by Hadley Quinn
“Pack up your shit and go to the other house,” Teague finally said. “Just grab what you need and go. You don’t have to put up with this garbage, Max. Dad needs to learn this once and for all. I feel bad for whatever shit he’s struggling with, but that needs to be his problem for now. Trust me, you can’t teeter in the middle of this family. It’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t, and no matter what goes on or doesn’t go on, the media will write whatever the hell they want. I actually understand why you’re trying to juggle everything, but you gotta do what’s best for yourself, man. Sometimes enough is enough.”
“I know, I packed up a bunch of stuff while Chase was asleep this morning. You were set to come over so I’ve just been hanging out.”
Teague stood. “Then get going. Don’t let us keep you.”
Max frowned at him. “Right now?”
“Yep. If you’re serious about this, you need to act. Don’t let him get another word in, or another excuse or lecture, and don’t let him get away with this shit.”
“Ha, you know what the tabloids will say, right?”
Teague actually laughed. “That Daddy kicked another son out of the house?”
Max found that somewhat amusing. He didn’t care what story the media conjured up—there was nothing he could do about it—but maybe it was time to just let the chips fall where they may.
“Back the fuck up,” Jay finally spoke again. “What’s this about another house?”
***
It was getting dark by the time Max made it to the house off Decker. Chase had slept the entire way, and when he woke, he was somewhat disoriented. He was carried inside with the rest of the guys following close behind.
“Well this is interesting,” Jay observed, looking around the house. It was totally a bachelor pad—zero femininity to it whatsoever, or really any sign of life. It was clean and tidy, but nothing fancy or outlandish and more of a “rustic” feel. “How long you had this place?”
Max sat down on the couch with Chase, who was still groggily rubbing his eyes. He motioned for everyone else to have a seat. “About a year. Bought it when I finished filming Where It Strikes. I was physically and mentally drained and needed out of the city.”
“Drained because of…?” Teague tentatively asked. He was still standing up with C.J., bouncing him to keep him from crying.
Max exhaled. “There was endless publicity for that movie. Between all of the press interviews and hype parties, I just needed a break. All of that wears me out more than the actual work.”
“Is it really required of you to do all that?” Tyse asked. He was the only one not tending to a kid at the moment, but Max figured he’d be of service if anyone needed him to be.
Jay scoffed. “Tell ‘em all to—” He paused and looked at the little boys, and then mouthed fuck off.
“It’s actually written in his contracts,” Teague mumbled, answering for Max. He had C.J. draped across his forearm face down, finally seeming content staring at the throw rug below.
“What?” Tyse was visibly surprised. “So just don’t do movies that make you do that crap.”
“I wish it were that simple, but it’s not,” Max replied. “Every production company needs to protect their investment. You sign on, you gotta sign to their terms. Yes sometimes it’s negotiable, but you can’t get out of it entirely.” He sighed and shook his head as he flipped on the big screen TV.
“Call me a fucking idiot, but I always thought you loved that shit,” Jay said. He’d spoken the curse words quietly, even though Cade had toddled over to the diaper bag with toys and Chase had slid off the couch and joined him.
Max considered a response. Part of him wanted to be an asshole, but another part of him wanted to lay it all out on the table. He chose indifference and shrugged. “Things aren’t always what they appear to be. What you’ve seen is me building and fulfilling my dad’s dream while trying to figure out my own.”
There wasn’t a direct response to that, even though Max felt like that was the best way he’d described his career. Yes, he did love acting. But after a while, it became more about pleasing everyone else instead of himself.
Each man seemed to think on those words, and even Teague was carefully observing his brother. Max found a movie for the kids to watch, and when Jay asked if there was any food in the house, he pointed to the kitchen and said, “Help yourself.”
The evening consisted of four frozen pizzas, two bags of chips, and a half case of beer. It wasn’t exactly a stocked kitchen, but Max made sure there was enough to tide him over for a week or two if he ever needed to be.
“We can’t let the girls know about this,” Jay said to Teague an hour later. All three kids were sacked out asleep by then—C.J. and Cade on a blanket in the far corner, and Chase had been carried to his room.
“Yeah, we should definitely tell them this was completely miserable and extremely beyond our comfort zones,” Teague answered.
“Even though we’re fucking amazing at daddy daycare.” Jay stated it matter-of-factly with somewhat of a serious expression. “God, could you imagine all of us being responsible for our kids as they get older. Together?”
They all laughed. For something so expansive in thought, no one needed to expound on it.
“Don’t let Melanie hear you call it babysitting,” Teague informed him. “Camryn, either.”
“Oh no shit,” Jay laughed. “I’m a dad, it’s my privilege as a parent. But Jesus, Mel gets all eye-rolly and scoffy when I even joke about it like, ‘Okay, fine, I’ll babysit. But it’s a weekend, so my rate doubles.’ She doesn’t find it funny.”
“I’m not even allowed to joke about it,” Teague mused.
Jay laughed. “Have you ever said, ‘I’ll change this diaper if you suck my dick later.’ Yeah, that one’s apparently not funny either.”
