Written by: Dallas Walsh

Carmen Santos feels the blood drain from her face as she looks up at her presumed dead brother, Mateo Santos. Earlier in the day, she got a cryptic text message from an unknown number, asking her to meet at the marina. When she arrived, she saw someone standing up against a boat, the Silver Lining. She rushed up to the person, who jumped on board the ship. Carmen followed and, once she was on the boat, she looked around and then her brother revealed to himself to her. She can't believe that Mateo is in front of her since she believed he had died last year in Cabo.

"Mateo," she finally replies to him. "I…I must be seeing things. You…you're dead!"

Mateo grins as he moves from the top deck of the boat to face his sister, who is on the lower deck. "Yea, I know. It's great, isn't it?"

Carmen shakes her head still confused. She slowly reaches out her hand and touches her brother. Tear fill her eyes immediately as she is stunned that he is in front of her. She rushes up to him and hugs him as a tear falls down her cheek.

"Oh my God…" she says as she holds him. "You're alive! You're really here!"

"I am here," Mateo replies to her quickly. "And, I'm not going anywhere, not ever again."

"But how is this possible?" she asks him as she looks at him and then wipes her eyes dry.

"It's a long story," Mateo nods back to her. "After I fell off the boat in Cabo, Grant Shaw and Lex thought I was dead. Immediately, I thought the best option would be to make them think this since I would have faced kidnapping charges. So, I dove deep into the water and swam away. I hide until I knew that it was safe to come out of hiding."

"But Lex claimed there was a body that was found…"

"There was a body," Mateo grins back to her. "But it wasn't mine. I was able to alter some of the DNA results to show that it was my body they found, but it wasn't. It was a John Doe that drown by accident."

"I can't believe this," Carmen tells him quickly. "These last few months, thinking that you were dead, they've been the worst of my life, Mateo. I felt so lost."

"I know and I'm sorry I put you through that," he replies to his sister. "But I'm back now. You have to promise me that you won't say anything about me being her to anyone."

"Of course, you have my word."

"Good," Mateo looks back at her. "Because, now that I'm here, I want to make that son of a bitch pay for what he did to me."

"You mean Lex, don't you?" Carmen asks him quickly.

Mateo nods back to her. "Lexington Rockwell won't know what hit him when I'm done with him. And, I'm hoping you will help me with that."

"Anything you need from me," Carmen grabs his hand. "I'm just glad that you're back," she says as she pulls him into a hug. "And, of course, I'll help you. I've wanted to get back at Lex since I thought he killed you."

"The Santos siblings are back," Mateo grins as they exit their embrace. "It's time that we have our moment in the sun, Carmen."

"Agreed," she purses her lips back to him. "And we will get it, Mateo. Nothing will stop us now."

***

The following morning, a shaken Lex leaves the elevator at Blackmore Ltd. and quickly moves towards the main office. He barely slept the previous night because he was rocked when he went to use his washroom only to find the room filled with steam and a message written on the mirror that read, "You Killed Me". He has no idea what is going on but between the message and the water appearing in his office multiple times, he must figure this out.

He freezes in the hallway when he realizes what could be happening. "What if Mateo didn't die?" he asks himself. "I mean, crazier things have happened around here. What if he's alive and stalking me?"

He shakes his head, wondering if his theory could be right. He opens the door to the main office and sees his half-brother, Houston Blackmore, already fast at work.

"Morning," Houston says when he sees Lex moving into the office. "Are you okay? You don't look so great today."

"Gee, thanks," Lex snaps as he puts his briefcase down on the desk. "I didn't sleep well last night."

"Sorry to hear. Can I get you a coffee?"

"Actually no," Lex looks back at him quickly. "I need you to watch things around here for a day, maybe two."

Houston arches his eyebrow back to him. "Really? Why? What's going on?"

"I can't get into the details just yet," Lex looks back at him. "But, I need to leave town to take care of a couple things. My entire future might depend on this trip."

