by BA Tortuga
“Everyone has to learn. I was terrible all through school. I finally found someone who understood why I was having trouble with the chords, and I got better.” He’d played with her already. She was good for eight. She had will and hunger—that was what she needed.
“I just… You mean it?”
“I do. And I know some folks who play mandolin. You might not get as regular lessons there, but I bet we can do Zoom or Skype or something.” He held out a hand. “Deal?”
“I guess, yeah. I’m so mad at her. Why does she have to go? Everyone gets a mom but me and Chloe, and now I lose my teacher because she wants to be with her stupid baby.”
He didn’t dare point out how that baby was getting a mom too, but his brain went there. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I know it sucks to lose someone you care about.” He winced mentally. Not great.
“Yeah. I know, I’m being selfish, and I should be happy for her. I’m not a very nice girl sometimes. Thank you very much for offering the lessons. Do I have to have lunch, or can I stay in my room?”
“I bet your dad would rather you ate, but then again, subs can go in the fridge.” He glanced around before whispering, “I can be kind of a butthead, so I’ll run interference.”
“Thanks. I’m just really sad, and I need to cry.”
“Okay, kiddo. Holler if you need us.” He left her, knowing she needed her alone time.
“I will.” She didn’t slam the door. She simply closed it. He’d bet there was a rule there.
Simon made his way back to the kitchen. “What kind did I get?”
“Turkey, bacon, cheddar, avocado.”
His cowboy’s idea of diet food was hilarious. The turkey and avocado was good, though. He would share the cheese and bacon with Haley.
“Where’s Mickey?” Chloe asked.
“She isn’t hungry.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “You mean she’s pouting.”
“She said she wanted to be alone so she could cry.” Simon kept his voice neutral like his mom always had with him and Stevie. No fuel to either fire.
“Oh…” Chloe teared up. “Daddy, I have to go. I’ll bring her back.”
“Only if she wants to come, baby girl. You both need to eat sometime soon, okay?”
“I promise. I love you. I’ll fix it.”
“I love you too, honey.”
Michael watched her run off, shaking his head. He wrapped up her sandwich and put it with Mickey’s in the fridge.
“Did I overstep?” Simon asked.
“No. No, Mickey needs to pout, and Chloe needs to love on her. Mickey gets frustrated at the world sometimes, and she doesn’t like it when I point out life isn’t fair.”
Simon sighed. “She said she was selfish, but the fact that she knows that means she’s not, really. She’s easily bruised. Stevie is that way.”
Michael waved the guys in. “And she hates change. Hates it. Vera has been teaching her since kindergarten.”
“Oh, man.” And he was about to ask her to change everything.
“Hey. Smells good.” Gage grabbed drinks.
“There’s cheesesteaks and Italians, and a couple of turkey BLT.”
“Y’all rock,” Tuck said.
Mickey and Chloe came in, Mickey a little subdued, but she pushed up into his lap and hugged him, shocking him.
He kissed the top of her head, hugging her right back.
Michael got the girls’ subs back out, laying them out without a word. He did stroke both girls’ hair.
Chloe went to Tuck and hugged him, then sat next to him. “Did Daddy tell you we got cookies too?”
“Nope. What kind did we get?”
“Mickey’s favorite! White chocolate macamadamia.”
“Oh, man, I love those.” Tuck gave Mickey a thumbs up. “Good choice, ma’am.”
“Thank you. There’s enough for everybody.” Mickey grinned at Tuck. “Even you, Sir Tuck!”
Tuck bowed. “And I get a cheesesteak. I am living in high cotton.”
They all dug in, and then his phone began to ring, a local number popping up.
“Be right back.” He ducked out, answering once he was on the porch. “Hello?”
“Mr. McPhee? This is Bryan Arco. Ford Nixel gave me your number.”
“Yes, nice to hear from you. I appreciate the call.”
