Chapter 10
Ten
Brayden couldn’t believe he was standing in Kate Harrington’s kitchen having a beer with Buddy Longstreet. On the scale of surreal days, this one ranked right up at the top of the list, beginning with the conversation he’d had with Maggie earlier.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d told him or how angry it had made him on her behalf.
“Have you worked with horses a long time, Brayden?” Ashton asked.
“All my life. My grandfather had a horse farm, and we lived on the property. I learned everything I know from him.”
“Maggie is excited about the equine therapy program,” Reid said.
“It can be hugely beneficial for children—and adults—who’ve suffered trauma or struggle with physical or emotional challenges.”
“That sounds amazing,” Buddy said. “Important work. Makes what I do seem stupid in comparison.”
“Your music brings pleasure to a lot of people,” Brayden said. “As I mentioned earlier—huge fan. Maggie told me I needed to behave around the stars, but I gotta say, that’s easier said than done.”
“You’re holding up admirably,” Ashton said, making the others laugh.
“Freaking out on the inside,” Brayden said.
“I knew Buddy before he was a big deal,” Reid said. “Trust me. He ain’t nothin’ special.”
“Thanks, brother,” Buddy said with a guffaw.
“You two are brothers?” Brayden asked.
“From another mother,” Buddy said. “My mama was his family’s housekeeper. Reid and I grew up together in the same house. He was the one with the silver spoon in his mouth.”
“You had a mouth full of bullshit,” Reid said. “Still do.”
Brayden laughed at their exchange.
“That may be true, but the silver spoon here financed my first demo,” Buddy said. “Gave me a huge leg up in the business. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”
“Yes, you would,” Reid said. “Nothing could’ve held you back in those days. You were on fire with ambition.”
“He never wants to take credit for the role he played, but it was—and is—significant.”
“For what it’s worth,” Ashton said, grinning, “he’s my godfather, and I don’t think he’s any big deal, either.”
“Wow,” Buddy said. “I’m feeling the love tonight.”
“Our job is to keep you humble,” Reid said.
“Good luck with that,” Taylor said as she came into the kitchen with Georgia. “Buddy and humble are two words rarely spoken in the same sentence.”
“This is a rough crowd,” Brayden said, amused by them.
Buddy raised his beer in Brayden’s direction. “You see what I deal with? It’s not easy being me.”
“Oh puhleeze,” Taylor said. “Who has it better than you?”
Buddy put his arm around his wife. “Nobody on God’s green earth.”
“You know it, baby.”
Ashton made barfing noises.
“Oh, listen to you,” Buddy said. “Mr. Madly in Love and not afraid to show it.”
“You got that right, old man.”
Buddy scowled at Ashton. “Who you calling old?”
“Aw, my baby’s gonna be fifty-one soon.” Taylor caressed Buddy’s back. “He’s feeling a little sensitive.”
“He’s a big, fat baby,” Georgia said bluntly.
“I’m in the biggest fight with all of you people.” Buddy grabbed the black cowboy hat he wore all the time from where it hung on a chair and headed for the door. “Brayden, it was nice to meet you. Hope to see you again.”
“Same,” Brayden said, still dumbfounded by this entire evening.
“Great to meet you,” Taylor said. “Don’t mind us. We’re family. Family is mean.”
“It’s all good,” Brayden said, laughing.
“Let’s go home, Georgia Sue.”
“Don’t call me that!”
The door slammed shut behind them.
“Ah, the tween years,” Reid said.
“What’re you talking about?” Ashton asked. “You had it made in the shade with me. I bet little Poppy in there will be the one to give you a run for your money.”
“Don’t speak that way about your baby sister,” Reid said with a playful scowl for his son.
Ashton smiled. “You’ll be too old to do anything about it anyway.”
Brayden choked on a mouthful of beer.
“So rude,” Reid said, grinning. “I plan to live long enough to watch you chasing your teenagers.”
Ashton raised his bottle to his father. “We’ll be chasing them together.”
