This Old Wind (Leanin' N Book 5)
Page 20
“Okay. I’m heading to the barn. Y’all stay with Tuck, understand?” He went for firm.
“Promise, Daddy,” they said, and headed for Tuck, who scooped them into the nondescript car.
“They sure have taken to Tuck, honey. I asked if he wanted them to back off, and he said no.”
“He really does have that many nieces and nephews,” Simon said. “I think he misses them. Gage said that was why he chose Tuck for this assignment. The kids all love him in a non-creepy way.” Simon took his hand, and they strolled first to the garage, which would hold eight vehicles and had an apartment above, and then the barn.
The first barn had a hayloft and twelve stalls, a tack room, and a lovely watering system. It was amazing, but the second barn? It had storage below, but the second story was an office. A wonderful, private, finished office.
“Oh…”
“Uh-huh. I see the stars in your eyes, honey. Privacy.”
“It’s…” It was like a dream. A window. A door. Space for a filing cabinet and his work supplies, his books.
“Yeah. I can see you liking it here.” Simon rubbed a hand up and down his back. “What do you think? I think the only thing that would have to change right off would be the paint in the girls’ room. The rest of the house is sort of spaghetti Western, but I don’t mind that at all.”
“I… Are we allowed to do this? Fall in love, buy the first house we see, live happily ever after? Is that a thing?”
God, he wanted it to be a thing.
“Hell, yes. We had to wait half a life for each other, and you had girls to raise and your first love to mourn.” Whether it was because Simon wrote songs or he was just a good guy, he got it.
Michael knew it deep down.
He closed his eyes and inhaled, giving himself over to his fate. Somewhere Rhi was laughing her ass off, so tickled for them. “I like this house, Simon. I like it a lot.”
“Me too, baby. I really do.” Simon’s smile was wide and bright and so real.
Even the girls liked it.
It was meant to be.
Chapter 19
“Are you crazy, Simon? Have you lost your mind?” Beth paced, waving her hands, her expression the definition of incredulity. “You’re not an impulsive man. I have seen you take months to choose one song. Now you want to buy a house and move to…to the back of beyond.”
“It’s Aspen, Beth, and keep your voice down. I have a… This is going to be my family.” Simon was utterly shocked at Beth. He’d expected happiness, excitement, not this.
“Yes. Your family. You are aware that your new man is a father, right? School-aged children can be bullied, kidnapped, attacked. They ask questions.”
“Of course they do. It’s not like I’m in the closet.” The whole rock and roll world counted on him being bisexual. It was part of his thing.
Beth sighed and shook her head. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but you have your house in LA. You’re not selling, are you? You need a backup plan. You aren’t a family man, for fuck’s sake.”
Michael tapped on the doorframe. “I’m taking the girls out for the afternoon. Maybe supper. Holler if you need anything. I got my phone.”
He gave Michael an apologetic look. “Sure, babe. I’ll text you and see where you are about suppertime.”
“Totally. I’ll either meet you or bring supper home for us.” Michael waved at Beth, the motion awkward and false. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” He waited until he heard the front door close before he turned on Beth. “I swear to God, if those girls heard you—”
“Heard what? That I’m worried about you? You come to your sister’s wedding and end up with the wedding singer? Seriously?”
“Beth!” He stared at her, just shocked to his core. “I’ve known Michael since before my first single hit.”
She stopped short. “You what?”
“You heard me. I’ve known him for years.” Not exactly the truth, but not absolutely a lie. He’d been in love with the idea of Michael for a long time.
“I…you never said.”
“He was married. I adored her too. She passed away.” He sighed. “I put in an offer on a house, Beth. This is not a joke or a lark.”
“Do you think you can be happy here, buddy? Seriously? This is…not your usual.” Finally, she seemed to be starting to listen. Maybe he’d shocked her into thinking instead of reacting.
“I have been so damn relaxed here. I can breathe. I love it.” He knew it wasn’t for everyone, but there was a reason so many people in entertainment lived in or had houses here. “I love the girls. I love Michael.”
“You’ll have to come back with me, make some plans. You have to get movers for the LA house, talk to the label, plan your touring schedule, all of that.”
“I can do a lot of that from here. And God knows Minnie is inhumanly efficient” Telework was a thing.
“Better to go and get it done in person, Simon.”
“I have to be back soon, fair? To close on the house.”
She shook her head but smiled. “It’ll be soon. We’ll go, arrange a mover, have meetings, send you home. Easy-peasy.”
“Okay. Okay, sure.” He chewed his lip. “But you should stay a few days, see Aspen.” She’d flown into Grand Junction and driven over, and he had a feeling that was a mistake as far as she was concerned. There just wasn’t a lot out there, for all that he thought De Beque Canyon was a lovely drive.
“Oh, I will. I want to see your house too, meet the girls and Michael. I mean, if he’s long-term, I am too.”
“I know.” He raised his eyebrows, feeling acid heartburn start. “Is this a weird jealousy thing, Beth?”
“No. It’s a ‘I’ve never seen you do something like this’ thing. Maybe a little of a ‘change is hard’ thing.”
