by BA Tortuga
“I’ll cut them off at something a hell of a lot more personal than the fucking pass,” he growled, pacing for a bit like a caged tiger before slowing, coming to rest against the doorframe. “Yeah. Yeah, I hear what you’re saying. I’ll be better off letting the professionals deal with it. I have to raise babies and love on you.”
“That’s it. But I’m not sure Gage knows ranches. Tuck, maybe. He grew up pretty rural.” Simon wanted Michael to know he was listening, that he wanted to tailor all this to their life, not just his.
“We’ll teach y’all what you need to know. I ain’t living the rock star life, and neither are my babies.”
“Yeah?” Simon hugged Michael close, even if a tiny, itty-bitty voice whispered, our babies. “Okay, good. I want to learn too.”
“We’re going to have to explain this to the girls.” Michael looked utterly terrified for a second. “You’ll help me, right? I don’t want to scare them.”
“I will. Chloe will think it’s her due as a star.” Simon winked, then sobered. “Mickey will be more like you.”
“Mickey will deal because we’re a family, and this is what families do.”
Oh. Oh, Michael made Simon a little dizzy with how happy he was. He just—he loved this man so much. He couldn’t believe how much his life had changed in a week, and Michael’s world was even more different.
Simon needed to remember that and not bulldoze. He was used to being the one in charge, but so was Michael.
“Thank you, babe. I appreciate it, all of what you do for me.”
Michael shrugged. “I know it’s fast, but—”
“It’s amazing.” He leaned in for a kiss, wanting to touch to reinforce the truth of what he was saying.
“It’s okay? In front of your guys?” Michael whispered, lips close to his.
“Uh-huh. They won’t be watching, I promise.” They all knew Simon’s preferences. He wouldn’t work with anyone it might be a shock to. Simon pressed his lips to Michael’s, humming at the thrill that went right up his spine every time they touched.
To Michael’s credit, he didn’t freak out of pull away. He hummed softly and reached to hold on.
That was all he could ask for and probably more than he deserved. The kiss lingered, and then Michael chuckled and pulled back. “I need to finish up in the barn. Can you tell your guys I’m coming?”
“I can.” He texted Gage. <
“We’re going to be picking up wings, right? I’ll bring them something to drink, but they’ll crash and burn in the car. Camp is hard work, and it’s been a weird situation.”
“I don’t think I ever went.” Not even band camp. Stevie had.
“They love it. They’ve gone for three years in a row. Chloe likes it more than Mickey, but Mickey is the one that wins all the contests. They’ll come home, eat like they’re starving, bathe, and crash like lead balloons.” Michael shrugged one shoulder. “After they give me a raft of shit for bringing them in early.”
He’d missed the first two years, but he wouldn’t miss another one, he prayed. He was hoping Michael would do some touring with him, let the girls come too. Simon was already rescheduling his life in his mind. Summer for tours. Maybe like a few big-name acts, where he would play fewer cities, and do two to three nights per venue…
“You got smoke coming out of your ears, honey.” Michael chuckled softly and patted his ass. “I’m going to go finish my chores before we head out. Be back soon.”
“Okay, babe.” He squeezed Michael’s hand, and Gage passed Michael on the porch, nodding.
“Hey, boss. Tuck is in the barn. Liam is on perimeter. Let’s talk the rest of the day.”
“We have to pick up his girls from camp. Then we’re picking up wings and coming back here.”
“Mmm. Wings.” Gage winked. “Okay. In that case, I’ll call in a couple of guys I know from Aspen. Tuck and I will shadow you to camp and back. Liam will camp out here, and we’ll have the local guys on the downlow. The photogs who have been here won’t have seen them and won’t know about them.” Gage pulled out his phone, fingers flying. “What else do I need to know?”
“I want you all to meet the girls tomorrow. They need to know who you are and be comfortable asking you for help if someone bothers them.”
“Absolutely.” Gage met his gaze. “No one will come near them. Kids are off-limits.”
“Good man.” He hoped Gage stayed with him when he went Aspenite.