Reid touched his bottle to Ashton’s. “That we will. I’d better check on my baby mama and make sure she’s not overdoing it.”
After Reid left the room, Ashton turned his attention to Brayden, his friendly smile disappearing. “I’m an attorney. Do all the legal work for Matthews House.”
Brayden wasn’t sure why Ashton was telling him that. “Oh.”
“I did the background check on you before you were offered the job.”
He refused to squirm or otherwise show any reaction. “Okay.”
“Just thought I’d mention it.” Ashton pushed off the barstool he’d been sitting on and tossed his empty bottle into a recycling bin located under the countertop. He left the room without another word.
Brayden wondered why Ashton had felt the need to put him on notice.
Maggie had already told him they knew he had a juvenile record.
He was under no obligation to share the details of his sealed record with anyone.
Those records were sealed for a reason—so kids wouldn’t be permanently penalized for childhood mistakes.
Not that he considered what he’d done a mistake. He’d done it on purpose and would do it again under the same circumstances, even knowing the consequences. Despite repeated efforts, he’d never been successful in getting his record expunged, due to the nature of his crime, or so he’d been told.
Ashton could watch him all he wanted. That was fine with Brayden. He had nothing to hide. He’d been hired to do a job, and he would do that job to the best of his considerable ability.
It might be a good idea, however, to curb his growing interest in the beautiful woman who’d hired him. If her brother-in-law had reservations about him, he’d probably expressed them to Maggie, too. So why had she hired him anyway?
As if he’d willed her, Maggie came into the kitchen, casting him an inquiring look. “Did they leave you all alone?”
“It’s fine. I don’t want to intrude on family time.”
“I’m ready to roll. Got an early morning.”
“I’m ready when you are.”
“Let’s say our goodbyes.”
He went with her into the enormous great room to say goodbye to the others. His gaze was drawn to the stone fireplace that was the focal point of the room. Somehow, the room managed to retain its coziness despite its size.
“You’ll be here tomorrow for dinner, right?” Kate asked.
Maggie nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“Brayden, you’re welcome to join us. The grandparents are coming to meet the baby.”
“Thanks for the invite, but I’m headed out of town late tomorrow. It was great to meet you all.”
“Likewise,” Jill said, speaking for the others. “Hope to see you again soon.”
“You, too.” He shook hands with Reid and Ashton and followed Maggie through the kitchen to the mudroom.
“Thanks for bringing me,” he said as Maggie drove them back to Matthews House. “It was nice to meet them all.”
“They liked you.”
“How could you tell?”
“They were themselves in front of you. If they aren’t comfortable around someone, they tend to clam up.”
“Yeah, they didn’t do that.”
“You can take that as a compliment,” she said.
“Buddy and Reid were telling me how they grew up together.”
“Right. Buddy is Ashton’s godfather and is like an uncle to him. Ashton handles all the legal work for Buddy’s company. Jill is working with him part-time now that Kate has decided to take a break from touring.”
“Will she go back to it?”
“I’m sure she will eventually. But right now, she wants to be home with Reid and Poppy. They’ll probably have another baby pretty quickly, not that she wants to talk about that today.”
“How many years between Reid and Kate?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, they first met when she was eighteen and he was forty-five. He was a friend of my dad’s from college, and he was supposed to ‘keep an eye on her’ while she tried to break into the music business.”
“Holy cow. Your dad must’ve freaked when he found out they were involved.”
“That’s putting it mildly. It was a really rough time. They ended up breaking up, but she never forgot him and vice versa. Ten years later, she went looking for him, and they’ve been back together ever since.”
“That’s quite a story.”
“Kate would tell you love is love, and age is just a number.”
“How old is Reid?”
“Fifty-six.”
“I never would’ve guessed that.”
“Buddy says he’s an ageless freak of nature.”
“They’re funny together.”
“Yes, they are.”
“I haven’t met a lot of celebrities in person. I didn’t expect them to be so…”
“Normal?”
“Yeah.”
