Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

“ P aige, honey, don’t forget your hat!” Paige had chosen Annie Oakley as her costume this year, complete with one of her mom’s old fringed suede jackets, which on her was a coat, and a pair of gauntlet gloves. She had the weird round cowboy hat too, that was in all of the old pictures of Annie. She had a miniature toy rifle for the pictures with Dallas, but she would have to leave that behind for the trunk or treat.

“Got it.” She snagged the hat out of the truck, then skipped up the walk to Dallas and Austin’s condo.

“Good job.” He texted Austin rather than ringing the Ring, because Austin had said he would be upstairs making sure Dallas was in his Sherlock Holmes costume, which was pretty historically accurate, and therefore pretty damn complicated.

“Are you excited for the night, kiddo?”

“Uh-huh! I’ve never had a townie Halloween.”

Oh, God help him if she said shit like that.

“It should be fun. Trunk or Treat, then supper, then trick or treating?— ”

“Then movies and candy and a sleepover!” Paige jumped up high enough to fly. “Yeehaw!”

“Lord have mercy, girl. Don’t kill yourself acting like a kangaroo.”

“I’m just excited, Daddy.” Her blue eyes flashed when she gave him an over-the-shoulder-under-the-hat look. Patented by her mom.

“I am too!” He was tickled as shit that she and Dallas had weathered their first big two fights. The one over skiing, the other over matching costumes. Dal had no intention of going as Buffalo Bill, and Paige had no idea who Irene Adler was…

“Helloooo.” Austin opened the door, his butler costume kind of hilarious. And oddly… cute. “May I announce you, madame?”

Paige glanced at him, gaze a touch panicked. “Daddy?”

“This is Miss Oakley, if you please.” He was totally willing to make the save for her.

“Of course. Of course. Mr. Holmes, you have a Miss Oakley here.”

“Elementary, dear Jeeves. Elementary.” Dallas was absolutely adorable—deerstalker hat, long coat, magnifying glass, and a meershaum pipe that blew bubbles.

“May I take your hat and gun, Miss Annie?” Austin winked, inviting Paige to share the joke.

“What would Momma do?” he murmured.

Paige lit up like the cowgirl in Toy Story , then took off her hat with a flourish. “You got it, pard.”

“Thank you, m’dear. Please come in and have a seat. Mr. Holmes will see you soon.”

Dallas’s giggles filled the air. “You look great, Paige!”

“Thanks!” She shook out her hair.” Daddy even crimped me so I’m like the picture. Show him, Daddy!”

He pulled out his phone to show the reference picture of Annie Oakley. She was a brunette where Paige was blonde, but he thought it worked.

“Wow! Great job!” Dallas gave her a worried glance. “Do you like mine?”

“You’re, like, the best! You’re the best detective ever.”

Dallas simply beamed.

Kyler grinned, watching them compare treat bags. “So what’s your Sherlock?” he asked Austin. “Basil Rathbone? Downey Jr.? Benedict Cumberbatch?”

“Oh-ho. You’re a fan, I can tell.” Austin grinned. “I approve. Who’s yours?”

“Oh, I asked first.”

“I have a shock blanket in the office.”

Oh, very nice. “You do, do you?”

“Yep. I bought it at an online auction.”

“I might have once announced that I’d had a fight with a chip and pin machine.” And no one he’d been with had gotten the reference to the British TV version of Sherlock .

“Oh, very nice. I approve.” Austin bowed again. “My favorite bit is the last episode of season one and the first episode of season two.”

“Yeah?” He could see that. They were fun ones. “I love season one. And most of two…”

“Three had its moments,” Austin murmured.

“We don’t talk about four,” they said in unison, then cracked up.

“Daddy! Are you almost ready?”

“Yep. Bathroom for all, though.” He had no idea what the situation was at the trunk or treat, and Paige was weird about port-a-johns.

“Yes. We’ll all go together? I have chili—spicy and not— and cornbread for supper before tricks and treats.”

