Charles raised a hand to knock on the cheery oak door, but hesitated moments before contact. Was he ready to face her? He sighed. He needed to. Wanted to! If he waited any longer, he knew any chance of a future with his child-hood friend would be over. Gathering every last bit of courage, he knocked. When no sound came, he tried again, and listened with baited breath for any movement.

"Leah?" He kept his tone quiet. Still, no answer. A frown furrowed his brows and he stifled a curse. He hadn't intended to be so rough with her his first night, but her possessiveness of Wren Adams had infuriated him. Shocked him even.

"Never again," He thought. Never again would he lose control with her in that way. A shudder raked over his body as he remembered Wren's murderous expression; it haunted him at times and made him wonder who exactly was in charge of his future wife. Unease twisted his stomach and he reached to rattle the golden door knob. When the door popped open, he entered the mini - hallway.

"Leah?" He called again, not wanting to walk in on her indecent. Silence. He took the few remaining steps to the luxurious room, but saw in one quick glance, Leah Kingsley wasn't there.

"She's gone."

Turning at the familiar sound of Samantha's voice, Charles eyed her. "Hello, Sammy. Nice to see you too."

Smirking, the red head rolled her eyes before looking down to pick at a nail. "Drop the pretense. I know you hate me."

"If you like. Where is Leah?"

She lifted her eyebrows. "Where do you think?"

"I don't think anything. Answer my question."

"Really?" she laughed,"You don't even have a tiny touch of an idea of where she is? Because, I think you do."

Trying to not let his temper show, he narrowed his eyes as he studied the young woman. "I'll find her myself." He started for the door, but paused when Samantha put a hand up.

"Take a chill-pill, Charlie. "

"Where?!" His voice and demeanor were demanding.

"Where else is she these days? With Wren Adams, the amazing butler." Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

Charles struggled to keep his surprise and jealousy masked. However, he was a very transparent person and failed miserably. "Do you happen to know where the amazing butler is?"

"Somewhere far from here if I had to guess. I saw them leave an hour ago."

Feeling his chest tighten, Charles's anger mounted. "Together? Just the two of them?"

When a slow smile spread across Samantha's face, he knew his answer. Without another word, he pushed himself past the girl, ignoring her huff of annoyance as she was bumped against the post.

"You're welcome!"

Her irritated voice carried after him as he hurried down the stairs and out the mansion doors towards the guard shack. He burst through the heavy door.

"Where's Leah?" He skipped the greeting, glaring hard at Edward.

More than startled at the intruder and miffed at Charles's tone, the young guard looked up from the paper work before him. "Butler Wren escorted her off the campus grounds." He paused at the fury in Charles' expression. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there is a problem! Did Wren sign out?"

"He did." Edward set his pen on his paper and gave the angry man his full attention.

"And you allowed them to leave together?"

"He is Leah's butler - "

"I am in charge of her!"

"Temporarily in charge of her," Edward's voice was low with warning. The little room filled with tension.

"Tony won't be happy to hear of this! Wren should have consulted with me first."

Suddenly, Edward chuckled, "And what exactly would you say to Tony if you called and reported this? That you man-handled his daughter and have been hiding at work leaving Leah unattended and unprotected? That Wren had to babysit his daughter even on his day off because you were no where to be found? Because if you make that phone call, that will be my answer when he contacts me."

Charles swallowed hard, and took a tiny step back. "Is that a threat?"

"Totally."

"I see." He drug in a shaky breath. "Have a good evening, Edward." Then, with that, he stomped into the outdoors again. He had thought it before, but was sure of it now. Wren Adams had to go. He turned back to the mansion to look for the one person who might agree with him.

******************************************

"Where are we?" Leah perked up in her seat, noticing the drastic change in the landscape. Gone were the rolling hills covered in tree tops or open fields with round hay bales and cattle. Rather, now, were steep, jagged cliffs and even curvier roads than before. Traffic was heavier than usual. She also noted the many bill boards lining the road as they flashed by them.

"Have you ever been to Silver Dollar City?" Wren grinned at her, before darting his gaze back to the road.

"No, I haven't! Is that where we are going?"

Wren was delighted at her excited tone. "The Slator's gave me free tickets. I thought it would be fun. It closes in a couple hours though, so we don't have much time-"

"Who cares!" Squealing, Leah clapped her hands like a child. "I'm so excited!"

