Page 16 of Love In The Spotlight

Once that was sent, he went back to his other emails and shouldn’t have been shocked that Laken replied as quickly as she had.

He looked at the clock in the corner of his computer screen and saw that it was eight thirty. Funny that he was in his room sipping tea this early at night.

Just another thing his old teammates would be laughing at.

But him, he wouldn’t change a damn thing.

5

TRYING TO KEEP UP

“I’m so glad most of my kids are here today.”

Laken looked at her mother as she was getting snacks out to put on the island.

Everyone was here but Braylon, who was in Lake Placid with his girlfriend to meet Lilian’s family.

“Is that a shot at your second oldest?” she asked. They tried to get everyone together for at least two holidays a year. It was hard when you had eight kids and they lived all over the place.

Laken, West, Abby and Foster flew in this morning on her brother’s private jet. They couldn’t stay long either because Abby was in her sister’s wedding on Saturday and they had to be back in upstate New York by early tomorrow.

“No,” her mother said. “I want everyone to find that someone special and settle down.”

“But you would rather they still come home for the holidays?” she asked. “You can’t have it both ways. Be happy that Abby was willing to come this time. And you had us all together over the summer to meet Abby. We never come home in the summer.”

“I know,” her mother said.

She felt free to talk about this since West and Abby were in the other room and she’d come in to help her mother. Abby would be in soon, but sometimes she liked having time as the only one with her mother.

“It just means you can spend more time with your daughters,” Talia said, coming into the room.

So much for time with her mother alone. Not that there had ever been any alone time when she was growing up.

“You get Mom all the time,” she said.

“I want to move out,” Talia said. “Will you be on my side to do it?”

“Nope,” Laken said. “Not unless you’ve got a job to pay for it.”

Talia sighed. “I’m making money.”

“You are,” her mother said. “Your jewelry is beautiful and we all know it.”

“If that is your passion, why aren’t you putting together a business plan for West?” she asked Talia. Everyone got the opportunity to run or have a business, if not work for West.

Talia was still dragging her feet even though she’d graduated from college in May.

“I don’t know if it’s my passion,” Talia admitted.

“Really?” her mother asked. “Since when?”

“I’m still trying to figure it out,” Talia said. “Why do I have to know now what I want to do with the rest of my life? I’m not Laken who knew she wanted to be a man dressed like a woman.”

“What?” she asked, all but screeching. “Where the hell is that coming from?”

Her mother was laughing. “She means that you want the same power as a man but want to look like a woman. That has been your goal. A power position. Correct?”

Her mother wasn’t wrong. “I guess,” she said, putting her head down and going back to slicing vegetables.

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