Sympathy flooded him. “I know. I’m just so excited. I’m really happy, like in my bones, and looking forward to tomorrow for the first time in years.”
“Then I’m excited too. I can’t wait to hear about the last six weeks. You’re writing; you look great. You do know it snows here, right?”
He glared, and she cracked up.
“Okay, okay. But it’s a lot of snow.” She waved a hand. “Not so much of that back where we are.”
“I wasn’t born and raised in LA, you know.”
“Aren’t you from Nashville?” She sighed dramatically at him. “Come on. Let’s make a wonderful plan. Let’s do this right, if we’re going to do it.”
“Okay. I’ll call Minnie. But we need to take Michael and the girls to supper to make up for it. Someplace comfortable, not fancyass.” He would hold her to it too. The girls weren’t dressed for fancy, and this was stressful. “Tuck will have to come too. They’ve adopted him.”
“Then you should invite Gage. You pick somewhere they’d love.”
“Okay.” He would text Michael. “Thanks, Beth. I know this is a surprise, but I need you to know it’s a good thing. It is.”
“My job is to make sure it is, right?” She hugged him tight. “After I have a panic attack, of course.”
Some things never changed.
He chuckled, and he grabbed them both a cup of coffee. She was probably going into Starbucks withdrawal. Then he would find out where to call to get a reservation for supper. Maybe that White House Pizza the bodyguards liked so much.
It was in an old white clapboard house. Beth would die.
“So, the country songs are getting a great reception. It feels good to stretch those muscles, huh?”
“It does. Is Cole gonna cut that song he bought?”
She grinned and rubbed her hands a la Scrooge McDuck. “He’s making room for it on his spring album release. Says it’s going to be his lead single.”
“Cha-ching.” It would be a hit for Cole. Simon was certain.
“Yeah. He’s going to ask for you two to do an acoustic version for his YouTube channel. I told him to email the details.”
His hear
tbeat kicked into high gear. That was huge. Would Michael do it? If not, he understood, but it was a fantastic idea. “That’s amazing. He’s a good guy.”
“He’s got a great voice, and he’s on his way up, for sure.”
“Yeah.” Simon snorted. Was Beth implying he was on his way down? Maybe he was reading too much into her unhappy expression. She was trying to mask it, but it kept popping up. “What’s wrong, lady?”
“Are you bored? I mean, all this—writing country music, moving to the mountains, having a family. You’ve never wanted it before. Have I done something wrong? Have I not been listening right?”
“You’ve been the best manager I could ask for.” He took her hand. “I’m the one who hasn’t been talking. I’ve been exhausted and feeling out of control and out of energy, hon. I got to Stevie’s wedding, which let me tell you about that at supper, and I slowed down for a few minutes, and I realized I was on the verge of something big one way or the other. A major change.”
“Yeah? You can always come to me, Simon. You know that. I’m here for you. For you, all the way. I have been for a long time.” She squeezed his hand, probably for emphasis.
“I didn’t know what to tell you.” He chuckled at himself. “I didn’t have words for it, and I was terrified of disappointing anyone. It was my mom, actually, who kinda smacked me.”
“She’s amazing. She’s absolutely my hero.” Beth took a deep breath. “You want to take me out to look at the house before I get to meet your family and get to know them?”
“Yeah. Sounds good. I can show you where I want my studio.” He texted Michael.
<530> That way he had time to really show Beth around a little. Gage could drive so he could point out some stuff.
The immediate answer made him beam. The “love” made him happy.
“You really do have it bad for him,” she said with a tiny smile.
“I do. And the girls.”
“Tell me about them? Can we stop somewhere so I can grab them a ‘nice to meet you’ gift?” She was all about the little things, the niceties.
“You bet. There are a ton of shops in Snowmass and Basalt both.” He texted Gage to come get them. “Chloe is fearless and all butterflies and unicorns and glam. Mickey is serious and studious and more horses and goats like her dad.” He grinned. “Oh, and robots, and they both love music.”
“Wow. Good deal. Was their mom musical?”
“Yeah. She and Michael played the folk festivals and bluegrass circuit. She was a beautiful wild child.” He felt a terrible pang for all Rhi had lost, not seeing her girls grow up.
“I’m sorry that she died. How long?”
“She died when the girls were brand-new.”
Beth gasped, looking horrified. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Michael is amazing, and his mom is a force of nature, but poor Rhi never got to know them.”
Beth fingered the necklace she wore that had her two kids’ birthstones in it. “I can’t imagine. Okay, I want them to like me. I can be Auntie Beth, right?”
Oh, she was a hoot. And she was coming around.
“You can. You’ll be bringing gifts and buying pizza.”
Gage stuck his head in the door. “Ready when you are, boss.”
“Let’s go. I want to share my new world with you, lady. My new world.”
“Let’s do it.”
Simon thought she looked happier. More at ease with the situation. He guessed they’d see.
If he was lucky, the girls wouldn’t eat Beth alive.
So much for come to LA and spend a day or two getting the details ironed out, then going home.
