Page 40 of Love In The Spotlight

It was one of the only times her mother called her in a panic and upset.

She’d been out of town and almost got a ticket to rush to North Carolina to help her mother find it. Thankfully it was found on the bathroom mat in the guest bathroom upstairs that her mother had been cleaning.

But she also understood that Abby and West’s relationship had been under the microscope a few times and she didn’t know how she’d feel about something like that either.

Could be she’d put more thought into it after that quick lip lock with Jamie weeks ago that she couldn’t get out of her mind.

When she watched him on TV Sunday, all she could do was stare at his lips and wonder if they were still as soft as she remembered or if was she making it up in her mind.

The only good thing in the past few weeks was that she was so busy she didn’t have time to meet with him and was able to avoid him and communicate only with emails and texts.

“I’m not interested in a cover story,” Abby said.

“Why not?” Trevor said. “Don’t people get paid for those things? Can’t you pick where you want to do it and donate the money? Now is your chance to show the world what you’re really like.”

“I don’t know,” Abby said.

“I think you should,” her mother said. Laken was nodding her head right there with her mother. “You know they are going to look into you even more. Braylon put a stop to it all before, but if you give your side, maybe it will shut people up. Take the bull by the horns. West knows that.”

“I’m with our parents,” West said. “I can have Celia shop it around. We’ll use the pictures from today. We’ll have the say and give what we want. Donate the money to whatever mental health foundation you want. Do it for your mother.”

“My mother doesn’t know about you,” Abby said. “Not really. We’ve kept it as quiet as possible.”

“It will be fine,” West said, reaching for her hand. “She’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it. We don’t have to list names, just say that you have strong ties to mental illness in the family and there is so much that can be done. Think about it.”

“But think fast,” Braylon said. “That is what West is trying to say.”

Hours later, food had been eaten, gifts were open and all talk about the news leaked in regards to West and Abby had ended.

Laken knew Braylon and West would be leaving soon to go back to where they’d stay for the night and she could relax with her mother. Her brothers staying here would go watch TV in the loft upstairs. Talia said she might have a glass of wine with her and her mother, but she expected her younger sister to change her mind.

“Before I forget,” Nelson said, “we’ve got to meet with Jamie soon to go over a few things. I’ll send you what I can before then.”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll look at my schedule and figure out some times.”

Nelson turned back and talked with Rowan, Elias and Foster after that.

Laken got up to go into the kitchen and help her mother clean up the rest of the food.

There were cookies in there she wanted too.

“What are you doing?” her mother said.

“Getting a snack,” she said. “And I thought I’d help you clean up.”

“I love spending time with you,” her mother said. “But what is on your mind? Something is.”

She should have figured her mother would notice that. “Not much. Work is crazy like always. It’s nice to have a few days off, but then I get thinking about everything I need to do when I get back.”

“Stop working yourself into the ground,” her mother said. “You do it to yourself more than West or anyone expects of you.”

It’d been told to her more than once.

“I love what I do,” she said.

“I believe it. But maybe you can find other things in life to love too,” her mother said, smirking.

She rolled her eyes. “Be happy you’re going to have a daughter-in-law soon. Maybe two with the way Braylon is going.”

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