***

Cole Rockwell opens the door to the main office at Rockwell Mining and moves inside. He immediately realizes that he is alone, which is perfect because the previous day he agreed to snoop around the company to ensure Nathan Lockhart doesn't do anything that would harm the company. Of course, Cole will report back to his father Mac Rockwell about anything and everything he finds. And, in the meantime, Mac will come up with a way to get Nathan removed as CEO so he can be reinstated.

Cole swiftly moves up to the desk but is quickly disappointed to see that no files were left out overnight. He moves to open the drawers of the desk but finds that they are locked.

He lifts the large calendar pad that rests on the desk and is dismayed that he doesn't find the key. When Mac was CEO, he left the key under the calendar.

"Damn it," Cole whispers to himself. "This is going to prove to be more difficult than I thought. I can't give up. I have to do this, Dad is counting on me."

Before he can say or do anything else, the door to the office opens. Cole looks over in surprise when he sees Celeste Baldwin entering.

"Celeste?" he asks in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Cole," Celeste purses her lips together. "It's nice to see you, it's been a while."

"It certainly has," Cole nods back to her. "I heard that you were getting out of jail early on good behavior."

"I just got out yesterday," Celeste reveals to him. "I was already at the mansion this morning. I can't believe how big Ashlee and Ivan have gotten, even just in a short few months."

"The kids are certainly growing like weeds," Cole says back to her. "So, tell me, what are you doing at Rockwell Mining?"

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard?" Celeste looks back at him. "I am working here now. I was hired yesterday."

"Really? That is surprising considering your history with our family."

Celeste uneasily chuckles back to him. "Well, it wasn't Mac that hired me. It was Nathan, your uncle."

"Ah," Cole nods back to her, realizing that Nathan hired her because of Celeste's history with the Rockwell's. "I'm happy that you're working, Celeste, but I need to warn you about Nathan. He's not the man you think he is."

Celeste arches her eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Just be careful, that's all I am saying."

***

Marat Kafelinkov moves into the dining room of the country club and immediately sees the stable where Lucinda, Lydia and Stacey Rockwell are all sitting together. He called another family meeting with the Rockwell's so he can give them the latest news that he has for them. Of course, he is surprised that Mac isn't with the family, but he can imagine that he is going through his own rough time having been removed from Rockwell Mining and the Rockwell mansion.

"Good morning ladies," Marat smiles to the three women as he pulls out his chair and sits with them.

"Marat, hello," Lucinda replies to him. "Another day, another meeting. We are all assuming that this has something to do with Celeste Baldwin?"

Marat chuckles back to her. "Yes, this does have to do with Celeste."

"What did that woman do now?" Lydia huffs back to him.

"I happen to run into her yesterday," Marat reveals to them. "And, she told me that she is going to stay in town because she has a job."

"Who hired her?" Stacey asks lover quickly.

"Nathan," Marat stuns the women. "Celeste is working at Rockwell Mining."

Lucinda nervously picks up her cup of coffee. "What is my son up too?" she says loud enough for everyone to hear. "What is Nathan planning to do with Celeste at the company?"

***

A short time later, Lydia walks up the stairs of the country club and moves towards Mac's hotel suite. She knows that he is going through a rough time right now, so she wants to make sure that he is doing okay. And, she knows that she won't tell him that Celeste is now working at Rockwell Mining because she knows that it will likely drive him crazier about Nathan and everything, he is doing to the family business.

She reaches his door and knocks. Lydia looks at her watch while she waits for him to open the door. She knocks again when he doesn't answer.

"Mac?" she calls out. "Mac, it's me, Lydia. Please, open the door."

Within a few minutes, the door slowly opens. Lydia pushes it open so she can see Mac, who looks disheveled. He has messy hair and has large bags under his eyes.

"Mac? What is wrong? I was about to leave, I didn't think you were here," Lydia tells her ex-husband.

"I'm…" he begins to say in a hoarse voice. "I'm not feeling so great today."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Lydia says as she slowly moves into the suite. Immediately, she realizes why Mac isn't feeling well when she spots the bag with white powder on the dresser top next to two empty bottles of whiskey. "Mac, I'm going to order you some breakfast and have it delivered. The sooner you soak up some of the booze, the better you'll feel."

"You don't need to do that."

"I know I don't, but I want to help."

