"Oh my, God," River exclaimed, eyes darting to Jackson. "Is she okay?"

"What is it?" Jackson asked, concern rising.

"She's fine. I think she may have broken her ankle. Sprained it at the very least," Amanda explained. "Send him home will you? I can't help her stand by myself or I'd just take her to the hospital. And River," she paused. "He's gonna be riled up. Try to calm him down before he leaves okay?"

"Of course. He'll be on his way," she said and ended the call. Jackson watched her anxiously. "Your Mom fell, she --"

Before she had a chance to say anything else he turned on his heel and rushed towards his truck. "Stella!" he hollered over his shoulder. "What happened?" he asked as River hurried to catch up with him.

"I don't know. Amanda's with her. She said she thinks her ankle might be broken."

He grabbed the door to his truck and yanked but it didn't budge. "God dammit," he cursed under his breath and hastily reached into his pocket, pulling out his keys. "Stella Luna, let's go sweetheart!" he shouted again. The girls hadn't even made it down off the equipment yet. He fumbled with his key fob.

River stepped in and placed her hand over his and he stilled. He shook his head, almost apologetically. "She's okay," she insisted.

His brows furrowed and a pained look of worry replaced the anxious stress. She watched his broad shoulders rise and then fall with a deep breath in then out.

"I can bring Stella home," she said, squeezing his hand. "Go ahead."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," she insisted. "Amanda and I will stay with the kids while you take your mom to get checked out."

He nodded and clicked the button in his hand, opening his door and climbing in. River turned to leave but he caught her hand. "Hey," he said and she turned to him. "In case I forget to say it later, thank you."

"You're welcome. Go take care of your mom."

River rounded up the girls and made a stop at the R&R for burgers, fries, and milkshakes for everyone. After running by the house to get Maverick, she pulled onto Bunker Drive and parked in front of the three story craftsman with faded green paint. With a facelift it could be a handsome house. It was narrow but had a deep front porch, with white painted rails to match the trim. There was a hedge on either side of the steps and pots filled with red begonias marched up all five. A porch swing was mounted in front of a window and kid-sized plastic lawn chairs surrounded it.

Stella and Jilly rushed inside, Maverick high-tailing it through just in time for the screen door to slam shut in front of her before she could stick her foot inside to catch it. She bobbled the bags and drink carriers, trying to catch her balance again.

"Hey, come back here!" River called but it was too late. The girls had run up the staircase immediately inside the door and were out of sight.

Amanda appeared and opened the door, laughing and taking a drink holder and a couple bags from her. "Oooh, R&R burgers! You really are my best good friend."

River followed her through the spacious living and dining room and into the kitchen at the back of the house. She plopped her tow down on the counter and began removing food from bags.

"Did you get me --"

River plopped a burger in her hand, with a big TP marked on the wrap in red letters. "Your beloved TP. Tomatoes and pickles only."

Amanda let loose an excited squeak and set her burger down on a paper plate, then laid out a handful of others across the counter. "Jackson likes BBQ sauce on his, with bacon, lettuce, and tomato." She winked.

River stopped what she was doing and glared at her.

"What? I'm just sayin'... in case that information might come in handy."

She aimed a straw at Amanda. "Don't start with me Wixon," she warned.

Amanda grinned devilishly and knowingly hummed a little "Mmmhmm." She walked outside, carrying the shakes. They settled with the four kids at the picnic table in the backyard, Goose and Maverick sitting at the end, tails wagging in unison as they waited expectantly for their fair share of the goodies.

Hours later, River woke to Amanda's hand on her shoulder shaking her gently. "What time is it?" she asked, the leather of the comfortable arm chair squeaking as she shifted and rubbed her eyes, slightly disoriented. The living room was dark except for the glow of the TV in the corner.

"About midnight," Amanda answered, straightening and shrugging on her thin blue cardigan, wrapping it around herself and crossing her arms.

"Are they not back yet?" River asked, standing and stretching her arms high, suddenly wishing she had a sweater too when a chilly breeze blew in from the open window next to them.

"They just got back. We got Anita into bed and comfy. Her ankle's broken. They were waiting for the doctor to decide if she needed surgery or not. Decided on a boot."

"Kids?" she asked.

"Still sleeping. I checked about a half hour ago."

River looked around. "Where's Jackson?"

"He's out in the garage," Amanda nodded in its general direction, then hesitated. "This isn't the first time Anita has fallen. She's got arthritis and sometimes she tries to do too much. Last time she was on the floor for a couple hours before Jackson got home and found her."

"Oh my, god, that's terrible."

Amanda's mouth grew tight. "Not as terrible as the fact that Naomi was here but didn't hear her calling for help because she'd gotten home from one of her vacations the night before and was still sleeping it off."

"Wow." River shook her head, trying to clear out the mental image of Anita lying helpless with the kids running around while Naomi lay just above them clueless. The idea made her blood boil. She couldn't imagine what it had done to Jackson. Anita had always been such a nice woman. River had always wondered where Jackson got his rage from. It certainly wasn't an inherited trait. At least not from his mom.

"Ya. So you can imagine where his mind is right now. His mom means the world to him. She's done so much to help him and the kids."

River moved to the kitchen and took a burger out of the refrigerator, unwrapping it and putting it in the microwave. "BBQ BLT, right?" she asked Amanda, who was pouring herself a glass of wine. Amanda nodded and grinned. River opened the fridge again and started to get the rest of the fixings ready on the counter.

"Hey," Amanda said and River turned to her, microwave humming away behind her. "It's good to have you back."

River smiled, leaning against the counter. "It's good to be back," she said.

Despite how happy she had thought she was before everything that had happened, she could honestly see now that she wasn't really. Not entirely. Life with Frank had been good. But it hadn't been real. None of it.

The microwave beeped loudly and she turned and opened the door, placing the burger on a plate and piling on the extras. Satisfied with her work, she picked up the plate and rolled her eyes at the smirk on her friend's face. Amanda lifted her wine glass and grinned. River flipped her the bird as she backed out the screen door on the deck.