Heart Is Where the Home Is Ch. 03

*** Lainey

Six months flew by quickly and Ken and I grew as close as we could. He missed Thanksgiving, having to be in Australia, but was going to be home for Christmas.

I went to all of his premieres and he visited home as often as he could. He'd gone so far as selling his condo in LA to ease my mind about our future together.

He wasn't able to find a house in my area but at a Labor Day barbecue, Mr. Miller offered him a large chunk of the farmland he owned.

"Ken, you know it's perfect for you. Knockdown some trees for the main house and access road, put up a fence and gate, and you've got unlimited options for building the house you want."

"Mr. Miller I appreciate it but I can't take your land."

"Nonsense, young man. It's just wooded acreage. It's not my farmland, it's just wasted space."

Ken looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders. I thought it was a great idea, but wasn't my call.

"I tell you what, Mr. Miller, I know the spot you're talking about and I'll take it but only if you let me pay for it."

"God damn it, Ken! Would you let me please do something for you for a change?"

Ken laughed and said, "No, Sir. I'll pay you for the land and if you don't want the money, use it for the girls."

"You and your Hollywood friends already set them up."

"Well, now you can pay for their weddings."

They laughed and shook hands.

The only bad part of those last six months was finding out that Mr. Miller's daughter-in-law did die. She overdosed and was cremated as an indigent a couple of states over.

Ken got some of his friends to come to the memorial service for her and he handed the Millers a check for $300,000 to help with the girls and for their education. Mrs. Miller being handed a check that large and having Jim Steel hug her offering condolences almost melted her.

Ken made dozens of phone calls and got everyone he knew to contribute to it. The tragic story of the girls losing their hero father in the Middle East and then the horrible death of their mother, made the decision easy for them. It's nice to have mega-rich friends.

One of the people Ken hit up for money was a producer who expressed interest in telling the Millers' story in a movie. To our surprise, they declined that offer. They wanted their privacy also.

Ken asked me to work with the builder and architect and put my interior design degree to good use for him. I loved being able to help and it made me feel good about my future with him designing parts of his home. I was still very insecure about our relationship. I always felt like the carriage would turn into a pumpkin at any moment.

***

I was still working at the restaurant as Christmas neared and the town was abuzz with the joy of the season.

Christmas is a big deal in our little town and every store on the main street and the town square went all out with decorating. I was helping decorate the restaurant when Jen and Cindy walked in just before closing.

"Hi, girls," I said as they walked up to the ladder on which I was standing.

"Hi, Lainey, when you get off work, can we talk?"

"I'm off now. What's the matter? Is Ken okay?"

"Ken's fine. This is about us, but knowing my brother, he'd want you involved."

They sat at the next table and I got a pot of coffee.

"Lainey, Cindy, and I are getting married."

"What! That's awesome, congratulations."

"Thanks. What we need to talk to you about is that we are going to have a baby by artificial insemination."

"That's great! How do I figure in?"

"We're using sperm Ken donated a while back to inseminate Cindy."

I was shocked they were using Ken as the father of their child.

"We just wanted you to know because you and Ken are getting pretty serious and we want Ken to be involved in the baby's life. Not financially, I'd never do that to him. It's just that he's going to be a daddy before you ever get a chance to have children with him."

I was stunned, but then for a moment, I pictured myself having babies with Ken. I smiled, hoping that would happen soon.

"Thank you, for respecting me and considering my feelings in this. Of course, I'll support you in any way that you need me. It doesn't bother me at all that Ken will be your baby's father. If he wasn't 100% on board with it I'm sure he wouldn't have agreed."

Jen took my hand and Cindy put hers on top of them.

"Lainey, I know that you'll make a great aunt. Hopefully, my brother gets off his butt soon and makes an honest woman out of you."

"A girl can dream, Jen."

*** Ken

"Last question, Kinsey," said the bubbly entertainment reporter. "The rumor is that you're retiring from acting completely, not just from playing the Jace Stryker character."

I sighed. I didn't want that to be leaked out yet. I took my time thinking of whether or not I should deny it. I hated gotcha questions like that.

"Well, Shelly, I'm a young man so retirement is a bit premature. I'll just say that at the moment I don't have any roles coming up."

"Thank you, Kinsey. Way to dodge the last question like a pro."

