“You sure you’re ready for them for 4 days?” Mikayla asked. 

“Yes, Kay. They’re my kids, and I have Jackie on speed dial for emergencies.”

“Do cell phones even HAVE speed dial?”

“She’s at the bottom of my favorites. We’ll FaceTime every night at bedtime.  I’ll text you pictures. We’ll be fine. I’m gonna keep a low profile with them, though. We don’t need more for the media to see and mishandle.”

“You’d be seen as the sainted single dad, while they’ll find a way to make me sound like a slut.”

“I mean, if you really want, I can make you feel like one when you get back, or Justin can while you’re away.”

“Thanks for confirming that’s all I’m good for,” Mikayla sighed. 

“You know what I mean. I’ve missed you, Kay.”

“I miss you, too.  Barb decided she can’t live without one of her outfits, so once it’s out of the dryer we’ll pack it in her bag and head over.”

“I can’t wait to see you, and the kids.  Then I get you for a week and a half?”

“After your birthday, that’s separate.  Yeah, Justin has some promo stuff for Trolls. He’s sad he’ll miss the first day of school, but I told him it’s TK, not kindergarten.”

“I’m glad I get to be there, though.  Even if I have to use the guise of being on the board.”

“I think by now people have seen the article, but also know you have a connection with the school.  I don’t think it would be out of place to have you be there, and they are your children.  You have every right to be there if you want to.  We’ll have plenty of time to discuss this later.  We’ll see you soon.”

MIkayla hung up the phone, looking at Justin.

“You’re sure that’s a good idea?” Justin asked.

“He’s their dad, he’s tied to the school, it’s not outside of his rights.  We didn't deny that he’s their dad when that article came out.   I know we didn’t say anything, but we also didn’t deny it, because we know it’s the truth.  I really don’t think it’s going to be a big deal, honestly.  Even if we are seen together at the same time, we both are part of the school, their my kids, people need to get over themselves and not be in our business.  I started something after all that happened.  I set up a Google alert for Josh, specifically to see what news articles come up for him day to day.”

“So much for staying away from negative press…”

“I don’t read them, I just get an email with a list of whatever articles may have come out about him.  You wanna know what I’ve seen pop up?  Stuff for MMC, *NSYNC, what has he done since, or how much is he worth.  There’s no mention of what happened, not since I started this.  Have you seen anything more come across your radar?”

“No,” Justin admitted.

“We’ll be fine.  We kept our heads down and nothing more has come of it.”

The buzzer for the dryer went off, Mikayla sighing.  “Looks like we’re ready to go now.”

“I’m nervous, why am I nervous?” Justin asked.

“Because you’re you.  The kids will be fine, Josh will be fine, he’ll have Jackie if he needs anything, or my parents aren’t THAT far away. He assured me we’ll get daily FaceTimes at bedtime, it’ll be fine.  You’ve never worried about them before when we’ve gone away…”

“They weren’t older, especially knowing they have another dad…”

“All the more reason to relax.  Another pair of eyes watching them.  It’ll be fine.  When did we switch, you worrying and me being cool and calm?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t like it,” Justin said.

“Come on, let’s go.  The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get there and get started on everything you have planned.”

“Oooh, I do like the sound of that…”

Mikayla smiled while rolling her eyes, taking the shirt out of the dryer and heading towards Barb's room.  They were soon ready to go, the twins excited for some time with JC.  They got into the car and made the drive over.

“Why does everything feel so far away, Daddy?” Barb whined.  “It feels like it takes forever to get to Daddy’s house…”

“Well, it’s because of the hills.  We live where we do for a little privacy. Sadly, that means things take a little longer to get to.  But trust me, the best things are worth waiting for to get.”  He put his hand on Mikayla’s, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, a soft smile spreading across his face.

They arrived at JC’s house, Barb getting more excited with every curve up the mountain.  Once Justin parked the car, Barb rushed to unbuckle herself and practically leapt out of the car, opening the door before the rest of them were even out of the car.