“So, Michael seems like a solid guy. We’ve got two girls to cover. I’ll cover you, no matter where you travel. Do you have a thought on who ought to be the twins’ primary?”
“Tuck will do well for now. He’s a Texan like their dad.” The local guys could watch the property well. They knew when someone didn’t belong. “But you know your team better than I do. If there’s someone to bring in, that’s fine.”
“Tuck loves kids, and he’s fierce. If they were my kids, I’d choose Tuck.”
“Good deal, then.”
“Okay. I’d like to sit down with you and Michael—he’s not a Mike, right?” At his nod, Gage went on. “And the girls in the a.m. Meet them, talk about the plans for the next few days.”
“Sounds good. Michael appreciates straightforward talk. Mickey is more shy than her sister, Chloe, but is super protective.”
“Got it.” Gage finished taking his notes, then stood. “I’ll finish my walk-through. Holler when you’re ready.”
“Will do.” He needed to talk to his management, start looking for properties, find out what all he needed to do…
“Start making lists, man. I can see the gears turning.” Gage winked, then he was off. He was a good guy.
Right. Make lists. Get the girls. Make a plan.
That’s how this worked.
Chapter 16
“Daddy! Daddy, come see the painting I did!”
“Daddy! I did a sculpture of a chicken for your office!”
“Mr. Simon! Hey! Can you come see too?”
Michael chuckled. His little girls were excited instead of pissed off, and he was tickled pink. He didn’t want to fight with them, but he needed them home. “We’ll see everything. I promise.”
The girls dragged them both to the arts-and-crafts tent to pick up their masterpieces. Oh, wow. That was an amazing chicken. Simon looked…stunned.
Chloe’s painting was of a prickly pear in bloom. He loved it.
“Oh girls. This is amazing! I’m so proud. Did you have fun? Make lots of buddies?”
“I did!” Chloe took Mickey’s hand. “And Mickey met two new girls. Lianne and Jani.”
“Yeah, they’re new. They’re going to be in our grade. They’re nice. They’re stepsisters.” Mickey shot Simon a glance. “They are leaving today like us, except they were supposed to.”
“Did they?” Simon offered him a worried look, but Chloe just muscled over her sister’s words.
“Lianne’s mom married Jani’s mom!”
“Wow!” Simon gave him a happy look. “That’s really cool.”
“It is. They’re coming to our school!” Oh, Mickey was actually bouncing.
“Hey, that’s awesome.” He was freaking ecstatic. Two friends. Sisters. That would be grand.
Chloe had the cutest expression on her face—fond and proud. It was pure Simon. Michael could see it, clear as day. His heart clenched a little at all they suddenly had to learn.
“Daddy?” Mickey said quietly as Chloe led Simon to see something else. “Are you okay? Your mouth has lines. There were people that took our picture. That’s why we’re coming home early, isn’t it? Because Mr. Simon is super famous.”
Shit. “I am totally okay. I just have a lot to tell you guys.” Not about Simon’s involvement in their biology—that news could wait until they were all four ready—but about the upcoming changes in their l
ives, which was kind of about Simon anyway.
“Mmm. I had fun. Thank you for making me come.” She grabbed his hand. “I’m ready to go home, though. Even early.”
He held on tight. “I bet. Haley misses you. I was thinking wings for supper.”
“Yum! We ate a lot of noodles.”
Chloe bounced back over, holding Simon’s hand. “We did. Red ones, and yellow cheese ones, and weird ones with gravy and hamburger meat.”
“Oh.” Ick. “Well, I have so much to tell you. I’ve missed you both so bad.”
“We missed you too, Daddy. And Haley and Mr. Simon!” Chloe let go of Simon and twirled. “I miss my wings too.”
“They’re waiting for you at the house.”
“Did you buy a new truck, Daddy?” Mickey asked, and he shook his head, then nodded.
“Yes and no. I decided to get a car like the rental. We pick it up Monday.”
“Oh, I like that one. Is it going to have the video player?”
“Yep.” It had cost the earth, but the insurance had covered a huge down payment.
“It’s fancy! Cool. What color is it?”
“Red.”