Three days into his trip to LA, Simon sat at the label offices and stared at an executive, someone he’d never really dealt with before, in his shiny suit and wingtip shoes. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”
“Well, you have a contract, Simon. One that needs to be fulfilled.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m well aware of that, Dave. I am fulfilling it. I owe you two more albums, and I have one almost written.”
“I’m sure you do.” Dave-dude raised an eyebrow.
“However, that doesn’t give you the right to try to dictate where I live or what I do with the tour. The contract leaves that to my discretion as long as I do a tour to support the album.”
“Exactly. We expect reasonable support of the albums, and you’ve been headlining arenas.”
“And there are a ton of artists who have proven that smaller stadiums and arenas in mid-size cities for multiple nights still gets you entertainer of the year,” he pointed out. “I have other people who also depend on me now.” Simon glanced at Beth, waiting for her to back him up.
“He is planning a tour,” she said, placating a little, but her voice was firm.
“But we have no precedent in Simon’s genre or age bracket for the relative success of such a tour. Surely you understand.” God, that man had a slimy way about him.
“What is it you want?” Beth finally asked flatly. They’d been in the meeting an hour and were going in circles.
“We want what we expected when we signed Simon to the label.”
Simon slapped his hand on the table. “You expected me to be twenty forever?” He wasn’t, and he wasn’t gonna act like it. “Luckily for me, I hired a good contract lawyer even when I was that age. I decide how long the tour is, and how many dates.”
“Now, Simon,” Dave held up both hands. “We just want—”
“No.” He looked at Beth, who nodded to let him know he could run the show. “We’ll write up a proposal outlining where we think we would do the best sales based on market research. I’ll also work out a schedule based on the kids’ school dates that I think I can stick to. I want the next meeting to be with Sarah Carmichael. I’ve always worked with her before, and I don’t like you.” If the label thought he was still going to roll with what they wanted, they were sadly mistaken.
Dave’s face tightened with his surprise and displeasure. “Fine. Call Sarah. I’ll let marketing know to expect your proposal in…?”
“A day or two.”
Beth quacked like a duck, and he glared at her.
“A day. Or two,” she agreed.
“Good.” Dave stood, waiting for them to do the same. When they walked out, they could hear him on the phone, already yelling, “You will not believe what he did.”
They got out to the car, and Beth stopped him, hands on her hips. “A day? Simon—”
“I told Michael I would be back.” He got in the car, his jaw hurting.
She leaned down to talk to him through the window. “I’ll get on it as soon as I get back to the office. Can you get Minnie to help with some of the target cities and such?”
“I can.” He softened his face into a smile. “Thanks, Beth.”
“I’ll take it out of your hide.” She winked, then stepped back to close his door.
“Back to the house, Mr. McFee?” the driver asked.
“Yeah, I need to check on the painting.” His stuff was all out and in a pod, but his Realtor, Brenda, wanted all this work done. Simon reached for his phone to call Minnie, and it rang, making him jump.
Speak of the devil. “Hey, Brenda.”
“Darling!” She was so 1980s LA it hurt. “Are you on your way to the house?”
“I am.”
“We must redo the foyer color.”
“It’s beige. You said beige.” If he rolled his eyes any harder, he would strain something.
“I said off-white. Ecru. This is positively mushroom. Cremini. It will never do.”
“It’s a neutral, Brenda.”
“Mmm. It’s not only that. It’s the central air.”
“What?” What the hell?
“It’s going to need work. It’s old, and this house needs to be freezing.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “I never had any problem
s.”
“Most of your market for this house will be real housewifeys. Have you heard of menopause?”
He actually growled. “How long will this take?”
“A few days. Maybe a week.”
“Get someone out there to look at it today. I’ll see you soon.”
“Mwah.”
She hung up on him, and he groaned, smacking his phone against his forehead. Okay, he needed to call Minnie. Call Beth back and make sure she set the meet with Sarah now, as she was always busy. And he needed to get someone on getting a quote for a new cooler.
His phone chimed, and he saw Stevie’s name pop up on a text.
He would. He would hang in there by the skin of his teeth and the nails of his pinky toes.
First, though, he called Michael.
“Hey, you.”
His very own cowboy calmed him right down. “Hey, babe. So, it looks like it’s going to take me longer than a day or two to get back…”
Michael groaned, but it was a laughing kind of sound. “Okay, tell me all about it.”
Oh, he so would. “You should hear what this asshole at the label said to me.”
Chapter 20
Michael watched the girls ride off with Quartz, Stoney, and Tanner, and then he turned to Ford. “I’m ready to get to work, man.”
Ford needed to talk about the summer numbers and the plans for the holiday season. He needed to get the hell out of Dodge.
He really wasn’t, but…hell, Simon had left for LA, and the world was less bright now. It had been three weeks, and Michael missed Simon like a lost tooth.
Somehow the “I’ll only be gone a few days” hadn’t happened, with Simon in meeting after meeting and trying to clean out the house.
Ford studied him a moment. “You look tired.”
“Do I?” He shrugged. “It’s been a long few days.”
Ford led him to the office, waving him to a chair. Geoff had already plied him with coffee and cookies. “Yeah? What’s up?”