"Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, Off to Skate We Go"

"You okay there, Harvey?" Clive inquired.

It took a long moment before his friend could answer. "I'm not out of shape. I just haven't done this in a few years. It requires a certain touch."

"Maybe you shouldn't have let Jeff stay back to check out that space heater. I'm sure he could pull that without a problem," Rachel speculated.

"I'm strong enough; it's a little tricky, that's all," Harvey insisted, trying to cover up his huffing and puffing. He was pulling a classic-style sled behind him filled with a couple of brooms, a shovel, and a pile of ice skates. "You need to make sure to pull both sides equally. I've been doing this since I was a kid; it'll come back to me soon; it's like riding a bicycle."

"I'd offer to help, but with my back issues, you'd be taking me to the hospital after about a mile," Clive said, maybe only a quarter joking.

"Maybe you should hand it over to one of the younger guys," Rachel tried to suggest diplomatically. Their group of adults at the back was slowly falling behind the younger members in front of them. "Finn seems to have figured out his sled pretty fast."

"I think Rachel's right, that no-good boyfriend of our daughter can finally pull his weight around here," Clive grumbled, adding a scowl.

"I can always ask Sean to give you a hand if you want?" Bridget offered.

"No, no, no. I'm fine. Sean's been running chores almost since he got here. Let the kid enjoy his trip for once," Harvey insisted before adding an explanation. "Finn's handling it fine because this isn't his first time doing it. After Cassie's death, whenever Fred spent time with Finn, he would bring him up here to the cabin. Whitney and the girls would beg him to go with them to the pond. The kid's done this more than anyone else here besides myself."

"Of course, I should've remembered that. Finny would always come back excited with a bunch of stories to tell. With his imagination, we often didn't know if they were true or not," Rachel recalled fondly with a wide smile.

"I figured that Harvey punished Finn with the chore," Sybil added, flashing a defiant look at her host. The wayward wife felt emboldened on the hike as she knew Harvey wouldn't dare bring up her bathroom incident around his friends.

"About that: I wanted to apologize to you and Clive, well, and you too, Bridget," Harvey started, ignoring the comment. "I should have realized how poorly Fred was handling Cassandra's death when Finn started to basically live at your homes."

"Oh, there's no need to apologize, Harvey. You had the business trouble with your father and were dealing with Willow," Rachel pointed out.

"Business? Everyone knows that Harv doesn't do any work. That's unless you count chasing skirts," Sybil remarked.

"That's all he ever does," Bridget piled on as most of their friends grinned.

"No, those shouldn't be used as excuses. And not entirely for that one reason. You and Clive both have busy careers, same with Bridget and Leonard. I just have a blind spot when it comes to Fred. We go back so far that I still saw him as the prank-happy kid he used to be. I kept expecting him to snap out of it any day."

"Well, I don't have a blind spot when it comes to my brother, and I probably failed Finny too," Sybil admitted. "I tried to include him in family activities. Polly loved spending time with him, but I always knew that he preferred to be with Lana and Peyton."

"Don't blame yourself either, Sybil. With Finley, it was best that we took the lead," Bridget said. "Cassie's parents were concerned, one could say even scared over Finn. He became so withdrawn; he seemed to retreat into books, barely talking to anyone."

"I still think back to that time and tear up," Rachel admitted. "We tried everything to get him to come out of his shell. Fred threw himself into his job rather than deal with anything, and the Banks were open to any idea."

"They tried taking him to a child therapist, but he wouldn't budge. Back then, we had no clue about how much of the accident he saw. All we knew was that the paramedics found him awake when the ambulance arrived," Bridget recalled, wiping her eye.

"Little did we know that we had two secret weapons amongst us." Rachel's downcast face broke open with a smile. "We didn't realize that while we all struggled to come up with a solution, Lana and Peyton took care of Finn. Those two little girls were the ones that brought him back to reality. They laughed, cried, confided, and consoled each other. They formed a bond I don't think we'll ever understand."

"As much as Polly loves her cousin, she's too shy herself to have helped Finn," Sybil admitted, brushing away the moisture from her eyes.

"So, you see, Harv, that's why our families proved best to deal with Finn. You wouldn't have been any more help than the rest of us adults," Bridget gently told him. "It's not like Finn has been a burden on us, far from it. Rachel would agree with me on this, but he's been a big brother to Sean and Lacey. They look to him for advice and protection. With Leo and Sean such polar opposites, having Finn around for him has been great."

"Now I feel even worse for not inviting your families here more often. I think that Lana and Peyton only came with Finn a few times. But I can see what you mean about his influence on the younger ones. Whitney can be a bit headstrong--"

"No!" Bridget and Rachel gasped in fake astonishment.

