were half as conscientious as you are Maggie.”

“He's really bothering you isn't he Mom? That he still really won't accept you.”

“I've become used to it.”

“Give him some time, I think he'll get over it. It wasn't easy for him to get over his mom's suicide and then you and Dad got back together right after.”

“While we're on this subject…did you call John Ross?”

Margaret nodded. “Yeah…I talked to him for a while.”

“How's he taking Melissa's death?”

“Not very well, needless to say.”

“This family just can't get away from heartache and grief lately. First Clayton, then Melissa. And now Neil's dying…”

Both were slightly nervous with each other, not knowing what to say after their night together. The feeling caught Rex off guard – he hadn't been nervous about anything since he was a kid. But since Kaitlin entered his life, he had been feeling a lot of new things. Never very good at waiting, Rex decided to break the ice first. “Kaitlin, about last night… I want you to know…”

“I had a wonderful time.” Kaitlin finished his sentence for him.

Rex smiled with relief, “That's what I wanted to say.” Now that that was out of the way, both were feeling more comfortable with each other. They ordered their drinks.

“Oh, before I forget…” Kaitlin took a long gold box with a red ribbon tied around it out of a shopping bag. “I was late because I had a meeting of my own. And, well, here.” She handed him the box.

Rex took it from her slowly. “Kaitlin, you didn't have to do this.”

Kaitlin smiled softly and said, “I know, but I wanted to. Let's just call it a 'pledge of trust.' Open it.”

Rex slid the ribbon off the end of the box and took off the lid. He still wasn't sure what it was. It looked like an ordinary piece of rolled up paper. He looked at her quizzically. “What is this?”

Kaitlin took a sip of her drink and smiled again, “Read it, you'll see.”

Rex unrolled the paper and began to read. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was a contract for the sale of Kaitlin's shares of Westar stock. Many of the details of the agreement were blank, supposedly to be filled in later, but Kaitlin's signature was already there and notarized. What had she called it? A 'pledge of trust.'

Rex was filled with mixed emotions. Here he was, holding the keys to finally nailing JR Ewing, but he had only gotten them through the innocent trust of a woman he now knew he loved. He decided two things right there: That JR would regret the day he ever messed with Rex Wentworth, and that above all else, Kaitlin must never know about the side of him that lived for power and revenge.

J.R. noted to himself that he was paying attention to another figure entirely. “That so?”

Sue Ellen tried to keep her tone business like and efficient, but it took all her effort. “Yes. I really think we should make an offer on them.”

She walked in and laid the files on the edge of his desk, spread out a bit for her own reference. J.R. got up from his chair and moved next to her.

Sue Ellen wanted to back away at the closeness, but something stopped her. She wanted him that close, but she hated admitting it.

J.R. was inches away. He looked at the files. She could feel his breath. “Numbers look good.” A pause. “Why don't we do it?”

Sue Ellen audibly gulped. “Do what?” She asked it a little too quickly.

J.R. looked directly at her, their lips almost connected. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity. “Buy the fields.”

Sue Ellen realized she had been holding her breath. “Yes… of course, great. I'll talk with our people.”

The room was quiet for a moment. She wanted to kiss him. He wanted to kiss her. She could actually feel something, physically in the air between them. She wanted to move closer. J.R. kept staring, his eyes never moving, not even to blink.

“I'll….I'll get some more figures to you by the end of the day.” Sue Ellen grabbed the files and left in one fell swoop. It took all her strength to pull away. She thought she was strong, that she could handle working with him. But she new she couldn't.

Something had to give, and she was scared it was going to be her.

On the other end of the line, Pamela was getting impatient with his snapping. “Fine Bobby, I was just calling to remind you, that's all. I don't know who you're so angry at, but do me a favor and yell at them – not me! Goodbye.”

Bobby hung up the phone and stared at it for a minute. She was right, he had been snappy with her; in fact, he had been snappy for the last couple of days. It was the stress of knowing there was a spy loose at Wentworth. Glancing at the picture of her that he kept on his desk, he wondered if he should tell her about the spy, let her know why he'd been so irritable. But however hard it was to keep a secret from Pam, he knew he couldn't risk her and the babies' health by having her worrying and being stressed over the problems at Wentworth. No, keeping it from her was the right thing to do, but he did make a mental note to try and be less short tempered and irritable with her. As for their phone call, he'd smooth that over with her later. Right now, he had other things on his mind.

