Honestly Love You (Russells/Chad)-Chap. 10
by caroline crane
 

The air felt like snow as Hank wrapped his leather jacket more tightly around him and hurried toward the Book Cafe. He'd been anticipating the warmth and welcome of the cafe all afternoon, more because of its manager than the atmosphere. After a day of searching aimlessly through 20-year-old documents for any straw to grasp he needed a serious reality check, and Beth was just the person to provide it. She'd been grounding him practically his whole life, ever since their mothers had first deposited them in the same nursery school. He'd been a shy kid, avoiding the group of children fighting over toys in the play area. Instead he'd made his way over to the window and begun formulating an escape plan, sure that if he could just get out of the building he'd be home free. Beth was only five years old, but she'd marched right up to him and informed him that he was going to help her build a castle out of Duplo blocks. He'd taken one look at those determined eyes, shrugged his shoulders, and a life-long friendship had begun.

After that he'd gone along with every hare-brained scheme she'd come up with, and even formulated a few of his own. Something about their friendship gave him a confidence that he'd never found anywhere else, and by the time they got to high school he knew he could do anything because Beth would always have his back. And she had - even though Luis was her sometimes-boyfriend she'd always been in Hank's corner during his never-ending competitions with his best friend, never siding with Luis in the hope of winning him back or keeping the equilibrium in their relationship. He was pretty sure he'd caused at least a couple of their bigger fights, but she'd never said a word to him. He'd held her while she cried over the stubborn jackass more times than he could count, but she never blamed Hank for tearing them apart.

He smiled as he stepped into the bright cafe and came face to face with her. "You're late," she quipped, but her eyes betrayed her happiness to see him.

"Sorry, I was caught up in a very important top-secret investigation," he teased. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes, with her long raven hair flowing freely over her shoulders and the form-fitting green sweater that brought out the hazel flecks in her eyes. She was more beautiful than he remembered, and he'd been startled the first time he saw her again and she took his breath away. Over the past few weeks he'd gotten used to his heart skipping a beat at the sight of her, but that didn't make it any easier for him to stop himself from reaching out and pulling her into him.

"You can tell me all about it on the way to the pond," she said as she pulled her jacket over her sweater and yanked her hair out from under her collar. "Ready to go?"

"Babe, I was born ready." He raised his eyebrows and flashed his signature grin and she felt her knees go a little weak. He'd been flirting with her their whole lives, but she'd never taken it seriously before. She knew better than to take it seriously now, but she couldn't stop herself from wishing that he meant it just a little. She'd been too preoccupied with Luis or just too stupid in high school to notice how sexy Hank was - she knew he was cute, every girl at Harmony High couldn't be wrong, after all. But those eyes that she knew better than her own, and that sly smile that hid a thousand dangerous secrets...how had she missed the fire behind them all these years?

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, falling into step beside him as they stepped out into the cold. "Looks like it might snow," he observed as he glanced up at the cloudy sky.

"Perfect," she breathed. The perfect romantic touch for a skating date, she thought to herself, wondering if he'd think she was too corny if she said it out loud. He'd called this a date, but was it? Or was it just two old friends enjoying each other's company? 'Don't overthink, Beth,' she warned herself. "So," she said, switching gears before she lost all control of her emotions, "what'd you find out today?"

"I don't know," Hank answered. "Nothing, maybe. Possibly something."

"Gee, thanks for the clarification."

Hank laughed and grabbed her hand without thinking. "I missed that sarcastic sense of humor."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she said, rolling her eyes impatiently. "Now are you going to tell me what you found out or not?"

"Well, I spent the entire day knee-deep in dusty boxes of microfiche, and I came up pretty much empty. There was one article, but it could have nothing to do with Chad at all. It's a long shot to say the least."

"So are you going to keep me in suspense or are you going to spill it?" she asked impatiently, jabbing him playfully with her elbow as they walked.

"Okay, okay. But I haven't even told Ethan yet, so keep this to yourself. I want to see if it pans out before I report back to the boss." He rolled his eyes at the word 'boss', eliciting a giggle from Beth.

"Hank Bennett, if you have to question whether or not you can trust me..."

He clamped his free hand over her mouth to stop her from yelling at him. "I know you're trustworthy, Wallace. I'm building up to it. Around the time that Chad thinks he was born there was a bad single-car accident outside Fairmont. The driver was rushed to the hospital, but as far as I know he never regained consciousness. According to the article there was a baby in the car, a little boy about three or four days old. He wasn't hurt, but no one knew who the kid or the driver were. The article asked for anyone with any information on either of them to call the paper. I searched every single paper for the next six months but there was no mention of the kid again, not even a blurb saying he'd been claimed. It could be nothing but it kind of raised my curiosity, you know?"