"--and whenever Finn was around, he was so patient with her. I think it drove her nuts at how calm he could be with her," Harvey added with a chuckle. "But with all you did for Finn, that's why I need to take the lead with Fred finally."

"How did your talk go with him?" Rachel asked.

"Not great. That's another reason I wanted Jeff back at the cabin," Harvey revealed. "I wanted him to keep an eye on Fred."

---

"Don't you worry one bit. We are so going to find a much better guy for you," Gabriela declared. She, Kimberly, and Skye walked in front of their lagging group of friends.

"There's going to be a lot of single men at the charity ball. Well, at least not married. Who cares if they have a date for the night," Kimberly noted with a mischievous smile. "You can join me on the prowl for a hot guy, preferably a younger one that's great in the sack."

"Maybe you better stick with our help rather than Kim's, sweetie. Rachel and I will find you a nice guy to date, not just a one-night stand," Gabby pointed out, shooting a look at Kim to knock it off.

"Well, I was thinking more like at least a three or five-night stand, but Gabby is right. We'll find you a nice guy to date. Maybe even settle down with. There will be plenty of rich men at the charity ball."

"I'm not looking for another sugar daddy," Skye hissed out, her body tensing up.

"Oh, that's not what she meant, sweetie," Gabby hurriedly clarified, shooting an angry look at Kim. The platinum blonde mouthed a "Sorry" back at her. "What I think Kim meant is that there's going to be a lot of great catches at the ball. Of course, that means there will be competition for them. You're young, beautiful, and a sweetheart, so you already have an edge. Our job will be to point out the ones that you don't want to be with. We know the who's who of good and bad men in Honey Hollow."

"Do we?" Kimberly mouthed at Gabby. The dark-haired Latina shrugged back. With the two women living respectively in Rattle Ridge and Arbor Corners, their knowledge of eligible bachelors in Honey Hollow might be outdated.

"Well, there's probably going to be a bunch of Wynwicks at the ball. God knows there are enough of them," Gabby muttered at the end.

"And some Laffonts." Seeing Gabby's look of disgust, Kimberly protested, "Hey, it's not like I suggested a Klackhurst."

"Kim, I thought you liked Skye here? We'll be keeping you away from the Laffonts, that's for sure." Gabby took a moment to ponder what other prominent families in town might have some unmarried members. "There might be a Falkenburg or two? A few of them live up our way, so I know there a some around your age down here."

"Eww, they are so stuffy and uptight at times," Kimberly said, cringing like a skunk was nearby.

"You know, Clive's nephew, Cormac, is quite a catch. He's about a year younger than you and grew in Arbor Corners. He's following the family business and started law school this year," Gabby said. "Although, it might be a little early to set him up with you. From what Rachel has said, it sounds like he's still sowing his wild oats."

"I've seen him and heard things," Skye revealed with a blush. "But never talked about anything besides the specials of the day."

"Ooh, Cormac Trimble is a catch. You should totally keep him in mind," Kimberly stressed. The platinum blonde would've loved to have made a move on the attractive young man but his mother, Blair, scared the crap out of her. "Uh, what about Clive's other nephew?"

"Justin? Yeah, no," Gabby responded with a face that showed just how distasteful she found the idea. "Takes too much after his stuffy father."

"Um, that's a big no on Justin Stratton," Skye chimed in. "He's not very friendly with the staff at Goforth's."

Feeling as if they were letting Skye down, Kimberly joined Gabriela in thought until both women remembered the most obvious suggestion.

"Ian!" they exclaimed.

"Do you think he's still single?" Gabby asked.

"I never heard anything, but I'm sure you would have heard first from Rachel," Kimberly responded.

Both women stopped walking, causing Skye to do the same.

Turning around, Gabriela waited until the other group came a little closer. "Hey, is Ian Thirlby still the most eligible bachelor in Honey Hollow?"

"Ooh! Is this for Skye?" Bridget asked, loving the idea.

"He is, Gabs. No one has captured his heart yet," Rachel divulged. "That's a great call for Skye."

"Yeah, he's still so handsome too," Bridget added.

"Hey, what about me?" Harvey protested. "Well, not for Skye. Aren't I the most eligible bachelor in town? I'm wealthy and good-looking!"

"Well, he's almost a decade younger than you, absolutely gorgeous, and doesn't have all the baggage with women that you do," Rachel gushed.

"Should I be worried about you trading me in for a younger model, hun?" Clive joked, earning an elbow from his wife.