“Bobby, Ed Poole is here to see you.” Sandra's voice rang over the intercom.

“Good, send him in.” Bobby stood up and walked across the room to greet Ed at the door. They shook hands and Bobby immediately got to the point. “Okay Ed, what do you have for me on last night's theft?”

Ed sat down. “Sorry I couldn't get here earlier, but I was following up on a lead. I think we have a breakthrough. This morning around 2 am, while I was staking out the building, I noticed a car pull into the parking garage.” Ed pulled out some notes and started skimming through them. “I followed in my car, being sure to stay out of sight. The car parked on the basement level and sat there until 2:45 am. At that time, someone dressed all in black, exited the building, I'm assuming that was our spy. I didn't get a good look at the person because it was dark and I was too far away. But the person in the car got out and the two talked for a moment then he was handed something small, at which point he got back into his car and drove away. The person in black went back into the building. I followed the car and called for back up to come and check out the building. I did get a license plate number, but unfortunately, I lost him before he reached his destination. And as you know, the officers who checked out the building found it all clear.”

“So let me get this straight. You saw the spy deliver the disc to another person, who then drove off. Is that all you have?”

Ed continued, “I was late because I was running a check on the license plate number. Seems it belongs to a Mr. Albert Carl Edmunson, aka 'Ace', who works for none other than… The Clifford Group.”

That caught Bobby's attention. “The Clifford Group? They're behind this?”

“It looks that way.” He pulled a manila envelope out of his stack of papers. “Here's the file on Ace, he's basically some sort of computer genius, usually a drifter. He has a record, a couple of arrests for possession of drugs. But I don't get the feeling that he's the one behind all of this; it's more likely that he is taking orders from someone up higher in The Clifford Group.”

Bobby appeared calm, but inside he was steaming. How could Cliff steal from his own sister?

Ed put his notes away. “The problem is this is all conjecture. We don't have any real evidence yet. I think the next step is for me to have a little talk with Ace.”

Bobby snapped his head around and looked at Ed, “No. Don't go near him. I want to handle this myself.” Bobby reached out and took Ace's file from Ed.

“Bobby, I'm not sure that's a good idea. We don't know who we're dealing with yet.”

“I'm just going to talk to him, Ed. He may not be the spy, but he knows who is and I plan on getting that information myself.”

John Ross ran his hand across the top of Melissa's casket and tried his best to hold back the tears that wanted to fall so badly. “Why did you have to leave me Melissa…why'd you have to go and do this without telling me first.”

Karen had been watching him from a few feet away, not sure if she should go talk to him, but the sight of him alone caused her feet to move. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he turned around.

“John Ross…I'm sorry.”

“It's ok.”

“I know you loved her…and I can't imagine how you must feel losing her and T.J. like this. But if you need a shoulder to lean on…or cry on…then I'm here.”

John Ross reluctantly hugged her and relished in the secure feeling that her embrace seemed to give him. “Thanks Karen.”

Christopher dropped another box onto an Everest-sized stack and sat down next to Karen. “Optimism and a lot of hard work…don't forget that.”

“We promised Cole…”

“At least we'll get to spend Christmas with him. I talked to my lawyer again today…he doesn't think that the trial and your kidnapping Austin is going to have much of an effect on whether or not we'll get to adopt Cole. He's ten years old and very sick…there aren't many people in Dallas that would adopt him.”

“So you think we stand a good chance of getting him?”

Christopher nodded. “Absolutely.”

Karen threw herself at him and they both fell on the carpeted floor in front of the fireplace. “Things couldn't possibly get any better for us…after all this time we're finally getting what we want.”

“You know…I was just thinking…”

“About?”

“We have four bedrooms upstairs. One of course will be ours,” Christopher said with a sly grin. “But we're going to have a heck of a time settling the argument that Cole and Austin are sure to have over which one gets the bigger room.”

Karen laughed. “If that's all we have to worry about then I think I can handle it.”

