Whitney, the Hostess

"Ooh, you're giving her a tour? Count me in!" Lacey gleefully exclaimed when she learned Whitney had started showing the cabin to Mrs. Tarver.

"Fine, I'm going downstairs to get something to drink," Austin grumbled to his girlfriend. Owen shrugged and went with him down to the rec room.

"I'll come with you to the master suite, but I think I'll take a nap. I'm not feeling all that well," Ramsey stated as she joined the women.

The foursome walked down the hall and into the den. The room served as both a den and Harvey's office away from home. Several floor-to-ceiling custom-built oak bookshelves lined the northside wall, with a window in between overlooking the cabin's front-drive. Another bookshelf stood next to a window on the west wall. A large desk sat in front of that window. A leather couch with the foldout bed was set against the southside wall. Two matching leather chairs and a small table were against the east wall, near the doorway on the room's southeast corner. Framed pictures of Harvey's family, particularly his beloved grandparents, lined the wall above the chairs.

"I love this room! I wish I had an office at home like this," an impressed Bridget announced. She'd love her own home office someday, not the guest bedroom that served as a makeshift office. Leonard was very protective of the only office they had in their house.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I love this room too, but I think it's a bit much for Dad," Whitney told the others. "He's rarely at his Diamond Corp office as it is. It's kind of funny that he'd need an office here."

Bridget nodded in understanding while she moved over to gaze at the pictures. "Luckily, Dad had the foresight years ago to make copies of the pictures he loved. Most of those there are copies of ones that burned down with the old cabin," Whitney explained. "That's my great-grandparents."

"I know, I just haven't seen a picture of them in many years," Bridget noted, surprising the blonde teen.

"You knew them?"

"Of course, I think everyone in town knew them. They were both lovely people. I met them many times when I was growing up," Bridget told her while she reached over and actually pulled another picture off the wall, shocking Whitney with her forwardness.

"Uh, that's my dad's Aunt Demi," Whitney informed while feeling confused by the fond look on Mrs. Tarvers's face. "Did you know her?"

"Are you serious?" Bridget asked with a surprised look over at the younger teen. "I absolutely know Demi; she's my godmother...well, not officially, we were never very religious, it's more of an honorary position."

Whitney's jaw dropped at the revelation. Lacey and Ramsey stood by, nearly as shocked as their lifelong friend. Both girls knew enough of the Diamond family history to know that Demi Diamond had long been the family's mysterious member. Lacey vaguely remembered meeting her once around a decade ago, when Whitney's great-grandmother passed away.

"You know Aunt Demi? Nobody around here will talk about her. I've only met her a small number of times. She refuses to visit Honey Hollow, so we only see her when we go to her home in Breezy Bay." A mystified Whitney couldn't wrap her head around this new development. Her father dearly loved his aunt, but she was the one subject area he refused to tell her anything about. His response always was, "Someday when you're older, I'll tell you." Which was weird since she came across as a boring housewife and mother.

"My parents are close friends with her, and we used to visit her every few years on vacation during my childhood. I've always admired her toughness and courage. I take the kids to see her every time we visit my friend Tinny in Breezy bay," Bridget added, only fueling Whitney's thirst for knowledge, which she could see. "I'm sorry, honey. Demi's story isn't for me to tell. Maybe it's time your father tells you, or better yet, if you hear it from Demi herself."

Seeing the dejected look on the blonde's face, Bridget placed the picture frame back on the wall and rubbed Whitney's arm soothingly. "How about you show me some more of this fabulous place, okay?"

The prospect of continuing her hostess duties shook Whitney out of her thoughts. The four of them then walked across the hall into the master suite. Bridget nearly made the three teens jump when she let out a low-level shriek at the sight of the suite.

"Holy--I thought I loved the den, but this room is incredible!"