I shrugged my shoulders and picked up my things to leave. I saw her look at her watch and swear when she saw the time. She pulled out a travel bag and I asked, "Headed out?"

"I'm off to the airport and I haven't ordered a ride yet. I'm going to be late."

"Oh? Do you want a lift? My car is already waiting with my bag loaded. I've got a plane waiting for me"

She cocked her head, smiled, and said, "Sure that will help. Thank you."

I didn't like the looks of her smile. She looked hungry. I was thinking I made a big mistake.

My driver loaded her bag in the trunk, so I opened the door for her and let her get in first. I followed and then we were on the road.

She touched my thigh and said, "The airport is only ten minutes away. Is that enough time?"

She slid her hand up my leg and I pulled it off and slid as far over as I could on the bench seat.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

"What? Didn't you want..."

"No, God damn it! I was just offering you a ride. I've got a girlfriend."

She paled and looked like she wanted to vomit.

"Kinsey, I'm so sorry. Please don't tell anyone. I'm not usually like that. Oh, God!"

"Relax, Shelly. No one will hear about it from me."

I knew I never should have offered her a ride. It just doesn't pay to be nice to people sometimes.

We dropped her off first and we made our way to the terminal I was flying out of. The studio had a private jet that I was booked on, so at least I didn't have to deal with the holiday crowd at the airport.

My phone rang and it was Jen.

"What's up, Sis?"

"Cindy and I talked to Lainey about the baby."

"Why?"

"We thought it was the right thing to do. You're not a single man like you were when you froze your little soldiers for us."

"I see. What did she say?"

"She's fine with it. Now you just have to put a ring on her finger so she can be an official aunt when the time comes."

I laughed and said, "It just so happens I bought the ring while in New York. It's in my pocket as we speak."

"Really?" She shouted. "Are you doing it on Christmas?"

"No. I'm doing it tomorrow at dinner."

"Ken, that's awesome. I know she'll accept so I'll say congrats and not worry about bad luck."

"Okay, Jen. I'll see you Saturday at Mom's house"

I was ecstatic that Jen and Cindy were finally getting married and were going to have a baby. I already knew they would let me be a dad to the child and I was looking forward to it.

I hadn't considered how Lainey would feel about it. I'd donated the sperm long before I'd met her and I never thought that she might have an issue with it.

That was, of course, silly. Lainey is a great person and would never have had an issue with it. I looked forward to making her a mom very soon as well.

***

"How about hibachi tonight?" I asked, after a nice round of lovemaking at my hotel.

"Sure. That same place in Schaumburg? It was great."

"Of course. Let's get up and I'll get ready and then drop you off at home to get yourself ready."

"You don't have to drop me off. My parents would love to visit with you for a bit."

"Okay. Sounds good."

After showering and dressing we drove to her house. I laughed as I saw the house lit up. Ryan could give Clark Griswold a run for his money.

He had life-size plastic snowmen, reindeer, and even Santa in his yard. There wasn't a section of roof, window, or gutter that didn't have lights on them. His house could be seen from a mile away.

We walked in the door and Lainey bounced up the stairs before I had my shoes off. I walked into the living room and found Angela cuddled into Ryan's shoulder watching a movie. I loved to see that kind of affection after two-plus decades of marriage and hoped I'd have the same with Lainey.

"Hi, guys," I said breaking up their moment of love.

"Ken!" Angela shrieked. "Can I see it?" She whispered.

I had asked their blessing to marry Lainey a couple of weeks before so she knew what was coming. She was bouncing on the couch like an excited little kid.

I walked over and sat next to her. She gasped as I pulled the Tiffany box out of my pocket. I thought she was going to faint when I opened it.

"Jesus Christ! That's beautiful," she said engrossed in the two-carat princess cut solitaire ring.

"I hope she likes it. I didn't want to go too ostentatious or gaudy. That's not her style."

"You're her style, Ken." Whatever you chose she would've loved." Ryan said admiring the expensive ring.

"Hurry and put it away before she comes downstairs," Angela said, handing the box back to me.

As I was putting it back into my pocket, my phone rang.

"Ken, what the hell did you do with that reporter?" Jen screamed into the phone.

Confused, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You idiot! The blonde reporter that got into your limo with you yesterday."

"Nothing happened. I offered her a ride to the airport. What's happened?"