The doorbell rang and Christopher scrambled to answer it, hoping for more good news about Cole. When he opened the door, he didn't recognize the woman at first but soon he remembered her. It was the woman from the water park; the woman that had found Megan for them.

“Eve. Hi!”

Eve Ashford smiled. “Oh my God…what a coincidence! This is the weirdest thing.” Karen walked up to where they were talking and greeted Eve. “I was responding to the ad about the housekeeper in the paper…I had no idea that you were the one that posted it.”

“Yeah, we did. That is a coincidence. So you want the job?”

Eve nodded eagerly. “Of course…that's what I came here for and the fact that you'll be my boss is even better. I already kinda know you.”

Christopher smiled and looked at Karen. “What do you think?”

Karen was reluctant to answer. Her instincts told her there was something not quite right about this woman. But, she knew that with more help they just might be able to move in before Christmas and in turn, give Cole his Christmas wish. And after all, she had no real reason to be wary of her. “I think it's a great idea.”

Eve smiled, jumping up and down. “Well this just makes my day.”

“And maybe you can finally have that dinner we promised you way back when,” Christopher said, embarrassed. He'd completely forgotten that he'd invited her to come have dinner at Southfork with them some time, in appreciation for finding Megan at the water park.

“So when can I start?” Eve asked, all too ecstatically.

Karen looked at the stacks of boxes. “How does right now sound?”

Isabel jumped out from behind the barn causing Manny to topple the bucket of water he was carrying. “Isabel!”

“Loosen up! It's just water.”

Manny sighed and dropped the bucket to his side, dreading making another trip back to the hydrant. “Go back to the house where you belong, okay?”

Isabel feigned having her feelings hurt. “You hate me, I knew it.”

“I don't hate you.”

“Ok then…if you don't hate me, then take me riding across the ranch. I've been at Southfork for five months now and no one has shown me how to ride.”

“I don't have time; I've got a million things to do.”

“I knew you hated me.”

“I don't!”

Isabel grabbed Manny by the arm and pulled him toward the nearest horse stall. “I wanna ride that one…with you.”

“Ok…if I take you riding, will you leave me alone for the rest of the day so I can finish all of this work?”

“You bet your boots! Now get that horse saddled up.”

Ten minutes later they were out on the vast Southfork prairie, braving the cold wind on horseback. Isabel sat behind Manny and several times she faked losing her balance so she could grab him tighter. Surprisingly enough and much to her delight, Manny didn't seem to mind at all.

They came to a halt near a grove of skeletal trees and Manny hopped off and then helped Isabel to the ground. “Oh my God, that was so much fun!”

Manny smiled and took a seat on a nearby tree stump. “Well I hope you're happy now. You got to ride.”

“Yeah, well I'm kinda happy, but I could be happier.” There was a flirtatious tone in Isabel's voice that made Manny uncomfortable. “Hey, remember what I said to you at the carnival?”

“You said a lot to me at the carnival.”

“Smart-ass. I said I knew you were a virgin.”

“You don't know that,” Manny said, turning away so he didn't have to meet her piercing stare.

“Yeah I do. A girl like me can spot one a mile away and YOU are a virgin.”

“So what if I am?”

“Well…that's cool…I guess. They've said that virginity is in now…but you know they could be lying. How old are you Manny?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Wow…I would've thought maybe eighteen at the oldest. You know there aren't many twenty-one year old guys…heck, there aren't many twenty-one year old people that are still virgins.”

“Isabel…why are we having this conversation? Did we ride all the way out here for this?”

“I was just wondering what made you wait…that's all.”

“I come from a family with a high set of morals…my father was a priest.”

“Ohh, I see.” Isabel smiled and sat down next to him on the stump. “Well, you don't live with your father anymore so why don't you just do what feels right…and not what he'd want you to do.”

“How do you know that what I'm doing now doesn't feel right?” Manny asked.

“Manny…just shut the hell up and kiss me.” But Isabel didn't wait for him to kiss her. She pulled him into a tight embrace and her lips found his.

Manny pulled away, confused. Why was she suddenly interested in him? Or had she been all along? “Isabel…”

“I want you Manny.”