Whitney had long become accustomed to visiting places of opulence, but she clearly enjoyed seeing the look of awe on Mrs. Tarvers's face. Lacey and Ramsey both had been amazed at the room earlier, but seeing the older woman's reaction gave them a greater appreciation for how fortunate they were to stay at the cabin.

"I thought the view from my room upstairs was impressive, but this right here is perfect," Bridget said, looking out the glass doors.

Whitney next showed her the en suite with its oversized round tub and large walk-in shower. "Leave it to Harvey to have a shower clearly made for sex," Bridget joked before covering her mouth with her hand when she remembered who stood next to her.

"Don't worry; I know how my father is," Harvey's daughter said with a shrug. Lacey giggled behind her.

They then moved to the final room of the suite, which Whitney purposely saved for last. "Okay, Mrs. Tarver, don't freak out," she cracked with a grin, right before she opened the door to the walk-in closet.

Bridget's wide-eyed look and joyful "Are you fucking kidding me!" turned out precisely as Whitney had expected.

The older woman walked into the long closet, admiring all the racks and shelves before she gave another surprised noise when she discovered the room was L-shaped. Turning back to look at Whitney and Lacey, she remarked, "Honey, you better be careful who your father shows this to; the woman won't want to leave."

"I'm so jealous of this closet. I can't believe Dad didn't think to build one anywhere close to this in a bedroom for me," admitted a frustrated Whitney. Her eyes then shot open when Mrs. Tarver leaned over to pick up a piece of clothing that had fallen to the floor.

"I'm guessing your father has already shown this room to a woman," smirked Bridget, holding up a piece of holiday lingerie.

"Um, actually, that's mine," admitted a suddenly bashful Whitney. "It was Owen's Christmas present."

"Ah, to be young again. There's no need to be embarrassed, honey. It looks quite sexy and fun. You should enjoy stuff like this when you're young," Bridget told her. "If I wore something like this these days, my husband would barely bat an eye."

Whitney felt a wave of sympathy for the older woman. That's awful! She's a gorgeous woman. No man I ever marry better take me for granted like that.

As they prepared to leave the room, Bridget walked over to Ramsey. The young strawberry blonde had spent most of the tour sitting on the bed looking sad. "You sure you don't want to join us?"

"That's okay, Mrs. Tarver. Thanks, but I'm feeling a little worn out," responded Ramsey.

"Alright, but remember what I told you. You didn't do anything wrong, okay? So don't beat yourself up over it," the older blonde reminded, getting a nod in return.

Harvey chuckled as he watched his daughter lead Bridget and Lacey back past the main room, after a quick stop to grab their coats, and out to the sunroom. He loved to see her take charge and be a good hostess. If only she could control her libido more than he could at her age.

"I don't even like to read much, but this room makes me want to curl up with a good book," Lacey remarked when she saw Mrs. Tarver's eyes light up at the cozy-looking sunroom.

"I just might do that, Lace. This would do quite nicely, after all the hectic hours down at the hospital," the older woman agreed.

Downstairs on the walk-out level, Bridget told the girls how impressive she found the cabin to be with so many sizeable rooms. Her amazement shot through the roof at the sight of the wine cellar. She mimicked Lacey's mother from the day before with an "Oh my" and a laugh. The three of them then walked back to the rec room so they could exit through the glass doors.

However, as they walked, Whitney shot a look over at her older boyfriend. Owen and Austin were partaking in the bar's liquor selection. Whitney mouthed to Owen to keep an eye on Austin, and he nodded back just as the surly teenager downed a shot of something clear.

On this second tour, the hostess made sure to show off the lower level sunroom and its hot tub. "I really could use a nice soak in that. My whole body is tired and sore from work and the holidays. I'm really disappointed I missed out on the trip to the hot springs. It sounded like a fun time," Bridget told the two teens.

"I definitely would call it something," Whitney cracked before turning to look at her friend, who also missed the trip. "Lace, how's your ankle?"

"It's feeling better. I think this walk is a good test for it," the petite redhead reported.

