Saving This (The McCallans #5) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I’m in, Max. I’m so in, you better fucking sign me right now.”

Max chuckled over the phone as he walked across the patio. He didn’t stray far from the jungle gym that Chase was playing on and always kept an eye on him, but he really needed to hear this from Jeremy Robb. He’d had his mind set on one actor to pull off his movie script—just
one
—and thank God he’d said yes.

“That’s awesome, Jer. Thanks so much.”

“Thanks? Really?” Jeremy laughed. “This is amazing. This is what I’ve been looking for. I mean yeah it’s going to be a challenge—this is deep, brother—but I’m looking forward to it.”

Knowing that Jeremy was a method actor like himself, Max was already moving ahead to the next step. “Okay, I have a military contact you can go through if you want to fully immerse yourself in this for a bit. It’s all set up for you whenever you’re ready.”

“Hell yes, you know I do.”

“I’ll text you his contact information when we hang up. Oh, I’ll be sitting in on the casting next week and I’ll let you know who else you’ve got with you.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Max. This is going to be incredible.”

Max felt his confidence waver another time before they spoke their goodbyes and hung up. It was both exciting
and
scary to be moving forward with this project, but he knew without a doubt it was what he wanted to do.

He joined Chase at the playset again. The kid was pretty independent and often played by himself, which caused Max to worry if he got enough time with other people or even kids his age. He had no idea what Kate did with him on a daily basis and he never manipulated his son into telling him.

Some of Max’s money to Kate had been for a private preschool tutor, or some sort of exclusive classes she could take him to with other high society parents. Chase knew his numbers and how to write his name; he could also speak clearly and knew a wide range of vocabulary. Whenever Max asked him about what he’d learned, Chase would mention someone named Meg. He’d assumed Meg was one of his teachers, but he’d asked Kate about her
twice
in two different texts and still never received an answer.

Max had been expecting Teague to come over with his little guy that day, but when Jay arrived with Cade as well, he was surprised. Then Tyse entered the backyard right behind them and it was an even bigger surprise.

After greetings with Chase—who was excited beyond excited to see all three men there with two kids—Teague motioned to the mansion and asked, “Where the hell is everyone?”

Knowing exactly what he meant, Max answered, “Dad decided to fire all of my employees.” He almost couldn’t say it with a straight face, and knew his brother would react the same way.

Teague stared at him for a second as he rubbed the scruff on his face. And then he laughed out loud. “No shit?”

Tyse had taken both C.J. and Cade to the playset, and even though they were too little to play on anything, Chase was happy to do what he could to make them smile.

“Not a shock,” Max shrugged. “I mean I really thought he was bluffing, but he actually followed through for once.”

And he actually felt horrible about that. Eight staff members had lost their jobs the day before. It wasn’t that Max needed people to look after him, but he was truly concerned about their wellbeing. Especially Gretchen’s.

“I told dad I wanted nothing to do with McC Studios,” Max continued. “He wasn’t too pleased, of course. I think he was mainly pissed I wouldn’t tell him what I’ve been working on.”

Teague’s attention was divided between Max and what the kids were doing, but he faced his brother again and asked, “And what is that?”

“Writing.” He wasn’t sure why he answered so quickly, but since Kellie and Tate knew what he’d been up to, he felt he owed it to his brother to let him know as well. And then there was Jay, who stood there somewhat coolly, most likely trying to gauge this new type of interaction between all of them. Max was sure Teague, or maybe Kellie, had requested Jay give him a chance.

“So is this for real?” Jay asked outright. “You’re seriously changing your tune about all of this? Everything you’ve stuck up for for the past few years?”

Max hadn’t expected anything different from his cousin. Jay was apprehensive about people in general but never failed to demonstrate it. Teague was a bit quiet at times, thinking things over before he spoke—somewhat like Max—but Jay was a different story and always had been.