"Let's face it, Harv, you aren't the marrying type anymore. Everyone knows Ian's story; it makes most women in town swoon," Bridget pointed out, getting nods from her three gal friends and Clive.

"I might marry again for the right woman," Harvey revealed, but at that point, no one listened to him.

"I don't know the story, but I've heard the name," Skye said. "I know a few of the Thirlbys from the restaurant. I think I may have seen him once. Waitresses do gossip, but I try to avoid it."

"Oh, sweetie, if you saw him, you would know," Gabby remarked, placing her hand on Skye's arm. "He's tall and dashing."

"Movie star dashing. Like classic Hollywood," Kimberly piped in.

"He's got light-brown hair and these piercing green eyes. He's got to be almost thirty-five by now," Rachel speculated.

"Thirty-four. He's the same age as Fiona, remember? People tried to set them up for years, but they were only friends," Bridget recalled. "And since their siblings are married, it might be a little weird."

"So, what's his story? To still be single at his age, doesn't he have any baggage?" Skye asked, figuring there had to be a catch.

"Oh, the poor thing!" Gabby gasped.

"There is, but it's not his fault. He met a girl on his first day of college, and it was love at first sight. They dated all four years and planned to get married a year after graduation. Other students said they were the perfect couple, and he doted on her. Ian's an architect, so he came back to Honey Hollow to work. His fiancée was in business or finance and took a job that required her to spend a year at an overseas branch. I can't remember if it was France or Britain," Rachel recounted.

"I thought it was a Scandinavian one?" Bridget tried to recall.

"No, it was Central Europe!" Kimberly insisted.

"It doesn't really matter," Rachel said with a wave of the hand. "All that mattered is that Ian waited for his future bride to come home the next summer for their wedding. Only she never did. She kept on giving excuses over why she had to stay longer, letting him plan the wedding. It turns out a much, much older businessman had seduced her. Poor Ian only found out a week before the planned wedding."

"That's awful!" Skye exclaimed in horror.

"Yes, it is. He swore off women for a few years. Threw himself into his lifelong dream of revitalizing the downtown and renovating the grand old Thirlby's department store. Once he did start dating--and let me tell you, there were women lined up--he became legendary for rarely going past the first date. I think the count is up to three women that received a second date, but none got a third."

"That makes him sound bitter and resentful," Skye pointed out.

"Ian's not like that at all," Bridget stated, jumping in to continue the story. "Any of the Thirlby arrogance vanished after his heart was broken. He has to be one of the kindest and humblest people I've met. He's friendly but keeps to himself after everything. But you can count on him being at the ball. Fiona said that Ian was excited about the goal of Cassie's charity."

"Are we talking about what I think we are?" a beaming Chastity asked, having dropped back to join the older group.

"They're coming up with a list of single men for Skye to meet at the New Year's Eve ball," Harvey answered first. He waited for the expected reaction.

"Jumping Jehoshaphat! I can help! Let me help! Please!" the honey blonde begged.

"Thanks, but I think we already have a winning prospect for our young lady here," Gabby remarked, excited over the plan.

"But I know everyone!"

"Trust me, she does. Chastity's a walking encyclopedia of birthdays, anniversaries, and who's dating who. It's quite a gift," Harvey boasted of his company's receptionist.

"Holy smokes! I know way more than that, Mr. Diamond!" Chastity said in the closest she could come to indignation. "I know also know who has a crush on who, who's interested in romance, and who's interested in only...well, who's like Mr. Harvey."

"Chastity!"

"Oh, tell us more about what Mr. Harvey is into, dear," Bridget motioned for the receptionist to continue.

---

"Damn, your dad is a bigger dick than I thought."

"You don't have to tell me," Finn replied, concentrating on pulling the sled. His sled also had a pile of ice skates along with a cooler to help keep several thermoses warm.

"But to say that to his girlfriend, that's plain mean," Lana continued. "See, you should've gone ahead with my idea and fucked her last night."

"Lan," he responded in a warning tone of voice. "Watch your language around Polly!"

"Sorry, Pols," Lana apologized, not meaning it. "Oh, c'mon, you have to admit the idea sounded good. Get back at your dad for all the years he neglected you."

"We already had this talk, and I said the answer was no last night and will always be no. I'm not getting pulled into one of your crazy sex schemes," Finn stated, wanted to end this line of talk. "Besides, I'm still mad at you for suggesting it."

"Uh, I'm going to catch up with the others," Polly mumbled, picking up speed.

"Great, now you scared Polly off."

"Polly gets scared of her own shadow if it looks sexy. What? She does!" Lana insisted. "Besides, she should be hanging out with her classmates. Not clinging to her bodyguard."

