Sullivan hadn't been wrong when he had mentioned his mother's white couch. In fact, everything in Reyna Richards' suite of rooms was a shocking white. The only color was the fresh flowers that she insisted on scattering around the room. The colors changed according to her mood. Currently, they were blood-red roses, and the effect was dramatic.

"Sullivan and Sawyer are here," Ophelia announced as she entered the room.

"What's wrong?" Reyna asked as she lifted her cheek for a kiss. It might seem odd to some that she would offer her employer a kiss on the cheek, but Reyna's and her relationship had moved beyond simple employee and employer years ago. It was probably the same reason the boys hadn't take Ophelia's remark about sexual harassment seriously. If she had been their sister, they would have treated her the same way.

"Sullivan caught a bug and lost a lot of weight. He looks sickly, but he has been to the doctor, and he's on the mend. He feels good enough to take Polly home at any rate." Ophelia brushed at her skirt one more time before she sat on the pristine couch.

"And Sawyer?" Reyna asked as she moved from where she had been sitting at a small desk to her favorite armchair near the white marble fireplace.

"He looks much better but thinks weight loss looks better on him." Ophelia smiled as she said it.

"Yes, I can understand that. Is my appointment set?" Reyna inquired, looking every inch the goddess that she tried to be. She was a beautiful woman. Her blond hair had turned snow-white years ago, but she had it highlighted in such a way that it looked thick and luxurious. Her skin was smooth and made light of her sixty-plus years.  She made being beautiful look effortless.

"You are set for this Friday at six in the morning. We will be in and out before anyone, but you and the doctor know." Ophelia assured her.

"Good, and you'll go with me?"

"I will," Ophelia assured her. "I'm sure it's nothing serious at all," she reassured the older woman. Reyna had been having some problems hearing people. It had gotten to the point that she had started to miss her cues at work, and it had taken Ophelia months to get her to agree to the appointment.

"What's not serious at all?" Swayer asked as he entered the room and immediately moved towards his mother, picking her up in a hug much the same way he had Ophelia.

"Your bother's weight loss," Ophelia said as her heart dipped a little when she saw him follow his brother in the room.

"He caught a bug, Momma. He can't catch a girl or a fish, but bugs, he's got that one down pat!" Sawyer said with a grin as he moved to sit on Ophelia's left, throwing his arm around her shoulders and across the back of the sofa.

"Hello, Momma," Sullivan greeted, giving his mother a kiss and a hug while ignoring his brother. "I'm fine. The doctor says I'm on the mend."

Ophelia watched his arms enfold his mother, and she swallowed a little harder than usual. It always pulled Ophelia's heart to see such a big strong man like Sullivan be so gentle and loving towards his mother.

"How are you?" he asked, taking his time to look at her.

"I'm wonderful," she insisted. "Ophelia takes good care of me."

"That's because you pay her to, Momma," Sullivan rudely said.

Ophelia bit her lip but remained silent. It was more than that, and he knew it, but he was angry about something. He always lashed out with words when he was angry.

"He's in a tizzy about something," Sawyer whispered in her ear. "What did you do, slap him after he touched your butt?"

"No, but I should have," Ophelia whispered back.

"Yes, especially since he is being so nasty. You could go slap him now, Momma and I would understand completely," Sawyer encouraged.

Ophelia smiled, and just as she did, she met Sullivan's gaze. He looked from her to her brother with a bored expression.

Reyna sighed at Sullivan's harsh words but didn't correct him because, technically, he was right. "Maybe you should do the same," she suggested.

"What, pay Ophelia to take care of him? Momma, you shock me!" Sawyer said with a grin, knowing that he was pushing his brother's buttons with the implication of his words.

"That enough of using me as the butt of your anger and jokes, please," Ophelia said in a stern tone.

"No pun intended," Sullivan said with his lopsided grin, and just like that, all was forgiven.

Perhaps he really wasn't feeling well. His mood was swinging from one extreme to another rather quickly. Normally he was either happy or grumpy and pretty much stayed in one mood.

"I don't get it?" Reyna said, looking from one to the other as they all laughed at the play on words.

"Sullivan was touching Ophelia's butt earlier, nothing to worry about, Momma," Sawyer assured her.

"Never mind," Reyna said as she shook her head, realizing that her son was in a goofy mood.

They all paused as they saw Carson Richards move through the door that led from Reyna's bedroom to the sitting room.

Carson, who they all called Pops, was a handsome man. He had looked a lot like Sullivan when he had been younger, but his dark good looks had faded some, and his hair had become completely snow white.

He was currently wearing a trench coat and sunglasses as he crawled through the door while keeping low. He then moved behind the long drapes that hung from the windows. All they could see were his toes peeking out.

"Are we acknowledging this?" Sullivan softly asked as he sat on Ophelia's other side. She felt the couch cave with his weight and did her best not to roll into him.

"No," she whispered. "Pops took a roll as a detective."

