Fletcher
Claus is back in town!
In the four days since he’d seen Micah at the grocery store, hadn’t thought of anything but the gorgeous brunette. The wildest part was that no other woman had ever taken up this much space in his brain. Not Alice when they were married for eight years and definitely not the woman he’d had a long-term fuck buddy situationship with. Micah had captivated his waking and sleeping moments for two years after they met and now in four short days, she’d infiltrated his mind again.
He wasn’t surprised, not really. She’d hooked him long before they’d spoken sixteen years ago and now with all that sass and beauty still firmly in place, she was even more irresistible.
Then there was the whole ‘single mom’ thing that threw him for a loop. He couldn’t believe that he’d flat out asked her if Emery was his, because her reaction had disappointed him. Which was strange considering until that moment, he’d never thought about being a father. He’d kept that to himself when he’d flown out to Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving with his friends.
Sitting around a table with Jack, Soren, their flavors of week, Brandy and her partner; told them all about reconnecting with the woman that inspired “Mermaid”. Then he’d spent the whole evening answering every question, which was a lot more than he expected.
“I remember she was hot, is she still hot?”
“Smoking hot. Beautiful too.”
“And she’s a mom ? That’s also hot.”
“Okay, that’s enough of thinking about her.”
“Does she know you wrote a song about her?”
That made him pause. His eyes drifted to the tattoo on the inside of his left forearm, the one he got when the song went platinum and was nominated for a bunch of awards. The cerulean mermaid tail was the last piece of art he’d added to his body, for good reason.
“I don’t think so. She didn’t mention it,” he said, sipping on his whiskey. “I also don’t want to assume that she listened to our music after that night.”
Brandy tossed a napkin at him, flashing a smug smile. “I’m pretty sure she’s not the only one who left a mark that night.”
He chuckled, running a hand through his hair as he looked around at his friends. They’d all seen the nail marks on him the next day and listened patiently as he talked about her for weeks after. Jack and Soren had helped him polish up the song, and they’d worked tirelessly for a week with as he turned his lyrics into something beautiful. In the studio, the producers asked them multiple times if they thought releasing a rock ballad was in their best interest. It was so completely out of their repertoire, but his friends had been certain.
None of them could have predicted that it would go on to be their biggest hit, win them two Grammys and stay on the Billboard Top 100 Chart for an entire year.
Clearing his throat, raised his glass to his friends. “I’m glad we could spend at least one holiday together this year.”
“Is it sad that we only see each other once a year?” Soren asked, topping off everyone’s drinks.
“The last time I suggested meeting for birthdays and other big holidays, a certain someone laughed at me,” Brandy countered, narrowing her eyes at Soren.
“That’s way too many times to see each other. We took a sabbatical for a good reason.”
snorted. “Let’s stick to once a year and then go from there.”
“Fourth of July next year?” Jack asked, extracting himself from the arms of his young girlfriend, and arched an eyebrow at the group.
A round of confirmation went up and thanked his lucky stars that everything was solid between them. Two years after the sabbatical, Brandy went through her transition surgery and all of them gathered to help her through recovery. In the years since, they’d met a few times even though the intention was to meet more often. But with all the changes in their lives, it became impossible. The fact that they were consciously planning for a future together comforted . Micah coming back into his life was another sign that the future was looking brighter.
“ Claus is back in town!”
He groaned at the excited cheer as he walked into the office for the town’s event planner, Jensen Mars.
“Four years and we’re still not making that a thing.”
“Why not? It’s perfect. You’re and you’re Santa Claus. Claus,” Jensen explained, like it was not completely obvious already. “Besides, it’s what everyone here calls you anyway.”
“Unbelievable,” muttered and settled into the chair in front of Jensen’s very messy desk. After Thanksgiving with the band, returned to Sirena Beach and his duty as Santa for the holiday season. Every year since Uncle Hank had volunteered him for the job, he had been visiting Jensen in his office to discuss plans for Santa’s Village. It was a tiring job and coupled with running the store, he was usually run off his feet by the time Christmas actually rolled around. And still, he did it. Mostly to honor Hank, but also because there was a certain kind of joy to be found when kids looked at you like you hung the fucking moon.
At first they put him in Uncle Hank’s incredibly uncomfortable suit with a fake belly and everything. Then he protested—he would play Santa, but without the wildly offensive outfit. So they got the kids of the town to pick and choose what kind of Santa they wanted to see that year. His second year, he’d been Dino Santa and wore a slightly less uncomfortable T-Rex suit with a Santa hat on top. Halfway through that Christmas, had insisted on Santa being able to wander around the Village instead of staying seated the whole time. So he traded the Dino suit for pajamas with dinosaurs wearing Santa hats and the kids loved it. Last year the kids had voted for elves, instead of Santa, so had dressed up like Buddy from Elf . It had been okay, except for the constant wedgie he got from wearing those damn tights.