"Seriously? Do you even listen to yourself talk? I already said I was mad at you, and you keep adding to it."

"Aw, you can't be mad at me, Finny. You're my bestie!"

"I thought Peyton was your bestie?"

"Girl BFF, you're my guy BFF. You know that!" Lana insisted, flashing him a pout. "Anyways, you won't stay mad at me for long."

"I won't?"

"Nope, it's what we do. I try to get you to have fun, you get mad, and then, in the end, you forgive me."

"You're awfully sure I'll always forgive you, you know that."

"Yes, I am," Lana said without a doubt. "I already forgave you for fooling around with that little harlot last night.

"Lan, you know Ellie is not a harlot. She's a nice girl."

"I thought she was. The girl acted like a mini-Peyton until she spread her legs for you in second," Lana grumbled. "Not that I'm all that surprised. She must have realized that her idol was on the prowl last night too. I mean, Peyton finally gives in to my pleading and hooks up with a guy after six months, and I don't even know his identity!"

"She did what?!"

---

"So, you and RJ, huh?"

"Oh, gawd, you know! Shit, shit, shit, I really hoped you hadn't noticed," Peyton groaned.

"Kind of hard not to. One minute you were right next to me, and then the next, you two were sneaking off," Sean pointed out to his sister.

"You can not tell Lana! You got that?" the older sister hissed at her younger brother. "Finn too, but definitely not Lana."

"You know that she'll figure it out or hound you to death if she even suspects."

"Oh, she already suspects," Peyton groaned. "It's Prissy finding out that worries me."

"Yeah, I would think Priscilla wouldn't be thrilled about you messing around with her boyfriend," Sean said, earning him a hard shove in the shoulder from his older sister.

"You ass! Oops, sorry," Peyton laughed at her brother, who almost fell over until she grabbed his arm to steady him. "And they're not together right now!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. I was just joking."

"Well, nobody else better find out. Did Aunt Gabby say anything? She was in the room with you when we left."

"Uh...I don't think she noticed. She kinda had a lot to drink."

"I'll bet." Peyton rolled her eyes. "She was teasing up a storm with you. Did you think you were going to get lucky?"

"Peyton," Sean whined, sounding a lot like a little brother.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pile on the teasing. Look, I-I'm not like that, Sean. Last night with RJ, I don't usually do something like that," Peyton hesitated over the right way to explain what happened to her brother. "It's just I haven't had any sex since I broke up with Trevor at the start of the school year. I really, really needed last night."

"Eww, too much information, Pey!"

"Well, when you get older, you'll realize that a man and a woman sometimes have these urges that they need to take care of. Wait, did Dad have the birds and the bees talk with you yet? Maybe we can have Finn sit down--oww! You hit me!" Peyton shrieked, rubbing her shoulder.

"You know you deserved it!"

"Brat! Wait until Mom hears about this..."

"Oh, yeah, you hit me first," Sean whined, a sinister smile forming. "But I guess RJ hit it first."

"Sean Seamus Tarver!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Truce?"

"Hrmph! Fine, truce."

"Maybe you need to find a new boyfriend, Pey. You should be dating in college."

"Now you sound like Lana minus the dating part."

"It's just that I worry about you spending too much time studying," Sean remarked. "You can't become a doctor overnight. And when you get to med school, you'll have even less time for a life outside of school."

"Aw, you worry about me, Seanie." Peyton threw an arm around his shoulders. "That's so sweet."

---

"Um, it sounds like Peyton and Sean are fighting again," JoJo pointed out, glancing over her shoulder at the siblings. "Maybe we should slow down and help him."

"I'm sure Sean can handle Peyton just fine," Jared remarked, rolling his eyes. "You don't need to save him."

"Did you hear something, Newt? I think the bears might be learning to mimic human speech," JoJo said, peering into the trees around them. "It's like Yogi came alive and is here to annoy us."

"Oh, come on, JoJo. You're seriously not going to play that dumb 'I can't hear Jared' game, are you?" complained the stocky teenager.

"There! I heard it again. Did you hear it too, Newt?" JoJo asked, using her hand to shade the sun as she squinted into the woods.

"Why me?" Newt grumbled to himself, walking in between JoJo and Jared. "Can't you two just make up already?"

"You see, even Newt has had enough of your games. I don't know how many more times I have to say I'm sorry, Jo," Jared said, looking around Newt at the shy brunette. "I'm sorry about tickling you."

"Hmm, Newt, since you seem to understand bear-talk, can you tell that creature that I'm still deciding whether or not to forgive him? Oh, hi, Polly!"