Beth suddenly felt colder despite her warm jacket and scarf, and she huddled closer to Hank instinctively. "So what are you going to do now?"

"First thing tomorrow I'll try to track down the guy that wrote the article," he said. "Then I guess I'll go to this hospital in Fairmont and see if anybody remembers anything about the baby."

She smiled up at him and the look in her eyes filled him with the same confidence she'd given him on that first day of nursery school 23 years ago. "Sounds promising. I have the day off tomorrow, mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all," he murmured, smiling back at her. "We always did make great partners in crime."

~

Ethan crossed the foyer of the mansion, his hand falling on the door knob as he heard Pilar call his name. He turned reluctantly to face his housekeeper and surrogate mother, hoping to God she wasn't going to try to talk to him about Theresa. If one more person told him he was making a huge mistake he'd scream.

"Pilar. I'm just on my way out, can this wait?"

"I'm sorry, Ethan, but your father would like a word with you."

Ethan glanced over her head in the direction of his father's study and groaned inwardly. The thought of going another round with his father about Theresa... "Can you just tell him I'll talk to him tomorrow? I'm already late."

"Your grandfather would like a word with you as well," she said quietly, clasping her hands together as she watched his face. Julian and Alistair summoning Ethan to the study for a conference could only mean trouble.

Ethan's shoulders slumped forward in defeat. "Thank you, Pilar." He brushed past her and down the hall, stopping outside the study and staring at the closed door for a moment before going in. They were going to try to gang up on him and talk him into marrying Gwen, he knew, but he could be just as stubborn as them. He'd just tell them how it was going to be and they'd have to deal with it. He squared his shoulders and opened the door, stepping inside and closing the door quietly behind him. "Father, Grandfather."

"Ah, Ethan, my boy, do come in," Julian said, smiling devilishly. He had no idea what Alistair was up to, but whatever it was had something to do with Ethan's current obsession with the housekeeper's lovely daughter.

"Ethan, so good of you to join us." Alistair's voice floated up out of the speakerphone and Ethan rolled his eyes. His whole relationship with is only living grandfather consisted of a series of conversations with a box. He couldn't remember the last time Alistair had actually set foot in Harmony for anything, including his high school graduation.

"Hello, Grandfather. What can I do for you?"

"Your father has been telling me about your decision to date Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald," Alistair answered. "Surely you've considered the ramifications of your decision, Ethan."

"Look, Grandfather, I know you were counting on my marriage to Gwen, but I can't spend my entire life married to the wrong woman because of a business merger. I won't repeat my father's mistakes. I love Theresa, and I'm...I'm going to ask her to be my wife."

Julian's eyebrows shot up and he choked on the brandy he'd just swallowed. "Ethan, you can't be serious..."

"Shut up, Julian. Let me handle this," Alistair snapped. "I understand your infatuation with the girl, Ethan. She's certainly a lovely creature. But she's not a suitable wife for the heir to the Crane empire. I cannot have my successor marrying so far beneath him."

Ethan's jaw clenched and he curled his hands into fists. "It's not an infatuation, Grandfather. I love Theresa, and I won't have you speaking about her that way. Your antiquated notions of class and rank are ridiculous. There's no reason I can't marry her."

"You leave me no choice, Ethan," Alistair said calmly, his fingers curling around the arms of his leather chair. "You have a choice to make, between your legacy and your so-called love for this girl. I cannot allow the heir to Crane Industries to marry a common girl like Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. Either you choose to follow in my footsteps and head up the Crane empire someday or you marry the girl and give up your family."

"Grandfather, that's not fair..." Ethan let out an exasperated breath as the line went dead and Julian pressed the off button on the speakerphone. "Father, he can't be serious."

"I'm afraid he's disinherited people for less, my boy," Julian said. "Take me, for instance."

Ethan heard the bitterness creep into his father's voice and instantly felt guilty for being the one to usurp his father as the heir apparent to their family business. "But if he doesn't name me as his successor then who?"

Julian shrugged and pulled a cigar out of the humidor on his desk. "There's still Damian."

"This is ridiculous!" Ethan snapped through gritted teeth. "I can't believe he'd toss me out of the family for wanting to be happy."

