CHAPTER THIRTY
Over the next few days, Meg unpacked her things, and settled in to full-time life in the log cabin. Each day, she went to work at the hospital, and Sky spent time in the recording studio, laying down vocal tracks for the band’s next album.
At the behest of the band’s publicist, Sky tweeted a public apology to Meg and to the fans for his behavior at Whiskey Kitchen. He provided no further fodder for the tabloids and gossip rags, and avoided going out in public until the story died down.
Although they guarded their privacy by eating at home, Sky surprised Meg one night by suggesting they go out. “I’m in the mood for tacos,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye. “Let’s take a ride tonight.”
“Sounds good.”
She hopped on the back of Sky’s motorcycle and strapped on her helmet. She was all smiles as she held onto his waist while the wind whipped through her long hair. If anyone had told me last year that I’d be riding around with Sky Johnson on his motorcycle, and that I’d actually like it, I’d never have believed them.
Sky navigated the roads into Edgehill Village, and stopped in front of Taco Mamacita. “My mouth is watering already,” he said, as they found seats at a table for four. A waitress appeared, and he ordered guacamole and a salsa sampler for the table.
Meg was confused. “Isn’t that a lot to eat if we’re also having tacos?”
“Nope,” Sky replied, as he turned towards the door.
Just after their appetizers arrived at the table, Meg heard a familiar squeal. She looked up, and immediately jumped out of her seat. “Becky! Jack! When did you get back?”
“Late last night,” Jack said, as he kissed Meg on the cheek.
Meg turned to Sky. “Why didn’t you tell me they were back?”
He grinned. “Didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”
“Tell me all about your trip,” Meg said, turning to Jack and Becky.
While they ate, Becky described their trip to Australia, and Sky filled Jack in on the progress he had made with the recording of the new album.
“We have a surprise for you both,” Sky said, taking Meg’s hand in his. “We’re living together now.”
Becky clapped her hands like an excited child. “That’s awesome!”
“And about time,” Jack chimed in. “You two make one heck of a great couple.”
“We have other news, too,” Sky added. “We got the results of the paternity test. Mallory’s baby isn’t mine. I’m not the father.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Jack said, taking a deep sip from his margarita. “Now we can put that whole sordid chapter in the rear view mirror, and move forward.”
Moving forward was the game plan over the next week. Sky, Jack, and the Johnson Bishop Band members, along with their producer, spent all their waking hours in the log cabin’s recording studio, putting the finishing touches on the new album.
Each night, Meg came home from work to find the house filled with people. Either Becky or Fiona, or both, would be cooking in the kitchen or on the grill.
At first, Meg thought she would never get used to having the crowd of people in the house, but reminded herself that it was Sky’s house, and not hers, and that it was also his office. As the days went by, though, she found herself looking forward to seeing everyone when she arrived at the log cabin at the end of her shift.
Becky called it a “road family”, and I get it now. They really are a family, she thought, as she was greeted with hugs and kisses when she walked through the door after her final shift of the week. She changed out of her scrubs, grabbed a beer, scooped some chili into a bowl, and sat down in the living room with everyone, eager to listen to the tracks that were mixed that day.
Meg finished cleaning up the kitchen after everyone left, while Sky collected the empty beer bottles and took out the garbage. When he returned to the house, he found Meg turning back the covers on their bed.
He helped her fold the American flag knit blanket, and he placed it over the quilt rack that Meg had picked up earlier that week at a yard sale. “So this is what they mean by ‘domestic bliss’, I guess,” he said, as he peeled off his t-shirt and jeans, and tossed them in the hamper in his closet.
“Yeah, I guess. Are you happy?”
He gazed at Meg, who was standing on her side of the bed. She was wearing a pale green satin chemise and brushing her long, thick chestnut hair. “I never thought I could be this happy.”
She smiled. “Me either.”
They snuggled together under the sheets, and talked about their days. Meg shared that a construction site accident brought three patients with multiple fractures and head injuries to the hospital’s trauma unit, and Sky gave her more details about the day in the recording studio.
“Do Jack and Becky have a recording studio at their house?”
“Yeah, they do. When we bought our houses, we each renovated them to include all the equipment we would need to cut our albums. It’s much more comfortable at home and we all feel more creative when we’re relaxed.” He paused for a second, before asking, “Does it bother you to have the whole band here while we’re working?”
“No, not at all.” She snuggled up to him, and kissed his chest. “Actually, I really like it. I’ve looked forward to coming home each day and seeing everyone.”
“They’ll all be back tomorrow.”
“Good! Then it’s my turn to cook for the gang.”
“Ooh, baby,” he said, as he slipped his hand under her chemise while brushing his lips against her neck. “You know I love it when you cook. What are you going to make?”
“Not sure yet,” she said, as her breathing became shallow. “Right now I’m only focused on my dessert.”
“Mmm…me too.” He pushed the thin satin material covering Meg’s body up her torso. “Sit up,” he said, as he pulled the chemise off her body and let it fall to the floor. “Much better now that I have full access to you.”
“Then return the favor, and let me have full access to you, too.”
His boxer briefs were on the floor in an instant. “I’ll never deny you access to me, if that’s what you want, baby.” He covered her body with his, and nudged her legs apart.
She wrapped her legs and arms around his body. “It’s always what I want.”
“I like how you think.” His mouth left a trail of kisses from her neck to her breasts. He took one, then the other, into his mouth. “I can never get enough of my beautiful guardian angel.”
“If we keep this up, my halo is going to slip.”
“Never, baby. You’ll always be my angel.”
They rolled over, and Meg raised herself to her knees. Her hair cascaded over her breasts in tangles as she leaned forward and kissed Sky’s lips.