“Anytime. I’m ready to help. I’ve emailed about ten listings—I ranged the prices wildly so you can see your options on that front. Once you look at those, we can get to work finding the right place.”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll look tonight and call you back, say 10:00 a.m. tomorrow?” He liked to set a time.
“Absolutely. If you find one you need to see, email me back and we’ll set up a viewing.”
“Thank you, Bryan. I imagine Ford told you I wanted to keep this under the hat for now. As much as possible.”
“Absolutely. I’m completely confidential about my clientele.”
“Thanks.” He drew a deep breath. “This is a huge thing.”
“Yes, sir, but Aspen is welcoming and a great place to live. You’ll find it to be amazing.”
“I’ve been really enjoying my time all over the Roaring Fork. Okay, I need to go finish lunch with the kids. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”
“Yes, sir!”
Everyone was done eating by the time he came back in, Michael holding Chloe on his shoulders so she could change out a lightbulb.
“Sorry. Business called.” He winked. Gage and Liam had disappeared like smoke, but Tuck was there eating a cookie, so he could sit and finish up and not feel alone.
Mickey brought him a cookie. “This one’s for you. What are you doing this afternoon?”
“I am now free all afternoon. Do we have a plan?” He hoped the kids wanted to hang, but they might be hoping he would go away for a while. “Thank you.” He took the cookie and had a bite.
“You want to watch a movie? Daddy says we can have a Jumanji double-feature, make popcorn and have a Coke and everything.”
“Oh, man, I would love that. I haven’t seen the second one at all.” He’d been to the premiere of the first one. He wouldn’t name drop unless prompted, though.
“Cool! Daddy says the movie starts at two o’clock sharp!”
“I’m in!” He hugged her when she grabbed him around the waist again. If this was like a honeymoon phase, he hoped it didn’t end for, oh, years.
Maybe ten years. That would be nice.
“Chloe, Mr. Simon says yes!”
“Yay! Come on, let’s go play. We have an hour.”
“Do I get to play too?” Tuck asked, brushing crumbs into a napkin.
“Uh-huh. You all can have movie afternoon too,” Chloe offered.
“Oh, man, that would be really nice. I think Liam needs to go into town, though, so Gage and I will be working.” He opened his arms, and Chloe gave him a hug. They were besties already. “But thank you for the offer.”
“Well, we’ll have a special bodyguard-only movie night, and Daddy can watch for rude dudes.”
“I like it! I know all the words to Frozen, Moana, Brave, and Beauty and the Beast.”
Tuck was magical.
“We do too! Mickey! Tuck knows all our movies!”
“Of course he does, silly. He has eight nieces.”
Chloe gasped. “How did you know that and not me?” She chased Mickey, who fled, giggling madly.
“Really? Eight nieces?” Michael asked.
Tuck snorted. “And two nephews. My three sibs are busy beans.”
“Impressive. I’m an only.”
Tuck grinned and nodded. “You have two great girls.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Hey, if Liam is just going to town to get groceries, I can order delivery.”
Tuck clapped Michael on the shoulder. “That’s super decent, but he needs to do a little reconnaissance on a reporter we hear is in town, talk to another local guy who does security, and pick up a few things that came in by cou
rier.”
Simon grinned. “A bodyguard’s work is never done.”
“Can y’all get some Sprites for me? A couple two liters? I like to have them for the girls.”
“You got it.” Tuck held up his phone. “Anything else, just text.”
“Cool. Tell Liam thank you for me.” Michael was answering texts while he put a pot roast in the slow cooker. Always moving. Always.
Simon watched him for a minute. He heard Tuck making the girls laugh, because he really had gone to play with them and Haley for a few before going back to work. Gage was on the phone out on the porch. Simon grabbed his laptop. He had an hour or so to answer emails.
God, he loved his new normal, but what if Michael hated it?
He felt a soft kiss brushing the back of his neck, then Michael was off and moving again.
He grinned. Okay, so maybe Michael liked having him around.