“No time for your fucking games, Max,” Jay continued. “I’m here because I was told to give you a chance. No, let me rephrase that. My wife refuses to have sex with me until I have this little chat with you. Apparently your happiness is more important than mine and that really pisses me the fuck off.”

Max had to refrain from laughing. Seriously. The guy was obviously pissed, but just the source of his anger was hilarious.

“What he’s trying to say,” Teague cut in emphatically, “is that we’re all here to give it a chance. Okay? Doesn’t mean everything will be fine and dandy, but these guys aren’t your enemy either,” he motioned to Jay and then Tyse, who was still busy playing with the kids.

Max motioned for them to have a seat, so all three of them pulled up a chair. He eyed Tyse for a minute at the slide, hoping the guy didn’t know why he had a hard time being around him. It wasn’t
him
exactly, but his girlfriend. Sarah looked way too much like Olivia, and it was just too damn hard to think rationally when all of those memories came back to him. When things blew up with Olivia, it was the crossroads for his change in behavior and essentially the snowball that started the avalanche.

He didn’t need the reminder; he refused to regress.

“I don’t want any part of Dad’s business,” Max informed them. “And more importantly, I don’t want Chase dragged into that either. I don’t want him to feel obligated to fill those shoes like I felt obligated to fill.”

He shifted his gaze to the two of them. Jay always had that rough, distrusting exterior exuding from his personality—especially in his eyes. He was naturally wary but it often came across as heartless. And sometimes he just looked ready to fuck someone up.

Teague, on the other hand, looked quite uncomfortable right now. It was his eyes that betrayed his worry, and the way he shifted in his chair to lean onto his knees. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What did Dad do?”

Max explained the business partnership and how it was set up, and then went on to the will. He summarized his meeting with Craig and the words that were exchanged, even down to the last time his dad threatened to fire all of his employees. And obviously he had. Max had no idea how long he’d have Chase, but was afraid to expose him to any big changes so soon.

“Pack up your shit and go to the other house,” Teague finally said. “Just grab what you need and go. You don’t have to put up with this garbage, Max. Dad needs to learn this once and for all. I feel bad for whatever shit he’s struggling with, but that needs to be his problem for now. Trust me, you can’t teeter in the middle of this family. It’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t, and no matter what goes on or doesn’t go on, the media will write whatever the hell they want. I actually understand why you’re trying to juggle everything, but you gotta do what’s best for yourself, man. Sometimes enough is enough.”

“I know, I packed up a bunch of stuff while Chase was asleep this morning. You were set to come over so I’ve just been hanging out.”

Teague stood. “Then get going. Don’t let us keep you.”

Max frowned at him. “Right now?”

“Yep. If you’re serious about this, you need to act. Don’t let him get another word in, or another excuse or lecture, and don’t let him get away with this shit.”

“Ha, you know what the tabloids will say, right?”

Teague actually laughed. “That Daddy kicked another son out of the house?”

Max found that somewhat amusing. He didn’t care what story the media conjured up—there was nothing he could do about it—but maybe it was time to just let the chips fall where they may.

“Back the fuck up,” Jay finally spoke again. “What’s this about another house?”

***

It was getting dark by the time Max made it to the house off Decker. Chase had slept the entire way, and when he woke, he was somewhat disoriented. He was carried inside with the rest of the guys following close behind.

“Well this is interesting,” Jay observed, looking around the house. It was totally a bachelor pad—zero femininity to it whatsoever, or really any sign of life. It was clean and tidy, but nothing fancy or outlandish and more of a “rustic” feel. “How long you had this place?”

Max sat down on the couch with Chase, who was still groggily rubbing his eyes. He motioned for everyone else to have a seat. “About a year. Bought it when I finished filming
Where It Strikes.
I was physically and mentally drained and needed out of the city.”

“Drained because of…?” Teague tentatively asked. He was still standing up with C.J., bouncing him to keep him from crying.

