Epilogue

Jayce plunked himself down on a chair and let out a long sigh, "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I was invited, but the last place I want to be on a beautiful spring morning is a baby shower," he said. "And since when do men go to baby showers? I thought this was a female thing. The men are supposed to buy the new father cigars and shots or something like that."

"Well, since none of us drinks or smokes, that doesn't sound like it will work," Noah said. "You need to get with the times, things have changed. Besides it's just one afternoon of your life, and I know Sawyer and Piper really wanted you here."

"I'm not playing any of those silly games," he said, still not ready to let it go. "I'm not going to embarrass myself, even if the rest of you do."

"That's fine, Mr. Spoil Sport," Noah said. "Maybe you should go take a walk and get some fresh air, it might improve your disposition."

"Very funny," Jayce said, then decided it wasn't such a bad idea. "You know what, I could use a break, I'll be back in a few minutes."

He felt instantly better when he walked out of the back room of the diner and he paused to take a deep breath, then started for the door. Weaving his way through the tables, he began to feel a little guilty about the way he was acting, but everything had changed. His best friends and biggest support system had deserted him one by one. Feeling even guiltier for being a selfish jerk, he pushed the diner door open and escaped into the sunshine, determined to walk off his bad mood.

Pausing on the sidewalk, he looked up the street toward the park, but quickly discarded the idea and headed for the river. He'd only gone a few steps when he noticed a woman across the street walking the same way. There was something familiar about her, and goosebumps broke out on his skin. His senses tingling, he found himself crossing the street and running to catch up to the woman, but when he got closer, he lost his nerve, and fell back a few steps.

Studying the woman as she walked, he became more and more convinced that he was right and finally called, "Excuse me, are you Scarlett Cooper?"

The women stopped, then slowly turned around, "Oh, Jayce," Scarlett said. "You haven't changed a bit. Your voice is still the same. It's been a long time."