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“Little Wren,” I began. “Today was the kind of day when you should have come to me when you needed to rant. I could have added a few expletives in myself, maybe even some you’ve never heard before. Partners are meant to share the good, the bad, and the early morning, pre-coffee grumpfest.”

Now that he was laughing he began to relax and finally twisted the top off his soda.

“Guess I was just worried about messing up your day with my mood.”

“The only thing that messed up my day was not hearing from you,” I replied. “Which is why that is going to be Daddy’s rule number one. It goes both ways, so you never have to worry about me not responding to you. There will always be a reply to communication, even if it’s just an emoji. That lets me know that you’ve seen my messages and are able to reply to them. Silence tells me nothing. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry about where you were or if something had happened to you to render you unable to acknowledge me.”

“I get it. I do. I should have at least looked at my phone instead of keeping it hidden in my pocket all day.”

Studying him, something dawned on me, but I needed him to confirm it.

“Why didn’t you pull it out?” I asked.

Oh, there we go, back to the squirming. At this rate, it would be bedtime before his cheeks were back to their proper color again.

“Knew that if I did I’d start going off about everything,” Tony grumbled. “I don’t know if I would have even read your texts first. My fingers would have started flying over the keypad and you’d have a long line of gifs ranging from explosions to Daffy Duck throwing a fit.”

“Yet you deprived me of that? Next time I expect a full collection to fill my feed, is that understood.”

“Yes…Daddy?”

“No question mark. Yes, Daddy is the right answer. If something were to happen on the road, our phones are our first line of communication. You can expect a text from me any time something goes sideways. My crew will be hours ahead of the talent, so that needs to be taken into consideration. Things happen out there, even when the team is as talented as the crews we have at Masterson.”

“I’ve um, heard stories of flat tires and vehicles ending up in corn fields,” Tony admitted. “Some other shit too.”

“Yup, plenty of other shit. I think the point’s been driven home now though.”

“Yeah. Totally heard and understood.”

“Good. Now, is there anything else you feel like you’d expect from me?” I asked.

“Dates while we’re on the road?”

“Absolutely, I’ve already been looking ahead at some of our stops for possibilities.”

“J-just…help me make sure we don’t cross lines ‘cause I don’t know what it’s all going to look like out there and I don’t want to run to you for a hug at the wrong time and piss anyone off.”

I was out of the chair and around the table so fast I surprised myself. Kneeling beside his chair, I hugged him and pressed a kiss to the top of his head when he slid out of the chair and into my arms.

“You needing a hug isn’t gonna piss anyone off,” I murmured while I stroked his hair. “You not coming to get one when you need one, however, will upset more than just me. Your crew is your lifeline out there. That doesn’t have anything to do with me being your Daddy when I say that. Our band’s physical and mental well-being is important to all of us. One of you going out there overwhelmed and frustrated is going to send ripple effects through the band and effect your whole performance, which becomes a vicious cycle because you guys will beat yourselves up for it which will affect your mindset even more.”

“Starting to feel like the mental part is as big as the music.”

“Because it is, Little Wren. The music is your creation. You, Bowie, Tibby and Claude are the instruments, not your voice, and not the ones they play. How you feel, what you’re thinking about, it’s all a valid part of who you are. Accept that. Use those emotions like a superpower. Rely on the people around you to be your support system in every way. That’s what makes a strong team. That’s why Masterson is a family.”

I held him while he processed my words, knowing how new it was to him to have people surrounding him who genuinely cared. He’d see it once the tour was in motion. In time, and with a hell of a lot of help from me, he’d understand what it meant to be loved unconditionally.

Then he’d truly be free.

Chapter Seven

Tony

“How’s it going living with Wolf?” Was the first thing Bowie asked when I stepped inside the practice room.

“Well, good morning to you too, Sunshine,” I blew him a kiss and he rolled his eyes. “It’s only been a few days. There are some kinks to be worked out,” he snickered. “Cute, wrong kind of kinks, perv. Just differences in what we’re used to.”

“You mean like you always having to worry about yourself and now he’s doing it for you?”