Chapter 2
The second we walked in, Tae bounced over and pulled Trey into a hug, both squealing like they hadn’t seen each other in years. It felt good to see Trey finally be his true self. Wished I’d pulled my head out of my ass sooner...
“Come on, I’ve been waiting forever for you to get here. Let’s go play.” Tae practically dragged Trey down the hallway, both giggling and talking so fast I’d lost track.
“Where’s the client?” We were early for the meeting, as usual, but not by much. I’d rather be the one waiting than someone else waiting on me.
“I wanted to have a few minutes with you. They won’t be here for another hour.”
“Am I in trouble?” Chuck sighed as I sat at the desk he’d set up for me. My stomach sank wondering what went wrong.
“Not in trouble, per se, it just feels like when Tae and I headed home after our last discussion that things between you and me were tense. And I hate that.”
“Oh.”
“You’re my best friend and business partner, Oscar. With as open as Tae and I are about our relationship, and given all the work we do for clients in the lifestyle, I don’t understand why you hid so much from me. Especially the lactating.”
“When you put it like that, I see what an asshole I’ve been. I’m sorry, man. My life has been a whirlwind of taking care of others. It’s funny,” I chuckled, “Trey and I had a similar conversation this morning.”
Why did I suddenly feel like such a failure?
“You’re right, you had a lot on your plate from a young age and were forced to grow up too fast. Oscar, you took on the monumental task of raising your brothers and you did a fantastic job. Tae and Samian are wonderful men. Honestly, I have no right to complain. I’m sorry.”
“Chuck, as you said, you’re my best friend and business partner.
” I still had a hard time accepting the second.
He thought raising my brothers was monumental?
Having someone add you as an equal to their business was just as big.
“I’m sorry. Guess I have a lot to make up to you as well.
I’ve been thinking about going to a Lactin Brotherhood meeting with you. That is, if the offer’s still open?”
Chuck smiled. “It’s always open to you, my brother.” The camera bell chimed, letting us know someone was here. Chuck peeked at the app. “Game on.”
We answered the door before he rang the bell. “Afternoon, Gil.” Chuck shook his hand first, then I did. “Thanks for reaching out.”
“As the mayor of Taylor Ridge, we’d like to welcome your business to our neck of the woods. I wanted to meet as soon as possible and just happened to be in Phoenix visiting family when I saw the approval for your business license come through.”
“Excellent.” Chuck and I were all smiles.
We hoped it would be easier than some of the local towns had been to get licensed.
“It’s such an honor to have the good news delivered by the mayor himself,” Chuck said.
“Have a seat.” When Chuck renovated his home, he turned the extra bedroom into an office and extended the room out enough to house a proper set-up. Meeting table that seated six included.
“Let me cut to the chase. The locals have been begging us to find a new handyman and contracting service they can trust. The last guy.” He shook his head.
“Let’s just say he wasn’t a good fit, and Judy couldn’t say enough about you and your family.
” Judy ran the cat rescue Chuck and Tae got their cats from, and Tae volunteered there as well when they were up at the cabins.
“Judy is wonderful,” Chuck said. “Tae adores her and really enjoys his volunteer time.”
“Well, she mentioned you fixed a few things for her and discussed building an all-weather structure on her property to allow for more space for her rescue.” Getting my general contractor’s license was one of the smartest choices I’d made. With it, we would take Ashwood to the next level.
“We have, but we’re waiting on the license to go through before giving her a formal bid.” Had we gone about this the wrong way. “Have we done something wrong?” I asked. If there was a protocol we’d missed, it would be best to fix it up front.
“No, quite the opposite, Oscar. Once word got around, when the city council met about approving a new business in town, the meeting room filled to capacity. It would appear you’ll have your hand full for a while helping our lovely locals out, and I’d like to make sure that Ashwood is up for the task. ”
“We are. Emergencies handled first, of course,” Chuck assured him.
“Some projects will be discreet and may require an NDA be signed.” Mayor Gil raised a brow. “Lifestyle NDA, of course.”
“Understood,” Chuck said. “We’ve signed a similar agreement at the club.” Nothing more needed to be said, we were on the same page.
“Excellent. We’ll post your information on the town website. Are one of you planning to live in town or did you have other employees in the vicinity already?”
Chuck and I had already discussed this, but I didn’t have a chance to speak to Trey about it.
Given yesterday’s events, that was a non-issue.
“I will be along with my partner, Trey, who also works for Ashwood.” I hadn’t said anything to Trey about the possibility.
Given the importance of this morning’s meeting, I didn’t want to get his hopes up if there was an issue with our license.
“Gentlemen, welcome to the Taylor Ridge family. My assistant, Joan, will email you the onboarding packet, listing the discounts the local shops offer. Including the hardware store and lumber yard.” This business endeavor was looking better by the minute.
Gil shook our hands again, then we walked him to the door. “Should we tell the boys now?” Chuck asked as soon as the door shut.