"I would rather you just leave, Lydia. We aren't together anymore. It's not your job to look after me," Mac tells her.

"Mac…"

"Lydia, I'm not going to tell you again," Mac firmly replies to her. "Please, get out."

"Fine," Lydia nods back to him. "But, this isn't the answer, do you hear me? You're stronger than this, Mac! You can't give up on yourself. I won't let you."

***

"Oh good, you're still home," Lucinda announces to Nathan Lockhart as she moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion. She had hoped that he would still be home this morning because she needs to talk to her son. She had worried that after her meeting with Marat that she would have missed Nathan. "We need to talk."

"Good morning to you too mother," Nathan takes a sip of his coffee as he looks over at his mother. "Your tone certainly makes it seem important. What have I done this time?"

"This is not funny," she sternly looks at her son. "This mansion was once filled with love and laughter. Thanks to you, this place is a ghost town."

"Ah," Nathan rolls his eyes back to her. "This is about me taking over as the head of the house. Well, I am not apologizing for that. Not to you, not to anyone. And, for the record, mother dearest, it was Mac's decision, and his children's, to move out. No one put a gun to their head."

"You just won't stop until this family is completely dismembered, will you?"

"I am just trying to take back what should have been mine all these years," Nathan glares back at her. "Just remember, you set all of this into motion by lying to me and Mac and father for years, Lucinda. If you had only been honest about Mac's father, this wouldn't be happening right now."

"No one forced you to emancipate yourself, Levy!" Lucinda yells back at him. "You never fit into this family, and that is on you!"

"Don't you dare call me that," Nathan spits back to her. "I told you, Nathan is my name."

"Yes, yes, yes," Lucinda waves her hand back to him. "You're so determined to be the head of the Rockwell family but your last name is still Lockhart. You're a sheep masquerading as a wolf, Levy. And, eventually, you won't be able to keep up this charade."

"Call me Levy one more time and I'll throw you out of this house," he glares back to her. "You will start to play by my rules now, Lucinda, or else."

***

"How are you feeling this morning?" Sabine Andrews looks over at her daughter Quinn Cunningham as they sit across from one another in the country club.

Quinn picks up her orange juice and takes sip of it. "The morning sickness usually kicks in closer to 11, so far so good. Listen, Mom, I am hoping that you will keep my pregnancy to yourself, at least for now. I need to figure out what to do with Deacon before I make it public. And, I need to figure out how to tell Lex and Houston that their new lead model is pregnant."

"My lips are sealed," Sabine smiles back to her. "I am just glad that you're in town and sitting across from me. It has been too long."

"I don't think I could go through this pregnancy alone," Quinn nods back to her. "So, I guess I'm glad to be here too."

"Quinn? Is that you?" Lydia gasps as she moves up to the table, as Stacey follows her closely. "My goodness, I almost didn't recognize you."

"Aunt Lydia," Quinn stands up and hugs her before she hugs Stacey. "You two look amazing."

"So, do you," Stacey smiles back to her cousin. "You look exactly like your mother."

Sabine chuckles back to her. "My baby is a beautiful woman; I couldn't be prouder."

"It is really nice to have you in Kelsey Lake," Lydia looks over at Quinn. "This family needs all the support it can get right now."

"I heard that Mac's brother is here and chasing chaos," Quinn takes another sip of her juice. "Do we know how Mac is doing?"

"I…uh…actually just saw him," Lydia reveals to the women. "I'm afraid he's in rough shape. He's going to need everyone's support to pull him through this dark period."

"Then that's what we will do," Stacey looks back at her mother. "We will be there for Dad because he has been there for all us so many times, it is the least that we can do to be there for him when he needs us."

***

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO

Lex sits in the small lobby of the police station in Cabo San Lucas. When he was at Blackmore Ltd earlier in the day, he realized that he had to come to Cabo to get proof that Mateo died last year when he fell off the boat. He just hopes that he can get some information because he feels like he is starting to go crazy after seeing the message in the mirror and the water in the office.

"Hola Senor," a police officer emerges from the office. "You're Lexington Rockwell, si?"