Curious, he opened the Realtor’s email first. The man was efficient. There were a dozen properties ranging from one not far from where they were now with more bedrooms and baths, with a price range less than five hundred K, to a sprawling ranch with six hundred acres and a luxury mansion for a cool twenty-five mil.
In the middle, though, was where he was looking. He didn’t want Michael uncomfortable, but he needed a studio. He needed enough rooms for all of them, bodyguards, visiting musicians. So…six bedrooms, maybe seven. Studio space. Media space preferably in the basement. Room for the horses and dogs and livestock…
His eyes widened. Sixty-five acres. Six bedrooms, three of them master suites. Two family rooms. Two barns…
The garage was finished, ready to be made into anything they wanted.
He clicked the links and scrolled. A little ’90’s Italianate inside, but so, so doable. He hit reply and let Bryan know he wanted a showing. ASAP.
It didn’t take five minutes before he got an email back.
Does tomorrow morning work for you?
Let me check.
He needed to ask Michael if there was anything going on and text Minnie to make sure he didn’t have anything on Zoom. He wouldn’t ever buy anything without Michael seeing it, but he could rule it in or out first. Real estate pics lied sometimes. “Babe?”
“Yeah, honey.” Michael came into the living room. “What’s up?”
“Two things. My manager is flying in tomorrow for a face-to-face. Nothing urgent as far as needing my time, but I made some specific changes to my schedule, and she wants to iron things out.” He held out a hand.
“I can’t wait to meet her.” Michael came to sit next to him, glancing at his laptop screen. “Oh, look at that place. I think I know where that is. It’s been on the market a couple of years.”
“Would you like to go look at it with me?” He held his breath.
“Like…for you to move into?”
He met Michael’s worried gaze. “Well, in the long run, I want us all to move in together someplace like there. This is in the same school district but is closer to Snowmass.”
“Love…” Michael took his hand. “You realize I can’t contribute monetarily like you can, right? I mean, I know you do, but… I need you to believe that. I’m never going to be able to match you, dollar for dollar.”
Simon didn’t try to brush that off. Michael needed to know he was giving this the thought it deserved. “I know. I do. It doesn’t matter to me, because you’re so much more than that. You’re a dad, my lover, the one who runs everything. I was just watching you today, and you’re never still. I know this might seem excessive, but it gives us the room to be safe, the ability for both of us to do our jobs from home, and a compromise on how much change the girls will have to deal with.” He took a deep breath, feeling light-headed.
Michael blinked at him, then about the time he started to panic, grabbed him up in a hard hug. “I love you. I swear, I will do right by you, honey. I swear on all I hold holy.”
“I know you will.” He kissed Michael’s neck. Relief made him a little weak, but this could work. He knew it. The house was at a price point where he wouldn’t have to sell his place in LA until later on, and he could just pay cash. The girls might freak a little, but Michael had said most of their friends were not exactly close and they had to make dates to see them…
“What about this place? I can put it on the market for a down payment…”
“Or you could keep it. We could let the security staff stay here on their days off. That way, we can write off the house payment and taxes, you don’t have to rent it, and it’s an investment for the girls.”
“You do know how to push all an accountant’s buttons, don’t you?”
“Wait until I start talking dividends and college funds…” He had a feeling Michael would put aside any royalties he made, still, for the girls to go to college. Michael would want to pay for that.
“I… Yes. Yes, I want to go. Can we talk to the girls first? Tell them our plans? I am always honest with them, you know?”
“I can see that.” He nodded. “I’ll set the showing up. If it’s been on the market, I hate to rush, but I think we can really wheel and deal.”
“Let me grab the fiends so we can talk to them. Tell them that we’re an ‘us,’ and that we are talking about finding a new house, together.” Michael stood, blinking down at him. “I like the words us and together.”
He used their still linked hands to pull Michael to him when he stood. “Me too. They won’t hate me, right?”
“No. They love being part of a larger thing. They don’t understand being alone. We’re a larger thing.”
