by Hadley Quinn
“Okay, let’s talk,” Anna agreed as she grabbed some coffee for herself. She offered up a cup for Kellie but she declined, so they sat at the table across from each other. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great for me.”
“Feeling okay? Pregnancy looks amazing on you.”
Kellie smiled. “Thank you. You know I feel like a fucking cow, though. And I’m starting to ache a bit more down low, but I guess that’s normal.”
“And you’re still not sharing the gender, huh?” Anna smirked as she sipped her coffee.
“Nope.” Kellie shook her head resolutely. But she leaned forward, elbows on the table, and asked what she’d obviously come to ask. “So you and Max, huh?”
Anna took another sip and eyed her over the steam. She knew she could trust Kellie, and Max even trusted Kellie, but she still didn’t like her life poked at. Even by friends. It was a cold, cruel world sometimes. Your own thoughts and decisions were sometimes the only thing you had to keep for yourself.
“Yes, Max and I have been seeing each other,” she replied.
“Just seeing each other?”
Kellie’s quirky smile was hard to ignore, and Anna felt her own lips break into a smile. “Well, yeah.”
“Oh brother,” Kellie scoffed. “You two are both like pubescent teenagers, you know that?” She laughed with amusement but shook her head. “You know I understand, right? I get that you both want your privacy and all that. But I will be completely upfront and say that I wish you wouldn’t shut some of us out. We want to celebrate your happiness with you. We’re not the ones you need to be afraid of.”
“Max speaks very highly of you,” Anna replied with confusion. “I thought he’s told you about us.”
Kellie pursed her lips. “Mmm, somewhat. But that was a few weeks ago. I haven’t seen him since.” Anna could feel allegation weighing against her immediately, but Kellie must have read her quite clearly and added, “Hey, no meaning to that whatsoever. I just mean I miss him, I want him to be happy, and I just want to make sure he’s okay. He’s got a lot going on in his life right now.”
“And you’re here to warn me about it too?”
Kellie’s eyes betrayed her worry. “What do you mean by ‘too’? Who else warned you? If my uncle—”
Anna waved a hand to halt any quick assumptions. “No need to stress. I just meant Max himself. We’ve discussed quite a lot, actually.”
She paused, just to smile to herself. The guy was fucking adorable and sexy as sin, all in one. He made her heart pound so hard in her chest it almost felt dangerous to her health. But he also had a lot of weight on his shoulders. That alone made her cautious, but she was willing to throw caution to the wind this time. Everyone had a tender corner of their heart that tried to suffer stoically. Max needed someone to help bear the burden, and she would be that person if he would just let her. He was still holding back.
“I’m meeting his son today,” she told Kellie for some reason. She felt she could trust Max’s cousin, but most of all, it just felt good to have another female to talk to. She didn’t have many of those in her life, including her own uninvolved mother. Becoming friends with Melanie, Camryn, Sarah, and Kellie had been a huge blessing in her life. “He’s bringing him to my place tonight. Pizza, popcorn, movie…just casual.”
Kellie’s smile was a bit confusing with her pause, but finally she nodded and quietly replied, “That’s awesome. It means he trusts you. I guess I didn’t realize you guys were that serious already. I came here to relieve you of any reluctance. Silly me.”
“Reluctance?” Anna repeated, even though she didn’t have to beat around the bush and ask what Kellie meant. “Nah, I’m not reluctant with Max. I mean I was at first because he just couldn’t be himself around me. I have a hard time trusting people who can’t trust me, if that makes sense.”
“Well, you know your own integrity. I get it. So does he. And I wouldn’t last a day in Max’s shoes, to be honest. I really don’t know how he does it. And I know he’s been in the middle of his dad and Teague for too many years, but I hope that will stop being the struggle it is once he sorts some, uh, things out.”