"Si," Lex stands up and shakes his hand. "I need information about someone who died last year, Mateo Santos. And, I'm not leaving here until I get it."

"Please, step into my office," the police officer says as Lex moves quickly inside, desperate to get the details that he needs about Mateo, his kidnapper from the previous year.

***

Quinn slowly opens the door to the main office at Blackmore Ltd. and looks around. She fully enters the office when she realizes that no one is inside. She closes the door behind herself and looks around.

"Okay," she whispers to herself. "I put water on the sofa and the desk. Where could I put more water? I have to make Lex think that something is going on around here."

She moves up to the desk and wonders where her next location could be. She moves over to the bar but before she can spill some water, Houston appears in the doorway.

"Quinn," he announces, catching her by surprise.

"Sorry, you startled me," Quinn looks back at him and gulps heavily. "I…I was just going to get some water and wait for you and Lex to arrive."

"Did we have a meeting?" Houston asks her as he moves closer to her.

"No," Quinn quickly looks back at him, realizing that she has to cover with him. She moves up to him and looks him in the eye. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Yes, of course."

Quinn smiles back to him. "I was hoping to see you," she reveals to him, as the wheels in her head start turning. "You're…you're a very handsome man, Houston."

Houston smirks back to her. "Really? I wasn't sure a woman like you would notice me."

"I did notice," she nods back to him. "I definitely noticed, Houston."

Houston chuckles back to her. "I'm flattered," he says back to her. "But, we shouldn't mix business with pleasure, don't you agree."

She uneasily nods back to him. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry I mentioned anything."

"Don't worry about it," Houston tells her. "We can pretend this never happened, okay?"

***

"I am still in shock that Nathan hired Celeste at Rockwell," Stacey tells Marat as they sit at the bar next to one another at the country club. "He knows the history our family has with that woman. I'm sorry, I know she is the mother of your children, Marat."

Marat chuckles back to her before he takes a sip of his Manhattan. "It's fine," he replies to her. "Celeste knows that I don't approve of her methods last year when she switched your baby. But, I do believe that she wants to make a fresh start."

"I am more worried about my father right now," Stacey picks up her brandy and takes a sip of it. "Lydia told me that he had a rough night."

"He's been through a lot," Marat agrees with her. "It's only natural that he has a couple of bad nights. But, your family is strong, Stacey. Mac will land on his feet. We both know that."

Stacey sighs back to him. "I hope so," she tells him. "The only problem is, my Dad has never had to go through anything like this before. He's lost everything, his house, his company…I'm not sure how much more he can take of this."

"Whatever he needs from us, we will help him," Marat grabs her hand. "You know that I'm in your corner, right?"

"I do," Stacey purses her lips together. "I really appreciate your support, Marat."

"Of course," Marat looks into her eyes. "I love you, Stacey."

Stacey nods back to him quickly. "Do you have any meetings? Or can we go upstairs and escape this nightmare for a little while?"

"I can make time for you," he winks back to her.

***

Cole paces back and forth in one of the secondary offices of Rockwell Mining as he tries to think of a way that he would be able to have access to the private files and documents so he can ensure that Nathan is not ruining the company. He knows that he has to do this to help Mac.

"But how the hell can I have access to the files when Nathan knows that I am Mac's son?" he whispers to himself. "I mean, I'm shocked he hasn't fired me yet."

Cole stops pacing for a moment as he gets an idea. "Wait," he says as he gets a grin on his face. "That's it, I think I know what I have to do. I think I know how I can get all the information that Mac needs."

***

Stacey slowly walks down the stairs of the country club, fresh from her love making session with Marat. She can't help but have a sly grin on her face. She never thought that she and Marat would get back to this place, but mostly she is glad that she has this distraction from her feelings for Kent Blackmore. She knows that she has to stop thinking about Kent because he is engaged to Lydia and that is all that matters.

"Oh Stacey, darling," Lydia says as she turns the corner and sees her daughter. "Were you upstairs visiting your father? How is he?"

"I wasn't visiting Dad," Stacey replies to her. "I was with Marat."