“Yummo!” Paige twirled again.

“Sounds great, Austin.” Kyler gave him a warm grin. The man was organized as hell, and he appreciated that. He was also cute as hell in that penguin suit. Like in a way that kind of made Kyler stare.

Why on earth was he fascinated by Austin’s butt? It was ridiculous. He’d stared before. Who didn’t, right? And he’d been surrounded by Wrangler butts, male and female… But Austin was so easy to be around, so warm and human and real. It was bizarre.

Maybe it was the goofy bowtie.

It just made things adorable.

Maybe he needed to let himself lean into that a little. Henley had always said he was sure as shit bi, the way he checked everyone out.

“Okay,” he said after a bathroom break. “To the wagon!”

“Off we go to get our candy!” Paige cheered.

“Candy!”

“Mmmm. Candy.”

His body tightened all of the sudden, because Austin’s tone was damn sexual. Shit. “What’s your favorite?”

“Peanut butter cups.” Austin grinned back. “I have a bag in the kitchen up high.”

“Mine are Almond Joy.”

“That’s positively medieval of you.”

“I know. It was my Granny’s favorite, and she passed it on,” Kyler said with a shrug.

“I love that. Seriously. What about you, Paige?”

“Green apple Jolly Ranchers!”

“I like Snickers best,” Dallas said very seriously. “Last year I got a whole one!”

“A whole one? Really?” Paige’s eyes were huge. “Whoa.”

“I know, right?”

They chattered about candy and costumes and what they might see tonight all the way, the kids buoyant right now. He kept stealing glances at Austin as the man steered them to the rec bus lot that would take them to the rec center. That was why he hadn’t driven; there was no parking at the event and that would drive him nuts.

“Come on, you hooligans. Let’s go see what there is to see!” Austin helped Dallas out, and the kids held hands until it was time to get on the bus.

They boarded with a witch, a rabbit, and a passel of zombies, which made Paige stare, and they debarked to a carnival-like atmosphere that made both kids squeal.

“Oh, Daddy! Look! It’s a party !” Paige was going to pass out.

“I know. Wow. So where do we start? Dallas, you’re the expert.”

“At the beginning.”

The library had a bookmobile, a sign-up sheet, and a free scary book and a bag. It was adorable, and of course it was a library that started it.

Of course.

They hit all the hot spots, the kids bouncing and almost running, making them work to keep up. But Austin never lost his smile, never got frustrated. He was a good guy.

“Poppy! That truck has Halloween push pop toys!”

Austin chuckled and grinned. “O. M. G.! Go for it!”

Paige glanced at him, gave him a confused little half grin. “Is that cool, Daddy?”

“Uh…” He had no idea. He grinned. “Let’s go see.”

“Right. Let’s see. Dal likes some cool stuff.”

“Paige, I mean, Annie! They have a cowboy! And a pumpkin!”

“Oh! Can I have the pumpkin?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hey, I get it now.” Kyler had seen those toys with the bubbles that pushed in and out. He had no idea they had a name .

Paige and Dallas had to choose carefully, and Austin watched them with a fond expression.

“He’s going to be my little collector. I can tell.”

“Paige is very excited about having a room. She wants to be able to fill it with stuff. When you’re on the road all the time, you have to be careful with that, you know?”

“I can’t imagine. I am a bit of a homebody, and I do like my things…”

“I love that the house is in the dry.” They were, in, too, even if it he was still saving money by installing a lot of the finish work by himself. “It’s nice to wake up in the same place.”

“Yes. And to be close to your horses, and not have any rent, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s helped a ton.”

“Good. Good. That’s great to hear.” Austin’s cheeks went super pink, and he tilted his head. Could be the cold, he reckoned. But he seemed almost embarrassed every time they talked about anything that remotely smacked of money.

Kyler wondered if Austin thought he was destitute. Austin never fussed about letting him pay his half, not ever. But he did seem to get flustered when the situation arose.

