This Old Wind (Leanin' N Book 5)

by BA Tortuga

  “We are, and the girls would hate that. Please, come in and come to the table. Y’all are welcome.” Surely Simon didn’t just ignore them, right?

  Tuck keyed something on his phone, and a minute later, Liam jogged into view. “What’s up?”

  “They’re feeding us, man.”

  “Cool.” Liam flashed a bright grin, and the two men followed Michael inside after offering to carry shit.

  The girls were jabbering away at Simon and Gage, putting out food. “Come on, Daddy! We’re starving.”

  “Do they do that twin thing a lot?” Tuck asked, and Michael nodded.

  “You know it.”

  “I have a brother and sister who are twins. I always felt like the one speaking a different language.” Tuck dropped a bag on the washer where he indicated.

  Dinner was laid out, along with paper plates and drinks. Michael was pleased to see Simon had planned for the guys to eat with them, with plenty of iced glasses and forks to go around.

  Chloe and Mickey went around and introduced themselves to the others, and he was so proud of them, for being able to adjust, adapt to new situations.

  “So, you’re famous.” Chloe stared at Simon. “I saw some videos. You wear very tight pants. Can you breathe?”

  Simon barked out a laugh. “I can, actually. I have to in order to sing, but it takes a lot of baby powder to get them on and off.”

  “Huh. Can you teach me how to put on makeup?”

  “Chloe. You’re not old en—”

  “Not now, Daddy. When I’m twelve.”

  “You bet, kiddo. I can teach you all I know.” Simon winked at Michael. “When your dad says.”

  Mickey fastened her gaze on Gage. “Do you have a gun? Daddy has a rifle.”

  Twin one—makeup and leather pants. Twin two—firearms.

  Gage looked at him, and he shrugged.

  “I don’t lie to them.”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’re armed. If your dad has guns, I bet you know about safety a little, right?”

  “Yes, sir. There is no such thing as an unloaded gun. Firearms are not toys. You never pull it out unless you intend to use it. Period.”

  “That’s it. We try hard not to use force if we don’t have to, but if we ever tell you we need you to go inside, or get down…” Gage waited, his expression serious.

  “We get down,” the girls chanted.

  “Good deal.”

  “You ladies rock,” Simon said. “I’m grateful you’re so willing to help.”

  Chloe grinned. “My friend, Lindsay? She has a bodyguard. Her daddy is a movie actor. He’s very cool—the bodyguard, not the actor. I haven’t met him. She has a nanny that does everything.”

  “Daddy already knows how to do everything, and we’re almost grown, Sister.” Mickey looked at Michael, wide-eyed. “We aren’t getting a nanny, right?”

  “Right. You don’t need a nanny. You need a zookeeper.”

  Mickey snorted, but Chloe giggled madly. “If I hafta have my own bodyguard, can I have a girl? Like Wonder Woman?”

  “Wonder Woman?”

  Chloe just beamed. “Uh-huh. She rocks.”

  “Hmm.” Gage stroked his chin. “She’s okay. But you know who my favorite female superhero is? Storm, from the X-Men.”

  “Oh… She’s pretty.” Mickey’s eyes lit up. “I like her a lot. And Loki.”

  “Loki’s a bad guy, Mickey.” Chloe could sound so affronted.

  “I know.”

  “He’s wicked smart.” Gage leaned over, totally engaged.

  Superhero talk started, and Michael checked right out, looking at Simon, who shrugged.

  “I’m woefully uninformed,” Simon said.

  “You and me both, but my girls? Movie buffs.”

  “So are the guys. All of them. I think they watch movies together in their off-time. So does Minnie.”

  Mickey peered over her shoulder. “Minnie?”

  “She’s my assistant. She’s very cool. Incredibly hip.” Simon tried a honey mustard wing. “Yum!”

  “Right? Those are the best.” This was the best—him and his girls and his lover, all at the same table.

  “They’re amazing.” Simon gave him this look, wildly intimate and happy, and he had a feeling Simon was thinking the same thing he was.

  God, he hoped it lasted.

