Chapter 12 #2
Take care of him. Call me when you can.
The phone is ringing before I realize I’ve dialed the number.
“How’s Win doing?” are the first words out of Ken Tanaka’s mouth. “Was he hurt? That cabin has its own generator, so you should still have power.”
“We haven’t lost power, but if we do I know where the generator is,” I inform him stiffly. “Win is fine, like I told his friend. He twisted his ankle and got a few scrapes, but he’s already feeling better. He’s…resting.”
Fortunately, Ken sounds too busy talking with someone on the other end to notice my hesitation.
“Brady says he’ll come get him as soon as the weather lets up.
He can bring his brother Rory. You met him, right?
He was a paramedic but he just graduated to nurse practitioner.
He’ll double check to make sure Win’s in the all clear. ”
At this point, I’ve been introduced to so many people I can’t remember.
“Fine, but I don’t think he needs it. I wrapped his ankle and got him warm.
He’s eaten and slept and I have a feeling he could rattle off all the presidents and their three greatest accomplishments in his sleep, so he doesn’t have a concussion. ”
“That’s our Mr. Winston. I can’t believe he walked out into the woods voluntarily.”
“You’re not the first person to mention that.” Winston. Is that his name? “I need some answers, Ken. Did you know?”
“Did I know what?”
“We’ve had business dealings and I’m aware of your talents,” I start carefully. “I’ve also heard from Seamus about what you’ve been up to for the last decade, specifically with your fiancé’s family. So I’m asking.”
“What wrong do you think I’ve done to you, Michael?” Tanaka’s voice has all the warmth of a frozen lake. “Please, enlighten me. No one else has been holding back lately.”
“Not a wrong.” In fact, if he confirmed it, I’d probably thank him. “And I’m only asking because a few weeks ago, I told you I met someone that night at the pub, someone I couldn’t forget, and I was thinking about finding him before I left town.”
“I remember that conversation, yes.”
Still ice cold. I stretch my neck, trying to work the tension out of my shoulders. “That was all I said, but knowing you, it could have been enough. Win says you’ve known each other for years. He thought he might have been invited here to sing because of the woman who was hurt that night.”
Even though he said it was silly and not really a secret, I still feel a twinge at sharing the confidence. But this is too important.
“I know who Bex is, Michael. She’s one of the most important people in my life and a valued employee. Be specific. What exactly are you asking me?”
A door slams on his end, but I push ahead. “Did you know he was the one I told you about? That Win was the man I’d met?”
“Jesus.” For some reason I imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
“Believe it or not, I’ve had my hands a little too full for the last few months to worry about another needy Demir.
Two innocent women were endangered and one badly hurt because I was ruffling the wrong feathers.
I ruffled them so much that they decided to go on a fishing expedition. ”
“The Russians?” The last time I talked to him he was still waiting for confirmation from some deeper sources.
“They do have their hands in everything lately,” he says without giving me a straight answer.
Not that I expect one from him. “I’m not an easy man to fool, but I’ve been distracted.
Off my game. And Brady is… It doesn’t matter.
I need to take steps to make sure nothing like this happens again. They came after my family.”
“I told you nothing was wrong. You had a feeling, so I stopped in to say hello to Seamus and I didn’t notice anything.” Except for Win.
“And I distracted you with news about your cousin’s recent activities.” He sighs. “There was no way for you to know, Michael. We were looking at a female fan, a local. The evidence was right there… But she was just a plant. I wouldn’t have let Bex anywhere near this if I’d known.”
The Bex Win described today probably wouldn’t appreciate his overprotectiveness. “Why did you? Because of Brady’s cousin? Were you trying to matchmake?”
I saw the two women together and even I noticed the spark there.
“If I was, I failed on that end too.”
Ken didn’t know. He might have brought Win here for his own reasons, but they weren’t to manipulate me for some unknown purpose. “Win says she wanted him to come and spy on you for a change.”
Surprisingly, that made him laugh. “She wanted Winnie to spy on me? He’s not remotely good at subtlety, he talks too much and he’s a horrible liar. She knows that.”
“I’m sure she does,” I say meaningfully. “But she sent him anyway. He says you haven’t been talking. It might mean she’s ready to.”