Max exhaled. “There was endless publicity for that movie. Between all of the press interviews and hype parties, I just needed a break. All of that wears me out more than the actual work.”

“Is it really required of you to do all that?” Tyse asked. He was the only one not tending to a kid at the moment, but Max figured he’d be of service if anyone needed him to be.

Jay scoffed. “Tell ‘em all to—” He paused and looked at the little boys, and then mouthed
fuck off.

“It’s actually written in his contracts,” Teague mumbled, answering for Max. He had C.J. draped across his forearm face down, finally seeming content staring at the throw rug below.

“What?” Tyse was visibly surprised. “So just don’t do movies that make you do that crap.”

“I wish it were that simple, but it’s not,” Max replied. “Every production company needs to protect their investment. You sign on, you gotta sign to their terms. Yes sometimes it’s negotiable, but you can’t get out of it entirely.” He sighed and shook his head as he flipped on the big screen TV.

“Call me a fucking idiot, but I always thought you loved that shit,” Jay said. He’d spoken the curse words quietly, even though Cade had toddled over to the diaper bag with toys and Chase had slid off the couch and joined him.

Max considered a response. Part of him wanted to be an asshole, but another part of him wanted to lay it all out on the table. He chose indifference and shrugged. “Things aren’t always what they appear to be. What you’ve seen is me building and fulfilling my dad’s dream while trying to figure out my own.”

There wasn’t a direct response to that, even though Max felt like that was the best way he’d described his career. Yes, he did love acting. But after a while, it became more about pleasing everyone else instead of himself.

Each man seemed to think on those words, and even Teague was carefully observing his brother. Max found a movie for the kids to watch, and when Jay asked if there was any food in the house, he pointed to the kitchen and said, “Help yourself.”

The evening consisted of four frozen pizzas, two bags of chips, and a half case of beer. It wasn’t exactly a stocked kitchen, but Max made sure there was enough to tide him over for a week or two if he ever needed to be.

“We can’t let the girls know about this,” Jay said to Teague an hour later. All three kids were sacked out asleep by then—C.J. and Cade on a blanket in the far corner, and Chase had been carried to his room.

“Yeah, we should definitely tell them this was completely miserable and extremely beyond our comfort zones,” Teague answered.

“Even though we’re fucking amazing at daddy daycare.” Jay stated it matter-of-factly with somewhat of a serious expression. “God, could you imagine all of us being responsible for our kids as they get older. Together?”

They all laughed. For something so expansive in thought, no one needed to expound on it.

“Don’t let Melanie hear you call it babysitting,” Teague informed him. “Camryn, either.”

“Oh no shit,” Jay laughed. “I’m a dad, it’s my privilege as a parent. But Jesus, Mel gets all eye-rolly and scoffy when I even joke about it like, ‘Okay, fine, I’ll babysit. But it’s a weekend, so my rate doubles.’ She doesn’t find it funny.”

“I’m not even allowed to joke about it,” Teague mused.

Jay laughed. “Have you ever said, ‘I’ll change this diaper if you suck my dick later.’ Yeah, that one’s apparently not funny either.”

“Oh my God,” Teague laughed, shaking his head. “No, not exactly like that. But last week I made Camryn a hot bath with candles and told her to relax for a bit while I took care of the baby. I only did it because I wanted to watch the end of the game. Hell, I was her fucking hero that night. Got a blowjob and then some.”

Again everyone laughed, and Max said, “You seriously fooled her? Nah, man. She seems too smart for that.”

“Hey, it’s all about not seeming to care about the game too much. You put in your time cleaning up the kitchen, listening to your wife talk about a diaper blowout at the store, you give her hugs and kisses, and although the affection is real, you know it’s working in your favor. You hug her tight, watching the TV over her head for the last play, tell her she’s amazing because she is, and then boom, commercial time and the grand gesture of heading straight to the bathroom to start a bath. She won’t turn you down—she’s so grateful for the consideration—and you get the next forty-five minutes to zone out.”