“I have a question before we do. How quickly do you want us up there?” I’d have to cancel my lease and donate most of the old-ass furniture I still have that has seen better days. There was more to coordinate than I’d thought.
“I’d say as soon as possible. Most of what we’ve got going on in the Valley are small projects Tae and I can knock out.
If you get busy, it should be easy for us to get up there to help you guys.
Plus, already having our houses done was a smart move.
” No kidding, or it’d be rental city for Trey and me.
Something I’ve had more than enough of. It was time for me and my boy to settle down in our own space.
“Perfect. Looks like we hired the newbies just in time. We can be up there permanently this weekend.” So far, we’ve made wise decisions for Ashwood. The guys in Phoenix we’d onboarded were doing great and had taken a ton of work off my and Chuck’s hands.
“Are you as excited as I am? Think Trey will have a problem leaving his grandmother?”
I took a moment to think about that, then it hit me. “Not if she can come up too. Maybe she and your mom could get to know each other.” Trey would be one happy boy with both grandmas up there to spoil him.
“Boys, can you come out here, please,” Chuck hollered down the hallway.
Seconds later, the pitter-patter of excited feed echoed down the hall and they hit the tiles.
“No running, please.” He gestured to the couch.
“Have a seat, your Daddies need to talk to you.” Both boys’ faces fell as they looked at each other.
“Are we in trouble, Daddy?” Tae asked. His bottom lip was on the verge of quivering.
“No, sweetheart, you’re not, and Daddy’s sorry he scared you.
This is actually something big. Business big and really good.
” That perked them right up. “Your Daddies not only just got their business license approved for Taylor Ridge, but they asked if either of us were willing to move up there given all the work there is for us. Your friend Judy had a hand in that, Tae.”
“Judy’s the best. Are we moving, Daddy?” Tae asked.
“Not yet.” Chuck nodded at me.
“We are,” I said. Trey’s face lit up, and the smile I’d missed this morning appeared.
“For reals, Daddy?” he asked me.
“For reals, Angel.”
He squealed, and Tae joined in his excitement. “When?”
“This weekend. You and Daddy have a lot to do this week. Packing, getting rid of Daddy’s old furniture. We have all nice, new stuff in our cabin already.”
Trey ran across the room and nearly knocked me down. In his excitement he forgot we were nearly the same size. “Sorry, Daddy. I’m just so excited.”
I hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head. “Daddy wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to get you excited if the meeting didn’t turn out as we’d hoped.”
“I’m sorry I was such a poo-poo head this morning. I just love it so much up there.”
“I know you do, Angel.”
“What about Grandma?”
“Uncle Chuck and I were just discussing that. Think she’d like to come up and stay in the grandma’s cabin or in one of our spare rooms?”
“You’d let her do that, Uncle Chuck?”
Chuck smiled and shook his head. “Sweet boy, you’re family.
That makes your grandma family, and family comes first. She is welcome anytime, and FYI, you helped build those cabins too, so you have an equal say in who stays in them.
” Trey ran across the room and hugged Chuck so tightly he groaned while Tae giggled.
“You squished my Daddy!” He sang as he jumped around. “This is so exciting. Do we get to go up north more too, Daddy? The kitties love it up there.”
“We do, sweetheart, but we need to wrap up the jobs down here first. Oscar and Trey are gonna be running right out of the gate. I think Momma was planning to spend the summer up there out of the heat herself.”
“One big, happy family!” Tae cheered, and Trey joined in. The two of them skipped around the house singing their silly song.
“Let’s head into the office and hash out the details while those two run off their excitement.”
“Man.” I loved how this was all falling into place. “I can’t stop smiling.”
“You and me both. I’ll have to come back and forth to check on things, so we’ll definitely keep this house. Then no matter which of us comes down, we’ll have a place to crash.”
“Good call, Chuck. I’m more than ready to get out of the shitty apartment in an equally shitty area of town.
The only reason I’ve stayed there as long as I have is because it’s cheap.
” Moving would stress most people out, whereas for me, it was that light at the end of the tunnel.
Life was changing and for the better, for all of us.
“It really has. Tae’s artwork and commissions are coming in faster than he can complete them. His studio in the cabin is his favorite place to create. If I wouldn’t miss him like mad, I’d send him back up there with you guys while I wrapped up a couple jobs here.”
That I more than understood. “I hear ya. They’re our hearts, and it’s hard to breathe without them around.
” Can’t believe I’d made it all those years without Trey in bed beside me.
Staying at the cabin gave me the push to decide to live together.
Well, that and our discussion yesterday.
Even though I knew I already wanted it, saying it aloud made it real.
“As soon as I get the info from Gil’s assistant, I’ll set up meetings for you with the local businesses we’ll need to set up accounts with. Hopefully, they’ll give us a fair price for all the extra sales we’ll bring them.”
“Sounds like a plan. Gonna hit the hardware store on the way home and grab our packing supplies. Holler if you need me.”
“Bringing you in as a business partner was one of the smartest moves I’ve ever made, Oscar.”
“Accepting your offer was mine.”