Being at the whim of the town’s kids was a little daunting, but liked that everyone got so involved in the celebration.
“What disastrous look are we going for this year?”
Jensen rolled his eyes and set a mason jar filled with colorful strips of paper on his desk. “The folks of Sirena Beach have spoken and this year you will be…” he picked up a pink strip, unrolled it and laughed, “Rockstar Santa.”
“Hilarious,” grumbled playfully, his mind already thinking of fun ways to bring that outfit to life. Hank’s tailor had been disappointed by the T-Rex suit and the Buddy costume, so maybe the old lady would be happy to stitch something worthy of a rockstar for him that year.
“Come on, this is totally up your street. Besides, it also means you don’t have to put too much effort into your clothes.”
had to admit that was definitely appealing. He could wear his standard uniform of darks and flannel, adding a Santa hat or something else to the mix every now and then. It was only for three weeks, walking around Santa’s Village and interacting with people. He could totally do it in his sleep.
“I have full control over my outfit this year, right?”
“Well…” Jensen trailed off and gestured vaguely towards the mayor’s office. “She has final say, really. But I trust you.”
Shaking his head, pushed to his feet. Pictures from the Christmases past hung up around Jensen’s office. He was damn proud of his work and could see why. There were some from the years Hank had been Santa, always in that god-awful suit. There were pictures from other events hosted around town and was surprised that not even once had he run into Micah and Emery.
“Quick question,” said, turning back to Jensen. “You know Micah?”
“George? At Haven?”
frowned. “Those are words I don’t understand.”
“Micah George, works at Haven Clinic. Yeah, I know her. Why?”
“I’m giving her kid music lessons.”
Jensen nodded slowly, like he didn’t believe a damn thing was saying. “Right. And it has nothing to do with the fact that she’s drop dead gorgeous.”
“Absolutely nothing to do with that.”
“I’m going to get the truth out of you eventually, you might as well spill now.”
huffed out a laugh and turned to the photo wall again, his eyes finally snagging on a picture of Micah and Emery during a Pride March. Both of them had colorful flags painted on their cheeks, and their faces were split into wide grins. How could he ever walk away now? When the sight of Micah in an old photograph made his heart race.
“We have some history, and I didn’t expect to see her here.”
“Ah, another gentleman left heartbroken by our resident badass.”
’s head snapped to Jensen so quick, he felt the twinge in his neck. “What?”
“I’m kidding. She’s got her kid and her best friends, and that’s it. But your reaction says way more than your silly comment about history.”
“Asshole,” he said under his breath and with one more glance at the photograph, he headed to the exit.
“I’ll see you in a few days, Claus .”
“Not if I see you first, Mr. Mars,” responded with the creepiest smile he could muster up. At Jensen’s wide-eyed stare, cackled and walked out of the office.
“You weren’t kidding, you’re a terrible teacher,” Emery said with a look of disdain he was sure she’d obviously perfected over the years. Her Avril Lavigne outfit had been traded for something more akin to a small beach town—bright pink shorts and a black cropped T-shirt that read ‘die beach, die!’—but her hair and personality were still intact.
Still so much like Mick, it’s unsettling .
“Blaming the teacher because you can’t understand simple instructions is childish.”
“I am a child!”
stood up from behind the drum kit and twirled the sticks in his hands. “You’re a teenager.”
“Teenagers are children.”
“Actually,” Nico started, from where they were hunched over a bass guitar, tiny hands struggling to touch all the frets had showed them earlier. “Teenagers are not children, we might still be called adolescents , but not children.”
Emery shot her friend a glare and then turned to with a huff. “Okay, fine, I don’t understand what you’re telling me to do.”
held the sticks out to Emery with a small smile and nodded at the stool. “You remember what I did, right? You need to repeat those movements, without actually hitting the drums.”
She sat down, adjusted the stool, released a heavy sigh and looked up at him. “Snare, pedal, tom, snare, pedal, hi-hat?”
“Sure, let’s see how those movements feel to you.”
Emery rolled her shoulders back and without hitting anything, swung her arms around and then made a face. “Maybe I should start with the tom and work my way right to left instead,” she said, not even glancing at him as she followed her own instructions. Smiling when she seemed to settle into the movements a little better, he nodded for her to keep going.
Even though she’d been drumming on her pillows, she was absolutely messy behind a kit. She jumped and swerved and swung around without a care for herself or anyone else. The first few sessions, Benson had to grab them earplugs to block out the noise she was creating. Since then, he’d been teaching her to read sheet music and get a better understanding of what it meant to be a drummer.