By the time they were done, the kids were dragging some, and it was time to go refuel. Damn, he hoped Austin’s chili tasted as good as it smelled in the slow cooker.

“Let’s go eat, and then, if y’all want, we can trick or treat, okay?” Austin started moseying them toward the car.

“Okay!” Dallas’s little voice was half volume to what it had been before.

He winked at Austin over the kids’ heads.

“Are you guys excited about movie night and camping in the front room?” Austin asked, and Paige nodded.

“I am. I like chili too. Is it real hot?”

“There’s two kinds. Hot and not,” Dallas explained .

“Okay. I like not too spicy, but I can eat the not hot with some salsa…” So sweet his girl. He could eat shit that would peel paint.

“You can do it up however makes you happy, Paige. Cheese, onion, Fritos, cornbread, salsa, sour cream. You do you.” Austin simply didn’t sound worried.

“Cool! You’re so nice, Mr. Austin. Momma says I can eat it the way she makes it or go to my bunk.”

“Well, I like things to be a certain way, so I can’t fuss if y’all do, right?”

“No, sir.”

Kyler rolled his eyes. She made her momma sound like a mean one. Now, she could be when it came to food, especially if she’d cooked…

And Henley could be fierce, if she was pressed too hard, that was for sure.

“I like all the fixins,” he said, laughing at Paige, who was already counting candy.

“I also like all the fixin’s,” Austin agreed.

“I like just cheese,” Dallas explained. “I found a Jolly Rancher for you.”

“Ooooh. Trade you.” Paige dug out a fun-sized Snickers.

“What do I get, kiddo?” Kyler asked.

“Oh, Daddy. I always give you an Almond Joy.”

“My angel girl. You’re good to me.” He winked at her, and pretty soon, they were pulling into the condo.

“I’m so hungry, Poppy. I love your chili!” Dallas cheered, bouncing in his seat.

“Thanks, kiddo. Come along,” Austin added in his snooty butler voice. “Dinner to be served in the living room, sirs and madame.”

Paige giggled madly, because now she was in on the joke. “Yay!”

They trooped inside, and Kyler felt so comfortable taking off his coat and hat, and even kicking off his boots, which he did to preserve the condo’s floors, since it was a rental. It surprised him a little, how he was getting used to being at Austin’s place.

Coats and hats came off the kids, and they settled on the floor to sort candy.

“Make sure Mr. Mistoffelees doesn’t steal your candy. He doesn’t need it.”

“Is he going to come out this time?” Kyler wasn’t sure he’d even seen the kitty, but Paige insisted she had.

“Maybe. But he’s so shy,” Dallas told him, serious as a heart attack. “He really hides when people come over.”

“Maybe he’ll come out from under the couch this time.” Austin winked at him. “He’s a little tuxedo cat, hence the name.”

“The name?” He didn’t follow.

“Mr. Mistoffelees. It’s from TS Eliot and the play Cats . That’s what he looked like. He was a tuxedo cat.”

Kyler liked how Austin didn’t make a big deal out of sharing information and didn’t make him feel stupid. It was a thing. Just something Austin said.

They scooped up the chili, and he’d been right. It tasted as good as it smelled.

He topped his with onion and cheese and a dollop of sour cream. He also got himself two huge pieces of cornbread. There was precious little finer than cornbread.

Paige got a bit of everything, Dallas had cheese, and Austin got cheese and Fritos.

It was— It was easy. Paige knew where they kept their spoons. Then there were the fancy fizzy waters in cans Austin kept for the kids.

It was a little like being in a family. Kyler was man enough to admit that he liked it .

“So what do you normally do on Halloween?” he asked. “I mean, after the kids go to bed.”

“Oh, I used to watch scary movies and have a couple of beers. You know, enough to where I could be a little toasty, but not in any way impaired if something happened where he needed me. But it’s kind of lonely, so the last few years I’ve hung out with people online who were lonely too.” Austin winced. “God, that sounds so damn pitiful.”

