Had I not, I might have spent the rest of our lives together wondering what might have been and it would have colored our relationship. Thankfully I n...ow realize what I've always known subconsciously." "What in the world is that?" Barb couldn't resist asking. "That Ellie, is, and always has been, a twenty-four carat BITCH. She was when we were together and she will always be one," Lee burst out. She took another deep breath and got hold of herself. "Dinner started out just fine. We talked and. " But mum, I didn't do anything," he moaned, which was the most notable aspect of our eight year-old son—moaning. Nothing was ever good enough, too long, too short or too hard—usually the latter."That's enough. Now I don't want to hear another peep out of you two, is that clear?"It wasn't their fault, I know—and so did Charlie, but it was as much of a strain on us as it was on them. Their outlet of course was winding each other up or, as Jake had discovered, poking. We didn't have that luxury. I had heard rumors that Chelsea was into girls, but I attributed it to her boyish manner. I knew Abby liked boys. She had many boyfriends in the past and if she and Chelsea actually did sometimes play around with each other, well so what?Still, their touchy-feely way of riding home did strike me as intriguing. Chelsea had her hand on Abby's leg and Abby was nuzzling her face into Chelsea's neck. Just a little more intimate than girlfriends, I suspected. Of course, my mind began to turn this. I want a good view of everything." x-x-x-x She was something else, Brody thought as he watched Ryan up on stage. He wondered if she knew how happy she looked up on the stage. Serious and intent, but happy. They'd come out on stage to a loud welcome, and Brody realized Ryan hadn't been kidding about them having fans. In fact, he wondered if she'd underestimated, or had just been modest. As they announced or launched into songs, there were cheers, and he saw more than a few people singing along..