But despite being a menace behind the kit, she was really eager to learn and listened to his instructions carefully. Like her mother, she challenged him at every turn, making sure to keep him on his toes. And she also worked well as Nico’s cheerleader since they were having a much harder time picking up the bass. Neither of them gave up, though, always asking questions and making sure and Benson were being honest with their progress.
Since they didn’t have a timeline, knew that he could show the two of them the best way to enjoy their instruments. It would take longer than he expected.
“Emery, your Mom called to say that she’s going to be late tonight,” Benson said as he walked into the back. “She wanted to know if one of us could drop them off.”
nodded. “I can do it.”
“Thanks, man.” Benson patted him on the back and headed for the offices. His wife had left him and their four year-old daughter recently, and knew that Benson was struggling to find the balance.
Turning to the teenagers, clapped his hands to get their attention. “Do you two want more time or are you ready to head home?”
Nico sighed and set the bass aside. “I’m good to go home. I need to rethink my choice of instrument.”
Emery scowled at her best friend and then turned to him. “I guess I can go home.”
“Love the excitement,” he deadpanned. “All right, why don’t you both wrap up and meet me out front.”
Muttering and whining followed, but they didn’t protest. put everything away and left himself a note to spend some time teaching Emery how to properly read music. She had the determination and the excitement, but she was lacking in talent and patience. It was incredible how much saw of Micah in the kid from the frustrated pout to the sass that poured off her constantly. He turned off the lights, ushered Benson out and found Emery and Nico giggling at something on their phones. He escorted them out, turned off the lights and locked the store before leading the way to his truck.
Nico gave him their address and the two of them sat in the back talking about things he could barely understand. After dropping Nico off, and waiting till they were inside their house, Emery climbed into the front seat and directed him. Pulling up in front of a beautiful white house with a dark blue roof, ’s brain finally registered that he now knew where Micah lived. He’d tried to keep her out of his head for most of the day, but seeing her house changed all of that.
Emery undid her seatbelt and started to get out of the truck before turning to him. “You’re coming in, right?”
“I am?”
Rolling her eyes, she hopped out and nodded before slamming the door shut. He looked back at the house and considered his options—he could drive away or he could stay until Micah came back home. Truth was, Emery didn’t look upset by the fact that her mother was going to be late and she clearly didn’t need him babysitting her. But he felt like he needed to make sure that the kid was safe. Especially when she let herself into the house and left the front door open.
Yes, let’s use that as a reason to go inside.
He huffed at his inner voice and turned off the truck. He locked it as he climbed out and carefully walked into the house, like something might jump out at him. Closing the door behind him, he toed off his sneakers and set them along with the other shoes organized neatly on a short shelf.
“Downstairs!” Emery called out and descended the stairs as his eyes drank in the details of the house. There was a long hallway with doors leading off at that level, but he couldn’t see into any of the rooms. Instead, he focused on what came into sight as he hit the lower level—a spacious living-dining-kitchen area with big windows that opened onto a small patio. With the colors of the setting sun, the room was painted in shades of gold and pink, changing the essence of the space.
“What do you wanna eat?”
He turned at Emery’s voice and stared at the large kitchen that swallowed the teenager whole. Standing in front of an industrial size refrigerator, Emery had her lips pursed and one hand on her hip.
“Pasta?”
“I’m not allowed to make pasta anymore,” Emery said with a pout and closed the fridge. “Too messy.”
“How about I make the pasta and you assist?”
“What does assisting entail?”
smirked and started opening cabinets to find what he was looking for. “Cleaning up as we go, making sure that we’re not messy.”
“Uggggggh, that’s the worst part.”
Once he’d found the pasta and cheese, he set them on the counter and then grabbed a few tomatoes, set them aside as well. “True, but the best part is getting to eat what we make. What meat does your mom keep in the house?”
Emery mumbled something under her breath, but after some rummaging in the freezer, pulled out a bag. “Mom bought that for tacos, but I guess we can use it for pasta.”
“Perfect.”
He looked at everything laid out and then handed out instructions to Emery, smiling when she only protested a few times. He wasn’t an expert at cooking, but enjoyed the process. While on tour, he’d gotten so sick of eating fast food and the same shit every night that he picked up a cooking habit. Whatever he could whip together on the tour bus would be devoured by the guys, then during his time off, he attended cooking classes and made friends with chefs. Cooking could be tedious and a lot of work went into it. But for him, that was actually pretty therapeutic.
Despite her whining, cooking with Emery turned out to be so much more fun that he expected. Like with teaching her the drums, she asked questions and followed his instructions properly. They cleaned as they went, mostly because didn’t want to leave Micah’s gorgeous kitchen an absolute mess when he was done. But also because it was a good habit to pick up.