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*A/N - I was just going to upload chapter Four today but then I noticed that you get to meet Jen (Just a glimpse) in this next chapter and she is one of my favs so i couldn't resist giving you this chapter too! Hope you enjoy!! ***

Lina’s POV

            When we got back to the farm we both filled our arms with bags and made our way into the barn; I led the way up the stairs to the apartment but when I got to the landing and turned the knob the door was locked. I used the key on my key chain that Bubba had given me and unlocked the door before pushing it open and walking in; I had always done laundry and cleaned for Bubba so he had given me an extra key so that when he wasn’t around I was still able to get into the apartment.

“So you have your own key?” Jon questioned once we set down all the bags on the floor.

“Yeah I used to clean and do laundry for your dad.” I replied; we stood there in silence for a few minutes as he looked around the room.

“The bedroom and bathroom are through there.” I said pointing to the door on the far side of the loft.

            I watched as Jon made his way around the apartment taking everything in. The walls were a rusty red colored wood and the floors were a dark maple; when you first walked in there was a small kitchen and dining area complete with a table and four chairs. Beyond the kitchen there was a sitting area or living room with a dark brown leather couch and a single matching arm chair; there was a small TV sitting on top of a stand on the wall across from the chair and couch. The door to the bedroom was just through the living room and inside there was a queen sized bed, two nightstands each with a deer antler lamp and a wooden dresser; there was a door to the bathroom on the far wall and inside there was a linen closet, vanity, toilet and shower. The apartment was simple but homey at the same time; just being in there always made me feel at home because of all the time I had spent there with Bubba as a kid.

“I didn’t want to change anything after he passed; I thought maybe you would want to see how he lived and get a better idea of what kind of person he was. I left you some boxes and tape on the table so if there’s anything you don’t want you can box it up and I will take it to a charity for you.” I said walking back to the door so that he could have some time alone in the apartment.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Oh breakfast is at sev…” I started but he cut me off.

“Yeah your dad already went over the whole time schedule thing with me.”

“Oh, ok. Well goodnight.” I said before walking out the door and closing it behind me.

            I made my way back out of the barn and hopping on the side-by-side made my way back up to the house; my father asked me how things went when I came in and I told him everything went good. Making my way up to my room I couldn’t help but wonder how Jon was feeling being in his dads apartment for the first time; he seemed nice enough on the whole shopping trip but by the time I left the apartment he seemed like he was starting to clam up. I could only imagine that it had to be hard for him to be in his father’s apartment; he never got to meet him face to face but I knew the two had grown close over the last year through the letters they wrote back and forth. I wanted to ask him if he was ok with everything before I left but I thought it was best to just give him some space and let him adjust to his new surroundings. My phone vibrated in my back pocket and I pulled it out to see my best friend Jen’s smiling face flashing on the screen; a smile spread across my own face as I answered it.

“Hello.” I said placing the phone to my ear.

“Hey bitch, Jonny boy show up today?” She asked after her normal greeting; Jen is, well, lets just say she’s a little out there sometimes. Ok maybe way out there, and more like all the time not just some times.

“Yes.”

“Well spill the beans. What’s he like? Is he hot?” That would be one of the first questions out of her mouth; she’d been going steady with Caleb for a few years now but that didn’t stop her from looking at every piece of flesh that crossed her path.

“He’s fine.” I replied keeping my answer vague and hoping she would accept it.

“That’s about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle; come on Lina ya’ have to give me more than that.” She begged.

“Alright, fine. He seems nice enough and yes, he’s good lookin’.” I confessed; I can’t lie he was nice to look at with his dark brown hair and blue eyes. I may have even noticed his toned abs when I was tucking his shirt in but I wasn’t about to admit that to Jen because she would never shut up about it.

“How good lookin’ are we talking here? Like hotter than a twenty dollar pistol?” I couldn’t help but laugh; where the hell does she come up with these things?

“Sure Jen, hotter than a twenty dollar pistol.”