"Then, Silver Dollar City here we come. I can't believe you've never been though."

"It is surprising being I've lived here my entire life. Have you gone before?"

"The Slators took me for Christmas last year. It was awesome! I've never been this time of year though."

"So, we are experiencing it together? Sort of."

Wren chuckled, loving the vibrancy with which she viewed life. "Yep."

It didn't take long for Wren to pull into the entry drive and find a parking space close to the front. Due to the later hours, many visitors had gone home for the night, giving them access to one of the closest parking areas. The theme park held many parking lots. They exited the vehicle and in a few quick bounds, Leah rounded to his side and latched herself to his arm.

"So cool!" She beamed, unaware of the longings her touched stirred inside the handsome man. "I can't believe we are doing this."

Wren grinned. "I'm pretty excited myself. Come one. We need to wait by the gates."

Leah squinted in the direction he had pointed. "Do they have a bus or something to take us to the entrance?"

"A tram, actually."

"Fun," Leah followed close behind as Wren led them to the waiting station

They reached their waiting area, and Wren wasn't surprised to see Leah lacked patience when excited. She leaned from one foot to the next, walked the length of their little area, and sighed when her eyes came up empty for the tram. The few people with them appeared amused.

A distant engine became audible and Leah's face lit up. "It's the train! I mean tram." She threw Wren an impish grin, before turning to watch in excitement as the metal contraption pulled in front of their gates, squealing to a halt. Wren was aware of the conductor's voice blasting through the intercom, but was oblivious to his words as he watched the Kingsley Heiress. She was stunning, he thought, and he wondered how it was she became more beautiful by the day; Yet, he knew. She wasn't changing. He was. His feelings deepening every time he saw her smile.

Wren snapped from his reverie as Leah pushed through the swinging gate. He followed, letting her chose their seating which he was sure she would do regardless. And soon, they were seated side by side on the hard wood benches. He smiled at a young girl of seven or eight sitting on the bench across from them. She stared unblinking at Wren with large brown eyes that matched her skin tone to perfection. Loose black curls spilled around her shoulders and one small hand rested on her mother's thigh as if for comfort.

"I think she's smitten with you," Leah said as she nudged his ribs with her elbow.

Wren breathed a quiet laugh. "She's adorable, isn't she?" Wren gave the girl one-more warm smile causing her face to light up. Finally, she tore her gaze from Wren and looked at Leah as if seeing her for the first time.

"Your husband is really handsome," the little girl said, her tone shy.

Wren startled, feeling a blush creep up his neck. He opened his mouth to correct the misunderstanding, but Leah beat him to it.

"Why, thank you. He is quite handsome, isn't he?"

Jaw dropping, Wren twisted to stare at the Kingsley Heiress. She returned his stunned look with a shrug, though her cheeks matched his. "I don't feel like explaining our relationship," She half-whispered when he didn't avert his gaze. "Normal people don't have butlers. At least, not one that goes to Silver Dollar City with them."

When she turned away to observe the scenery as if the black pavement surrounding them was extraordinary, Wren smiled broadly and decided to play on her obvious embarrassment a bit more.

"Sure, I understand that. But, do you really think I'm handsome?" He wiggled his brows when she whirled to face him again.

"Shut up."

Instead, he leaned forward, a crooked grin tipping his lips "I want to know! I mean, you didn't say nice-looking or cute. It was -- let me think -- Oh yes. Quite handsome." He smothered another laugh as her blush spread from her cheeks to her entire face.

"Oh look, we're here," Leah jumped up before the tram had even stopped, and as soon as the wheels stilled, leaped to the pavement and hurried through the entrance pillars. Standing up to follow, Wren tossed a wink to the curly - headed girl. She smiled a toothy grin. Wren had a feeling they were both going to have a fun time at Branson, Missouri's biggest theme park.

**********************************

Squealing, Leah raised her hands high as the metal roller coaster came crashing down a steep edge before turning on it side as it thundered around a corner. She closed her eyes in bliss as she stretched her finger tips as high as she could, caressing the blasting breeze. She was flying, inside and out. Freedom. This was as close to it as she could get, she was sure.

All too soon the metal cart slowed before clanking to a halt in front of the entrance gates. She laughed as she pushed her hair from her face and turned with exuberance to the wind blown man beside her. She burst into a fit of giggles. "Your hair!"