"There are pictures of you leaving the hotel with her and getting into your car.

"Fucking paparazzi," I thought.

"You know me better than that, Jen. Nothing..."

All of a sudden Lainey started screaming upstairs. Ryan and I ran to the stairs in a flash, but she was on her way down and slapped me.

"You bastard. I begged you not to do that to me. Why? What did I do wrong?"

She pushed me and I fell back into the hall. She darted up the stairs and Angela followed her.

Ryan stood there shocked and asked, "What the hell was that all about?"

I shook my head and said, "I was photographed leaving my hotel yesterday with a woman. She was just a reporter I offered a ride to, but it's turned into an attempt to create a scandal. I swear to God, all I did was give her a ride. I'd never do anything to hurt Lainey. I love her."

He gave me a look that can only be described as contempt with a bit of hatred mixed in.

He was about to speak when Angela and Melanie came down. Both were in tears.

"Please tell me it's not true. You didn't cheat on her, did you?" Angela asked.

"Of course not. I just gave my last interview's reporter a ride to the airport. We were leaving at the same time and she was late."

"She wants you to leave. I'll talk with her. I'll make sure she knows that you have to talk this out, whatever happened. Right now is not the time. She's too upset."

A tear slid down my cheek as I fell into the chair next to me.

"You have to believe me. Nothing happened."

"I'd like to, Ken. I really would."

"Mom," Melanie said, "nothing is happening in the pictures. It's not like they were leaving his room. I'm sorry Ken. I believed the article and showed it to her."

She ran to me and hugged me.

"I didn't mean to break you up. Please forgive me."

"Whoa!" Ryan said. "No one has broken up. Lainey is just upset. They'll have to talk it through before she breaks up with him."

"Please let me talk to her," I pleaded. "I don't want to leave with her upset."

"Give her some time," Angela said. "Come by in the morning. She's off tomorrow. Let her cool off tonight before she says something she'll regret later."

"Alright," I said. It made sense to let her cool off. It would also give me time to build my defense.

"I'll be here at seven. I'll bring some breakfast for us all."

Melanie got off of me and Angela kissed my cheek.

"It'll be okay, Ken. She knows you love her. She'll come around."

I pulled the ring out of my pocket and squeezed the box tightly.

"I hope so."

*** Lainey

I was sobbing into my pillow when my mom walked back into my room.

"He left, baby. He said nothing happened."

"How can I believe that, Mom?"

"Honey, with every relationship comes the need for trust. You either trust in his love for you or you don't. I know it's hard and you have every reason to be upset that he let himself get into that situation. He's got to be smarter than that."

"I love him, Mom. I don't know if I believe nothing happened though."

"Look at the pictures, Lainey. Was he touching her? Kissing her? Leaving his room? He says he just gave her a ride."

"No, but why would he give her a ride? It doesn't make sense. He doesn't do that and it's for his safety."

"He's too nice of a guy. You know that. I hate to say I told you so, but you knew this was a possibility. They are always looking for the next scandal."

I was about to say "I know" when my phone rang.

"Let it go," I said.

"It's Abby Steel." She said looking at my phone.

I sighed and grabbed the phone.

"Hello."

"Honey, are you okay?"

I heard the pain and empathy in her voice. It was comforting.

"No. I don't know what to believe. I'm freaking out and I made him leave."

"Lainey, what did I tell you the day we met?"

I sighed.

"You told me to not believe what I don't see. I didn't know it would hurt like this though."

"That's right. Do you know how many times Jim's been accused of having affairs? Dozens and none of them were true."

"How can you be sure? How do you know?"

"I trust my man, Lainey. I believe in him and our love. Do you believe in Ken's love?"

I started sobbing and couldn't talk. My mom grabbed the phone and put it on speaker as I blew my nose again.

"This is Lainey's mom, she's struggling, Abby."

"Hello, Ma'am. I figured, that's why I had to talk to her."

My mom smiled and said, "Okay. If anyone knows how to deal with this crap, I'd imagine it would be you. I'll leave you two to talk then."

She hugged me and said, "It'll be okay. You'll see."

My mother believed him. Of course, she did. She thought he both walked on water and could part the Red Sea with his smile.

"Lainey," Abby said, "what does your heart tell you, honey?"

