Free The Blake Legacy (The Blake Boys) by Rhonda Laurel

arrested for fighting in a nightclub. There had been a picture of him on the front page of the newspaper last week, after the brawl. A mystery woman was shielding him with a gaudy, gold purse.
    Patton and Nina were the first to arrive. Elton, Tricia, Mike, and Krista arrived together. Nina offered to help but Morgan insisted she stay put while Morgan served the guests appetizers. Patton reminded the guys that they were each scheduled to appear at his football camp for kids this summer. Seth and Patton joked about their upcoming joint endorsement deal. After the Super Bowl, the true scope of their friendship had become visible to the world, and they had been approached about shooting a commercial together for a footwear retailer. Morgan gave the ladies a tour of the house while Seth mixed drinks. After an hour, it looked like Lamont and his date were going to be a no-show. The evening was going well until Elton asked about Seth’s impending free agency status.
    “I haven’t made any decisions yet.” Seth shook his head.
    “We have a great team; surely you don’t want to break that up?” Elton said.
    “Elton, any statement I make about it right now will feed a firestorm of rumors. I don’t think it’s fair to the team for the sports world to cover whether or not I’m staying with the Titans when there are a lot more important things at hand. The coming season. A new strategy. Winning three times has put a target on our backs. Every team out there will want to be the team that stopped our hot streak.”
    “But—”
    Patton spoke up. “Elton, the man answered your question honestly. I know you don’t think he’s going to tell you anything that would jeopardize his family’s future or the team’s.”
    “How can you be so calm about it, Pat?” Mike asked.
    “When he came here four years ago, remember how pissed everybody was that Boyd left and we got the new dude? Even with all the doubts and non-support, he did his job. He committed himself to the Titans in spite of all the bullshit. I don’t believe that a man like that would leave without thinking everything through.”
    “Thanks, Patton.” Seth nodded.
    Morgan rose. “Shall we all move to the dining room?”
     
     
     
    The doorbell rang. Seth went to the door while Morgan went into the kitchen and, with Krista’s help, brought out the side dishes. She returned to the kitchen and sliced the rack of lamb. She placed it on the silver serving platter Seth had retrieved for her earlier. Morgan was quite happy with herself that she hadn’t burned anything. She turned the corner with her plate of lamb to see Seth’s pleasant expression had changed to a frown. Lamont Brayer stood behind him with none other than her cousin Charisma in tow.
    Morgan set the tray carefully down on the table and saw Nina’s puzzled look out of the corner of her eye. Seth had given Morgan a play-by-play of Charisma’s shenanigans at the bar the night it had happened, and she appreciated the way he’d handled it. It was her cousin’s latest attempt to bait her, but she wasn’t falling for it. She’d resolved to take the high road and let it go. Now the bitch was standing in her house as a dinner guest by default. Morgan’s mind raced, trying to figure out a way to get her cousin out of there without performing dinner theater in front of Seth’s colleagues.
    She forced a smile. “Lamont, Charisma, we were sitting down to dinner. Please take a seat.”
    Lamont spoke first. “Nice to see you, Morgan. You look lovely as usual. I had no idea Charisma was your cousin. What a small world.”
    Morgan looked at Charisma. “It gets smaller every day.”
    Lamont and Charisma took their seats, and Morgan watched as Charisma’s gaze roamed around trying to get the lay of the land. Morgan winked at Seth and managed another smile, hoping to defuse the tension she saw rising in his neck. Patton tried to pick up the dinner conversation where they’d left off but Nina interrupted