Zac and I walked through Ike's back door and made our way into the kitchen. Rebecca was sitting at the table, paying bills. "So, where's that beautiful niece of mine?" Zac greeted his sister-in-law.
"I just put her down for a nap. Oh, and Ike should be back in a few. I sent him to the supermarket to pick up diapers for Kaitlyn."
Zac laughed. "If you say 'jump,' does he say 'how high'?"
"Sometimes," was her reply. Then she turned to me. "So, how did dinner go the other night?"
"Great." After working hard most of the summer, the training wheels finally came off Maddy's bike. To celebrate, I took the three of us out to dinner. "The press was in rare form though. I mean, they always gave Laura and I looks but, I swear one guy was stalking us."
Rebecca smiled. "It'll die down eventually. It's big news to them, another Hanson taken off the market. It gets easier, though. Really." The press gave Rebecca and Ike a hard time. The tabloids had them engaged three times before Ike ACTUALLY popped the question.
"They'll get over it," Zac said, shrugging. Then he turned to Rebecca. "We're gonna go downstairs and warm up. Feel free to send down our brother once he's finished his chores."
I rolled my eyes and gave Zac a small shove in the direction of the basement.
Zac was banging on his drums and I was warming up with a few scales. We didn't even hear Ike come in. But when I looked up and saw him, I immediately stopped playing. He DID NOT look happy. "Guys, we need to talk." Ike's expression was serious.
The three of us sat down at the table in the next room, which was littered with sheet music. "What's up, Ike?" asked Zac.
"This," he responded, throwing a magazine onto the table.
I gasped at the sight of the tabloid's cover. On it was a picture of Laura, Maddy, and myself from the other night leaving the restuarant.
"Here are the rules we're playing by," Ike said sternly. "All questions concerning Tay's and Laura's relationship are to be left unanswered. If they persist or include Maddy, we don't finish the interview. Are we in agreement?" Zac and I nodded our heads.
Then Ike turned to me. "Look, I know you and Laura can take whatever's dished out a you, but Maddy's just a kid. When the three of you go out, you may want a bodyguard to tag along. Not that the tabloids will completely stop following you, but a bodyguard may help keep the photographers at bay." I nodded my head.
The three of us sat in silence for a few minutes. Then I found my voice. "Did you read the article?" I asked my older brother.
Ike nodded his head. "They're not interested in Laura. It's Maddy they want the dirt on, her paternity actually. Be careful, Tay."
"This is ridiculous!" I said, completely frustrated. "Not that I want them talking about Laura either, but we can handle it. Don't these so-called reporters have one shread of dignity, though? Maddy's only four going on five!" I picked up the tabloid and hurled it across the room.
"Good, Tay. Get it out of your system now, because you most certainly CANNOT act like that in public. If you do, the press will only hound you more instead of backing off," said Zac knowingly.
"Look, we tour after the new year. Rebecca and Kaitlyn are coming with us. Under normal circumstances, I'd suggest bringing Laura and Maddy, too. However, in light of the article, some physical distance between the two of you might be for the best," spoke Ike.
"I guess now I know what Laura meant when she said she had been protecting me by not returning to Tulsa," I said rather softly.
"What do you mean Tay?" asked Zac.
"Well, if this is how the press responds to my girlfriend being a single mom, can you imagine what would've happened if they saw us together while she was pregnant?"
"You would've been pin-pointed as the father," Ike said. This was something he probably knew since he found out about Maddy.
I, on the other hand, had been so hurt I was blind to it. I had been blind to a lot of things, mostly just how deep my feelings for Laura AND Maddy ran. Touring without them was going to be hard, the longest tour of my life in fact. Suddenly, I had a revelation. "Guys, do you mind if we skip practice today? There's something I need to do."
Ike and Zac exchanged glances and shrugged. "Sure," they said.
And with that, I stood up and bolted out of the house.