“We need to go back.”

“Later.” Isabel leaned in for another kiss before removing his coat and unbuttoning his shirt. She stood back and forcefully pulled his arms behind him and tied them securely to the tree with the shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“It's more fun this way,” Isabel said with a wink. She kissed him again before sinking to her knees and reaching deep into his jeans where she grabbed his jeep key and quickly pulled it out with a smile. “Thanks Manny! Me and Jill really wanted to go to this party tonight and we had absolutely no way to get there.”

Manny couldn't believe this was happening. He struggled to get his hands loose, but Isabel had tied the shirt too tight. “I'll give you the key! You're not going to leave me here!”

“Don't worry…I'll be back later tonight and if you're lucky, I just might warm you up.” She winked at him and turned to walk away. Manny kicked his feet out in desperation, but he missed her and she skipped out of range with the key dangling in her hands. “See you later Manny.”

“Isabel! I said I'd give you the key! I'll give you the whole jeep! Come back!”

There had been so many times in the past where she had failed Lucy. She was determined to be there for her this time. So, she stayed at Lucy's house and paced the floors waiting for new reports from the hospital and tried to come up with a new topic for her next book. In short, she was bored out of her mind.

Val was glad when the doorbell rang to break up the monotony. She opened the door and a gust of cold wind swept into the house. The deliveryman had already left. Val looked around and was surprised to find a package sitting near the door, addressed to her.

She shuddered as she took the package and stepped back inside, closing the door against the wintry air. Setting the package down on a nearby table, she examined it for a return address. There was none. She thought about not opening it at all, the only person who would send her anything here at Lucy's was Gary and she didn't want to deal with him right now.

She busied herself straightening the house but every time she passed by the box, she found herself wondering what it contained. Finally, her curious nature got the best of her and she grabbed the box and ripped it open. After digging through paper, she found it…

When Valene saw it, she laughed so hard that she was soon gasping for air. It was a book. On the cover was a close up picture of Cliff Barnes. She had just gotten her wind back, but as she read the title, she burst out laughing once again. It read: “So You Want to be a Millionaire: The Cliff Barnes Story” by Valene Ewing.

This man was truly amazing, apparently, he just couldn't take no for an answer. She casually opened the book. All of the pages appeared to be blank, except for a note on the first page.

Valene,

Doesn't the cover of the book look great?! I told you that I'm a persistent man. You know, we'd make a fantastic team, you're a good writer and I'm a great subject to write about.

So, here's the deal. You come and 'observe' me in my day to day activities, take some notes, interview me about my childhood, whatever it is that you writers do… and I will agree to supply you with excellent material to write about – me! Our lawyers can work out the financial end; the important thing is that the world hears 'The Cliff Barnes Story'.

Persistently Yours,
Cliff

Val,

Meet me tomorrow at two in the afternoon at Thanksgiving Square. We can talk more about the details and where you want to begin your research.

See you then,
Cliff

Val didn't particularly like Cliff, but she was tired of sitting around the house and she did owe him something for the good laugh he had given her. She decided to go and meet with him, after all, what harm could there be in simply talking?

“Yeah, well he didn't mind. Hey, you're a pretty good driver Jill…if you'd just stop all this weaving all over the road.” Isabel clutched her seatbelt in one hand while keeping an eye on the highway. “Speed up a little though…there are probably snails traveling faster than we are right now.”

“What if we get stopped…”

“Then I'll hop over there and take the ticket for you…they'll never know you were driving without a license.”

Jillian carefully applied more pressure to the accelerator and the jeep picked up speed until it was sailing along at sixty miles per hour. Jill paid no attention to the posted speed limit.

Isabel reached forward and turned up the radio and it began to blare loudly. “This is kinda fun. Maybe if I'll get my license Dad'll buy me a car for Christmas.”

“Ha! Don't count on it Jill. Not that you could drive it anyway, being that you're grounded until 2001.”

“But what my dad doesn't know won't hurt him, right?”

“Absolutely!”

Jillian's stomach drew into a tiny tense ball when she heard the sirens and then saw flashing blue lights in her rearview…

“So gentleman, is everything in order?”