Anna smiled. “Yeah, I’m still in the dark with some ‘things,’ I’ll admit it. It’s his life, his steps to take, and his choices. I support it and he can share with me when he’s ready. I was completely forthcoming with him and laid out the gist of my life, but I never expected him to do the same so easily. I’m at peace with my decision; it was my path to take. I’m patient while Max takes his. Not everyone gets there the same way.”
Kellie glanced at her phone and stood. “You and Tyse surely bring that chill beach vibe to this family. Jay is that way too, and finally Teague again after he met Camryn. But I agree. The pursuit of happiness… It’s different for all of us.”
She winked as she made her way to the exit.
***
The light knock on the door was enough to affect Anna’s pulse. She glanced around the kitchen and front room, just to make sure nothing was out of place. She wasn’t nervous to meet Max’s son; just excited.
And she was especially eager to see the kid’s dad again.
She wasn’t expecting the feeling that washed through her upon opening the door. Max stood there with Chase in his arms, a sight she wasn’t used to seeing. It was beautiful, and heart melting, and the smile he gave her when their eyes met was extremely charming. And Chase was an adorable four-year-old with dark hair like his dad, and dark brown eyes lined with long eyelashes.
But the way Max was holding his son, glancing over his shoulder before entering the apartment, caused her worry to take over. She knew he was very protective of Chase and didn’t like the paparazzi to use him for stories.
“Hey, beautiful.” Max set Chase on the floor and leaned down to give Anna a quick kiss on the mouth.
“Hey, handsome boys. How are you both?” She particularly smiled at Chase, impatient for an introduction.
“Doing pretty well,” Max answered as Anna led them both to the couch. He pulled Chase onto his lap when he sat. “Hey buddy, this is Anna. Can you say hi?” Chase waved his hand slightly, but shyly tucked his head against his dad’s chest. “Use your words, big guy.”
“Hi,” he whispered, a shy smile appearing on his face.
“Hi, Chase. I’m so glad you could come over today. I was so excited to have you here, I made sure there were some fun things for you to play with.” She pointed to the corner where a blue tub of toys sat, and his eyes followed. “You wanna go check it out with me?”
He nodded, still staring at the plastic toy box. Anna stood from the couch as Max set him on the floor. While Chase led the way to the toys, Anna took a moment to lean down and give Max a proper hello kiss.
“Mmm, no don’t leave me,” he whispered when she pulled away from his lips with a smile.
“Trust me, I’ll be back.”
“You better.” He swatted her ass as she left, and when she turned around to feign a glare his direction, he only gave her a sexy smile in return.
Refocusing her attention on Chase, she joined him just as he was pulling out handfuls of Matchbox cars. “Ahh, the cars?” she asked, sitting on the floor next to him. “Which one is your favorite?”
He was lining them up in a row, seemingly looking them over. Finally he grabbed the blue one—a Chevy truck—but he set it aside after a few seconds. Then with his index finger, he slid the black one forward. “This one,” he answered, pushing the car in a circle while making vroom noises.
Anna smiled. “Are you sure? That one is your favorite? How come?”
He shrugged. “’Cause it’s the horsey car.”
Anna glanced at Max on the couch, who was sitting on the edge with his elbows on his knees, trying his best to see what they were doing. He gave Anna a curious eyebrow, but ended up joining them instead.
“Wow, jackpot, kiddo.” He observed the toys, and even though Anna knew he’d been giving her time to get to know
Chase, Max sat on the floor right behind her, pulling her against him. “So that was what all your questions were about?” he chuckled softly, his lips against her neck. “Cars?”
“I just like to get to know people in simple ways. You said his favorite color was blue, and that he’s generally easy to please but loves cars. Normally kids pick their favorite color—” she pointed to the blue Chevy truck—“but your child chose that one.”
Max studied the car for a few seconds, his brows creasing. “And?”
Since Chase had parked it and was now driving the truck around instead, Anna picked up the black car to give him a closer look. “And what kind of car is it?”
He barely shrugged. “Mustang.”
“Mmhmm. I couldn’t find the color yours is, but I think I got the make and model correct?”