"Uh, did I interrupt something?" the even shyer brunette asked, slowing down to match JoJo's pace.

Planning to ignore his close friend's request, an elbow into Newt's side from JoJo caused him to let out a loud sigh. "Jared, JoJo says that--"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard her."

"Nothing at all, Polly," JoJo finally replied. "So, how come you came up here?"

"Uh, Lana's getting all weird with Finn again. And Chastity left me to go help figure out a boyfriend for Skye or something."

---

"The Patriots! Come on, don't tell me you're one of those fans, Nevin," Austin moaned.

"I'm just saying the Chiefs have a great offense, but their defense is terrible. No way they win a shootout in the playoffs if they can't stop the other team," Owen calmly explained. "I would think you learned that in your own playoffs last month."

"Hey! Low blow, Nevin."

"I'm just pointing out that come playoff time, a solid defense is essential."

"Alright, I guess. So who do you like in the NFC?"

---

"Your boyfriend is a dumbass, Lace!" Whitney declared, laughing.

"That's enough, Whitney. He had a little too much to drink and got confused" Although Lacey defended Austin, she wondered too if he took a few too many shots in the head during his football career. How the heck do you imagine that Marcus was here last night?

"You also blamed his drinking on that awful performance on the rug last night. Is he good at anything when he drinks?"

"Wait, what performance on the rug? Did I miss something?" Ramsey asked. The three best friends were so excited to resume their winter tradition that they were far ahead of anyone else.

"No, you didn't," Lacey reassured the strawberry blonde, glaring at the regular blonde.

"All you need to know is that don't let a drunk Austin take your virginity. You'll be sorely disappointed."

"Whitney!" both redheads gasped, for far different reasons.

"And don't let the dumbass tell you he saw someone because they probably were never there," Whitney added, giggling.

"Wait, do you mean Marcus? So he wasn't here last night?" Ramsey asked, confused by everything that happened after she went to bed.

"Oh, don't tell me you saw him too, Rammy!" Whitney giggled. "Maybe you two drank absinthe instead of wine last night. That's the only way I can see you hallucinating that Marcus was here causing trouble."

"Speaking of boyfriends," Lacey started, hoping to change the subject. "What's going on with you and Owen?"

"Yeah, we talked earlier."

"And?"

"He apologized for skipping the night with me to go play poker with my dad. I think he realized that I was pissed at some point last night."

"You mad? No way!" Ramsey questioned, holding in a giggle that Lacey couldn't.

"Oh, thanks, Rammy. Do you see how you're a bad influence over our friend?"

"Me?" Lacey questioned in shock. "I'm not the one who shows Rammy how not to run a relationship."

"No, you do that too. Just in opposite ways," Whitney stated. "Ramsey, sweetie, never stay with a guy that can't perform when it counts."

"Huh? What's that---eww, Whitney!" the innocent member of their trio exclaimed in disgust.

"At least, I'll still have a boyfriend when this trip ends. Maybe you should cut your losses now. You two don't seem like a good match," Lacey remarked, getting a hesitant nod from Ramsey.

"I thought you were Miss Matchmaker," Whitney responded. "Fine, if you dump your jock of a boyfriend, I'll do the same thing."

"Hey, I happen to like Austin!"

"See, Rammy, you should stay away from football players. They bring such drama into a relationship," Whitney stated.

"I-I'm not--"

"Yeah! No football players for you, Ram. You need a nice guy. One that's kind and caring," Lacey declared, raising Whitney's eyebrows in interest.

"Oh, most definitely. Maybe even a quiet, mild-mannered kind of guy. One that will appreciate having you as his girlfriend."

"Wait, is something going on here?" Ramsey asked, an inkling of suspicion forming.

Suddenly, the petite redhead's ears perked up. Wait, did I...I'm not sure. Yes, I did!

"Hey, where are you going?" Whitney asked as Lacey turned around.

"I'm needed. Someone is trying to set Skye up with a boyfriend and without my help."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Whitney declared, grabbing her friend's wrist. "Let the older women help Skye. After what happened with Uncle Fred, she doesn't need one of your matchmaking schemes blowing up in her face."

"My matchmaking plans never blow up in my face!" Lacey hissed but much quieter than her friends expected.

"Yeah, they do," Whitney replied. "Right, Rammy?"

"Uh, well, I don't really know, Lace. It's just that..."

"No! My plans always work," Lacey insisted, adding a half-hearted laugh and a worried look over her shoulders.

"Whatever you say. Look, we're at the turnoff," Whitney noted before craning her neck to look way back for her father. "Dad, hurry uuuup!"