“DADDY!” she shouted, running through the house trying to find him.  He was in the kitchen, the fridge door open before him.  He looked like a deer in the headlights, stunned to see Barb running towards him.

“Hey, Barbie girl,” JC smiled, quickly changing his stance to brace for the impact and sweep her up into his arms.  “You’re awfully excited…”

“I missed you, Daddy,” Barb said, hugging him tightly.

“We FaceTimed once a day…”

“You’re a good hugger, Daddy. I missed your hugs.”

“I’ll give you that, your Daddy’s a VERY good hugger,” Mikayla smiled as she entered the kitchen.  She looked at the open fridge.  “Hungry?”

“I was gonna get them juice boxes, ice cold,” JC replied, putting Barb down to hug Mikayla.  He pulled her in tight, having to remind his body to behave.  He walked back to the fridge, pulling out two apple juices, pulling out the side flaps for the twins to hold them better.  He’d thought it was ridiculous at first, they could hold their own cups, until Joshy squeezed and it got juice all over the place. Since then, it had been his savior.

The twins took the juice boxes before going into their room to play.  JC looked at Mikayla and Justin.  “So… have a good trip, I guess.”

“Thanks,” Justin replied.  “Hoping to find some peace, get away from everything. Even in Tennessee, there were still things in my head. Hoping this trip will block everything out for a bit.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.  I’m sure the kids will miss you, we’ll text and FaceTime.”

Justin cleared his throat, stepping towards JC. “Well, I’m gonna say goodbye to the kids.  I’ll let you two say your goodbyes.  If you hear them stampeding over to say goodbye, make sure you stop making out first,” Justin teased. “I’ll meet you at the car, Kay.”  He hugged JC before heading down the hall.

“Wanna make out?” JC smiled.  “His words, not mine…”

“Kiss, yes.  Make out? Not so much.  I’d hate to start something I can’t finish.”

“Trust me, just kissing would get that reaction at this point,” he chuckled, taking her in his arms. 

“I should be nervous for our next alone time together, shouldn’t I?” she laughed.  “All this pent up energy…”

“Mama, you’re gonna need a day to recover, so am I.”

“Lucky for you, that’ll be around your birthday, when Justin can have the kids for a night.  I know this whole thing has been rough on him, that’s part of the reason we’re taking this trip.”

“The other part?”

“If it goes well, I think he wants to buy a house out there.  Trace raved about it, so of course he wants to check it out.”

“Kiss now, talk later,” JC said, pulling her flush against his body, his lips kissing her softly, wishing to take the kiss deeper.  “Have a good trip, let me know you’re safe.  I love you.”

“I love you too, Josh.  Maybe I’ll find some time to text you some sexy pics of myself…”

“Make me miss you more? Thanks…”

“More like give you something to work with while I’m gone.”

“So much for saving all of it for you.”

“I think you’d kill me at that point.  Though what a way to go.”

She gave him one final kiss before checking in on the twins to say goodbye.  They got up and jogged over to Mikayla giving hugs and kisses before going back to playing.  She knew they were in good hands, but couldn’t help but be sad that they weren’t a little more upset that she and Justin were leaving them alone.

She got in the car, buckling her seatbelt.  Justin noticed the look on her face.  “They miss us, Kay.  They started to get sad when I said goodbye, and I told them we’d send lots of pictures, FaceTime every night, it would be like we never left.  They are gonna have a lot of fun with JC, and to be good while we are away.  I think that also meant not showing you they were sad, cuz they didn't want to make you cry.”

“Well, it made me a different kind of sad,” Mikayla said.  “Feeling like they won’t miss me when we go on trips and things, just the two of us.”

“You’re their mom, they’ll always miss you.  It’s good we get them used to this, though.  I’ll have another album out eventually, then a tour, maybe a movie or two, recording more stuff for Trolls…They wanna do a holiday special, and the movie hasn’t even come out yet.”