  Chapter 17

  “No, I can’t make it back until next week at the earliest.” Simon had made a shitton of calls, and had a dozen meetings set up for the next week in LA, but this week was for real estate and getting into the rhythm of Michael’s life and letting the girls know what was going on.

  Maybe he was rushing things, but Simon was never one to dither once he made a decision.

  “Simon, this is all super-fast,” his manager said. She was understandably concerned. “Can I fly into Aspen so I can see you face-to-face? I know Minnie is there, but I need to be in on things.”

  “Sure.” That he could swing. Not that he would be swayed. A year to produce the next album. Small city focused tours in the summer only.

  Beth sighed. “Thank you. Whatever you need, we’ll do. I just need to know what our stance is before we wade in. Fair?”

  “Fair. We’ll sit down and hammer it out and put it in writing if we need to.” He had it all mapped out. He’d need to talk to Michael before any paperwork was filed, but that was it. Minnie was ready to draft letters and contract amendments.

  “All right. I’ll get a flight in tomorrow. Do I need a vehicle?”

  “Yeah. I still need to buy Michael a truck…” They’d picked the new SUV up Monday. The girls had named it Veronica.

  “Got it. How are the guys working out?”

  “Good. No more incidents, and I know Gage hired a few local guys to be invisible. It’s going great.” Gage had learned that Mickey knew how to play Go, and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Chloe and Tuck had bonded over the animals. Minnie was going to take the girls shopping and arrange a fashion show for him and Michael. Michael was finding a rhythm with all of it, he thought. His cowboy didn’t say a lot about it—he just worked and fed and cooked and loved him into a puddle.

  That was—well, Simon fell deeper in love every day. Oh, he needed to call his mom.

  “I liked the stuff you sent, by the way. So did Cole Lyons. Frank says he wants to cut it, so we’ll have a deal for you to look at too.”

  “Excellent.” Would Michael be excited? That might just put the girls through college if it went big. “Michael’s brilliant. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

  “I’m looking forward to it. I want to see this guy you’re rearranging your life for.”

  Simon laughed. “It’s not a hardship, Beth. I was going through the motions. I’ve written eighteen songs in what, two weeks? I feel amazing.”

  “A single dad with two kids, though? That’s big.”

  “Is it?” He pondered that. “It doesn’t seem like it, but I know it will take some dancing.” In the press, anyway.

  “Well, I’ll send you my itinerary. See you tomorrow. Call your mother.” She was a little witchy, his manager.

  “She’s next.” He checked his time on the kitchen clock. He’d set up a little office there. Haley was keeping him company, snoring away on her bed.

  Chloe and Mickey were at music lessons—piano and vocal for Chloe, mandolin and guitar for Mickey—and Michael had promised to bring home subs for lunch.

  He signed off with Beth and took a deep breath. Mom. Okay. He hit her number in his favorites.

  “Hey, baby.” Oh, she sounded happy. “How’s things?”

  “Good. How are you?” He liked when he could hear her smile.

  “I’m great. I’ve been painting the guest room. It looks amazing.”

  “Yeah? What color?” She redid stuff a lot.

  “A nice rosy peach. It’s charming. Where are you? Back in LA?”

  “Nope. Carbondale.” He waited, because she was good at two and two.

&
nbsp; “You’re at Michael’s? With the twins?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned, knowing he was baiting her, so he relented. “I want to stay on full-time.”

  “You do? In Colorado?” She sounded stunned. “Wow. Does he want you to stay on too?”

  “Yes. He’s—oh, Mom, he’s all the things. I love him. I really do. And the girls. I can’t wait to get to know everything about them.” He was, and fast. They were an open book at this age.

  “Oh. Oh, that’s… We liked them very much, the whole family. That’s great news.”

  “Yeah. You were right, Mom. Though that, believe it or not, had little to do with making my decision.”

  His mom caught her breath. “They’re yours.”

  “Biologically, yeah.”

  “I…what are you going to do?”

  “Well, I’m going to move fast on some things, but take others slow. Michael is totally open to you and Dad and all coming to visit and getting to know them. But I’m not going to be pushy about anything with the girls. Now, moving to Aspen… I’ve already put that in motion.”

