Episode 12: Final Option

Episode 12
FINAL OPTION

Carrie Hawkins had had about enough of the craziness that surrounded this town. She needed to prove once and for all which woman was lying in the hospital bed... Angela or Alex. But another thing weighed heavy on her mind... Patrick's strange behavior toward her.

"Why are you acting like you don't know me?" Carrie asked as she stepped into her classic Mustang.

Patrick tried to hide his smile as he slid into the passanger seat, but he wasn't successful.

"My brother, Mike doesn't know about you... about us."

Carrie nearly laughed.

"Us? Us was a long time ago. Us was before you fell for that nitwit's lies." She pushed the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot.

"I see you haven't lost that reckless streak. You still drive as if hell was on your heels.

Patrick had no clue how right he was.

"You don't know what I've gone through these last few years, Patrick. I kept... many things from you when we were together."

His attention completely zeroed into Carrie.

"What sort of things?"

Carrie sighed and focused in on the road ahead of her that led to Rand's ranch.

"It doesn't matter now. It's too late for it to matter."

Patrick growled.

"What in the heck does that mean? 'It's too late to matter?' If you haven't pushed me away back then, we would be together now!"

"Don't remind me."

Carrie didn't want to think about what might have been. She didn't know if she could take the pain.

She pulled the Mustang into Rand Boyd's driveway hoping to get away from this subject. She knew it would only lead to heart ache for the both of them.

***

Carly could not let this happen again.

She could hardly believe it when she saw Carrie at the hospital and Patrick acting as if he didn't know her. That witch was not going to ruin everything she had managed to gain in the last two years.

Carly discovered where Carrie was headed and decided to cut her off at the pass. Maybe a little away time was all the blond bimbo needed to get her head on straight again.

She tiptoed into the kitchen and left a hasty note on the hall table from Rand to his mother. She knew Carrie would see this note and high tale it to wherever Rand would be.

It was a perfect plan.

She even hired a local bum to lock Carrie into the cabin outside of Rand's ranch just in case the girl got any ideas about leaving.

As she drove down the back road toward town, she knew everything was going to be okay again.

***

"I'm sorry, honey," Nadia Boyd said. "I don't know where he got off too. You know Rand. He's a back woods type of guy. Saying that is like saying... he could be anywhere."

Carrie sighed. It was obvious that the lookalike was not on the premesis. On her way out she noticed a note lying on the hall table. It was from Rand.

Patrick read the letter from over her shoulder.

"Look's like Rand's going to be on the property on the edge of the property. That's about a half an hour from here."

Great. Carrie rolled her eyes. How was she going to get through another half an hour with Patrick and not let on that she was still in love with him even after all these years?

The ride to the cabin was uneventful, at least in the area of small talk. Carrie didn't want to give away anything to Patrick because she knew how easily he picked up on her feelings. It had been hell lying to him two years ago. It had been hell walking away. Walking away and knowing Carly would come out with the victory.

As the drove up, she realized the cabin was bigger than she imagined. Rand must have some money put away to afford something like this.

She had barely stepped through the threshold before Patrick pounced on her.

"What's up, Hawkins? Why am I suddenly getting the cold shoulder? Is my presence too hot for you to handle?"

Carrie spun on her heel.

"Why did you have to come along? Why did I even let you. I knew it would dredge up old feel..."

Somehow she managed to stop herself before letting on her true feelings about him. But that was quickly pushed from her mind when she heard a noise from the front door.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Maybe it's Rand and our mysterious guest."

By the time Patrick walked to the door, he knew something was wrong. He tried moving the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

"There's something blocking the doorway." He smirked. "Well, if your plan was to get away from me, I'm afraid someone else has another agenda. Until someone lets us out, we're trapped."