“I hope so. I miss her, and so does Mr. Gordon.” Ken waits a beat. “And what about you?”
My grip on the phone tightens. “What about me?”
“Are you ready to talk to your brother instead of using Seamus and young Jake as mediators? And if Win is the one you were telling me about, have you told him about your current predicament? Why you left your family’s company?”
He just can’t help himself. “I thought you were too busy to involve yourself in my ‘needy Demir’ business.”
“Yes, well, I’m here and the man I’m in love with is working himself up to breaking things off with me, so…I have some time.”
I hesitate for a moment longer than I mean to. “Do you want to talk about it?”
His chuckle is mirthless. “Sure. It would be good for you to practice your communication skills. You’ve lived like a monk for years. Honestly, I’m not sure you can handle the bundle of energy that’s under your roof right now. I could tell you some stories.”
I grit my teeth. “We’re talking about why you think your fiancé is leaving you, not my relationship with Win.”
“It’s a relationship already? Does he know?” When I don’t respond, he swears. “Fine. I’m a meddler and I’ve taken him for granted. Discuss.”
“ Have you? Taken him for granted?” I don’t deny he’s a meddler.
It’s his job to ferret out other people’s secrets and get into their business.
Mine was to look into the financial backgrounds of all potential Demir clients and investors.
I worked with the accountants and took a deeper dive than they were willing to, searching for blackmailers, gambling addictions and relationship woes that could compromise our business interests.
My father called Ken for help when matters were more urgent and the stakes much higher.
“We’ve been together for ten of the happiest years of my life,” Ken says emphatically.
“There’s not a day I don’t wake up and give fucking thanks for the miracle that is Brady Finn.
I was so happy, I decided I wanted to use my skills to spread that sunshine around.
I got involved in his family. I moved a few chess pieces around on the board.
Bellamy was one of them. He wouldn’t have been in the same hotel as Seamus if I hadn’t arranged it. ”
I heard that story from Seamus. I also heard about Ken’s influence on other Finn matches. And one story about a baseball player and the owner of a manny service, who aren’t even related but happened to stay in a building Ken owns. “He’s right about your meddling.”
“I’ve slowed things down over the last few years.
Focusing on work and only stepping in when I’m needed.
At least until recently. But none of that matters.
Now I’m just the asshole that almost got Bex and Calamity killed because I was so busy playing Cupid again that I didn’t keep my eyes on the ball.
He says he's worried I’ll try to mess with Jake’s life now that he’s in his twenties.
He says he doesn’t know when it will stop, or when I’ll stop using it as an excuse instead of being honest.”
I know it’s because I’m connected but not a part of the family that he feels comfortable enough to tell me something so personal.
I’m not the person people usually talk to about their problems. About anything, really.
But we have known each other, if only superficially, for years now, and I feel compelled to help him. “How long have you been engaged?”
A moment of silence on the other end, and then, “Ten years.”
I frown at the phone. “That seems like an abnormally long engagement. You can’t be against marriage as an institution or you wouldn’t have made him your fiancé.
I assume you know same-sex marriage is currently in jeopardy again.
” In fact, the law making it legal passed right around the time they got engaged, if I’m not mistaken. “What is it you’re waiting for?”
If I loved someone enough to propose, I wouldn’t wait a day to start planning an elopement. Especially in the current political climate.
“He asked me that the other day,” Ken says quietly. “‘What are you waiting for?’”
“Did you give him an answer?”
“I said I wasn’t waiting for anything, because I had everything I wanted. I love him. We live and work and sleep together and it’s perfect. Why would I want to mess with perfection?”
“Then why get engaged in the first place?”
“Because he’s Brady.” I wonder if Ken realizes how much his voice gentles when he says the man’s name. “And Brady goes all in or not at all.”
As I nod in understanding, my gaze connects with the framed picture of the rabbit wedding, and the memory of Win’s reaction to it makes my lips twitch. “And all in for him means a wedding?”
“Engagement. Wedding. The works. Anything less than a legally binding promise in front of the world, one that leads to a lifetime of anniversaries like the one we got snowed in for this weekend, is unacceptable.” He pauses before swearing under his breath again. “You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”