“Meg, baby, I need you.”
“I know.” She lowered herself over his hard shaft.
“Ooh…you feel so good.”
“You do too. I love the way you fill me up.”
Sky’s heart raced as Meg’s hips rocked back and forth, and up and down. He reached between her legs and, using one of his fingers, he applied gentle pressure to her sweet spot, and was rewarded when he heard her moan.
“Oh my God, Sky. That feels so good.” She gasped for breath, and uttered, “Don’t stop.”
As her gyrations picked up speed, Sky groaned. “I don’t know how much longer I can last. I’m so close. I need you too…” He increased the pressure of his fingers on her pleasure center.
Meg’s body shuddered, and her hair went flying as her back arched. “Oh my God,” she called out as waves of ecstasy overtook her body, and her insides contracted around him.
“Go with it, baby.” His breathing came in grunts as he thrust upward and deep within her, holding her in place while screaming her name.
The ringing of Sky’s cell phone woke them early. He looked at the screen, then answered, “Jesus, Jack, do you know what time it is?”
Meg rolled over and groaned. “Call him back later.”
“Shh…,” he said to Meg. Speaking into the phone, he said, “They’re ready? Really? That’s great. Yeah, we’ll meet you there in an hour.” He paused, before adding, “Nope, I never told her. It’s still a surprise.” He ended the call, and turned towards Meg.
“When you referred to ‘we’, I seriously hope that you meant you and Fiona, because I’ve been up at the crack of dawn all week and wanted to sleep in this morning before the guys in the band got here.” She turned onto her stomach, and pulled the covers over her head.
Sky lifted up the edge of the covers and peeked underneath. “Come on, baby. I’ve got a nice surprise waiting for you.”
She pulled the covers back over her head, and her voice was muffled beneath the sheets. “No.”
“I’ll buy you breakfast at Waffle House.”
She stirred, and pushed the sheets off her face. “Promise?”
He laughed out loud. “Cross my heart.”
Five minutes later, Meg fastened her seatbelt in the front seat of Sky’s Tahoe. “Let’s get this show on the road, Johnson. If I don’t get a cup of coffee in me right away, I can’t be responsible for my actions.”
“Here.” He handed her a go-cup of coffee as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Anything for my angel.” Leaning over and kissing her on the cheek, he added, “Next stop, Waffle House.”
They wolfed down their eggs, hash browns, and waffles like they hadn’t eaten in a week. Sky paid the check and looked at his watch. “Good. We’ll be right on time.”
“What’s going on? Where are we going? And why are we meeting Jack so early in the morning?”
“First, we’re meeting Jack and Becky. He and I have a surprise for you girls.”
“What kind of surprise? Come on, tell me.”
“Nope,” he said, as he steered the Tahoe out of the parking lot.
Meg peppered him with questions as he drove, but Sky gave nothing away. When he pulled into the bus depot, Meg was dubious. “What are we doing here?”
They parked next to Jack’s pick-up truck, and walked towards where he and Becky were standing near a row of tour buses.
“All ready?” Jack grinned as he took Becky by the hand and led her down the row of buses. He stopped in front of a beige and brown bus, and gestured towards the door. “Welcome to our home away from home.”
Becky clapped her hands. “This is ours? All ours?”
“Let me carry you over the threshold,” he said, scooping her up and opening the door.
Sky and Meg watched them disappear inside the tour bus. They heard Becky shrieking with joy, then raise the window shade in the rear of the bus and wave. Jack pulled her away from the window, and it became quiet.
“I don’t think we should stand here while they, um…voyeurism isn’t my thing,” Meg said.
“Yeah, you’re right. We shouldn’t just stand here. Come on.” He took her by the hand and led her to another beige and brown bus parked next to Jack and Becky’s bus.
Meg’s heart skipped a beat. “Is this...is this yours?”
He pointed to the “WSJ” in small blue lettering on the door.
“William Skyler Johnson,” she said. “So this is your bus.”
“No,” he said with a grin. “It’s our bus. Come on, let’s check it out.”
Meg followed Sky up the stairs of the bus. She looked around the front lounge, which consisted of a large granite and stainless steel kitchen space with a full-sized refrigerator, sink, coffee maker, and cabinets. There was built-in table, a seating area, and big screen television on the wall. “Ooh, there’s so much room without all the bunks.”
“It’s a little ‘bare bones’ right now. I thought we could add some personal touches together.”
“That would be great.” She walked past the kitchen area, and gestured to the single stack of three bunks. “Are these guest bunks?”
Sky laughed. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t count on guests joining us anytime soon. I want our first few runs to be just us.” He pulled her in for a deep kiss. “Want to see the bedroom?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I love the pocket door. It will give us a lot of privacy.”
He pulled her hair aside and kissed the back of her neck. “No need for a luau now.”
Meg pouted. “But I liked our luaus.”
He continued nibbling at her neck, and half-whispered, “Mmm…okay, we can still have ‘Hawaiian sex’ whenever you want, for old times’ sake.”
She chuckled, and turned around to give him a kiss. “Good.” She pushed the pocket door to the side, and stepped into the bedroom. “Wow.”
There was a queen-sized bed against one wall, and a built-in dresser against the opposite wall. A large shower with glass doors was beyond the bed. At the far end of the bus there was another set of doors.
“What’s back here?”
“Closets. Take a look,” he said, sliding the doors open. “The bus is our new dressing room. We can keep some things here, and also take more stuff out on the road with us. No more bag limits.” He sat down on the bed, and patted his hand on the mattress.
Meg sat down next to him. “We should try the bed out, and make sure it’s comfortable.”
“Ooh, baby, I was hoping you’d say that.”