Lydia gets a grin on her face as she knows that she has been desperate for Stacey to move on from Kent and forward with Marat. The fact that her daughter slept with Marat is a good sign in Lydia's eyes.

"Oh, well, I'm glad you and Marat are in such a good place dear," Lydia tells her daughter quickly. "I'm glad we have a moment alone, actually. I was hoping to talk to you in private."

Stacey looks back at her mother wondering if she somehow found out about her feelings for Kent. She takes a deep breath and prepares to face her mother's wrath.

"You were? What is this about?"

"You don't have to sound nervous," Lydia chuckles back to her. "I was just hoping that you could do me a favor."

Stacey arches her eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"

"Well, as I told you and your brothers, I am going to finally marry Kent. I have waited for this day for so long."

Stacey nods back to her. "Right. Do you need help planning the wedding?"

"Yes but I was also hoping that you'd stand up for me," Lydia looks back at her daughter. "What do you say? Be my maid of honor?"

Stacey gulps heavily at the thought of watching her mother marry Kent with a front row seat. She quickly realizes that she has to say yes otherwise Lydia might think something odd is going on.

"Of course," Stacey forces a smile on her face. "I would love to be your maid of honor, Mom."

***

Kent paces back and forth in the living room of the penthouse that he shares with Lydia as he thinks about his upcoming wedding to his fiancé.

He knows, however, that he hasn't been able to get Stacey out of his head. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about when they met to talk about their kiss; Stacey basically told him that they could never be together because of his relationship with Lydia. He can understand that Stacey doesn't want to hurt her mother, but he can't help but still have some connection to her.

"How the hell am I going to get over you Stacey?" he asks himself as he takes a swig of his scotch. "Maybe marrying Lydia is just the thing I need to move beyond on this."

***

"There you are," Slate Lockhart looks over at the entry way of the Rockwell mansion living room when he sees Carmen move into the room. "You got home late last night."

Carmen nervously smiles back to him as she moves to the bar to pour herself a cup of coffee. She knows that she has to ensure that Slate doesn't find out where she was; no one can know that Mateo is alive and well and that includes her lover.

"Yea, sorry," she replies to him before she takes a sip of her coffee. "I guess I lost track of time."

"Where did you disappear too?" Slate asks her as he moves closer to her. "You were here celebrating with my Dad and Sabine but then you just left."

"I think I had too much champagne," she tells him. "I just needed some air and ended up taking a walk. I had no idea this estate was so huge. I never explored much when I was married to Mac."

"Well, the next time you want to go exploring, I'd love to join you," he smiles to her. "Maybe we can end up in the stable and we can make love in the hay."

Carmen chuckles back to him. "That sounds wonderful, Slate. I will ask you to join me for sure in the future."

***

Lex quickly steps off the elevator and moves towards his condo front door. He is already back from Cabo after he got confirmation from the police that the DNA on the body pulled from the ocean last year was, in fact, Mateo's. He was worried that, somehow, Mateo had survived and was the one that was leaving water at the office at Blackmore Ltd. and that left the cryptic message in his washroom.

He is relieved that he got this confirmation that Mateo died because now he can focus on who he believes is sending him a message; in his mind, that can only be Carmen. He recalls how Carmen confronted him last year after Mateo's death and she told him she would make him pay for killing her brother. He realizes that this must be her way of making him pay.

"I just have to find out what your plan is," he whispers to himself as he unlocks his door and moves inside. "Because, I will stop you Carmen. Even if it's the last thing I do."

He puts his bag down and freezes he hears a noise in the bathroom. He quickly moves towards the washroom and freezes when the shower water is running, but no one is the room.

"What the hell?" he asks himself as he moves up and shuts the water off. "Damn you, Carmen. Damn you straight to hell."

Outside of the condo, Mateo stands at the door and smiles to himself, proud that he is slowly gaslighting Lex into a state of madness.

"You will pay for what you did to me," he whispers to himself. "Mark my words, you will pay."

***

A short time later, Mateo is back on the boat, the Silver Lining, that he is staying on. He is glad that his plan to get back at Lex is going so smoothly because he knows that Lex has no idea that he is alive and that's exactly how he needs it to stay.

