Page 73 of Love In The Spotlight

“I like to think of it that way,” she said. She watched as he dumped some peppers and mushrooms into the eggs and then poured it all into a huge pan. “Is that for you?”

“Both of us,” he said. “There are eight eggs in here. No way I could eat this much.”

She grinned. “I’m sure you could and have before.”

He shuddered. “When I was in training camp and during the season, yeah. I had high calorie days because we just burned everything off. We had chefs there preparing a lot of our food. It was nice. I’d go home and try to do it, and like you, burned things.”

“You’re not burning anything now,” she said.

“No,” he said. “I hired a private chef back then to make a lot of things and have them at the house for me to heat up. It was easier. Then before Penelope was born I decided it was time I stepped up and learned myself.”

“Not to mention if the person was cooking in your house, you wouldn’t want them to hear a crying baby,” she said, closing one eye and grinning at him over her coffee that she’d prepared.

“That was part of it too. But I did want to learn to take care of her on my own. I knew it wasn’t going to be possible for everything. I didn’t know a damn thing about a baby or what came with it.”

“Like changing diapers?” she asked, laughing and trying to imagine him doing it.

“Definitely that,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve changed your fair share.”

“Oh yeah. And I let all my younger siblings know that. The boys, it embarrassed them. I can hold it over Nelson’s head a lot. I was five when Rowan was born so I helped feed more than change him, but I learned around that age how to change a diaper. My mother needed all the help she could get. But it was Nelson and Talia that I did the most for.”

“West most likely did everything for everyone but you and Braylon,” he said.

“He was five when I was born, so my guess is he was changing diapers too. It was like the magic number for learning things.”

She did remember those days. When other kids were playing with dolls and house, she was doing the real thing.

Her mother made a game out of it so she didn’t feel as if it was work, but looking back it sure was.

Most of the time she was cleaning up toys and holding bottles and spooning pureed foods into mouths.

“We had a lot of chores back then,” he said. “Deanna is two years older than me so I didn’t have to do much with her. But there were a lot of kids in our house at all times. My father was mentoring kids, my mother holding youth summits and groups. It feels as if she does most of the household things and teaches kids that.”

“Teaches?” she asked.

“My father taught more of the religious background, but there were plenty of kids that just didn’t have a great home life. Or maybe weren’t taught the simple things in life to care for themselves. Cooking, cleaning, laundry. My mother would come in there. She works way too hard still.”

Laken knew this bothered Jamie. It was not the first time it’d come up. “Is it your mother that won’t take things or your father saying your mother can’t? Or don’t you know which one it is?”

“Probably a combination of both,” he said. “It’s horrible, but for Christmas, everything was practical for her. New cookware, dishes, a jacket, shoes. Nothing fun.”

Laken smiled. “My mother always appreciated those things. It’s taken years for her to realize that she can have things too and not just give it all to the kids. Even though you and Deanna are grown up and out of the house doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel guilty seeing other kids with less. She probably feels thankful for what she has. Accepting cookware, in her eyes, she could justify it as it makes her more efficient to help others.”

He sprinkled cheese on the top of the omelet and covered it to melt. She grabbed a plate down for him to put it on.

“I didn’t think of it that way. Probably the same reason they put the new furniture I sent them in a place where others could enjoy it.”

“Think of it that way. I’m sure you donate to your father’s church.”

“Always,” he said. “And it’s frustrating. I’d rather they not work so hard, but they don’t see that. They need a break or a vacation and won’t take it. They said it isn’t right and they don’t want to be judged.”

“Hmmm,” she said. “Have you thought of the fact that they live on the church property so a home is provided for them? Their income comes from donations people give to the church, right?”

“Mostly,” he said.

“No one likes to be judged. If they are out wearing new clothes and driving fancy cars or going on vacation, people might think they are misusing those funds.”

He let out a sigh and slid their breakfast on the plates and the two of them sat at the island to start eating.

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