After reaching the boathouse, they entered the side door that led to the bunkhouse. Whitney paused at the bottom of the stairs and shouted, " Yoo-hoo, Jared! We're coming up. So make sure you pull some underwear on at least."

---

"I think I need to lie down for a little while," Skye softly informed the others sitting around the main room's fireplace. "The walk and the heat hit me harder than I would have thought."

"Sure thing, babe. Maybe I'll join you in a bit," Fredrick told her as she got up and went downstairs. Her older boyfriend then got up to join Jeff, who was in the kitchen, and he also motioned for Harvey to follow him.

"What's up, Freddie?" the cabin owner asked his old friend, once all three men gathered in the kitchen.

"What should we do about the Rusk kid?" Fred asked. Noticing the blank looks he received back, he continued. "I mean after that fight; the kid looks pissed. If he is a spy for his old man, should we really leave him here?"

"Hmm, you might be right. But that still assumes his dad is behind this smear campaign, plans to run, and has his own son spying on his girlfriend's father. They have been together for a couple of years, I think. That's a whole lot of ifs, Fred," Jeff remarked and then turned to look at Harvey for his opinion.

"While I still have my doubts about this whole conspiracy you proposed, I think it would be smart to let him stay. If Austin is a spy for Orrin, then perhaps in his anger, he'll slip up and reveal it to us," Harvey suggested, earning a shrug from Jeff and a devious smile from Fred.

"Damn, that's a great idea, Harv. Maybe we can lay out a trap for him to spring? Like a fake conversation, the kid just happens to overhear, or a forged document left on a desk? What? Oh, come on, it sounds like fun," the elder Singer whined, after seeing the shake of his friends' heads at his ideas.

"That seems a little too James Bond for right now, Fred. We're here to honor Cassandra, not play spycatcher. So let's have a nice time and relax," Harvey firmly stated to his friend.

Already disappointed by the rejection of his suggestions, Fredrick's face turned pale at the mention of his deceased wife. "You guys are party-poopers. I'm going down by Skye to take a nap too," he grumbled, suddenly not interested in their company anymore.

"Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned Cassie. You know he doesn't react well to her name," Jeff told his friend after Fred walked away.

"It's been ten years, Jeff. It's well past time to still be in denial about how it affects him. We're starting a charity to honor her and using the charity ball to promote it in a few days. He can't avoid it any longer. This new girlfriend seems like she could be good for him, but it won't last if he can't finally admit he's still running away from Cassie's ****," Harvey somberly stated to his friend.

Before Jeff could respond, Rachel came around the corner. "You have any wine in here, Harvey?"

"Clive's still taking it that bad?" he asked while moving over to the small wine fridge on the counter. "This is your favorite, right?"

"Oh, I could kiss you. Thanks," she said, grabbing the wine glass and taking a long sip. "Yes, he's calmed down somewhat, but he's taking this hard. With Lana so wild with boys for years, he long ago made Lace into his virginal princess in his head, his little cupcake. Now that image is shattered. How did you handle Whitney losing her virginity?"

"Honestly, I was surprised it took her as long as it did. No, I'm serious. She's far too much like your Lana for me to ever delude myself into not thinking it would happen. Also, it helped that Henry is the son of good friends. I knew for him that she wasn't just a notch on his belt to brag about," Harvey remarked in reference to Laszlo and Yvette Valko's college-aged son, Henrik.

"Don't look at me for advice on this one, Rachel," Jeff told her with a half-laugh. "You know Gabriela's long been planning for Jules' first time. If it's not Sean, she's the one that's going to be a wreck, not me. Hell, I don't even want to think about it."

"Count yourself lucky that you only have one daughter," she quipped to Jeff. "If you had several mini-Gabbys running around, I bet you'd be in worse shape than Clive."

The door to the sunroom opened, cutting off any reply that Jeff might have had, as Bridget, Whitney, Lacey, and Jared walked in. Jeff's son carried a small bag and a pillow.