However, he knows that he needs to continue executing his plan to ensure that Lex pays the ultimate price. He pulls out his cell phone is about to send a message when a new message comes through.

"I am doing everything I can," the note says. "Almost got caught this morning but covered. Chat soon - Quinn."

Mateo smiles at the message. "Good girl, Quinn. I knew you'd help out. Well, it's not like I gave you a choice," he chuckles to himself.

***

"So, the woman you got pregnant is back in town?" Dyhannah Cooper looks over at Deacon Cooper as they sit at a table in the country club, enjoying a late dinner together. She hopes that if the woman that Deacon got pregnant is in town, she will agree to do a paternity test.

"Yes, she is," Deacon nods back to her, as he thinks about his run in with Sabine earlier in the day. "I haven't seen her but I know she is back. I know her mother."

Dyhannah arches her eyebrow. "Really? Small world, I suppose."

"Very small," Deacon chuckles back to her. "The good news in this is that if she is here, I can reach out to her and maybe try to support her during the pregnancy."

"Yes, that is the perfect thing to do," Dyhannah replies to him quickly. "Because, if you support her, you can go to the doctor appointments and request a paternity test. That would be the most ideal, no?"

Deacon nods back to her. "Yes, you're right. I will do that, Mom. I will go to her check up and ask for a paternity test."

***

The following morning, Nathan sits behind the CEO desk at Rockwell Mining reviewing some reports that he is trying to become more familiar with. He didn't realize that there was so much to learn as the CEO of this company and so he is hoping that he will learn the ropes sooner than later.

He looks up when he hears the office door open. He arches his eyebrow when he sees a frumpy looking man appear. The man is overweight, has string like hair and wearing an ill-fitted suit.

"Can I help you with something?" Nathan stands up from behind his desk and looks at the man.

"Yes," the man's horse voice replies to him. "I just saw your secretary, pretty little thing she is, and she allowed me in. I'm Richard, Richard Coleman."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Coleman. What brings you by?"

"Well, I happened to hear about the shuffle in management at the company," Richard replies to Nathan. "And, I'm here to offer my services. Here, take a look at my resume."

Richard pulls out a piece of paper from his brief case and passes it to Nathan, who accepts the document. He quickly looks it over before he nods back to him.

"Very impressive," Nathan looks back at him. "What made you think I was hiring?"

Richard arches his eyebrow back to him. "Lucky guess," Richard chuckles back to him. "Considering you kicked your brother out of here, I just thought you'd get rid of all the staff members that shared loyalties to him. And, it just happened that I was out of work. It seemed like the perfect time to stop by."

"I am impressed with your initiative, Mr. Coleman."

"Please, call me Richard."

"I'm willing to give you a position here, but on a trial basis," Nathan tells him. "Let's start with two weeks and go from there?"

"That sounds perfect, I won't let you down, Mr. Lockhart," Richard shakes his hand quickly.

"Be here tomorrow morning and you can call me Nathan," Nathan smiles back to him.

"I will see you first thing tomorrow morning," Richard replies to him before he leaves the office.

Richard quickly walks down the hallway of Rockwell Mining. He looks over his shoulder to ensure no one else is behind him before he ducks into a small office and closes the door behind him.

Once inside the office, Richard moves his hand to his face and removes is glasses and sets them on the table. Then he slowly moves his hand to the moustache over his upper lip. His hand slowly peels the mustache off, revealing Cole's face under the disguise!

"That went better than I ever thought," he whispers to himself. "Now, I can make sure that Nathan doesn't do anything to this company and he will never know that it is me."

***

"So, what do you need me to do to help you with this plan you have going against Lex?" Carmen asks Mateo as they sit on the boat that Mateo is staying on. Carmen is eager to help her brother carry out his plan of revenge on the man who tried to kill him last year.

"I have everything under control in that area," Mateo grins back to her. "You know, things are going better than I could have excepted."

"That's great to hear," Carmen smiles back to him. "I can't tell you how happy I am to have you back, Mateo. I was so lost and lonely without you."

Mateo chuckles back to her. "I am not going anywhere, you don't have to worry about that."

"Music to my ears."