“Oh my God,” Teague laughed, shaking his head. “No, not exactly like that. But last week I made Camryn a hot bath with candles and told her to relax for a bit while I took care of the baby. I only did it because I wanted to watch the end of the game. Hell, I was her fucking hero that night. Got a blowjob and then some.”
Again everyone laughed, and Max said, “You seriously fooled her? Nah, man. She seems too smart for that.”
“Hey, it’s all about not seeming to care about the game too much. You put in your time cleaning up the kitchen, listening to your wife talk about a diaper blowout at the store, you give her hugs and kisses, and although the affection is real, you know it’s working in your favor. You hug her tight, watching the TV over her head for the last play, tell her she’s amazing because she is, and then boom, commercial time and the grand gesture of heading straight to the bathroom to start a bath. She won’t turn you down—she’s so grateful for the consideration—and you get the next forty-five minutes to zone out.”
Jay snorted. “And I’m sure she didn’t appear for a couple of hours and you had to put the baby to bed, huh?”
Teague frowned at him. “Well that’s not the point.”
Laughing, Jay said, “Yes it is. But dude, if you got sexual favors later on, you win no matter what. We get psyched out by our women all the time, but we’re simple enough for it to work. Sex. It balances it all.”
“I don’t even know how Melanie puts up with you, to be honest,” Teague said. “She is one special girl. If I heard half the shit that comes out of your mouth, you probably wouldn’t have a working set of testicles.”
“Hey, let’s just say my apologies can’t be topped,” Jay shrugged arrogantly. “If you can make your women come all over your tongue any time you want, you’re golden. She loves and hates me for it. I’ll just say that.”
“Yeah, guess your mouth is both good and evil.”
Jay only shrugged as if to say, “Damn right,” but since Tyse had been so quiet, he looked at him to gauge his reaction. “And look at your smirk. You say shit too but you’re not going to share with us. Too polite, brother?”
Tyse lightly laughe
d but shrugged. “Too polite to share the private jokes I have with Sarah, yes, but smart enough to know she likes the dirty ones. She’s got a soiled sense of humor, you know.”
Everyone laughed, and it was Teague who said, “I don’t doubt it. And they think we’re dirty when we’re all together. Pssh, those girls are filthy.”
They continued to joke around, and for Max, that’s when it turned awkward. When they spoke of Sarah, all he could think about was Olivia, who had been somewhat of a prude when it came to sexual banter and dirty humor. He didn’t know Sarah all that well, but after listening to the guys talk about her, maybe she was nothing like her sister. Olivia had either been too uptight to have fun with sexual humor, or she’d never really been comfortable enough to loosen up.
Maybe Max’s personality had been way too much for Olivia from the start, and he hadn’t realized it.
“And what about Anna?” one of the guys asked.
Upon hearing Anna’s name, Max redirected his thoughts. He wasn’t even sure who had asked it, but thought maybe it had been Jay.
“What about her?”
But it was Teague who shrugged. “She’s pretty laid back from what I’ve seen. How’s her sense of humor around you?”
“When it comes to sex,” Jay emphasized with a smirk.
Max glanced at both guys, and then at Tyse, who knew Anna the best. The irony of that was still a bit of a burden. “She’s, uh…”
He paused to assess his thoughts on her. She was sexy as fuck and had a dirty mouth on her when she wanted to, but sharing that with the guys felt somewhat inappropriate right now. Why was that? Obviously this was a casual dude conversation, and he trusted that anything he said wouldn’t go past these walls, but maybe he wasn’t quite ready for the buddy-to-buddy disclosure just yet. This entire situation—being here with just the guys again—needed some time to get used to.
If they’d even have more opportunities like this.
“Anna’s a pretty good match for me,” Max finally replied, choosing his words carefully. Images of her keeping up with his sexual appetite played like a movie in his head. He’d never met someone who was so laid back and happy, yet was also demanding and completely captivating in life and in bed.
“A good match for you?” Jay somewhat scoffed. “Dude, if I remember correctly, you were always shy and awkward but good at faking a cover. Do you two sit there and be all weird and giggle when someone sees a cock or tit, or do you get into character to avoid that?”
“Oh Jesus,” Teague scoffed, seeming to feel a bit uncomfortable. He also seemed like he wasn’t sure where this conversation was going to go.
But surprisingly, Max laughed. For one, it was almost like old times with the three of them. Back then these conversations happened quite frequently. Girls, girls, and more girls. There’d never been a shortage of them wherever they went. But often the guys just wanted to do crazy shit and have fun with it. Chicks were always important, but cars and letting loose in the city without being found out were actually the biggest rushes they’d ever experienced together.
“Anna is very straightforward,” Max answered with a nod. “I don’t have any awkward moments with her. Well, I mean, not any sexual awkwardness.”
Jay raised his eyebrows. “Ah, come on, man. Don’t give me that. You can charm and fake your way through any fucking situation you want. But if you tell me she intimidates you, it just might make my year.”
A year ago—or even a month ago, for that matter—a comment like that would have bothered Max. But the truth was, Jay had always been Jay, and his personality had never changed. He’d always spoken his mind and it was a given he always would.