“Well hot damn, when can I meet him?”

“Why don’t ya’ come over tomorrow after church?” I asked.

“Can’t, I have to help Caleb write out the hay reports.” She sighed loudly though the phone obviously not impressed with the work load she had cut out for her.

“Why can’t he do it himself?”

“Girl, he’s so useless if he had a third hand he’d need an extra pocket to stick it in. That boy can’t do nothin’ on his own.” I couldn’t argue with that; Caleb was one of the laziest rednecks I know.

“What about Monday?”

“I think I can work that in. I gotta’ go Caleb is hollerin’ about his food gettin’ cold.” She yelled something back to Caleb but it was muffled so I couldn’t make out what she said.

“What does he need ya’ to lift the fork for him?” I joked.

“Not yet but he’s about one word away from me stickin’ his fork where the sun don’t shine.”

“Alright, talk to ya’ later, love ya’.” I said between laughs; that woman was just plain crazy.

“Love ya’ too.” She said before disconnecting the call.

            I tossed my phone on the table next to my bed with a smile still plastered on my face; I couldn’t ask for a better friend than Jen, she may be crazy but she never fails to put a smile on my face every time I talk to her. I wonder what Jon will think of her when he meets her; she will probably scare the living shit out of him and he will want to stay as far away from her as he can. I was broke out of my thoughts when my phone started ringing on the table; looking over Landon’s face appeared on the screen. I reached over and answered it immediately; I was anxious to talk to him because I haven’t heard from him all day and we usually spend every Saturday together.

“Hey babe.” I answered.

“Hey sexy, what are you up to?” He asked.

“Not much just got done talkin’ to Jen. Where have ya’ been; I haven’t heard from ya’ all day?” I asked curious as to why he hadn’t stopped by or even called all day.

“Oh I had to help out at the Webster farm today.” That wasn’t the response I wanted to hear. Landon and I had been together for two years and the only issues we have ever had all revolved around Kristy Webster; they had dated a few months before we got together and she had been trying to get back with him ever since.

“Doing what?” I asked my previous good mood was ruined as soon as the word Webster left his mouth.

“We had to round up some cattle and tag ‘em.” He replied but while he was speaking I could heard someone in the background but I couldn’t make out what they said.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The person in the background, who was it?”

“No one… umm, maybe it was the TV or somethin’.” He sounded a little distracted and that just worried me even more.

“Where are you now?”

“Home, I uh, just got here a few minutes ago.” He still seamed like he wasn’t giving me his full attention and I wondered what had him so distracted.

“Why don’t ya’ come over for a while?” I asked; I hadn’t seen him for a few days so it would be nice to see him.

“Look babe I’m beat; I’m just gonna’ jump in the shower and go to bed. I’ll talk to ya’ tomorrow.” Landon answered back sounding like he was just ready to end the conversation.

“Ok, goodnight. I love you.”

“Night babe.” He said before disconnecting the call. What the hell, he didn’t even say I love you back.

            The way Landon was acting on the phone had me upset; why was he being so distant, he’s never like that. The fact that he was over at the Webster farm all day just added to the discomfort; I trusted Landon, I really did but it made me nervous when he spent any time with Kristy. Kristy had a way of getting what she wanted and she wanted Landon; I could only hope that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. No, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, he would never cheat on me; we loved each other and we have been together for two years, he wouldn’t throw that all away for Kristy. The more I thought about it the better I felt; I had no reason not to trust Landon, he must have just had a long day and wanted to get some rest. With that last though I made myself comfortable in bed and went to sleep.

Jon’s POV

            After Lina left I took some time to look over my fathers apartment, well, my apartment now; it smelled like cigars and beer and for some reason I found the scent comforting. Everything seemed to be simple and minimal throughout the space; the only decorations that were scattered throughout were made of some type of animal bone or deer antlers, it didn’t surprise me because I knew that my father was an avid hunter. There were only a few pictures hung on the walls and most of them were of me when I was younger; my mother must have sent them to him at one point because they were from after we moved to LA. There were a few others with him and a little girl, a little girl that looked a lot like a younger version of Lina and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was her.

