Brooke looked up at Randi, “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I’m sorry, but this talk of Brooke’s butt is not my idea of food for thought. Hey, Mom, I hope we’re not having brownies for dessert, are we?” C.C. asked.

“Dessert…” Brooke mumbled conjuring the image of her favorite blonde to mind as she picked up her glass, bringing it to her mouth to drink.

“Well,” the matriarch looked a little surprised. “Actually I made a Strawberry Pie just for Sam. She kind of hinted at having a craving for it when I told her about the dinner.”

The sound of muffled coughing could be heard and Mable looked to her right. “Brooke are you all right?”

“Ah…” Brooke wiped her mouth, “I’m fine Mom. It just went down the wrong way.”

“If you want Mom,” C.C. offered, “I could take some of that dessert back to the dorm for her.”

Blue eyes flashed in C.C.’s direction to see the young woman digging her way through her plate of food. Then Brooke looked to her mother.

“By the way, Brooke, you really outdid yourself bringing A-Z to life again.”

“Yeah, but just for that one night,” Brooke stated.

Randi brought her coffee cup to her lips, “That was…impressive, Brooke. I hope it was appreciated.” She took a sip and watched her musician sister.

“Hey, I thought it was great to hear those old songs again,” Terri spoke up. “And the new ones, too. They were really something Brooke.”

“Thanks,” Brooke addressed Terri first. “I’m glad that you liked them.” She turned to look directly at Randi. “And yes, Randi. Sam was ecstatic over it.”

C.C. could feel the tension in the air and spoke up. “Ah…yeah, really something Brooke. I’m glad that I could give you the idea. Ah…she enjoyed it so much that you wore her out. I didn’t even hear her snoring that night at the dorm.” The brunette smiled, pleased that she had come up with a story to help her favorite sister out of a jam.

“I must commend you Brooke,” Randi said slightly changing the subject. “You seem to always be ready with the most appropriate toasts lately. What inspired you for that one?”

Brooke just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. You know those twenty-first birthday toasts… I just make them up as I go along.”

“Don’t be so modest, Sis. You put a lot of thought into that one.” C.C. realized that she wasn’t thinking when she heard the words coming out and slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from saying any more. She watched, as Brooke’s eyes grew large with each second that they held her attention.

Amused and intrigued by the scene that she was witnessing, Randi started her lazy cross-examination. “So, if you’re so busy at work, how’d you find all that time to plan the party for Sam?”

Caught off guard, Brooke stuttered, “I…uhm…I didn’t. C.C. and Mom helped.” She finally regained some composure, then leaned forward, looking her older sister right in the eye. “Randi, you should know…that’s what secretaries are for.” Brooke let a leering smile grace her lips, thinking of how her sister used her staff.

“Hey, I’m the one who kept it a secret. Don’t I get some of the credit?” C.C. interjected.

“You? Keep a secret? That will be the day,” Terri laughed at C.C.

Brooke looked out of the corner of her eye at the brunette in question and they both grinned, knowing that keeping secrets were fast becoming C.C.’s forte. Nudging her baby sister with her shoulder, Brooke started off slowly, “Yeah…C.C. really deserves the credit for keeping her mouth shut.”

Terri just shook her head, “I don’t know…stranger things have happened.”

Sitting up with her arms crossed and leaning on the table, Randi challenged the young woman. “I bet you couldn’t tell me one thing that you kept a secret about that I didn’t already know.”

The young woman knew that she could win the bet easily but refused to compromise her roommate or her sister. Thinking hard, C.C. finally came up with something that couldn’t harm anyone. “I never told you that I kissed Tommy Montgomery in the fifth grade.” C.C. nodded, proud of the choice she’d made.

“No, but you told us when you did kiss him in the fourth grade.” Randi tilted her head and flicked her wrist, shooing off the concept. “Doesn’t count, C.C.”

“Yeah, doesn’t count,” Terri chimed in. “It’s got to be something new. Something for the first time.”

While all eyes looked directly at C.C., the young woman’s eyes darted to Brooke, catching the subtle look in her blue eyes as she mouthed, “Not Sam,” as discreetly as she could.

C.C. started to sweat. She knew she could easily win but wanted to be loyal to both Brooke and Sam. “Okay…I…I knew when Brooke…”

Brooke’s deep voice overrode her sister’s words. “I can tell you a secret that C.C. never told.” Brooke looked around the table, hoping that they would bite. “She knows the exact number of women that I’ve slept with.” Blue eyes glanced quickly to C.C., then back again to her other sisters.