“Yes, Mr. Wentworth, I believe it is. If you'll just sign here and initial these three lines.”

The attorney offered Rex his pen. Rex gave him a condescending look and picked up his own pen. He signed his name and with a flourish of his pen, the plans he had put in motion so long ago were about to come to fruition.

“Sorry Jill…I can't do it, I'm already skating on thin ice myself, remember? If Aunt Theresa finds out about this…”

“But you said you would! You got me into this! Please!”

“I'm sorry!”

The officer stepped up to the car and Jillian reluctantly rolled down the window.

“Do you have any idea how fast you were going?” he asked.

Jillian shook her head. She really didn't.

“Well, I'll tell you. You were doing seventy-five. Any idea what the speed limit is 'round these parts?”

Again, Jillian shook her head.

“Forty-five. Mind if I see your license?”

Jillian almost threw up. What now? “I don't have it.”

“You mean you don't have it with you?”

“No, I don't have a license,” she said quietly. She really wanted to dump Isabel off on the side of the road and speed away.

“I see…this could be a problem. Would you mind stepping out of the car for just a minute here.”

Jillian sighed and stepped out into the cold night…one which she was sure was going to just get longer and longer.

He thought back to his mother's words of warning. Could J.R. have something up his sleeve?

“Hope I'm not keeping you from anything tonight,” J.R. said over a drink.

Wade shook his head. “Nope. Nothin' much else to do tonight.”

“I know you didn't find out anything listening to McKay the other night, but I want you to keep on trying. I don't trust that man as far as I could throw him and trust me…that wouldn't be very far.”

Wade and J.R. shared a hearty laugh before settling back down to the business at hand. “I'll remember that.”

“And watch out for Momma for me. Seems that lately you're the only one she'll open up to about any of this…or anything else for that matter.”

“Will do J.R. I really like Mrs. Farlow and if McKay's got somethin' up his sleeve, I'll make sure she don't get hurt by it.”

“Good. So, you and Sly serious?”

Wade was surprised that J.R. had asked the question. “Nope…just go out every now and then.”

“You know she's been married before don't you?” J.R. asked.

“She mentioned it once.”

“Moved off to Europe…'round the North Sea I think. Five years later she was back in Dallas…never said much about her husband and I never asked. I don't think the man treated her right.”

Wade was quiet, wondering why J.R. was telling him this. “I never asked either.”

“So if things progress between you two, I want you to take care of her. That girl's been almost like a daughter to me…'cept for when she was backstabbing me. She's got spunk though, that's for damned sure.”

Wade finished off his beer, contemplating what J.R. had said. The man seemed genuinely concerned for Sly. Obviously, his mother had been wrong. The Ewings weren't bad and J.R. didn't seem to be bad either.

J.R. looked at his watch. “Well, I hate to cut this short but I think I've said all I need to say. I've got to run over by the office to pick up some papers I forgot.”

“I appreciate the drink and don't worry 'bout your momma at all. I'll watch out for her and if McKay tries anything…and if he's behind all the trouble at the ranch, we'll put a stop to it.”

J.R. put on his hat as he stood up. “I'm counting on you and if you need anything, just holler.”

As JR strode out of the bar, his cell phone rang. “J.R. Ewing here.”

“Mr. Ewing, I'm with the Dallas Police. I'm afraid you need to come down to the jail and pick up your daughter…”

She was relieved to finally see Southfork come into sight and once the car came to a halt, Jillian jumped out.

“Not so fast honey…I think we oughta talk before going in there.”

“There's nothing to talk about,” Jillian snapped.

“Like hell there's not! You're beginning to remind me more and more of Lucy everyday.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?”

“Mean's you'd better settle down and I mean quick. I know I haven't been here for you lately…especially with Melissa and T.J. being killed like that. John Ross needs me too and I can't give you as much attention as I usually do…but that doesn't mean you've gotta run around and act crazy just to get a little bit of attention.”

“Oh! You think I'm doing this for attention!?” Jillian couldn't believe he was accusing her of wanting his attention. “You're crazy. I go out just to get the hell away from you!”

“Watch your mouth young lady…it's about time you learned a little respect for your father.”

“You are not my father and I'm not staying here at Southfork with you anymore!” Jillian slammed the door and took off into the night.

