Avery Legacy - Chapter 73 - Starting Over

The Avery Family of 1 Avery Lane: Current Household: Blake Avery (family), daughter Cassia (family), adopted daughter Hope, son Clay & daughter Cyra.

The hardest thing to learn about life is that it is always changing. Nothing ever stays the same. Cassia has learned that the hard way. Her parents had divorced when she was just a child. Her mother left and hasn't even bothered to call since. Her father took on the chore of raising a house full of kids all on his own. He somehow finds time to have an illegitimate son. Clay still hasn't completely forgiven him for that one. And then Cassia fell in love. Things were going so well she thought. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Leo went off to college leaving her to face her remaining high school years alone. He told her to go on with her life. She didn't really want to. She wanted to sit around and wait on him to come back. But that would be years. She couldn't seem to get Leo out of her head or her heart. Finally she decided to find a distraction. That's when she saw Keith. Keith Tellerman delivers the paper to her house every morning. She had seen him coming by before but she had never really paid any attention to him. Well she never really paid that much attention to boys at all until lately. Leo had changed all that. Now she noticed all the boys. She also noticed how they weren't Leo. Keith seemed nice though. They talked for a while before she had to head off to school. Maybe they could talk again tomorrow morning.

Blake's 'other' son Kaleb has started spending a lot of time at the Avery house. He drops by most afternoons after school. Now that he's a teen, he pretty much does whatever he wants. His parents don't worry to much as long as they know he's with his father Blake. They don't figure Blake will let him get into any trouble. Kaleb has really enjoyed getting to know his father's other kids. It's neat in a way to have a whole other family. Since he's still completely pissed off at his dad Irfan, Kaleb really enjoys spending time with Blake. Things are so much more relaxed here than at home.

Cassia's little lesson in love got her thinking about a lot of things. For instance, people like her and her dad shouldn't be alone. They need someone to love. They need someone to love them. Cassia sometimes doubts that her mom ever loved anyone. Her dad deserves better. He deserves a second chance at the whole love thing. So Cassia started pushing her dad to start dating again. Of course she had no way of knowing that her dad never really dated in the first place. Her mom was the only woman he ever went out with. He was never even interested in girls until Jan.

Cassia doesn't give up. She has met some of her dad's old friends. One in particular stands out. Cassia knows that Stacy Phelps has a thing for her dad. She doesn't think that her dad sees Stacy as more than a friend though. Luckily friendship is the best place for love to start. So, being the sneaky little Avery that she is, Cassia invites Stacy over. She then accidently on purpose lets it slip to her dad that she thinks Stacy likes him. Cassia glanced out the corner of her eye and caught the weird look on her dad's face. Seed planted. Now just get them together and see what grows out of it.

Well it takes time for things to grow. Nothing to much happens at first between Blake and Stacy. He can't imagine why someone like Stacy would want to get romantically involved with a guy with five kids. He starts telling Stacy all about his life. She knows a lot since they have been friends for years but he fills in things that she wouldn't know. He half expects her to run at any moment. He is actually surprised that she doesn't.

Stacy has been in love with Blake Avery since they were in college together. If only she were more outgoing, she might have made a move. By time she had finally worked up the nerve to flirt with him, Blake had fallen for Jan. She had to sit back heartbroken and watch the train wreak happen. Stacy had wanted to kiss Blake for years. She wanted to take away his pain. But Blake was all about his kids and he never seemed interested in dating. She wasn't sure that he'd be willing to let her into his life. Now suddenly it seems like he might consider letting her in. She is not going to let this opportunity pass by.

While Stacy works on Blake, Cassia works on Keith. The two have been getting pretty close lately. They talk about school mainly at first. Soon they are sharing dreams and ambitions. Keith is so nice and sweet. Cassia really wishes that he'd kiss her. Keith doesn't make a move though. Cassia is starting to think that maybe she'll have to make the first move.

After several months of dating, Blake and Stacy's relationship is going well. They never go out. Stacy just comes over a lot. She gets to know that kids. She gets to know Blake in a whole different way. After the kids were tucked in, Blake and Stacy would usually make out on the couch for a while. After a while the couch just wasn't enough. Although it wasn't a planned move, one night Blake and Stacy did a little more than just make out. Blake had managed to avoid the bedroom up until then. He had a house full of kids. There are things kids just shouldn't see and hear. But that night, things escalated quickly. Neither of them wanted to stop. Blake gave in to temptation and fell asleep in Stacy's arms.

The next morning, Cassia got Cyra fed and changed. She knew they had company. She was practically grown after all and often stayed up late studying. She was very happy about this latest development. Her dad needed this. He needed Stacy. Hopefully he'd do the smart thing and marry her. Crya could use a mom just as much as her dad could use a wife.

The younger kids didn't find it all that strange that Stacy fixed them breakfast that morning. She had been hanging around the house a lot lately. Hope told Stacy the story of how aliens came and took their mommy away. They never did bring her back. Clay asked Stacy if aliens were going to take her away too. The whole conversation made Stacy want to cry. These poor kids. How could anyone abandon them like that. Stacy assured them that she'd never met any aliens and she would never let them take her away. That seemed to make Hope at least very happy.

With her dad's love life on the up, Cassia decides that it's time to work on her own. Since Keith won't make a move, she will. It turns out that Keith is a shy guy. He blushes when Cassia tells him how much she likes him. That just adds fuel to the fire. Before long she has her arms around his waist whispering sweet nothings in his ear. She doesn't push things even though she really would like to kiss him. That can always come later. For now she'll settle for making him blush.

Blake wakes up one very happy man. A glance at the alarm clock tells him that he has officially slept later than he had in several years. He can hear the sound of kids laughing and buried in the background he hears Stacy's sweet voice. Who knew that you could find love after making a mess of your life the way he had. Stacy makes him happier than he has ever been. He wants her beside him always. He has definitely going to have to make some changes in his life. It's time he starts over. Maybe he can get it right the second time around.

The kids have run off somewhere leaving Stacy to clean up the breakfast plates. Blake greets her with a good morning kiss. He wants her to know how much she means to him. He wants her to know how much he loves her.

So he pulls out a little black box. It was a recent purchase. He couldn't wait any longer to give it to her. He tells her how much he loves her. He tells her how much happiness she has brought back into his life. Even though he can't understand what she could possibly see in him, his greatest desire is for her to become is wife.

Stacy was so surprised by the box and the speech. She had loved this man for so long. It was hard to believe that this was really happening. She took the ring and placed in on her finger. She looked into his eyes. She told him exactly what she saw in him. She saw love and happiness. He made her complete. She would definitely marry him on one condition. Even though he had five children, someday, but not right away, she wanted him to have one more. She wanted to experience motherhood completely someday. If he could accept that, then she was his.

Blake just smiled. He had wanted to ask her about having kids with him but he was afraid she'd say no. He swept her up in his arms. He kissed her breath away. He then told her that it would be his greatest pleasure to make her pregnant someday.