“A lot of people say that when they meet them. Buddy says they’re regular people. Put their pants on one leg at a time like everyone else does. He says a few other things that aren’t fit for repeating, but that’s his take on things. Taylor is always after him for his colorful language.”
“He’s a cool dude. I liked him. I liked them all. Ashton, though… He’s a bit intense, huh?”
“How do you mean?”
“He made a point of telling me that he’s a lawyer and did the background check on me.”
“Ugh, he did not!”
“Yes, he did.”
“I’m sorry about that. He shouldn’t have done that.”
“He was putting me on notice that he knows I’ve got a past. I get it.”
“Still… It’s not up to him to do that.”
“He’s looking out for you, I think.”
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“You’ve proven that.” Brayden wasn’t sure if he should refer to what she told him earlier, but he wanted her to know that he admired her for escaping her attacker—and for putting a hurt on him.
“I’ve had a lot of regrets about that night. I never should’ve let him walk me to my door.”
“Maggie, come on. That’s not your fault. The guy was an attorney you knew from work. You shouldn’t have had anything to fear from him.”
She shrugged. “Still. I was caught off guard, and after living in the city for years by then, I knew better than to let that happen.”
“You defended yourself, and you got away. That’s what matters. You know that, don’t you?”
“Still working on that, but thanks for listening. It really helps to have told someone.”
“I’m glad you told me, and feel free to talk to me about it any time you need to.”
“Thanks,” she said with a deep sigh.
“Why the sigh?”
“I’ve crossed quite a few boundaries and muddied the personal and professional lines pretty badly on your second day with us.”
“Fuck that. Who cares about the lines? I’m going to do a fantastic job for you regardless of whether we’re friends or not.
We’re going to be living and working in close proximity.
I’d much rather be friends than not be. This isn’t corporate America, Maggie, and we both know exactly what our jobs are. ”
“When you put it that way,” she said with a laugh, “it seems kind of dumb to be worried about it.”
He flashed her a teasing grin that he hoped she could see in the darkness. “It is dumb.”
She laughed. “Gee, thanks. It’s just that this is my first time being completely in charge of something, and I’m trying to do it right.”
“You care so much about the people you’re working with and for. That’s how you do it right. Don’t get caught up in worrying about things that don’t matter. You have enough to worry about just getting through the day.”
“That’s true. Thanks for being so cool. I appreciate the support.”
“You got this. You’re an outstanding boss lady.”
“That’s nice to hear, but I’m still learning. Got a long way to go.”
“You honestly think you’ll ever reach the point in this job when you can say, ‘I’ve got this. Nothing surprises me anymore.’?”
“Probably not,” she conceded. “It’s something new every day.”
“Exactly.”
Maggie’s phone rang, and she took the call from Teresa on the Bluetooth. “Hey. I’ve got Brayden with me.”
“Hi there. Just heard that Corey’s baby is arriving tonight by C-section.”
“Is anyone with her?”
“The nurse said that one of Corey’s friends is there.”
“Oh good. Do you think I should go?”
“You could probably check on her in the morning.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. Did they say anything about what to expect for the baby?”
“Just that the baby will be taken right to the NICU.”
“Right, well, I’ll be back at the house shortly.”
“See you then.”
“Did you just tell her you went somewhere with me?”
“Crap, I did.” She grimaced. “Oh well. I had to since she needed to know I wasn’t alone. Client privacy and all that.”
“How far along is Corey?”
“Thirty weeks. They were hoping for a few more.”
“There’s so much they can do for premature babies these days.”
“Right. It’s still so stressful.”
“I know.”
The house was mostly dark when Maggie drove to her parking spot behind the stables. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
“Thanks for asking me.” They got out of the car and walked around the stables, where they would part company. “Hey, Maggie? Why did you? Ask me to go, that is.”
“I, um, I don’t know exactly. I thought you might like to meet them, I guess.”
“I did like meeting them. I liked hanging out with you, too, so thanks again. Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
Maggie walked away, and he waited for her to get inside. He stood there for a long time thinking of her and the things he’d learned about her during that momentous day before he headed for his place.