"So, is everyone coming back home to celebrate?" I asked.
"Can't," Hannah said. "As much as I'd love to, Enzo is a little young to socialize and Reni has some stuff to do for his sponsors."
"And I'm just passing through too," Scarlet admitted. "Billy called and asked if I could bring any pressure. I asked Ian, so we shifted a trip to Houston around to make this work. There's some mare he's sure will be an asset to his program. Fucking fifty thousand dollars for a horse, but who am I to talk, right?"
I just gaped at her. "Wow. That's..."
"I know," she agreed. "I always dreamed of riding a nice horse like that, and now this? I wish Bea could see me now. She'd be so proud."
"I'm sure she is," I promised. "And Gran has to be smiling down on all of us." Then I paused. "Oh, both of you check the fashion news this weekend. Ash and I are 'coming out' as poly. Hopefully, he'll do it in an awards speech, but we want to make this whole thing public."
"And Luke's ok with that?" Kris asked.
I nodded. "Him and his daughter. She's about Annika's age. Maybe a year older. He wants to show her it's ok to be proud of who you are, even if others don't agree."
Teal just grabbed my shoulders and rubbed gently. "And now you get to make a lot more of us, Violet. Although, at this rate, you're going to eventually run out of colors."
"Oh, no," I assured him. "I have plenty in mind. I've been making a list of every good color I see, and Gran kept a journal tracking which shades had been used. My goal is to grow the rainbow, not repeat it."
"Well, unlike these ladies, I'm coming home. I want to meet this man you're dating - and I mean Emerald. I also promised Billy that I would."
"Ok," I agreed. "But first, I want to meet these people who spoke up for me. Both Kris's man and Hannah's new herd. I think I need to tell all of them just how much I appreciate this."
"Overwhelmed, huh?" Kris asked.
I nodded. "More than you can imagine. It still doesn't feel real."
"And yet it is," Hannah said. "Southwind is once again going to save the world - or at least those of us who need it most."
Chapter Sixty-One
Southwind was chaos for the next two days. I got to meet Teal, and Cy was thrilled to see the guy. Billy and Berto decided their work was done here. Berto wanted to head back to Austin to make sure something was done about the police, because he was sure they wouldn't simply stop harassing us now that Southwind was legally allowed to operate. Billy said his team had found something interesting about the developer Paul Simmons had spoken with. Hopefully, if Simmons had no one willing to work with him, the man would eventually give up and fade back into obscurity.
And we were headed to New York. Ash had been nominated for awards, and while we'd agreed to go if the vote went well, it seemed that none of us had actually expected that. The trip had been pushed back in my mind as something that would never happen, and now I felt like things were moving a little too fast.
Faith was thrilled, though. When she got home from school on Thursday, her first question had been about the vote. Then, when Ash had reminded her of the trip, she'd spent the entire night trying to decide what she should wear in New York. My little girl talked about the state as if it was a club that she was going to. Granted, she'd never been outside of Texas, and she certainly hadn't flown on a plane.
Chartreuse and Crimson were sticking around just a little longer, so they agreed to watch the dogs for us. Billy said he was driving out on Saturday morning so that he could make a stop on the way home for business. Emily and Zeke promised that they would handle anything that came up. Then, on Friday morning, Berto headed out first.
That evening, we packed ourselves into my truck and headed to the airport in Irving. It was a long drive, and Ash spent most of it telling us what to expect. Violet and Faith talked about what they were going to wear to this event tomorrow night. Cy made it clear that Ash was in charge of dressing the men, which made me feel a little better. They were talking about tuxes, but I sure as shit didn't own one. Ash told us that he'd had a few things arranged for us, Leslie had handled it all, and we shouldn't worry.
Before I knew it, we were tackling the insanity of the airport. From long-term parking to the security checks, I herded Faith ahead of me, letting Violet show us where we had to go next. Eventually, we ended up strapped into seats on an airplane as the thing raced down the runway and up into the air.
Sitting in the window seat, Faith had her face pressed to the glass. "Dad, look!" she begged, pointing. "That's Dallas!"
"I know, cupcake," I assured her, trying to not look too stupid as I stole glances over her shoulder.
"First time?" Violet asked.
Faith answered for me. "Yeah. He's never worn a tux either."
"I've worn a suit, and that's basically the same thing," I assured her.
From across the aisle, Ash chuckled. "It's really not."
But the only exciting parts of flying were the taking off and landing. Somewhere in the middle, Faith fell asleep on my shoulder. She also drooled a little, but I'd never tell her that. Violet kept smiling at us like we'd done something adorable. And when the seatbelt sign came back on, she told me to wake up Faith so she wouldn't miss the landing.
From there, we stepped off the plane into a whole new world - one which looked exactly the same. The accents were different, and I was the only person I saw wearing a hat, but that was about it. Thankfully, all of our bags made it with us, and then we stepped out to find a long black car waiting. Ash just smiled and said that Leslie was making him look good.