“C.C., you impress me.” Randi sat back in her chair. “I didn’t know that you could count that high.” She leveled a glare at Brooke. “What is that now, Loran…are we into the millions or the trillions now?” Randi smirked, “We all know what that big, bad girl did on the road with the groupies.”

Brooke politely put her napkin down on the table, then slowly looked up to Randi. “No, actually, you know what the publicists say that Loran did. I never slept with any of those women.

“Well, not in detail, thank the gods.” Randi rolled her eyes.

“It was nothing more than a gimmick to sell more albums and it worked. I never slept with them or had any torrid affairs.” Brooke pushed back from the table. “I never had any type of relations with any of those groupies. In fact, you can count my sexual partners on one hand.

Mable watched her verbal daughter as she defended her sex life.

“And that would be who’s hand…” Randi looked over to Terri and the idea was born. “A circus freak?” The two siblings joined forces and put all four of their hands together as one, with the fingers splayed out and wiggling like some kind of sea creature.

Brooke leaned forward forcefully. “Just because I was hot does not mean that I got more ass than a toilet seat.”

“Now, that is an interesting concept.” Terri took her hands from the out of the air and smiled.

“So, that still means you didn’t get around, huh?” Randi wasn’t letting up one bit.

“Not at all.” Brooke stated for the record, then crossed her arms in front of her chest, “Never.”

C.C. smiled, thankful that the pressure was off of her and finished the last bit on her plate.

“So…girls?” Mable looked around the table, trying to gain some control over the dinner. “Are we done with this discussion?” The matriarch looked at each one individually, leaving Randi for last, narrowing her eyes at the eldest of the lot when she started to open her mouth. “I thought so. Henry,” she looked up to her husband. “It seems like the right time to bring out that dessert and perhaps some more coffee.”

Henry rose from his seat and as he passed his wife, leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “It’s a shame Sam’s not here for this. I know she would’ve liked it.” He looked over to the unused place setting that was sitting there, waiting for the blonde. “I guess I’ll gather these up now.”

At the mention of Sam’s name, Brooke zoned out, letting her lower lip take on its pouting nature.

Noticing the glumness overtaking her sister, C.C. thought it best to try to bring her out of it. “So, Brooke…have you heard from that favorite client of yours?” She watched as Brooke looked over to her, questions written all over her face. “You know, the one that demands most of your free time,” she hinted at, kicking the woman’s foot under the table.

“Uhm…No, actually I haven’t. It’s kind of unusual.”

“What Dear, someone giving you concern?” Mable became interested in the topic.

“Just the client that I told you about at C.C.’s birthday party, Mom.” Blue eyes looked over into her mother’s.

“Oh…That one…Well, they did seem to be quite into your company.” Mable patted her daughter’s hand. “I’m sure things will work out and you’ll hear from them soon enough.

“Anyone that we would know?” Randi looked at her mother and Brooke.

“Come on, give us some inside scoop.” Terri demanded. “It will make me look good to the kids I treat to be in the know about a new artist.”

“I-T-K…huh?” Brooke laughed at her sister.

“Just tell me it’s not some Rapper that I’ll be asked to prosecute down the road.”

“No Randi, it’s not a Rapper. No one famous at all…”

“Not yet at least.” The lawyer sighed.

“Nope, not yet.” Brooke glanced down at the cell phone on her belt.

“Here you go, ladies.” Henry’s masculine voice beamed as he walked over to his youngest daughter. “And I do mean that…” he looked at C.C. and winked. “Now that you’re over twenty-one. Coffee, just as you like it.” He poured a round at everyone’s place and then headed back toward the kitchen returning with pie and setting it down between his wife and Brooke.

“Hmm…” Mable nodded appreciatively. “Now I wonder…” she eyed the pie as she picked up the serving utensils. “How does one dig into that kind of dessert without getting that whipped cream all over the place.”

Brooke let her attention focus on her cup of coffee as she took a mouthful of it.

Mable cut into the dessert and offered the first piece to her daughter. “How about you Brooke, care for some virgin pie?”

“Bet you’ve had that before…” Randi mumbled out without realizing it.

The musician snorted, coffee filling her mouth and nose, causing her to choke when she heard Randi’s sly comment. “I’m…cough…gonna…cough…get some water.” Brooke’s face was turning red. “Excuse me.” She got up from the table and left the room.