Max smiled, but took his time answering. Then he chuckled. “You’re right, you don’t know your cars very well.”
She scoffed at him and swatted his arm. “That’s not what yours is?”
“Nah, mine’s a Chevelle. And he’s never seen my car.”
Confused, she tilted her head for understanding. “No?”
He stood and held out his hand to help her up so they could sit on the couch. “Hey buddy,” he called to Chase. “Who has a horsey car?”
“Teague. And Jay.” Chase answered without looking up. He was now pushing around both the truck and the black car.
Shaking his head, Max kept his voice low as he sat on the couch with Anna. “I have to be careful with what he innocently reports back to his mom. He’s never seen my car, the other house, many of the people I’m around… I’m afraid Kate drills him for information. She already gets a shit ton of money from me every month, but I just want to keep her out of my personal life as much as I can.”
“Don’t you have a legal agreement for all of that stuff?”
He paused for so long, she wondered if she’d asked too soon. But they were on the topic. He could choose to get into it or not.
“Something like that, yes, but not through the courts. It’s actually a subject I’d like to discuss with you sometime. Another time.”
Anna easily agreed. Chase was currently occupied by ™Matel, but the point of them getting together tonight was so they could get familiar with one another. And that’s just what they did. After an hour of playing with toys, the pizza arrived, milkshakes were made in the blender, and they cut out a batch of ninja cookies to bake. Chase was an absolute doll, and even though he’d been shy at first, the kid was starting to warm up to her.
She’d caught Max watching her on several occasions. It was easy to tell he was pleased with their interaction, and even though her goal had been to genuinely make friends with his son, it felt good knowing he was at ease.
However, Anna felt a bit of nerves as she occasionally dwelled on his mention of Kate. There was plenty there to take in, she was sure of it. But the bottom line was what mattered the most. Max was here, making an effort, and it was all she could ask for. This Kate chick may need some special handling in the future, but Anna was up for the task if necessary. The last thing she wanted was to be on bad terms with Chase’s mom, but it was obvious Max was extremely uncomfortable with whatever was going on.
Anna always preferred giving the benefit of the doubt, but it was hard to in this case when she knew Max barely got to see his son.
That was not okay.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I’m in, Max. I’m so in, you better fucking sign me right now.”
Max chuckled over the phone as he walked across the patio. He didn’t stray far from the jungle gym that Chase was playing on and always kept an eye on him, but he really needed to hear this from Jeremy Robb. He’d had his mind set on one actor to pull off his movie script—just one—and thank God he’d said yes.
“That’s awesome, Jer. Thanks so much.”
“Thanks? Really?” Jeremy laughed. “This is amazing. This is what I’ve been looking for. I mean yeah it’s going to be a challenge—this is deep, brother—but I’m looking forward to it.”
Knowing that Jeremy was a method actor like himself, Max was already moving ahead to the next step. “Okay, I have a military contact you can go through if you want to fully immerse yourself in this for a bit. It’s all set up for you whenever you’re ready.”
“Hell yes, you know I do.”
“I’ll text you his contact information when we hang up. Oh, I’ll be sitting in on the casting next week and I’ll let you know who else you’ve got with you.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Max. This is going to be incredible.”
Max felt his confidence waver another time before they spoke their goodbyes and hung up. It was both exciting and scary to be moving forward with this project, but he knew without a doubt it was what he wanted to do.
He joined Chase at the playset again. The kid was pretty independent and often played by himself, which caused Max to worry if he got enough time with other people or even kids his age. He had no idea what Kate did with him on a daily basis and he never manipulated his son into telling him.
Some of Max’s money to Kate had been for a private preschool tutor, or some sort of exclusive classes she could take him to with other high society parents. Chase knew his numbers and how to write his name; he could also speak clearly and knew a wide range of vocabulary. Whenever Max asked him about what he’d learned, Chase would mention someone named Meg. He’d assumed Meg was one of his teachers, but he’d asked Kate about her twice in two different texts and still never received an answer.