"You didn't need to bring that, Jared," Harvey told the teenager. "We've got plenty downstairs in the closet."

"I didn't want to cause any more trouble, Mr. Diamond," Jared quietly said. "I'm sorry again for breaking your furniture."

"And you should be," his mother broke in as she marched into the room. "Harvey is gracious enough to let you stay at his brand-new cabin, and you treat it with disrespect. I'm really regretting your sister getting that temporary job and not you. She would never start a brawl over...I don't know what!"

"Now, let's not say that, Gabs," Rachel cut in. "I could see Juliana attacking any of the girls here if they looked at Sean the wrong way."

"Rach, you're not helping." Gabriela tried to keep a stern face but cracked a grin. "Fine! You're right."

"Hey, let's go downstairs, Jared," Lacey suggested, getting a nod back from her mother at the idea. The petite redhead didn't want her sex escapade brought up next.

After the two teens left, Harvey turned to his daughter. "Pumpkin, did you show Bridget everything?"

"I sure did, Dad. I like playing tour guide. I can't wait until it's warm enough that I can add the grounds outside to the itinerary," the blonde replied with a smile.

"Whitney's a very informative guide. You've done an amazing job with both her and the cabin," praised Bridget, getting a big grin back from his daughter. "You know Leo and I talked about either building a cabin or buying one. It would be a nice getaway from the grind of the hospital, but he's more interested in the Canary Lake area than around here."

"Canary Lake? Aargh...don't get me started on those cookie-cutter cabins they're mass-producing over there. I already told Clive this, but if you're interested, I can keep an ear out for any cabins on Wasp Lake that might be up for sale soon. You'll find Wasp Lake is a much more enjoyable place than Canary," Harvey said, unable to hide his intense dislike for the other lake and its new cabins.

"Clive's interested in a cabin here? That would be nice, but expensive," Rachel commented. "Hey, Bee, maybe we could jointly buy one to share?"

"Hmm, that could be a good idea. It's not like Peyton and Lana wouldn't just treat a cabin any differently than our homes. They practically have their own rooms at each house," Bridget joked. "Still, I don't know what Leo would say. You know him and his privacy."

"I'll already suggested to Clive about Frog Lake as a possibility," Harvey revealed. "The lake is more crowded than here, but they're also more affordable."

"Having you guys as neighbors up here would be so cool," Whitney brightly remarked. "I hope you give it some thought. Okay, I'm going to go downstairs and join the others."

"I think we should work on Clive first since he's here in the cabin," Rachel suggested after the teenager left. "Now I need to work on getting my husband drunk, so he'll forget about Lacey and Austin. Anyone want to join us in the hot tub?"

"Wine and a hot soak? I'm in!" laughed Bridget.

"I'm a little tired of hot water after the hot springs, but I'm always down for some wine with my girls, count us in," Gabriela said for both herself and Jeff. Her husband realized he had no say in the matter and just nodded.

"I'm going to have to pass. I want to stop over and wish the Vandermeers a happy holiday," Harvey told them. "But first, I'll go turn on the tub and space heater for you. It will take a little while to warm up, so take your time getting out there.

"That sounds like a nice idea," Jeff remarked. Sharing a look, he nodded at Harvey's real reason for visiting his neighbors. "Care for some company?"

"It's probably better if I go alone. I'm already worried about coming across as rude. So showing up unannounced with more people isn't a good idea."

"Take them a bottle of wine," Rachel suggested. "Wine is always a smart gift idea."

"Even smarter if you keep it to drink yourself," Gabby cracked.

Harvey agreed with Rachel's gift suggestion.

"I'm going to pass too, girls," said Kimberly, who had just walked over to join the conversation. "I need to catch up on my emails, or I'm going to be swamped by the time I get back to the office. I assume you have an internet connection, Harvey? My phone's signal seems to go in and out."