  “Do the girls know?”

  “No, and they’re not ready to. When they’re older, sure, but Mom, Michael is willing to let you be part of their lives. He just doesn’t want to confuse them—we’re asking a ton from them already. A bisexual father, bodyguards, dad’s first lover who’s moving in after ten days. This is an insane ask.”

  She stopped, and he swore he could hear her nod. “You know what? You’re absolutely right. The most important thing is their mental and physical health. Tell Michael we appreciate his openness, and we’ll come up when things are more settled for all of you.”

  That was his mom. Logical. Loving. Always concerned with what was right and best. He knew she wanted to be the granny, but he would bet the girls ended up calling her something like that anyway. They already liked her a lot.

  “So we’ll have a few hard discussions and wait on some other things. Hell, knowing those two, they’ll be the ones asking before long.”

  “Well, you… I’m so happy for you. What does this mean, practically? Or is it too soon to ask?”

  “Well…” He glanced around to make sure he was still alone. “What I want to do is buy a place in Aspen for all of us and either rent out Michael’s place or keep it for family or friends. I already called Beth to talk about only doing summer tours since all I have scheduled are a few award shows in January and March right now.”

  “Oh wow. Well, you know if you need us, you can call. We’ll fly out and help.”

  “I know. I might have to get you to come paint guest rooms,” he teased.

  “I can do that. Or even better, I’ll supervise.”

  “Oh, I see how it is. I love you, Mom.”

  “I love you, baby. Take care and call when you need me.”

  “I will. I’ll send some pictures as soon as the girls get back from music lessons.”

  “Oh, please do. I’m going to call your father.”

  “Okay. You holler if you need anything too. I’m calling Stevie, okay?”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Hell, he wasn’t even sure if Stevie was home from her honeymoon yet. Did that make him a bad brother?

  He did call her, though, because his mom would take him at his word and call to tell Stevie everything if he didn’t.

  “Simon! Are you okay? You never call me.”

  “Nice guilt trip,” he teased. “How was the honeymoon?”

  “A-may-zing. I’ll send you a copy of the video I made. I just have to finish compiling it.”

  “So digital.”

  “Uh-huh. How was your retreat?” she asked.

  “Well, I fell in love with the wedding singer, and I’m moving to Aspen to be with him.”

  There was a long pause. “No shit? Tell me all.”

  So he did. Half an hour later, he got off the phone with her, then went back to working on his plan.

  He got up, prowling around a little. Simon had called three real estate agents, and so far, none had called him back. He was used to dealing with LA, where someone would be back with him in minutes, knowing he had money to spend. So, what now?

  Oh. Oh, Ford Nixel. Ford would know who to call. The man was connected as fuck. Hell, he did real estate law, in a way, if Simon understood what Michael had told him about the man.

  So Simon called the Leanin’ N.

  “Good morning, this is Miranda. Can I help you?”

  “Hi, Miranda. This is Simon McFee. Can I speak to Ford?”

  “Of course, sir. How are you today?”

  “Great.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Here’s Ford for you.”

  The phone clicked, and then he heard, “Nixel.”

  “Hi, Ford. It’s Simon. Do you have a minute to spare? If not, I can call back.” Excitement curled in his belly.

  “Hey, Simon. How goes it? I got time. I’m just waiting for someone to tell me lunch is happening.”

  “Oh, yeah. Mine is coming, but I miss Geoff. So, listen. I’m looking at real estate in Aspen and no one will call me back.”

  “To rent or purchase?”

  “I’m looking to buy. I want something with a little land, so I know I might have to go a little farther out.”

  “Okay. You need what? Five bedrooms and space for a studio?”

  Ford Nixel was a smart son of a bitch.

  “Yeah. Yeah, and maybe an extra family room. Four bathrooms. I can build on anything else we might need, but I know there are some amazing square footage places around the area.”

  “Totally. Let me get Bryan Arco on the phone. He’ll have listings for you this afternoon. I guarantee it.”

  “Thanks. I’d go for Snowmass or Basalt, but Carbondale is a little too far in the winter, and we’ll keep Michael’s place, at any rate.”