“It’ll be great though, I’m sure,” Mikayla smiled. “Let’s get on that plane and start our vacation.”

“Is someone wanting to visit the mile high club again?” Justin asked.

“Maybe.  I mean, I’m wearing a dress for a reason…”

“I just thought because it was summer and hot. Good to know, I plan to take full advantage on the plane…”

…

“It’s only the airport and I love it here already,” Mikayla smiled. 

“That’s the mile high high still going through you,” Justin chuckled. “It’s just mountains…”

“I love it. It’s nature. I’m sure it’s beautiful here in winter, all the snow…”

“Right now it’s rugged, exposed, manly. I like it.”

Mikayla rolled her eyes.  “Such a typical male response.”

“You love me, though,” he said with a smug smile as he wrapped an arm around her. 

“I do,” she replied, kissing his cheek as they headed towards their rental.  

Justin began to drive, following the GPS. Mikayla looked out the window, looking at all the majestic nature around them. She envisioned it covered in snow, it all feeling magical. Justin put his hand on her knee, slowly making his way up her thigh.

“Justin, first the plane, now starting while you drive? I really don’t recommend that, what if we crash?”

“I know you by heart, baby. I could do this with my eyes closed,” he said, his hand reaching the hem of her dress, pushing it further up.

“I’ll make that bet.  Did you bring the blindfold, or something we can use instead?”

“I guess you’ll have to find out, won’t you?” Justin asked with a smirk. 

“I guess so.”

“No harm in getting you warmed up for another go.”

“If that’s part of your plan.”

“Sex with my stunningly hot wife is always the plan.”

She pushed his hand away playfully, Justin putting it right back.  He didn’t go further, running his thumb along the top of her thigh. He let go as he turned left, driving into the community they would stay at. She looked around at the different styles of constructions, from modern to classic wood cabin.   Some were smaller, others were grand expansive mansions.

“We’re staying in one of the condos.  Trace rented it out when he was here with a group of guys for a hunting trip.  We will look tomorrow at buying land and building our own cabin,” Justin  said.

“So you want a cabin as opposed to a house?”

“I want whatever you want, baby,” he smiled, squeezing her thigh.

“We’ll look at options, I suppose.  You seem pretty set on doing this, buying and building out here.”

“It’s got everything we could want from everywhere.  It gives us privacy and exclusivity, access to things like we’re in LA…”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, Justin.  The closest Target or Walmart is at least an hour away…”

“So we’ll shop on the way in, or pay to have stuff stocked for us.  I’m excited to get to build and design this with you, something that’s fully ours.  You’ve given your touch to the houses in LA and Tennessee, but this will be OURS.  A place to escape, relax, soak in nature and be a family.  No distractions like we have in LA, but we’ll have all the major conveniences as if we are.  I’m excited by the possibilities that are here, even if it’s just for vacations.”

“I do like the idea of a place that’s ours, that we did together.  You forgot the house in the Bahamas, but that’s a completely different vibe.  I love the different places we have, the ways we can relax when we’re there, even if we’re just home.  I’m sure there are things we can do here we can’t do anywhere else we have a home.”

“They have a helicopter pad, we could even fly in if we want from the airport…”

“Boys and their toys,” MIkayla chuckled.  “That doesn’t seem redundant?  Flying in on an airplane to then fly in on a helicopter?  We’d still need a car…”

“You and your being pragmatic and practical…”

“One of has to,” she giggled.

Justin pulled into the driveway of the condo, Mikayla’s eyes widening. “This is a CONDO?!  It looks like a whole house in and of itself!”

“Yeah.  6 bedroom, 8 bathrooms,3 floors…”

“Justin, it’s just the two of us for the next few days. We don’t need this much space.”

“No, but I thought we might like some of the design details and could incorporate them into our place.”

“Like what?”

“You’ll see,” he smiled softly.