It was Max who had changed how he interacted with people, and he knew it without a doubt. Turning into a people pleaser had ultimately stripped him of his own personality, and the feud between his family members had brought out much darker sides to him in the past.
“Forget what you’ve seen of me the last few years,” he answered. “Because you’re right. I’ve always been able to fake my way through just about anything. Ironically, my biggest strength has always been my weakness. In being so good at one thing, I’ve let it mess up just about everything else because I didn’t know how to balance it.” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Yeah, so, uh, can we just not talk about, eh…?”
Teague stood from where he sat and said, “God, look at the time. I, uh, should probably get home. I’m sure the girls are about done with their night out.”
Jay glanced at the clock and then his phone. “Hell no, I haven’t even gotten a text—”
“Yeah, I’m tired,” Tyse cut in as he stood. “I’m not used to babysitting your kids.” His smirk made Teague smile, but Jay still seemed confused as he stood. However, all three of them wrangled up the two boys and the things they came with, and were gone five minutes later.
Max re-entered a silent house, closing and locking the front door behind him. His son was asleep in the other room, but it was almost like the reality of change hit him all at once and he could feel a tangible difference. He was feeling like he could finally navigate some of his own choices.
No matter how much he was ostracized for it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“With this most recent news, an announcement coming straight from Craig McCallan himself, it looks like we can expect a lot from this family of talented actors in the near future,” a female voice cheerfully reported. “For all you Max McCallan fans…your dreams of seeing him back on the big screen are about to come true as early as next year.”
The newscast cut to a commercial break, just as the fork Max was holding clanked to the tile floor. The evening news had been on in the next room, and upon hearing his last name the first time and the words “big announcement,” he’d stepped into the family room apprehensively.
The heaviness of what just happened hit him right in the chest.
“The fucking five o’clock news?” he growled to himself, searching for his phone at the same time. “The regular news, national television, not celebrity gossip,” he mumbled. God, what the fuck did his dad do this time!?
He typed in whatever keywords he could to Google this newest piece of “news.” Whatever the hell his dad did, he must have done it in a big way, and definitely without his consent.
“Seeing me back on the big screen soon. What the fuck does that mean?”
If his father had announced him as directing that damn movie after being told not to, Max was going to have a serious meltdown. This was going way too far to prove a point; a point his dad had no right to make. It was one thing to make mention of it to those in the industry, but a public announcement?!
After trying a couple of news links and videos, Max finally found one of the same broadcast, with his father doing some sort of press conference outside of his production studio.
What?
“McC Studios is committed to personally launching some of the best entertainment in the industry,” Craig spoke, “and I’m honored to announce we have purchased the movie rights to the number one book series, High Society, and will begin filming in February.”
A clattering of cameras clicking and voices competing commenced, and someone asked if Max was going to be playing the role of Dane Harrington.
Craig smiled without any true intention to conceal his answer, but coyly replied, “Ah, you’ll just have to wait and see.” Another slew of questions were shouted; about Max, about the role Max would be playing, when would Max make the announcement himself…
“Motherfucker!” he yelled at the screen, throwing down his phone. “Fucking hell! Bastard son-of-a—!”
“Daddy?”
Max froze, the weight of reality binding him with a special blend of panic and embarrassment. Turning around, he saw Chase standing in the hallway. Being around each other for the past few days should have been enough for him to watch his mouth around his son, but Craig’s sudden “announcement” of a new project pretty much stripped him of
every bit of dignity in that moment.
He took a deep breath and came across the room. “I’m sorry buddy, dinner’s almost done.” Chase had been so quiet playing in his room Max had completely forgotten he was in the house. The mountain home had always been solitude for him in the past; he needed to remember his damn responsibilities.
“Why were you yelling?” Chase asked as Max picked him up.
Taking his time to answer, Max walked into the kitchen to stir the fettuccini. “I’m sorry about that, pal. I just heard something on the news that wasn’t so good. I’m sorry you heard those words come out of my mouth.”
Chase shrugged. “Mommy says bad words too.”
Max didn’t know how to respond to that, so he took Chase to the table and sat him down. “What should we have for dessert? Ice cream or pie?”
“Both!” he cheered, punching a fist into the air.
“Ah, you’re too much like your dad. I say both, too.”
Max returned to the stove and finished up. He listened to Chase jabber about Teague and the babies, which was quite nice to hear.
“It’s Anna!” Chase hollered, jumping up from the table. He pressed his nose to the front window that faced the driveway. “Anna’s here!”
“How about you go be a gentleman and open the door for her,” Max suggested. “I’ll get the food on the table.”
Chase took off to answer the door, and while Max heard his little voice interacting with Anna’s sweet voice, he garnished the table with dinner.
“Well hello there,” Anna smiled as she entered the dining area. “This looks amazing.” She was holding Chase’s hand and knelt down next to him. In somewhat of a whisper she added, “I see your daddy has a hidden talent. Does his food taste as good as it looks?”
Chase giggled with a shrug but hopped back to the table to sit down.
“Oh, so I have to be a test dummy?” Anna asked as she stood, smiling at Max as he came to greet her.