Max had been expecting Teague to come over with his little guy that day, but when Jay arrived with Cade as well, he was surprised. Then Tyse entered the backyard right behind them and it was an even bigger surprise.
After greetings with Chase—who was excited beyond excited to see all three men there with two kids—Teague motioned to the mansion and asked, “Where the hell is everyone?”
Knowing exactly what he meant, Max answered, “Dad decided to fire all of my employees.” He almost couldn’t say it with a straight face, and knew his brother would react the same way.
Teague stared at him for a second as he rubbed the scruff on his face. And then he laughed out loud. “No shit?”
Tyse had taken both C.J. and Cade to the playset, and even though they were too little to play on anything, Chase was happy to do what he could to make them smile.
“Not a shock,” Max shrugged. “I mean I really thought he was bluffing, but he actually followed through for once.”
And he actually felt horrible about that. Eight staff members had lost their jobs the day before. It wasn’t that Max needed people to look after him, but he was truly concerned about their wellbeing. Especially Gretchen’s.
“I told dad I wanted nothing to do with McC Studios,” Max continued. “He wasn’t too pleased, of course. I think he was mainly pissed I wouldn’t tell him what I’ve been working on.”
Teague’s attention was divided between Max and what the kids were doing, but he faced his brother again and asked, “And what is that?”
“Writing.” He wasn’t sure why he answered so quickly, but since Kellie and Tate knew what he’d been up to, he felt he owed it to his brother to let him know as well. And then there was Jay, who stood there somewhat coolly, most likely trying to gauge this new type of interaction between all of them. Max was sure Teague, or maybe Kellie, had requested Jay give him a chance.
“So is this for real?” Jay asked outright. “You’re seriously changing your tune about all of this? Everything you’ve stuck up for for the past few years?”
Max hadn’t expected anything different from his cousin. Jay was apprehensive about people in general but never failed to demonstrate it. Teague was a bit quiet at times, thinking things over before he spoke—somewhat like Max—but Jay was a different story and always had been.
“No time for your fucking games, Max,” Jay continued. “I’m here because I was told to give you a
chance. No, let me rephrase that. My wife refuses to have sex with me until I have this little chat with you. Apparently your happiness is more important than mine and that really pisses me the fuck off.”
Max had to refrain from laughing. Seriously. The guy was obviously pissed, but just the source of his anger was hilarious.
“What he’s trying to say,” Teague cut in emphatically, “is that we’re all here to give it a chance. Okay? Doesn’t mean everything will be fine and dandy, but these guys aren’t your enemy either,” he motioned to Jay and then Tyse, who was still busy playing with the kids.
Max motioned for them to have a seat, so all three of them pulled up a chair. He eyed Tyse for a minute at the slide, hoping the guy didn’t know why he had a hard time being around him. It wasn’t him exactly, but his girlfriend. Sarah looked way too much like Olivia, and it was just too damn hard to think rationally when all of those memories came back to him. When things blew up with Olivia, it was the crossroads for his change in behavior and essentially the snowball that started the avalanche.
He didn’t need the reminder; he refused to regress.
“I don’t want any part of Dad’s business,” Max informed them. “And more importantly, I don’t want Chase dragged into that either. I don’t want him to feel obligated to fill those shoes like I felt obligated to fill.”
He shifted his gaze to the two of them. Jay always had that rough, distrusting exterior exuding from his personality—especially in his eyes. He was naturally wary but it often came across as heartless. And sometimes he just looked ready to fuck someone up.
Teague, on the other hand, looked quite uncomfortable right now. It was his eyes that betrayed his worry, and the way he shifted in his chair to lean onto his knees. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What did Dad do?”
Max explained the business partnership and how it was set up, and then went on to the will. He summarized his meeting with Craig and the words that were exchanged, even down to the last time his dad threatened to fire all of his employees. And obviously he had. Max had no idea how long he’d have Chase, but was afraid to expose him to any big changes so soon.
