A Heart of Darkness

Chapter 3. Kaylee's Family - Part One

Kaylee woke up once again to an empty bed, except this time she knew where Brandon was. He'd left early to show several open houses and condos. She sighed, the man stayed busy, but at least this was a job she could be proud about. Brandon was great at what he did, although she had a feeling his looks contributed to his high sells with the women...and the men. She smiled at the last part. Was it wrong to find it funny when Brandon came home in a bad mood because one of his male clients had aggressively tried to flirt with him?

Her cell phone suddenly rung. She didn't really want to answer it knowing who it was. The man was very meticulous about being on time. "Hello..."

"You're late, Kaylee..." Taylor Braxton spoke in his usual arrogant tone that never failed to intimidate her. She began to wonder if the arrogance in his voice was really an accent of some kind because he'd never stopped speaking that way for as long as she'd known him, even when he was happy he still sounded arrogant.

"I know. I'm on my way."

"You're always late. Your mother was never late; she was always on time. I don't understand where you get this from."

"Um Taylor, you know I'm not your real daughter... right?"

"Excuse me?!"

"Never mind! I'll be there in 20 minutes," Kaylee said quickly and hung up the phone.

Ever since Taylor and Kaitlyn had decided to make her a part of their family, the man had taken the job way too seriously as her father, just like his sons had taken the job of being her big brothers very seriously. There was just no common ground between Taylor and his sons, they were extreme in everything they did. Even though they didn't legally adopt her, she did sign a contract with the twins giving them the rights to act as her big brothers, which she thought was adorably cute until they started going overboard.

Kia had tried to warn her that day, but she'd been too happy to listen and now she was paying for it. Still, as much as the controlling men got on her nerves and intimidated her, she couldn't help but love them. It was their nature to be this way and it was how they showed she was loved, at least that's what she kept telling herself to keep from freaking out over it. However, she was quite grateful to have these powerful men on her side and a loving, sweet mother like Kaitlyn, even though she had no clue how she put up with them and still remained so...calm.

Kaylee considered herself to be blessed with all her good fortune. She had taken a chance coming to San Francisco and her life had changed forever. She ended up having not one, but two families who adored her.

Her phone rang again. This time it was Mia checking to see if she was still coming over in the evening. She sounded desperately in need of a break. Poor Mia, it seemed the only kids she could have were twins. She'd gotten her tubes tied just to make sure she'd never get pregnant again from her two overzealous husbands. It had to be hard for her raising not one, but two toddlers all over again in her mid-forties.

Kaylee said good morning to the men she passed by on the first floor, stopped by the kitchen to take out a few pies for a certain person and then walked outside to wait for her driver. She stared wistfully at the garage. She hadn't been allowed to drive ever since her accident. People had accidents all the time and they still got back in their cars when they were fixed or bought a new car to continually drive.

They didn't have to treat her like some fragile flower that needed to be constantly looked after. It wasn't just Brandon, everyone had banned her from driving, even Kia to her disappointment. She had no idea why Kia had turned into such a mother hen lately. Her emotions, which she usually kept in check, seemed to be out of control over the past month, she guess being married to the twins for two years would do that to a woman.