  “And you want to stay in the same school district, right?”

  “If we can. Please.” Mickey had a hard time making friends, he thought.

  “Okay. I think I have the major deets. Should I tell him who you are?”

  “Yeah. No surprises, but I’d like to keep it as downlow as possible.”

  “Fair enough. Bryan’s a good guy, a go-getter. Expect a call in a bit. Tell Michael I said hey, would you?”

  “I will. He wants to come up sometime before school starts and do a trail ride.”

  “Oh? I like that. I’ll tell Stoney. I’ll want to go over the spring numbers with him anyway. Just have him holler.”

  “Will do. Thanks, Ford.” Michael had good people for friends. Simon wondered if Michael would like his manager, who was probably the best friend he had, even if they were business people.

  He guessed he was going to find out tomorrow.

  This whirlwind was something else, and he knew Michael would eventually balk at something. Simon wasn’t walking on eggshells or anything, but he was keenly aware of the possibility.

  Michael’s car pulled up, and the girls tumbled out with instruments. Michael had a huge bag of sub sandwiches.

  Chloe came running to him. “Mr. Simon! I did my scales so fast today! And no mistakes!”

  “High five!” He held out his hand, and she slapped it. When she kinda waited, he pulled her in for a hug. “Good job.”

  “Thanks! We got sammiches!” She kissed his cheek, and then she ran into the house, singing loud.

  He grinned, just tickled as a pig in shit. Michael had told him that one, and he loved it.

  Mickey’s face was a storm cloud, and she stomped up the stairs without saying a word. Uh-oh.

  He let her set the tone. If she wanted to talk, she would. He hoped he had sympathy face, but he wouldn’t push it. His mom had always said that was the best way with Stevie.

  “Her instructor is pregnant and taking six months maternity leave. She’s pissed.” Michael shook his head. “And Chloe always gets everything she wants, don’t you know?”

  “Uh-oh. Not happy.” S
imon lifted his face for a kiss, and Michael gave him one quick. “Anything I can do?”

  “No. I’ll just put an ad in the paper for another instructor that can teach at the same time as Vera.”

  “I know it’s hard to do it when you’re close, but I can do a few lessons with Mickey until you find someone.” He would let Michael decide. He didn’t want to step on toes.

  “Yeah? She can focus on her guitar for a bit. She doesn’t like learning from me. I’m Daddy, you know.”

  “I’m still new, so I can do it until it wears off, huh? And when I move my studio to Colorado, I can guarantee there will be a string of teachers…” The girls would love some of the band, and he had a few country guys he worked with on songwriting… And one folk musician who just happened to play the mandolin and banjo.

  Michael blinked at him. “Say again?”

  “Come on, babe. No one wants a soggy sandwich.” The girls were still putting away instruments. “I want to be here. Not in LA.”

  “Oh. I’d like that. A lot. I mean, I know this is a tiny place, but I’d like it. Having you here.” Michael’s cheeks went pink. “I know it’s fast, but in some ways, we’ve been together for years.”

  “We have. I’m ready, Michael.” He took Michael’s hand after his lover put the sandwiches on the table. “This is where I belong. I feel it in my soul.”

  “Yeah?” God, he had put that expression on Michael’s face. Him. He’d given that joy to his lover. It felt better than all the applause, all the lights, all the cheering.

  That was just another way of knowing in his core he was doing the right thing.

  “Sammies!” Chloe came bouncing in. “I told Mickey to cheer up because Daddy got cookies too.”

  “Can I go talk to her?” Simon asked, and Michael nodded.

  “She might like that.”

  “Cool.” He kissed Chloe on the head, then went to knock on Mickey’s door.

  Mickey threw open the door. “I’m not hungry, Daddy. Oh, you’re not Daddy.”

  “Nope. I know I’m bothering you, so I’ll be fast. I’m sorry your teacher is leaving. I told your dad, and he said that was cool with him, that I could take over your guitar lessons for a bit if you want.”

  “You’re, like, famous and everything. Why would you want to teach me? I’m not any good yet.” Her lips tightened. “Yet. One day I’ll be amazing.”