“No. No…well, maybe a little.” Kyler kind of got it though. He and Henley had been separated for four years, so he’d only had Paige two of those Halloweens. “Still, I have to tell you, it’s not like I was out partying. Most at those times.”

“Oh, I imagine you’ve had some good parties. I’m…I’m kind of staid. You know, I mean I did college, I got my masters. I fell in love. I got married. We had a baby. And then?” Austin shrugged. “It didn’t last.”

“And he’s not?”

Austin shook his head once and said, “No. Not even a sniff, and that wasn’t on me. I’m the sperm donor. He wasn’t interested in being added to the birth certificate, and he wasn’t interested in any of his parental rights if he’d had any. Not an issue.”

“Oh.” There were some hardcore anger issues there. He got it, but he didn’t. He and Henley weren’t some huge love match or anything, they were good friends. They’d had sex a couple of times, they got pregnant, they had a baby.

But they talked about Paige daily. Haley paid her child support like clockwork. She saw Paige every time she could. It really was a good break-up, and they were, in their own little way, kind of still a family.

Not even kind of. They were a family.

Sort of like he and Austin and the kids were forming a family and?—

Oh man, he was wigging himself right the hell out. Because that sounded terrifying in his brain. They were just friends. Even if he did find himself staring at Austin.

A lot.

Suddenly he realized he’d been in his head for a bit there and Paige was kind of staring at him and Austin was quiet. Dead silent.

Damn it.

“Sorry, man. I got my train derailed.”

“It’s okay, Daddy,” Paige said. “Dallas has his poppy. He doesn’t even know the other guy. It’s not like me and Mama, where Mama works, and it’s best that I live with you, but she still loves me. That’s different.”

“It is. It’s very different. Different families happen all the time.”

Austin nodded. “This is true. We choose our families sometimes. That’s a good thing. We surround ourselves with people who love us and care about us and want the best for us. That’s what a family is.”

Dallas beamed at his father, eyes happy, that smile easy. “Daddies and daddies can be family. Mommies and daddies can be family. Mommies and mommies can be families. Sometimes there’s one person with a kid with a family. Sometimes there’s two people and they’re grown-ups and they’re a family. And sometimes there’s a person and a dog and they’re a little family. And then there’s grannies and all the other things too.”

He could tell Dallas had heard this conversation many times over.

And while many of his cowboy friends would fall over laughing at the very idea, Kyler liked it. “That sounds great, guys. Seriously. I was sad a minute for anyone who wouldn’t want to know how cool you are, Dal. Right, Paige?”

“Right! He’s an asshole.”

“Paige!” He had to work hard not to laugh his ass off.

Dallas’s eyes went wide. “You said a cuss!”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. Much.”

“Well, you two keep the cat away and figure out the candy. No more than one piece. Kyler, you want to help with dishes?” Austin asked.

“Sure.” Uh-oh. He hoped he wasn’t in trouble.

Austin brought him into the kitchen, offered him a smile. “I haven’t discouraged Paige from talking about her mom. I think Dallas likes to hear about different family units. She’s good to Paige, right?”

“She is. She’s not… Well, she’s not easy, but she loves her, and she never mistreats her, and she bends over backward to do things with her.”

“Excellent. Paige worships her, you can tell. She showed us footage of her racing.”

How the hell did Paige know how to do that?

“That’s cool.” He chuckled. “I get a little worried that she’s unhappy, but she never acts like it.”

“She’s a firecracker. She’s going to be wild one day.”

“God, yes. I keep trying to keep her reined in but also confident.” And it was a full-time job.

“I keep trying to keep him confident, but safe, so I hear you.”

He glanced sideways at Austin. “I wasn’t freaked out about him having two dads, just FYI.”

“Oh, good. Not that he did, but one day, I hope to actually get laid again.”