            After going through the few things that were in the kitchen and living room I made my way into the bedroom; it looked like the sheets had recently been changed and everything had been cleaned just like the other rooms. I went over to the dresser and opened the top drawer; it was full of old button up shirts and picking one up I held it to my nose, sure enough it had a light cigar smell, a smell I was quickly learning to be my fathers signature scent. After going through a few more drawers and only finding clothes I moved onto the nightstand on the side of the bed; when I opened up the drawer it was full of the letters that I had written him, along with a notepad and pen that I was sure he used to write letters back to me.

            The sight of the letters had tears brimming at the edges of my eyes and I struggled to hold them back; the letters were the thing that connected me to my father the most, they were the whole reason I was here right now. We had gotten to know each other so well all through words written on paper; a lifetime apart from each other all made up for in the confines of these letters. God how I wish that I would have been able to meet him in person but I know that if I would have met him and got to know him better it would just make his death that much harder for me to cope with; as it was I was doing pretty well with it all, but I had already had some time to get use to the fact that he was gone while I was locked up. Seeing that I had to be strong while I was in prison it helped me cope with his death a lot better than I would have been able to if I was on the outside; now, sitting here in his apartment it was all starting to really set in.

            I know I didn’t know him very well but from what everyone has told me he was a great man; I knew that from the letters he had written to me but there’s just something about someone else saying it that makes it that much more real. I really would have loved to meet him and been able to spend time with him but knowing how much everyone else misses him I feel like its better that I didn’t get that chance; at least never knowing him I don’t have to miss things that others have to, like hugs, the way he spoke, his smell, although that last one I have a feeling I might miss just from smelling the apartment and his clothes.

            I went back out to the kitchen to grab a few boxes and tape and brought them back into the bedroom so that I could pack up some of the clothes; I wasn’t going to get rid of them I just wanted to store them somewhere so that I could use the dresser for my own clothes. I folded each item and placed them neatly in the box before sealing it up and sticking it at the bottom of a small linen closet in the bathroom; I left out one light blue button up shirt that had a few stains and a lot of wear on it and placed it at the edge of the top drawer. I wanted something left in the dresser to remind me of him and for some reason that particular shirt stood out more than the rest to me; feeling satisfied with my work I closed the dresser and went to take a shower.

            After a long shower I walked back out to the kitchen to see if I could find something to eat; after opening the fridge and finding nothing other than a few beers I moved onto the cupboards. The cupboards were just as bare as the fridge, the only thing they contained was some oatmeal and crackers and neither one was appealing to me. Giving up on food I went into the living room and switched on the TV; I was surprised to find that there was actually cable hooked up and after flipping through a few channels I found a decent show and sat back on the couch to relax and watch it.

            I had thought that getting back to real life after I was released was going to take me some time to get used to but as it was I was falling right back a lot easier than I had expected. I felt so free and at home in the little apartment, it was odd that I was settling in so easily; gone were the days of being locked in a ten by ten cell and the same routine day after day, I had a life now, an actual life that I planned on living to the fullest. I was still surprised at how easily everyone was accepting me, it was like they just looked right past all the bad things I had done in my life and only focused on the person that I was now, or the person I was trying to be; it was refreshing to not be judged for once and I couldn’t be more thankful to the Walker family for accepting me into their lives, also to my father for making it possible in the first place.

            Without my father I would have never had this opportunity and would be back in LA right now; I know that if I was back in California my life would be taking a turn for the worse right now instead of for the better like it was. Back in LA I would have been sucked back into the gang life, a life full of drugs, fights and getting arrested; I knew that none of that would happen here, I was safe here, I was at home. Getting bored of the reality show on TV I headed back to my room and pulling back the sheets laid down in bed; the bed was a lot more comfortable than the one I had in prison and it didn’t take long at all before I was fast asleep.