“Daddy?” The girls stood there, staring. So sensitive. So focused on their father.
“Can we have a family meeting?”
God, Simon was about to have his first family meeting. With his new family. To talk about buying a house. He was going to barf.
Chapter 18
Jesus, the house was huge, and Michael thought for sure he was going to puke as they pulled up.
The barns looked amazing, though, and he had already planned a thousand things he could do with that sort of land.
“Wow. Are we going to go inside, Mr. Simon?” Chloe asked.
“We are. Bryan is about five minutes away.” Simon was pacing the length of the porch, looking at everything. His manager had been delayed and would meet them for lunch later.
Michael was a little glad she wasn’t here for this.
The girls had been amazing—there had been some hard questions about whether they were getting married, whether they were going to keep Tuck forever, whether they had to call Simon “Dad,” but it had basically gone well, and the movie double feature had been a perfect ending.
Now the girls were kinda bouncing, and he hoped the Realtor showed up soon or they might start breaking windows.
The sleek SUV pulled up a few minutes later. A youngish man in jeans and a button-down and cowboy boots stepped out. “Hi! Sorry about that. I had to stop by the caretaker’s and grab the keys. I’m Bryan Arco.”
“Simon McFee.” Simon shook hands. “This is Michael Johns and his girls, Chloe and Mickey.”
“Pleased to meet you all. Are you hands-off or do you want me to show you around first?”
Michael liked that the kid asked. That was good. “Can we please just go explore?”
“Absolutely. I’ll give you the pertinent details once you’ve had a long look around.” Bryan let them in. “I’ll have a sit in the kitchen.”
The house was big, but not fancy—it was decorated like twenty-five years ago with heavy pine everywhere, tiled floors, and huge windows. The wallpaper was, like, scrolly gold and green at the border, which had been classy back then, but honestly, it had held up well. Painting could be a gradual thing.
“I like the kitchen.” Simon turned in a full circle.
So did Michael. It had a through bar for breakfast, a pantry closet, and tons of cabinets, but it wasn’t so big you couldn’t be together. “I love the six-burner stove and the isl
and. So there’s a formal dining room and rooms for us to have offices too?”
He blinked as they moved through the house, and Mickey came up. “Daddy. Daddy, they have a room big enough for me and Chloe to share, and we’d have our own music room!”
He took her hand. “It’s kinda neat, huh? What’s your favorite part?”
“All the wood. I like the beams.”
“I like the stairs!” Chloe peered down at them. “There’s a loft dealy, Daddy, with bookshelves! Come up and see!”
“Be careful. I’m going to look down here, and then I’ll be up.” Crazy girl.
“I’ll hold on to the rail.” That was a good girl. Sometimes her feet moved faster than her brain. The bedrooms were a nice size, and there were bathrooms enough for them to have a huge slumber party.
The upstairs would work for offices and studio, and the basement was huge, amazing.
“I want to make this a media room for our movie nights.” Simon took his hand. “Don’t you like the sound of that? Those chairs with the arms, but the arms that fold up so it can be a couch too. For snuggling.”
He squeezed Simon’s fingers. “I’d love that. It’s a great space, and you could watch something down here and never bother anyone else.”
“Daddy, this house would fit us. Us and our friends. Tuck too.”
The girls were determined to keep Tuck. Twenty-four seven. He was a little shocked at how enthused Mickey was; he’d expected Chloe to be tickled when he’d scrolled through the pics. The extra family room with the wet bar would have been enough for her.
They headed up the stairs, and he smiled at Simon. “I have to see the barns.”
He was curious to see inside, to see what options they had there.
“Of course. I want to have a look at the garage too. And I think I’d want to build a studio, maybe. That way the basement can all be family space.”
“Oh, that would work. Girls, come with me.”
“Can we go sit with Tuck in his car?”
He looked to Simon.
“If you’re okay with it. Tuck is happy to have them.” Simon blew a kiss at the girls.
