Jack smiled, giving Robert's hand a firm shake. "Jack Afton. Yes, Sir, I saved your daughter from her terrible fate on the side of the road" he said in a teasing tone. He then tipped his head to Taylor. "It's a pleasure Ma'am."

He tried not to chuckle when Rosamunde explained the reason she was covered in mud, though he thought she looked much lovelier then the mud puddle.

Rosamunde smiled at her father. "Daddy, my car's at the shop. I told them you would stop by tonight."

Robert nodded. "I'll get my shoes on, then." He made his way back upstairs.

"Care to stay for dinner, Jack? If you're not in a hurry, that is." Taylor asked, smiling. "I wasn't planning on doing anything big, but Ro and I can whip something up real quick. It's the least we can do to show our gratitude, too."

Rosamunde looked at Jack, her brown eyes further extending her mother's invitation. "You won't be disappointed...My mom's an amazing cook.

"I'd hate to impose on y'all" Jack said, but couldn't resist that plead that came in Rosamunde's eyes. "Alright. You have convinced me." he grinned. "Any cooking is better than my own, and I'm sure yours, Mrs. Troy's, is heavenly" He put an arm around Ro's shoulders as they walked into the kitchen.

"Good!" Taylor said, turning toward the kitchen. However, when she turned back to face them, she shook her head. "No, no, this will not do."

She looked at Jack and said, "I'm afraid my policy is very strict around here...so if you're gonna come around here often, I think you should learn the rules of the house." She cleared her throat and after a few moments of silence, she continued, "No muddy girls in the kitchen. Ro, go clean up and come back when you smell like flowers."

Rosamunde froze when her mother began speaking, thinking she was going to address Jack having his arm around her. She released her breath when her mother finished. Grinning, she said, "I'll be right back."

Rosamunde turned and scampered upstairs.

Taylor handed Jack a pot. "Fill this up for me, please."

Jack was dumbfounded for a moment, his face completely expressionless. He too, like Ro, had been expecting a reprimand for having his arm around her daughters shoulders, but it was quite the contrary. He looked at the pot in his hands, then nodded. "Uh, yes Ma'am!" he said, respectfully.

After he had filled it. He returned, and gave it to her. "Here ya are, Ma'am."

((OOC: I'll get a post with Brian and Ian tonight Eusy, don't worry!)))

Taylor took the pot and set it on the stove. "Please, Jack, it's Taylor or Mrs. Troy. Ma'am makes me sound old..." She chuckled as she turned the dial on the stove.

"So, tell me what happened today." She said as she grabbed a couple tomatoes, a cutting board and a knife. "Ro was glowing like a firefly and blushing up a storm when she introduced you."

Jack chuckled, slightly sheepish. He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. "Well Ma' - I mean Mrs. Troy..." he trailed off, shooting her a smile. "All I did was take her back to my house, gave her some hot chocolate, and showed her my horses." he sat at their table in the center of the room. "She's a lovely girl....I'm not sure which of us had more fun." he looked at their center piece on the table.

**

"He was pretty talkative." Ian said, trying to think back. "He gave me some folders. One for me and one for my cousin. He said they contained new names....information that would make us disappear." he then looked at Buck. "Where is my cousin?"

*

"I love you too Justin." Maralyn said, squeezing his hand another time. Sarah then began to whimper and she got up, going to her child's cradle, and picking her up.

"Well..." Taylor said, sitting down. "Hot chocolate and horses. Two of my girl's favorite things. You haven't been stalking her, have you?"

Taylor chuckled lightly as she began to cut the tomatoes. "Rosamunde is an amazing girl, though I'm a bit bias. Rob and I wouldn't trade her for the world."

"But, she's also fragile, as all girls are, Jack..." Taylor looked up at him, her expression serious. "Just keep that in mind...though, I'm sure you will."

She diced the tomatoes and stood. "You like spaghetti?"

Emmy nodded. "I'd like to drop off my book bag at my house, if we can stop there first." She grinned, "Other than that, I'm all ready." She glanced over her shoulder anxiously, and was relieved to see that Logan was still not around.
((OOC: Sorry it took awhile for me to post... been busy.))

Brian nodded. "Alright, no problem." he smiled, then gestured. "Let's go." They set off walking down the sidewalk, silently, at first. Brian's phone then dinged from in his pocket, making him aware of a text. He took it out and flipped it up, briefly glancing over Peter's message about hanging out on Friday. He made a mental note to respond later, then shoved it back in his pocket.

*****

Jack opened his mouth to assure Mrs. Troy he wasn't, most certainly wasn't, stalking Ro, but the woman went on. He shut his mouth and remained silent and serious, listening to her advice. After she was finished, she abruptly asked him if he liked spaghetti. "Uh, yes, I love it." he said, nodding. "Pasta has also been a favorite of mine."

Taylor glanced at him and shook her head, smiling. "I should have known...Rosie loves it too."

"Rosie loves what?" Rosamunde padded into the kitchen, wearing a pair of cotton capris and a slightly loose t-shirt. Her hair was wet, but not dripping.

"Pasta." Taylor answered as she shuffled around the kitchen, grabbing utensils and ingredients.

"Oh, absolutely!" Rosamunde lifted the lid of one of the pots, only to find slightly boiling water. She replaced the lid and walked over to the table. Sitting directly across from Jack, she looked at her mother and said, "Mom, Jack's a painter, you know. I saw some of his paintings when I went to his place to use the phone."

Taylor glanced at Jack. "Really? That's great." Her focus turned to her daughter, "Why don't you show him some of yours while I finish dinner?"

Rosamunde looked at Jack, "Sure, I'll give you the grand tour. Though, they're not nearly as good as yours." She led him out of the kitchen to the foyer again.

Jack shook his head. "No, I'm sure yours will be grand." he said as he followed her. He was still in a slight shock by all of this. Her mother's words still echoed in his ears, and in his mind he was reliving the afternoon. It was so funny how things happened....

Rosamunde pointed to the walls. "Every painting and picture is an original from my family. Except for the one hanging over the mantle. My mom bought that a couple years ago at an art fair." She smiled. "Mine are signed with 'R. L. Troy' in the bottom right corner. Most of the photography is mine, too."

"Oh, these are very nice Rosamunde!" Jack said, coming to one which was signed with her initials. "I can't see how you can really compare mine and yours. We have different styles." He shot her a smile. "Your family is a very artistic one. And friendly..."

"I love my parents." Rosamund chuckled a little bit. "It's funny, though. Daddy was the quarterback on the highschool football team. The only reason why he started painting was because it gave him a chance to talk to my mom, who, at the time, was not interested in talking to football players. As it turned out, he's more talented than my mom and me put together."

She ran a hair through her towel-dried hair. "My mom seems to like you. If she didn't she would have kicked you out of the house already..." A grin formed on her lips.