"I don't know. I love him so much. I always knew something like this would happen, I just can't deal with it. I don't know what to do."

"Lainey, I've known Ken for over a decade. When that man loves, he's only got eyes for his girl. If I had any doubt about it, I wouldn't take his side and no, I haven't spoken to him yet. I just know Ken."

"I guess I just have to figure out if I believe him as everyone else does. I've got to go. I've got some thinking to do. Thank you for talking to me. I really appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure. I told you before and I'll say it again, we have special men. While being with them is the biggest blessing we can get, it's not all roses and perfume. We will always have these bumps in the road. It's how we handle them that keeps us together. I'll always be here for you if you need me. You can call me anytime."

I didn't know what I was going to do. There was no proof of any wrongdoing on his part and I kicked him to the curb. He must hate me.

Melanie walked in and sat on my bed. She looked as upset as I was.

"I'm so sorry, Lainey. It's all my fault."

"I hugged her and said, "It's not your fault. You were just looking out for me. Someone else would've shown me or I'd have seen it on my own eventually."

She got up and walked to her room. I could see her shoulders still shake from her sobbing.

She stopped suddenly and turned, "I don't ever say it, but I love you, big Sis."

"I love you too, Mel."

*** Ken

I went to my mom's, where Jen and Cindy were staying. I needed my family, I couldn't be alone in my despair.

Since our rooms still had twin beds, Cindy was using mine. It was the excuse I needed to stay at the hotel, and I was happy to do so.

I walked in the door and Jen ran up to me.

"What happened? I heard screaming and then you hung up on me,"

"She saw the article. She thinks I cheated on her."

"Oh, Ken. What the hell were you thinking? You know better than that. Someone's always watching."

"I know. I felt bad for her and I think she tried to set me up. Don't ever tell Lainey this, but she tried to grab my crotch in the car. I pushed her away and told her no. I think she may have lied to me about being late, hoping for a chance at me."

"You damned fool. You better hope that bitch doesn't say you messed around with her."

"I doubt that. It would be a career killer for her. Ten years ago, she'd get a promotion, but nowadays people look down on that."

"You better hope so."

I had no idea what would happen next. I was talking out of my ass hoping that Shelly would let it die without comment. We've found that it's the only way to let these things die—to keep them out of the news cycle. Eventually, with nothing new to add, they go away with a whisper.

"You never made it to dinner, I assume?"

"No, Jen. She was getting ready when her sister showed her the story. I was just showing the ring to her folks when you called me."

Cindy gasped. "She doesn't know you were going to propose?"

"She has no idea, Cindy."

"Damn. What a mess," my mom added.

"Did you guys eat?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's some pizza in the fridge. Veggie, just like you love," Jen said trying and failing, to lighten the mood.

"Okay. Mom do you have any of Dad's scotch left?"

She laughed and said, "Yeah. A whole case of it. He only drank it when you came over."

She got up to get me a drink and Cindy said, "Ken, we haven't talked about it and this is probably a bad time, but Jen and I hoped you'd be best man for both of us."

I looked up at her, completely shocked.

"For both of you? When she asked me to give her away, I figured that would be my only part to play."

Jen said, "it's already going to be an unusual ceremony for obvious reasons, but we'd appreciate you standing up for both of us. We'd have never met if not for you and we all know you set us up to meet that night."

I smiled at the memory.

Cindy was my makeup and hair person on one of my movies. When Jen came into my trailer to talk to me about something, I saw the sparks when their eyes met. It was unmistakable.

When Jen left, I asked Cindy to stay around after shooting to make sure my barber didn't mess up my hair. I had a buzz cut for that film and she looked at me funny but agreed.

I had no barber coming over, but I made certain Jen would be there as well.

After shooting wrapped for the day, I spent the evening having a couple of beers with Jim in his trailer, leaving the girls to their own devices. It worked like a charm and the rest was history.

"Of course," I said. "I'd be honored to stand with you both. I love you guys."

I got some rather nice hugs from some emotional women and then I sat down to drown my sorrows in alcohol.

Later, after half a bottle, Jen drove my rental back to my hotel while Cindy followed. They dumped me into my bed and I don't remember the rest of the night.

Not my finest moment, to be sure.

***

I woke at six the next morning with the expected headache after a night of stupidity and a note from Jen sitting on my phone.