They all nodded and watched as he slinked from one curtain to the other. Pops was a method actor. Every role he took, he lived. Once, he played magician and carried a rabbit around for a month. Ophelia's favorite had been when he had played an auctioneer. She thought for sure Reyna was going to kill him.

It was one of the reasons the couple had separate living spaces. 

"Knock, knock," a falsely sweet voice came from the door. "Am I late?" Giselle Logan asked as she looked from Reyna to the couch. When her eyes landed on Ophelia sandwiched between Sullivan and Sawyer, her eyes narrowed. It was a look that Ophelia recognized from the many girlfriends the brothers had brought around over the years.

Ophelia's immediate response was to stand up and move, but both Sullivan and Swayer reached out and discreetly held her in place as Reyna reached up and pulled at her right ear in a warning.

"Not at all, join us. We were discussing the idea of method acting. Do you approve of it?" Sawyer asked with his devilish grin. He was trying to lure his father out of hiding by baiting him.

The triplets had an ongoing bet that whoever got Pops to break character first had to be treated to dinner by the other two. Sullivan didn't play the game as much anymore, but Shay and Sawyer lived for it. Pops enjoyed the challenge as well.

"I haven't had the chance to study it. I guess what I do comes naturally,' Giselle said without realizing that it was a cloaked insult or that Pops was behind the curtain listening.

Sawyer coughed as the curtain behind Reyna twitched.

"How fortunate you are," Reyna said, motioning for the chair on the other side of the small table. It placed Giselle's back to the curtained area. "I'm so pleased you'll be joining us on this project. Have you met my personal assistant Ophelia Carter?"

"No, I haven't," Giselle said, shooting Ophelia a forced smile as she looked from her to Sullivan and then Sawyer while trying to gauge if she was a potential rival for their affections.

"Since Sullivan is trying to do the movie on a budget, Ophelia has agreed to help with the coordination of everything." Reyna filled her in on why Ophelia was there.

"Now, Sullivan, catch us up. Where and when will we be shooting?"

The movie was a period piece. It was set in the late 19th century at a resort where all of the big money met every season to wheel and deal. It was to be a story that touched on political corruption and the ability of money to buy anything and everything. It was a dark piece, and Ophelia couldn't help but wonder under what muse Sullivan had written the script.

"We'll be filming at Oak Island in Georgia. It was where all the money in the nation would go on vacation in the winter months at the end of the 19th century. There is a large resort there as well as plenty of old houses and the perfect seaside setting for the film." Sullivan went on, but Ophelia didn't hear him.

Oak Island was where she grew up, and she had no fond memories of the place. She tried, in vain, to figure out how she was going to get out of it. She had plenty of secrets of her own that she didn't want to be revealed to the Richards, and if she were to go back to Oak Island with them, they would all come out. Why had he picked that location?

Sure, what he said about its history was true, and it was a beautiful location, but there must a sound stage somewhere that offered the same effect for a much lower price. If he was really on a tight budget, it didn't make sense. But then again, Sullivan was a master at making a deal, and it was the island's off-season so that they wouldn't lose a lot of tourist dollars. The movie filming at the resort might actually increase the attraction.

She would have to see her family, and no good would come from that. Maybe she could fake an injury or lose a lot of weight and pretend she was ill. It had worked for Sullivan and Sawyer.

"Are you going to take notes, Ophelia?" Sullivan suddenly asked her.

Ophelia jolted herself back into the present and nodded as she opened her notebook. She peeked up at Sullivan, who watched her, and she gave him an overly bright smile. His eyes narrowed, but thankfully he didn't ask any questions and continued with the production details.

Ophelia pulled herself back to the meeting and did her best to take notes and focus, while her hands shook a little, and her heart raced. Whether it was because Sullivan was so close she could see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes or the fact that she was going to have to face her family once again, she couldn't say.

Thankfully, the meeting came to an end, and in a hurry to get out of the room, Ophelia stood.

It distracted Giselle enough to allow for Pops to slip back out the way he had come.

"Sullivan, I'll see you in a few minutes?" Ophelia asked, knowing he would come to get Polly when he was done talking with his mother.

Sullivan looked at her with narrowed eyes once more and gave a small nod of agreement. Ophelia didn't wait for him to speak and left the room with a hurried step, but as soon as she exited the room, Pops was waiting for her.

"Are you alright, Phee?" he asked, reaching for her hand. He hadn't missed much from behind the curtain.

"I'm fine, Pops. I just remembered that I left the iron on back at my place. I would hate to burn it down."

He didn't look like he believed her any more than Sullivan had believed her smile, but he didn't push her as he nodded.

With a smile and a squeeze of his hand, Ophelia darted down the steps, through the living room, past Sage making lunch in the kitchen, out the backdoor, and down the hill to her small cottage at the back of the property. Her little oasis.

She couldn't go home to Oak Island. Everything would be ruined if she did!