"Of course, I spent far too much money, having an underground cable extended this far. Damn cable company refused to put a line out to Wasp Lake, said it wasn't worth it for them," Harvey grumbled. "At least, I made some of my neighbors happy by paying for it. Yeah, cell phone signals are pretty spotty here on the northern shore of the lake. The southern shore gets a nice signal. Well, I better go turn the heater on, or you're going to be freezing your butts off."

---

Whitney walked down the stairs and into a tense scene. Jared stood in front of the bar, with an angry look on his face. Her boyfriend, Owen, held back an even more furious Austin, who wanted out from behind the bar. Lacey stood off the side, trying to get her boyfriend to calm down.

"What the heck is going on here?" the blonde asked. She noticed a frightened Polly, down at the end of the hallway, peeking from behind her bedroom door.

"This fucker is trying to tell me where I can and can't go!" Austin loudly spat out, his words slightly slurring from his **** intake.

"Auss, calm down! If our parents hear you, you're getting sent home," pleaded Lacey.

"Keeping smirking, bitch! I'll give you a matching black eye!" Austin threatened.

"What? Sorry, I can't understand you behind that big, fat lip," Jared mocked the other teen by cupping a hand to his ear.

"Whoa, now simmer down, buddy," said Owen as the enraged quarterback tried to lunge past him once again.

"I'm not your fucking buddy!"

"Stop that right now, Austin. Or I'm going to come over there and put my foot up your ass. You got that?" Whitney promised with a growl.

"Fine," her friend's boyfriend grumbled, backing away from Owen.

"Now, I want to know what started this, so someone tell me," Whitney communicated to the others as she looked around at them.

"That piece of--," Austin started to angrily say before Whitney's raised hand stopped him.

"Owen?" the cabin owner's daughter asked her boyfriend.

"Well, Jared here came down with Lacey a few minutes ago and told Austin that he had to leave. That's what started the argument you walked in on," the young man explained.

"Is that true?" Whitney asked Jared, who shrugged at her question.

"Pretty much. I'm being punished for our earlier fight by having to sleep on the couch down here. So that makes this my bedroom for the night, and since we've been told to stay apart, it means he has to leave," Jared explained with a thumb motion at the end, meaning Austin had to go.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Austin hotly yelled.

"No, he doesn't, but I do. You need to leave the room, Austin," Whitney plainly stated.

"What! You're taking his side?" he snapped out. "You fucking--,"

"Auss!" a shocked Lacey gasped as Whitney's pointed finger stopped her boyfriend from finishing the B-word.

"I wouldn't even think about calling me that, Rusk. I've going to let that slide; for now, let's blame the liquor. But Jared is right; this is his room for tonight. That means you have to leave the room if you two can't be civil. I'm not taking any sides; I'm just pointing out the facts of what our parents decided.

"Whatever, I'm leaving. C'mon, Lace," he said, motioning for his girlfriend to follow, as Owen finally let him pass. Jared took a step back from the bar to let him pass, but as he did, Austin grabbed a bottle of tequila from the bar. "I'm taking this with me."

"Yeah, whatever," Whitney muttered. Lacey shot her an apologetic look and a quiet sorry. "Fucking boys and your need to show who's got the biggest dick."

"Sorry, Whitney. He just gets under my skin way too fast," Jared apologized as he grabbed the remote control and turned on the television.

"What now?" Owen asked his girlfriend as the group had dwindled down to the three of them, one who seemed more interested in finding a game to watch.

"Well, I wanted us all to have a movie night. But that's out," Whitney complained. "Let's go for a walk, Owen."

"A walk? We just spent most of the day walking," he sort of whined at the idea.

Moving closer to her boyfriend so Jared couldn't hear, she explained, "Ramsey's napping in my room and all the other rooms are taken. I'm horny, and I need you to fuck me right now."

"What? Are you serious? I don't think that's a good idea. Didn't your dad almost catch us at the hot springs?" her boyfriend worriedly asked.

"Oh, he totally caught us. C'mon, I'll let you see those pictures of Skye and me."