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“Shit.” I hear Nathan say next to me. He pulls out his phone and rolls his eyes. “It’s my father. That didn’t take very long.” He kisses my temple. “Go ahead; I’ll be in right after I take this.”
“Okay.”
I enter the room and see that both girls are awake and sitting on Brad’s lap.
“Mama.” They say in unison. Twins. Speaking at the same time is like second nature to them.
“Hi, my lovelies. Look what I brought you from home.” I show the girls their horses, which makes them squeal in delight.
“What took you so long?” Brad asks.
“Oh well, our trip was eventful, to say the least.”
“What do you mean?” The girls are so in tuned to their horses they aren’t paying attention to their father or me.
“Well, um, Michael showed up at the house, so that had to be dealt with.”
“Jesus, Street, what did you do to that kid? It’s like a dog after a bone with him.”
“He’s not a kid; he’s only a few years younger than me. But he wanted to inform me that the story broke.”
“Story, what story?”
“Yeah, the one where my last name was changed.”
“Mama, you changed your last name?” Addie says.
“What did you do that for, Mama?” Amanda questions.
“Did you not like Richards anymore?” Addie asks.
“Did you change our nameth too?” Amanda wonders.
“Does Daddy have to change his last name?” I should have known the girls were paying more attention to our conversation than I thought, especially Addie.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold your horses, girls. Give Mommy and Daddy a minute. Okay?”
“Laney, what are you talking about?” I walk to the window and look down at the parking lot. I nod my head for Brad to follow.
“So the story broke that Nathan is married, to me, or what the papers called me, Ms. Nobody. I guess Nathan is in higher demand than I knew.” My voice is low so the girls can’t hear.
“What the fuck, Laney? How is that even news? Don’t get me wrong I was shocked as hell when you came in here earlier and he started spouting off about you being his wife, and then with me when he was pounding on his chest being all ‘me Tarzan, Laney my Jane’. I figured something screwed up happened in Vegas, something that's fixable, a mistake or something. Not front page news that you’re married. Not with reporters swarming the hospital that our girls are in.
You know, I’ve had one hell of a past twenty-four hours. I was hit by a drunk driver. My daughters were in the car with me when I got hit. One of them had to undergo surgery to fix a completely smashed leg. Look at me, look at the bloodstains on my clothes. Did you notice the stitches in my hair line? Then when my children’s mother finally makes it to the hospital, she isn’t alone. She left the state with her best friend, but then she comes back with a new ring on her finger and a fucking husband. A new stepfather for my girls, but not just any stepfather, Nathan fucking Whitmore. How did you not see any of this as a problem? There’s paparazzi outside, Laney and, by the way, where is this husband of yours?” His voice grows louder and he looks directly at the girls to see if they noticed.
“What’s done is done, Brad. Nathan is who he is, and now he’s attached, out of commission, off the market. It’s ridiculous to me, but not to all the gossips rags throughout the city. I never paid attention to them before; I don’t know how they work. I didn’t even know Nathan’s last name until my mother pointed it out.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I didn’t pay attention. Okay? I screwed up. Jesus, what did you think happened? You know why I left here; that Michael screwed his neighbor and I needed a break after walking in on them. I was drunk and Nathan walked up to Stella and me. I guess Stella saw a match made in heaven, and I woke up married, with a ring on my finger and a legitimate marriage license to back it all up.”
“Christ, Laney, how on earth did you leave here being the responsible parent? The one with her head attached to her shoulders and her feet securely on the ground and come back as Mrs. Nathan Whitmore?”
“I don’t know. It just happened.”
“Well make it un-happen. Fix it. You know I don’t get involved in your love life. As long as the girls are fine, then I’m fine. But those vultures down there are not okay for the girls.”