Both girls bounced and danced. “Yay!”
They managed to get all the girls’ artwork and stuff loaded, and then Mickey grabbed his hand and pulled him to one side. “Daddy! Those men are watching us!”
“What? Where?”
“The men in the black Toyota. We need to go, right now.” So smart. So sharp, his baby.
He glanced over, and he saw Gage and, uh… Tuck? So the Liam guy must have stayed at the ranch. “Oh. I need to talk to y’all about that today. That’s Simon’s bodyguards, honey.”
“Oh…” Mickey tilted her head, then marched right over to them and knocked on the door. “I am Michaela Suzanne Johns. Mr. Simon is our friend. Nice to meet you.”
Gage rolled the window down in time to hear most of it. “Gage Destinos. This is Tucker Hanslick. Nice to meet you.” He stuck a hand out to shake.
She took it, shook, and ran back to the car, eyes wide.
“That was brave, Mickey.” Simon hugged her carefully. “Gage and Tuck are great at their jobs.”
“Well, it has to be boring following people.” She patted Simon’s cheeks. “So you’re super famous, huh? I didn’t tell anyone you were here, but one girl I talked to had your picture on her phone, and she was telling me. She’s a little older.”
Chloe watched them both carefully, and Michael let Simon deal with the questions.
“A lot of people know who I am, yeah. Like your friend Quartz. He’s a fan.” Simon smiled gently. “I’ve been really lucky since I’ve been here, but people are starting to figure out where I am. The paparazzi people who take pictures. So I got Gage and Tuck and their friend Liam to come in to keep us all from being bothered.”
“And we have to come home early,” Mickey pointed out.
“You do. Because I get worried.” Michael wasn’t going to lie to his girls.
“Are you and Daddy going to be boyfriends?”
“I hope so.” Simon gave that all the seriousness it deserved. “I really want to be that, so we’re going to work hard on it.”
“Okay. Just be super-duper nice to him. He’s new to dating. And boyfriends.” That was Chloe, who waved at Gage.
He could see Gage wave back, his white grin flashing.
“I will. I promise. I’m actually new to boyfriends too. Like long-term.”
“Me and Mickey can help. We’re smart.”
Michael rolled his eyes. Lord have mercy. “Let’s go get wings, y’all.”
“Wings!” Chloe threw her arms in the air. “Naked ones.”
Mickey gave her a sorrowful look. “Those are chicken strips.”
“They are naked wings, Sister. You’re going to have a ulcin from eating those hot things. A huge ulcin!”
“Girls. Put on a movie. Relax.” An ulcin? For fuck’s sake.
Simon chuckled, the sound warm. “Some people do spicy better than others, Chloe. I like the naked ones too. And the garlic parmesan.”
“I like all of them. Just lean back and breathe. I have y’all.” They were ramped up and stressed-out, and they needed to chill.
“Okay.” Mickey grabbed Chloe’s hand and put her head against the seat. “Oooohm.”
“Right. Ohm. Ohm. OoOOoohm.”
Simon snorted, ever so softly.
“Here’s my phone, honey,” he said, handing it to Simon. “When I say, can you find KC Winghouse and call? I’ll tell you what to order.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks, babe.” He grinned over, feeling like they were doing a couple thing. How freaking cool was that, even with him knowing they had a tail. That the girls had been pulled out of camp early. That their lives were fixin’ to change.
A tail. Listen to him. He sounded like he wasn’t the biggest redneck on earth.
“You okay?” Simon asked, hand on his leg. The girls were still ohming, eyes closed, so he nodded.
“I’m good. Thank goodness Mom taught them to meditate.”
“That is the cutest thing in the history of things.” Simon chuckled. “I love the chicken and the painting, both. They’ll be perfect in your office.”
“They will. That chicken… I will treasure them.” He so would too. He’d been so on edge about Simon finding out about the girls. Michael hadn’t realized what a weight that was until it was gone now, and he knew Simon wouldn’t try to just whisk them away.
Mickey had fallen asleep, and Chloe’s head was bobbing, so he didn’t worry. They were worn-out.
