Stella hopped down from the cab of the truck, closing the door behind her with a slam loud enough to rattle the birds into flying away. Small but mighty, River noted. She ran towards Jilly, plopping down on the swing next to her. In ten seconds flat they were flying high, legs kicking wildly.

"Thanks for meeting up like this." Jackson strolled up behind her, hands in the pockets of light wash jeans that hugged him nicely in all the right places.

"They sure seem to enjoy each other don't they?" she said, looking back to the girls and smiling. She'd been so worried about Jilly. She still was, but at least now Jilly had a friend.

"Yep. They sure do." They watched them for a minute, then he sat down on the wooden bench next her. "You get all your unpacking done?" He pulled out a package of cashews from his pocket and tore it open, holding it out to her.

The salty nutty aroma was enticing but she shook her head. "No thanks. And yes, I think we're finally almost settled. It really helped having all the furniture so quickly. Thanks again for that."

He nodded silently. "So," he started, popping a giant handful of cashews into his mouth and wiping his hand on his thigh. "What brought you back to good old Westacre?"

Her back went rigid and she crossed her arms over her chest. It was an innocent question, though she couldn't manage to formulate a response. She'd made so many bad decisions. There was no part of her past that she couldn't talk about without feeling ashamed. Especially the reason that she was back. She could feel his eyes on her.

"Either it was really bad or you just don't want to tell me." He eyed her and smiled. "Or both."

"Uhh..." she laughed nervously, feeling like an idiot, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's not you."

"Daddy!" Stella screamed happily from the top of the jungle gym, waving. He waved back with a proud grin.

River looked at her own daughter and her heart sank.

Jackson glanced at River out of the corner of his eye. He fisted another handful of his snack and then crumpled up the empty package, shooting it into the trash receptacle next to him.

"Okay." He clapped his hands together. "Since it's not me..." he stood up in front of her and held out a hand.

River looked up at him. "What?"

"Come on," he said, tilting his head towards the playground.

She stared at his hand, then back up at him quizzically.

He smiled down at her. "You're not gonna leave me hangin, are you?" He waggled his fingers, one eye squinted shut against the afternoon sun.

The corner of her mouth quirked even though she tried to will it not to, and she placed her hand in his, her stomach flip-flopping when his rough palm brushed against her smooth skin.

His eyes smiled triumphantly and strong fingers curled around hers as he pulled her up off the bench.

"What are we doing?" she asked suspiciously. The green grass was just a little too long, and it tickled her feet through her sandles.

He led her to the vacated swings and stopped. She shot him a reluctant glance.

Rolling his eyes, he released her hand. "Just go with it, creek," he teased and she shot daggers at him for using the old nickname. He laughed. "Kidding." Turning her around, he positioned her in front of the swing, then walked around behind her.

She settled into the hard rubber seat reluctantly, unable to hold back a smile. Grasping the chain link, she leaned back, directly into solid male chest and recoiled.

He chuckled from behind her and placed his hands over hers on the chains, pulling her back against until her tiptoes drug against the ground, then released her and she swung forward.

"Mama! You're swingin'! Go higher!" Jilly yelled from across the playground.

Jackson's hand pressed firmly against her back, sending her forward.

"Higher, higher, higher," Jilly and Stella chanted loudly, and she pumped her legs.

Her hair flew out behind her and she closed her eyes, trying to remember how old she was the last time she was on these swings; Amanda by her side no doubt. She opened her eyes again and kicked her foot out instinctively to tap the leaves on the tree in front of her but missed. It was a game she and Amanda has always played. First one to go high enough to touch the tree and yell 'not it!' had to pull the other one home in the wagon, along with whatever crap they had decided to haul in it that day. A couple more times back and forth with Jackson's steady assistance, she kicked out and the leaves on the low-hanging branch rustled under her foot.

Wild hooting sounded from the girls and River laughed out loud and sighed contentedly. Jackson's pushes grew gentler and she began to slow, discreetly anticipating each one. She held tight to the chains and smiled over her shoulder at him. Dragging her feet, she slowed to a near stop and he moved to sit in the other swing.

"You looked like you could use some fun." Clearly happy with the result of his spontaneous idea, he lazily rocked the swing forward and back, kicking at the dirt, then raised his eyes to hers.

Warmth ran over her. "Thank you," she said genuinely, swaying. Intrigue about who this new Jackson was sparked inside her. "So how long have you worked at Oliver's?" she asked, attempting small talk.

"Actually I'm just filling it. Their usual weekend delivery driver hurt his back a few months back and they needed somebody to help out."

'Oh. Where else do you work then?" He looked back to the ground and she immediately kicked herself for being so presumptuous. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings, especially since he'd just made her feel better when she hadn't even realized she'd needed it. "According to Amanda you're super-dad," she added quickly. "Hard working citizen by day, fighter of the boogeyman by night."

He chuckled. "Boogeyman's a little over my pay grade. We do have monsters in the closet though. I can lay a mean whoopin' on a closet monster, lemme tell ya." She laughed and he looked at her. "During the week, I work over at the Oasis."

"Ah yes," she nodded. He had an old beat up GTO in high school that he was always working on in his mom's driveway. "That makes sense. I had forgotten you were a car guy."

"Well that wasn't exactly my dominant characteristic."

She sensed a twinge of sadness and changed the subject. "So are you and Amanda the only ones left around here from our class?"

"No. Not the only ones. There are about a dozen of us. Milly's the manager over at the grocery, and Pete's the Sheriff," he added with a grin.

River almost fell off her swing, and planted her feet firmly on the dirt. "What? Pete? As in..." she pictured her old friend Pete, who was always a little on the hefty side, always fell off the rope in gym class, etc. Jackson used to send him home in tears. She had wanted to lay into Jackson more times than she could count, but Pete made her promise not to.

"Yes, as in your Pete. Technically you could call him my Pete now, too. He's become a good buddy over the years."

She stared at him as he swung, trying to picture Jackson and Pete hanging out over a beer. If Pete, of all people, had befriended Jackson, that spoke volumes.

He looked up and caught her watching him. "What?" he asked.

She smiled. "You have changed haven't you, Jackson Powers?"

"So they tell me," he said matter-of-factly, looking out across the park.

Playfully, she extended her leg and pushed him sideways in his swing. "And don't call me creek."

A slow grin crept across his face and sent alarm bells ringing in her head. That smile could prove to be her undoing.

He stood and took her hands, pulling her up off her swing, keeping hold of one of them when she straightened. She fought the urge to pull it back, and his fingers settled in neatly between hers.

Her phone rang shrilly in her pocket and she pulled it out, looking at it. Amanda flashed on the display. She let go of Jackson's hand and answered.

"Not it," she said, smiling.

"Oh good, you're still at the park. Is Jackson with you?" Amanda asked urgently.

"Yes, he's here. Why? What's wrong?" River stopped walking and Jackson turned to her, concern creeping across his face.

"I was in the backyard and Jamie came running. Anita fell."