"You know," he looks back over at her. "There is something that you can you do for me, Carmen."

"What is it?"

"Marry Slate," Mateo replies to her quickly. "I might need capital and with Slate having connections to the Rockwell finances, he would be the perfect husband for you."

"I, uh," Carmen gulps. "We haven't even spoke about marriage yet."

"There's no time like the present," Mateo winks back to her. "Marry Slate so we can ensure we have the resources to finish this plan, Carmen. And, don't waste time on it."

***

"You had left this morning before I got a chance to say goodbye to you," Sabine announces as she moves into the main office at Rockwell Mining and sees Nathan sitting behind the desk. It still looks different for Sabine to see anyone other than Mac sitting there but her fiancé is there.

"Yes, I am sorry," Nathan stands up from behind the desk. "I had so many meetings this tomorrow. And, I'm still trying to figure out the ropes around here."

"You know," Sabine moves up to him. "You could ask Mac for help with that? Maybe that could be the olive branch that the two of you need?"

Nathan smirks back to her. "Are you trying to get my brother and I to make nice?"

"You know that I would like that very much," Sabine nods back to him. "This family has been through so much, the olive branch could be just the thing that helps healing us."

"Well, I had to disappoint you," Nathan looks back at her. "But the very last thing I will do is reach out to Mac for help with the company. It would be an invitation for him to try to get back the CEO position and that is not going to happen."

"So you're okay to leave the family so crumbling around us?"

"Don't be so dramatic, Sabine," Nathan huffs at her. "This has been decades in the making."

"I am not being dramatic!" Sabine hisses back to him. "Don't patronize me about this, Nathan. This family is in ruins and you're not helping it! Not one little bit."

"Maybe it is for the best that we haven't been married yet, Sabine," Nathan glares back at her. "Because right about now, it seems like you are on Mac's side and not mine!"

"This isn't about sides Nathan!" Sabine urgently tells him. "This is about creating peace instead of war. But you know what? I can see that you're hell bent on creating this war zone."

Before Nathan can say anything, Sabine storms out of the office. He sighs heavily and moves to the bar to pour himself a stiff scotch, wondering if he and Sabine will even make to the aisle.

***

A short time later, Sabine storms into the country club and makes a beeline for the bar. She is desperate for a drink after her encounter with Nathan. She can't believe that he won't even consider reaching out to Mac to try to mend this gap that is between the two brothers.

She orders a double bourbon and puts her purse on the bar as she tries to forget about her discussion with her fiancé.

"Sabine, it's early to be drinking," Mac says as he sits next to her. "You alright?"

"Oh just fine," she smiles as she looks over at him. "Just had a long morning. How are you? You don't look so great."

Mac chuckles back to her. "I had a rough night a couple of nights ago but I am starting to feel better. What is going on with you?"

"Nathan and I had a fight," she reveals to him. "All I wanted was to have an olive branch extended to you and he lost it."

Mac continues to chuck. "Nathan detests me," he reveals to her. "I think an olive branch is the last thing he would ever extend to me, Sabine."

"You're probably right but that doesn't mean that I won't try," she replies to him. "I hate that this family is fighting and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Mac puts his hand on top of hers and squeezes it as their eyes lock. "I appreciate you trying to help, Sabine. You've always been such a caring woman."

"I'm glad you remember that about me. I've made my share of mistakes."

"We all have," Mac looks back into her eyes. "Don't let Nathan dim that light that you have inside of you, okay?"

Sabine smiles as she nods back to him. Before she can respond, Mac leans forward and kisses her on the lips.

"I'm sorry," he quickly says as their lips part. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's fine," Sabine looks back at him. "You're helping me more than you know, Mac."

"Glad to help," Mac leans in and looks into her eyes again. "Can I kiss you again? Because, I certainly want too."

"I want you to as well."

Mac leans in and kisses her again. "You know how to make a woman feel alive," Sabine says as their lips part. "I have missed that lately."

"Why don't we go upstairs and I'll show how alive we both can feel?"

Sabine gulps but finds herself grabbing Mac's hand and following up him to his suite so they can remove their clothing from each other and continue to explore their feelings.