"Don't take it so personally, son. It's just business, after all. Father always puts business first, you know that."

"But you want me to be happy, don't you, Father?" Ethan asked, his voice almost pleading as he searched Julian's eyes for acceptance. He and his father had had their differences in the past, but he couldn't believe Julian would want to deny him the chance at true love just for a business merger.

"Of course I want you to be happy, son," Julian assured him, a sly smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "But you must decide which will make you happier: control of Crane Industries, or the lovely Theresa keeping you warm at night."

Ethan cast a disgusted look at his father and turned toward the door, shaking his head in disbelief. Would Alistair really disown him? Could he even do that? A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he realized that Alistair could and probably would. Give up his entire future for love? He sighed and walked slowly across the foyer, suddenly not as excited to see Theresa.

~

Julian settled back in his chair and stared after his oldest son, his mind working overtime as he wondered whether or not Ethan's decision would affect his standing as the heir to the family business. Julian had disappointed his father long ago in the name of true love, and it had proved his undoing. Would Ethan make the same choice, or would he come to his senses? He took another sip of brandy but the liquid burned his throat and he fell into a coughing fit, tears rising in his eyes as he doubled over. When he finally recovered he let out a deep sigh and slumped back in his chair.

The decision to follow his heart all those years ago had been the single biggest mistake of his life, as it turned out. His father had warned him to forget Eve, to let her go and forget the silly notion of happily ever after. But Julian had stubbornly refused to forget her, going so far as to follow her to the hospital when she went into labor with their son. He foolishly thought that her not having an abortion was a sign that she loved him, that she wanted to raise their son together. By the time he found her it was too late, of course, she'd already lost the baby. He never even saw her, he was so distraught over the news that the baby had died and Eve had taken Alistair's bribe anyway that he turned and fled into the night, not even knowing where he was going. By the time he came to his senses he vowed never to see Eve again, but it was already too late. Alistair lost all faith in his ability to control his emotions and even a marriage to Ivy couldn't repair the damage.

Julian sighed and ran his hand over his face as he realized he was about to do the same thing to his own child. He and Ethan had never been close, Ivy had seen to that, but he still loved his son. They were his children, for God's sake, of course he loved them all. But he couldn't bring himself to know them, not the way a normal father would. Certainly not the way T.C. Russell imposed himself in every aspect of his daughters' lives, Julian thought bitterly.

A knock on the door jarred him out of his revelry and he looked up. "Who is it?" he snapped.

"Julian, in a pleasant mood as usual, I see," Sheridan said as she opened the door and stepped into the study.

"Ah, Sheridan dear, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, his voice affecting the smarmy tone he used to mask his real feelings.

Sheridan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was looking for Ethan, Pilar said he was with you."

"I'm afraid you've just missed him," Julian said, standing up and crossing to his brandy decanter. "He's no doubt off to rendezvous with his hot-blooded mistress."

"Theresa's not his mistress, Julian. He loves her." She turned on her heel and started toward the door, but stopped as he cleared his throat.

"I see you've decided to run an outreach program yourself, sister dear," he teased, his voice thick with the affects of all the alcohol he'd consumed that day. "Consorting with the locals seems to run in the family."

"What are you talking about, Julian?" she snapped.

"Why, your morning ride with the Russell girl, of course. And on my horse, no less. Is this a new charity, or are you taking a personal interest in the girl?" He hoped he sounded more nonchalant than he felt, but the brandy was affecting his senses and he slid awkwardly into his chair, not trusting his legs to hold him up.

"I invited Whitney to go riding because she seemed like she needed a friend," Sheridan said in an exasperated tone. "I'm sorry I let her ride your horse without your permission, Julian. Not that you ride her anymore, but I'll find Whitney another horse if it will make you feel better."

"No, no, that won't be necessary," Julian said a little too quickly. "The old nag could use the exercise. If you choose to befriend the locals far be it from me to stand in your way."

"How noble of you," she snapped, making a face at him as she turned and pulled the study door closed behind her, leaving him to his brandy-induced haze.

After she disappeared Julian turned to the window and stared out over the lawn, asking himself why he suddenly cared so much when Whitney would make her next visit to the mansion. It had been years since he'd gotten over Eve, hadn't it? But still - there was something about her daughter befriending his sister that he couldn't quite place. He picked up his glass but set it down without taking a drink, his eyes still glued to the expanse of grass outside his window. Suddenly he had a feeling his association with the Russell family was far from over.