More Than Love (NG3)

12 - Pain

Skylar burst through Laney's door an hour after she returned from Maine. Laney had told her mother she just wanted to come home. She left because she feared Reed would come back and she didn't trust herself with her step-brother.

"Tell me everything." Skylar stood over her, as Laney looked up from her sofa where she was curled up with a throw blanket, even though it was May. "Was she mean?"

Laney shook her head. "She was amazing. It was very emotional. I'm just tired. She said she'd give me information about my birth father, so I'm waiting."

"Are you sure she knows who he is?"

Laney felt her back straighten, ready to protect Sasha's reputation. "She says she does. They were eighteen, and she didn't want to derail his future."

"So he never knew? Whoa, what a shit show!"

"Says the one who is hoping to find living relatives through DNA."

"I sent my sample off. Now I wait."

"How long?"

"It could be a month or longer. Tell me the truth. What's she like?"

"She felt like a friend. She's not old, so she didn't feel like a mother. Her cottage is really hip and artsy. Her jewelry is amazing. She was nervous too."

Laney wiped her eyes. It had been an emotional rollercoaster, even before Reed showed up. She couldn't tell Skylar about her stepbrother. Never had she fallen for a guy so quickly.

"I would be jumping for joy if I were you. She sounds perfect."

"Not perfect, but I'm glad I met her."

"You should invite her to meet Mom and Dad!"

Laney shook her head. "I need to protect their feelings. I see Sasha as a friend."

"Okay. I get it. We should go see her at her jewelry show."

"No way! I just saw her. I'm waiting for information about my birth father."

"Why are you more eager to meet him than your mother?"

Laney looked at Skylar, poised to argue, but relaxed her shoulders.

"I feel bad because she didn't give him a choice."

"What if he doesn't want anything to do with you?"

"Then he will have made his choice. I have the best daddy already."

Skylar couldn't argue.

On Monday evening, Laney received a response from Jake Watson. She had studied his Facebook page for hours the night before, after sending him a private message. He didn't look like a father to her. He was good looking, for sure. Laney's father was probably older when she was born.

His message was simple. Can we talk? With his phone number. Once again, Laney's heart sped up and her hands shook.

She typed his number and listened to it ring. He sounded out of breath when he answered.

"Hello."

"It's Laney."

"Oh. Sorry, I was playing with my dog when I heard my phone."

"You have a dog?"

"She's a frisky black lab."

She asked the question she wondered about most. "Do you have kids?"

"Not until yesterday."

"No step children either?" She had learned to be more thorough.

He chuckled. "I have one ex-wife and nieces and nephews, but no one has ever called me, dad."