Glenwood was coming into view from afar when he looked at Simon. “Okay. Wings.”
“Got it.” Simon dialed the restaurant. “Hi, I’d like to make a takeout order.”
Michael rattled off the order. Tenders. Fries. Wings with honey mustard, sweet chili, and spicy honey. Onion rings. Pretzel sticks and spicy queso. He needed enough for the guys too. They deserved to eat well, in the house, not sitting in a car and munching pretzels or something. If they were going to be part of their inner circle, Michael was going to treat them right.
They stopped, and he ran in, leaving Simon with the kids, and it was strange, leaving them with someone who wasn’t a stranger but wasn’t their grandmother. He waited for his order, telling himself to chill the fuck out. He took them to camp, didn’t he?
That was before Simon, though. He got tickled trying to come up with an acronym for that. BS was bad, but Simon’s last name was McFee. BM was not very good either…
Pre-Simon. Nope.
Pre-McFee? Jesus, this was hard.
Thank God the food came before he broke his poor little brain.
That smelled so good. The bag of food was huge, and he hauled it out to the car. “Got it. Mind putting it on your lap?”
“Oh, man, that smells amazing.” Simon took the bag, giving him a look. “Let me expense this, okay? I know you got enough for Gage and his guys.”
“We got to feed them, right? I—if you’re sure it’s okay, it’s good with me.” He knew they had to work that stuff out.
“It is.” Simon took the receipt off the bag to put in his wallet. “It’s no problem at all. Hell, my accountant will be glad to have something to do.” Simon grinned.
“We do like to have those receipts. So are these guys on your payroll or the label’s?”
“The guards are on the label right now. The accountants? I have both. I learned early on not to trust the label. They’re not bad people, but their job is to make money for the label. That’s how you sell a million records and end up bankrupt.”
“Jesus. I hear those stories sometimes. It blows my mind. My clients are all cowboys. I know the market and the rhythm, so it makes sense.”
“It does.” Simon sniffed the bag again. “Like Stoney and Ford. They really have a niche up there.”
“It’s a great place. Tons of weddings and team-building, and Gay Ski Week is huge for them.”
>
“That’s awesome.” Simon paused, frowning thoughtfully. “I need to see about doing something for Gay Ski Week.”
“It’s beautiful here, and they do it up huge at the Leanin’ N. It’s one of my favorite parties.” It was his big grown-up party of the year.
“I can’t wait. Maybe I’ll go incognito this first year and just hang out and love on you.”
“Whatever makes you happiest, love. I’ve got your back.”
“I know.” Simon gave him the sweetest look. “I always know that.”
“Already, huh?” That felt pretty damn cool.
“Yep. The things I’ve asked of you aren’t easy. You give a lot, Michael.” Simon gave him a burning glance. “I remember that from before.”
Michael hummed. Man, Simon was hot as fuck.
They headed home, turning into the driveway and crossing the cattle guard. He saw a vehicle parked in back, but he knew that was the Liam guy. It matched the one Gage and Tuck were in.
“I’m assuming they just turn folks away?” He wasn’t really sure how it worked.
“Yep. They tell them to get in touch with my management if they have a legitimate interview request. They also call the cops on guys like the one who was here today.”
“Good deal.” They parked, and he grinned. “Home again, home again. Can you get the food in, and I’ll wake up girls and carry laundry.”
“You got it. Plates and more!” Simon slid out of the SUV, heading inside, Gage slipping in front of him like a ghost, clearly checking for danger.
“Come on, y’all. We’re home, and it’s time to eat and bathe because whoa.”
“Daddy!” They said it together, their long-suffering voices making him laugh. Haley was barking inside; she knew the girls were back.
“Y’all get on. Haley’s losing her mind.” He started hauling in crap as the girls fell on Haley, adoring her little beagle body.
“You might as well come on,” he told Tuck, who was lurking. “I got you food.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, sir. Ain’t no one going hungry under my roof.”
“Thanks! I’ll call in Liam. We can eat in the other room if you want, but we weren’t fully prepared today.” Tuck chuckled. “Y’all are busy.”