Kyler chuckled, because he heard that. And it was weird how thinking on Austin and getting laid in the same breath seemed natural as all get-out. He would tuck that away for later review. “Yeah, I get that. I’ve been on a serious not roll.”

“Right? It’s tough, when you’re a single dad.”

“It is. Half the folks I meet want to settle down and let me raise more kids without getting to know me, and the other half don’t want me to have kids.” Kyler raised his eyebrows. “ Hazard of the rodeo, I guess.” He wondered if it was the same in the gay Aspen community. Or anywhere for that matter.

“Most everyone I know looks at him and they run. He’s amazing, but he’s not your average little boy.”

“I think he’s great.” They grinned at each other, and he thought some things never changed. You always yearned for what you didn’t have and ignored the challenges it would present.

It was the way of things.

“I’d be happy to watch scary movies with you, post-sugar crash.”

“Yeah?” Austin’s eyes lit up. “Thanks, man.”

“Hey. I love the idea of not having to drive back out while the drunks are out, and I like the company.” A lot, in fact. He liked it a lot.

“Well, we’ll all have our slumber party, then. It’ll be a lovely time. Your critters are all okay?”

“They’ll be fine. I fed before I left, and I can head out early.” Damn. Okay, cool.

“No, Daddy. We have all our trampolines tomorrow and pizza!”

“I can go get myself showered, changed, and come back here, baby. Like before breakfast. Is that okay?”

“Oh. Yes! I think it’s the greatest. It’s a special weekend!”

“Yay!” Dallas threw himself down into a handstand.

“Does that work for you, man?” he asked Austin.

“It does! I’ve got tons of pillows and blankets. Sweats too, if you’d like.”

He measured Austin with his eyes. “Yes, that would work. So are we going back out, hooligans? Or are we done?”

“Do you want to go out?”

“We could play games and watch movies in our jammies. Poppy said we could have popcorn and pancakes in the morning. ”

Paige chewed her lip, then examined her candy. “Okay! We have enough loot!”

“Then I can even put out the candy bowl and turn the lights on in case anyone comes.” Austin beamed.

Dallas nodded. “Poppy has candy above the fridge, for if we run out.”

“It’s for trick-or-treaters, son.”

“Uh-huh. We’re trick-or-treaters!”

“Never fear, there will be plenty. Come on, kiddo. Let’s get cleaned up and changed, huh? Time for Annie to hang up her rifle.” He was so damn tickled with the evening he could bust.

And he hadn’t had his candy yet.

It had been a wild and woolly Halloween night.

The kids were ramped up on sugar and excitement and ‘scary movies’.

And of course, because his light was the only porch light on in the entire damn complex, they’d had at least three million trick-or-treaters.

Possibly more.

So he’d had to send Kyler out to get extra candy, and of course, when Kyler came back, it wasn’t just a bag of treats.

It must have been every single thing City Market had on tap.

Possibly City Market and the Walgreens.

It was like a chocolate and hard candy explosion.

Now all the lights were off, and the kids were asleep and drooling in their little makeshift tent in Dallas’s bedroom.

They started with Halloween , and both of them shared a beer and a pizza, because chili was great, but scary movies and Butterfingers deserved pizza.

Then they decided to stay old school and watch A Nightmare on Elm Street .

They’d heckled and laughed until Kyler had him stop the movie about the point where Johnny Depp was going to get eaten by the bloody bed of doom so that he could go to the bathroom.

So Kyler did, and Austin sort of laid there with his head back on the sofa. Everybody online was gonna wonder where he was, but he wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to say.

I’m hanging out with my son’s best friend’s dad, who is straight and a little wigged-out about me being gay, but that’s cool? We’re still being cool. Oh, also he’s, like, the body double of my best character and…

Yeah, no. He’d just ghost.

He sat there with his eyes closed, trying not to think perverse thoughts about Kyler because he wasn’t that kind of guy. He wasn’t a creeper.

He thought that Kyler was really hot and sweet and kind and…fascinating.