“You know Lucy…you don't have to constantly stay here with me.” Neil's tone came off sounding very harsh.

“Dammit Neil, I'm not leaving you.”

“I'm sorry…I just don't like you seeing me this way. God…I'm so sick of being here. I'm sick of just waiting today here in this place, but what can I do? They think I attacked Afton.”

Lucy sighed. How had things managed to get to this point? After all of her screwed up marriages and bad relationships, wasn't she finally due for some happiness? Why this? Why now?

“I don't want you to be here either Neil…but what can we do?”

Neil sat up in bed and for the first time in weeks, he seemed hopeful. “We can get the hell out of Dallas…leave all this behind and I can spend my last few months…or weeks…with you.”

“Good God Neil, don't talk like that. You don't know that you're going to die.”

“I guess I don't share your eternal optimism.”

“You're not serious though, are you?”

Neil nodded and attempted to crack a joke. “Serious as cancer.”

“That's not funny!”

“I need to get out of here…”

Lucy was already deep in thought, thinking about how she might go about pulling this off.

“Is somebody there?” came Jillian's voice.

Relief flooded over Manny, but along with that came a feeling of embarrassment. How on earth was he going to explain this one?

“It's me, Manny.” He struggled once again to get loose, but Isabel had tied the shirt too tightly and all of his struggling had only made the knots tighter.

Jillian's horse galloped up to him and she climbed off, surprised to see him. “Manny, what happened? How did this happen?”

“Isabel did it.”

Jillian bit her lip, resisting the urge to ask nosey questions. She walked around behind him and worked for almost five minutes loosening the shirt enough so Manny could get his wrists out of it.

“Thanks,” he said sheepishly.

Jillian picked up his coat off the grass and wrapped it around him. “You're freezing to death. Why did she do this?”

“She tricked me…stole my key to the jeep.”

“Oh my God…she stole it. She told me you let her borrow it!”

“Yeah, well I just learned the hard way that Isabel Rodriguez can't be trusted…she's the biggest liar I've ever known.”

Jillian nodded, growing angry. “Tell me about it. She got me in trouble tonight…told me she'd do something that she didn't do and I was the one that got the speeding ticket. No license either. My Dad was pissed.”

Manny shivered and helped Jillian back onto the horse. He climbed on behind her and they began the ride back to the ranch while the cold wind blew in their faces.

“Oh thank God!” she gasped. “I thought I was going to have to cancel my credit cards.” She looked at him. “Come on in.”

Todd obliged, walking in as Elayne shut the door behind him. “Want something to drink?”

“Gin and Tonic's fine,” Todd said, seeing her liquor bar set up and Elayne walking towards it.

She began to make his drink. “Maybe it was a good thing I misplaced my purse,” Elayne said flirtatiously.

“Why's that?” Todd said picking up on her tone. There was something about her, something just so mysterious. She was beautiful, sure, but she just had this charisma about her. Like she was hiding something. He loved secrets, but loved finding them out even more.

“Gave me an excuse to see you again.” She handed him the drink, letting her gaze linger.

“So, do you greet all your guests like this?” He said, referring to her scant costume with his eyes.

“Only the lucky ones,” she said, moving behind him.

“I'm lucky?” He could feel her behind him.

“Tonight you are,” she slowly turned him around and pulled him into a kiss.

Todd wasn't expecting it, but soon he was engulfed by her, and he let his body take over. He was moving so fast, kissing her so deeply, that he didn't even pay attention as they moved towards the bedroom and shut the door.

Jillian grabbed a blanket off of the couch and put it over his shoulders before sitting down next to him. “Thanks…I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along when you did.”

“You could have died out there…and Isabel didn't care. All she was worried about were her own selfish wants.” Jillian rubbed Manny's back through the blanket, trying to warm him up more.

“She'll pay for this…”

Jillian had never heard the bitter tone that Manny was now using. She knew he meant business. “I want her to pay too…for doing this to you and for lying and getting me in trouble. I thought she was my friend but now I know she wasn't…she never was.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

“Get her shipped right back home to Mexico…and let her 'friends' down there give her just what's coming to her...”