Wren's brown locks, once gelled to perfection for church that morning, spiked in every direction. He smoothed it the best he could as the metal bars locked over their laps, loosened.

"Just following the latest fashion," Wren grinned back. The two stepped out of their seats, and exited the Thunderation building.

"I want to do another one! Let's ride the American Plunge again!" Leah turned and started to plow her way through the crowd before Wren reached out, gripping her above the elbow.

"Whoa there, Princess! I don't think we have much time left. It's getting dark and the rides are going to close soon."

"But, I want to," Leah jutted her lip like a child, making Wren shake his head in disbelief and amusement.

"I think you were easier when you were mean," he grinned. "How about dip and dots? Will that satisfy you?"

She scowled, wanting to keep riding the roller coasters until she was manually hauled back to the tram. But, curiosity took over. "What are dip and dots?"

He stared in disbelief. "You have never had dip and dots?"

Her blond locks bounced as she shook her head at him.

"Well, we are going to fix that right now." Wren wove through the milling people who all seemed to be in a hurry, rushing to do that one last thing before the amusement park closed. It didn't take long to locate the ice - cream stand and order.

Soon, they sat side by side on a brick wall that lined the black pavement, each enjoying their dessert.

"These are so good!" Leah gasped as she shoveled another spoonful of the rainbow colored ice cream balls into her mouth, a couple dropping from the spoon onto her lap. Not wanting to lose a single one, she picked them up and popped them into her mouth.

Chuckling, Wren watched in contentment as she continued to enjoy her ice cream. Would she be this fun at forty, he wondered. The desire to be the one to find out sparked inside him, but instant grief followed. She would most likely have a man at her side in her forties, but it wouldn't be him. It couldn't him.

His expression must have reflected his thoughts, for when Leah looked to him, her azure eyes shadowed with concern. Trying to mask any future emotions, he quirked a grin, taking a small bite of his chocolate dip and dots. She relaxed with a gentle smile, a smile he knew she didn't offer to many people. His heart rate increased as he lost himself in her gaze. She was just as transparent as he, he realized; her eyes reflected her complete trust and - love. He startled, then fumbled to catch his falling paper bowl. The remaining dip and dots scattered on the cement, melting in an instant.

"Too bad!" Leah offered Wren a sympathetic look. "You can have my last bite." She held up her last spoonful of dots, then grinned. "Ha! Just kidding!" She popped the spoon into her mouth, slowly pulling it out empty. She rolled her eyes in bliss. "So good. So sweet and cold and don't you wish you had some?"

Their shared laughter was instant.

"So, what are we doing next?" Leah said once their mirth dwindled.

"I hate to say it, but we are going to need to go." He saw disappointment flash in her eyes.

She sighed, letting her bowl rest on her lap. "I wish it didn't have to end."

"Me too, but maybe we can come again before Summer is over."

She brightened. "What a great idea! Maybe Edward and Fiona would like to come too."

"Maybe. Sounds like a plan."

"It does," Leah dimpled, then sobered as she studied him. "I was wanting to ask you -"

He raised his brows as her voice trailed off. She was uncertain and hesitated.

"Your scars..?"

Wren sobered"Where did I get them?"

She nodded, looking guilty but didn't retract her question.

Wren dropped his gaze, his thoughts turning to the part of life he wish he could forget. How much did he want to reveal? The thought she might shun him if she knew all details filled his mind, and he swallowed hard. "I have a pretty rough past and I'm not proud of it. My mom was diagnosed with cancer and I needed money for her treatments." He chose his next words with care. "I chose a pretty messed up way to get that money. Wrecked my life and broke my mother's heart all at the same time." Pain stirred afresh as memories bombarded him. His voice quivered. "She died before I became a Christian and started changing things...I don't like to talk about it to be honest."

Shock propelled through him when Leah's small hand slipped around his own. She was becoming comfortable touching him, he thought. For him, it was only making things harder. She squeezed his hand, and when he looked up, her compassion was visible.

"You know what? I'm sorry for asking. It's not my business and it obviously hurts you to talk about it. Let's go home. I'm ready now."

Relief was the best word to describe Wren's main emotion and he realized how much he didn't want her learning his past.

"Thanks, Princess."

She smiled that special smile that made his heart flip and stood to her feet, tugging him with her. She didn't reply. She didn't need to. They simply left the park in companionable silence.