And that didn’t mean anything when push came to shove. Because Kyler was into melons and he was into bananas, which was not even apples and oranges.

He was about to doze off when a change in the air made him open his eyes, and Kyle stood there by the couch, watching him. For a wild moment, he thought he’d awakened in Freddy’s nightmare world and that Kyler was going to stab him with knife fingers.

Then Kyler grabbed the blanket he’d left on the couch and sat down next to him again.

He breathed a sigh of relief, which might be premature, he thought, because Kyler cleared his throat .

“So. I picked the wrong door when I was hunting for the bathroom.”

“No biggie.” He didn’t have a secret lair or a dungeon or?—

Oh.

Oh, dear.

He did have an office with poster-sized images of his covers framed on the walls…

Fuck a doodle doo.

“Anything you want to tell me, Austin?” Kyler’s eyes glittered in the gloom.

“What do you want me to say? I told you I was a writer. You never mentioned you were a cover model. I didn’t think you wanted me to bring it up. None of the photos are explicit, and the model release says your image could be used on a gay romance.”

“It does.” Kyler shrugged. “It’s a little weird, huh?”

Shit. He hoped he hadn’t ruined his son’s friendship. And his. He thought he and Kyler were becoming friends.

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to embarrass you. Dallas has zero idea. This isn’t going to get out, I swear.” He liked Kyler. He didn’t want to hurt the man’s feelings.

“No, that’s fine. I mean, if I was worried about that, I would worry about Koby. That man chitchats.”

“Okay. I didn’t mention it, because…I didn’t know how, and then you didn’t say, ‘oh, I pose for book covers,’ so…”

“Well, no. It’s a good gig, and I’m not ashamed of it, but I didn’t want to be all, oh you write books? I’m on some.”

They stared at each other. “The fans really loved them, you know.”

“Yeah?” Kyler’s lips curved. “Obviously you did too.”

“I’m a healthy gay man, Kyler. Of course I did.” He wasn’t going to pretend to be straight or blind.

He would swear those cheeks went red, but it was hard to tell in the flickering light from the TV. “That’s very flattering, Austin.”

He waited for the “but” where Kyler told him the kids couldn’t spend the night anymore or that he was going to get Paige and go home. It didn’t come.

“You’re okay?” he asked.

“I think so, yeah.” Kyler chuckled. “I may be a little more bent than you think.”

“I can handle bent. I want you to know that I enjoy this—hanging together.” And he loved the idea of bent.

“I love it, man. I haven’t had someone to just… be me with in a long time. A long time. You make it easy.”

“Thank you. That makes me feel ten thousand feet tall.” And that was the truth. He’d felt like he’d forgotten how to be an in-person friend.

“Yeah. Well, I saw what that looks like in your office,” Kyler teased.

“You like that, do you? They’re great covers. I love them.”

“It’s a little squirmy, but yeah. I mean, I love the covers.”

“Me too. I’m glad you took the job. No one else could be Maverick.” And no one else ever would, after this last book was finished.

“Yeah? Thanks. So are there going to be more books?” Kyler asked it casually, but watched him pretty close.

“There’s one more. He’s been through some stuff, but he’s finally getting his absolute happily ever after.”

“Nice. Have I done the cover for it already?” Kyler chuckled. “Not that I’m trying to get more work.”

“I asked for a winter shot, but I can use what I have, if I need to…” He wanted a shearling coat deal, maybe the curve of Kyler’s jaw.

“Well, you let me know. You got an in with the model now.”

“Nice.” He couldn’t stop his grin for love or money .

“Right? Not that I would deny Koby and Tom their cut. They were life savers.” Kyler grabbed a Reese’s.

“They’re amazing. They found me the perfect model.”

Kyler beamed at him, and he breathed easier. It was going to be okay.

He was not going to lose his good friend.

That sounded like a treat, not a trick. He grabbed a handful of candy of his own, wincing when someone else met a bloody end.

Halloween seemed so much shinier this year.