River Town Box Set

by Grant C. Holland

  Auntie Erin gently clapped her hands. “Alan, bring your friends together here.”

  “You mean…”

  “Yes, the four couples. This wonderful young woman at my side wants a photo.”

  Brody glanced around at his friends. He said, “Yes, this is a perfect opportunity.” He wrapped an arm around Dak’s waist and waived in the other couples.

  As he joined the group, Ross whispered to Seb, “Keep an eye on the girls for me.”

  Diego pointed at Boomer. “Sit…”

  As six men lined up for a photo, Dak pointed at Lewis. “This means you, too.”

  Lewis pointed at his own chest. “Are you sure you mean me?”

  “Of course he’s sure,” said Brody.

  Lewis blushed slightly and took Sid’s hand pulling him into the photo lineup. Lacey waived her hand to the right and to the left getting everyone situated.

  “Should we all say cheese?” asked Alan.

  “I’ve got something better,” said Brody.

  “Better?”

  “Absolutely. Coldbrook Bend forever. Let’s all say it together—forever!”

  Private Hearts Bonus Chapter

  1

  Brody knew that Dak would miss the river, and his decision wasn’t necessarily a decision for all-time, but it was enough for Brody to walk around the rest of the day with a smile on his face. It wasn’t just that he would get to see his boyfriend all of the time instead of two out of six weeks. He also shared the concerns about the toll the riverboat took on Dak’s body. He came home the last time with bruises and red marks all over his torso. Brody wondered if it was a pattern that repeated itself over and over throughout the year.

  After parking the truck in an angled spot on Main Street downtown, Dak held the door at the Corner Hitch bar. He was a gentleman, and Brody deserved handling like the most valued of gems. He saw Brody hesitate for a moment before he stepped inside.

  Jake, the bartender, was wiping down the bar. It was only 8:00 p.m. on a Wednesday. The crowd was thin. As Dak let the door close behind and wrapped his arm around Brody’s waist, Jake asked, “So the two of you finally figured it out?”

  Brody furrowed his brow. “Figured what out? How to get through the door?”

  Jake laughed and shook his head. He pointed first to Dak and then to Brody. “Half of the town’s known the two of you should get together since you graduated from high school. I think I can speak for dozens of people when I say, ‘It’s about time.’”

  Brody blushed, and Dak raised a hand as he started to say something, but then he stopped himself. After a moment’s pause, he said, “Some things are even sweeter when you have to work hard for them.”

  “Seriously, guys, I’m extremely happy for you. It makes perfect sense. The first round of beers are on me.”

  After Jake slid the bottles of beer across the counter, Dak and Brody found their way to a round table near the rear of the bar. Brody said, “Maybe I should upgrade the jukebox for Jake. Don’t you think a little more dance music and a little less country would be a good change?”

  Dak raised an eyebrow. “In a town like Coldbrook Bend? Good luck with that.” He tipped up his bottle to take a swig of the beer. Then he glanced at the bar and realized he recognized the man seated at the far end. At least he was as confident as you could be when staring at someone from the rear. He watched Brody rub at the wet label on his bottle of beer and said, “Hang on here a sec. I think I know that guy down there. I’ll be right back.”

  Dak recognized the tightly trimmed black buzz on each side of the man’s head and the crisp, clean business casual dress. Dak threw an arm around his shoulder and asked, “How’s Boomer?”

  He held on tight when the man jumped and tried to reflexively jerk away. “Oh, damn, it’s you,” whispered Alan. “You’re lucky you didn’t get the back of a hand in your lip. And yeah, Boomer’s doing well.”

  Dak laughed. “I know when to render the weapons useless. So how’s it going, Alan? I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

  Alan gripped the rocks glass sitting on the bar in front of him and said, “It’s a lonely little town sometimes, but other than that, all is well. Work is good. I might have a tiny prospect for dates. We’ll see if it pans out.”

  Dak released his grip and backed up while Alan climbed off the barstool. As Alan stood, Dak shook his head. “A guy who looks like you and is a nice guy, too shouldn’t be alone. They should be pounding down your door.”

  As they walked toward the rear of the bar, Alan asked, “So is that Brody?”

  Dak saw Brody look up in their direction as he heard the voice. He gripped Brody’s shoulder and leaned in against him as he said, “Yep, this is Brody. He is the guy I was pining about when I met you.”

  Brody held out his hand to Alan and said, “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  Dak grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up close. He said, “This is Alan. I met him about a week ago. He likes to hang out at the Corner Hitch solo.” Dak gestured toward the chair and said, “Sit.”

  Alan said, “I don’t do it on purpose, and it’s great to meet you, Brody. I think you’ve got a good guy here in Dak. He worries a lot, but he seems like a good man.”

  “After twenty years, I hope I’ve figured out that he’s at least good at heart.”

  Dak sat and interrupted the conversation. “Hey, I’m right here. You don’t have to talk about me like I’m down the street somewhere.”

  Brody reached out and gripped Dak’s forearm rubbing the knuckles on the back of his hand. “Are you new in town, Alan? I don’t think I’ve seen you before, and I’ve been here all my life.”

  Alan nodded yes. “I got hired into the management structure at Tar-Mor down in Zephyr. I considered moving down there, but a family house was available up here in Coldbrook Bend, and I opted for that decision. Dak seems to think the town’s a little sleepy for me.”

  Brody grinned. “Yeah, eligible guys are a little few and far between. I just snatched up one of them.”

  Dak whispered, “Thank God.”

  “I think I have one possibility,” said Alan.

  “Yeah, you were saying that,” said Dak. “Anyone we would know?”

  “I’m not sure. He works at the DMV down in Zephyr. He was sending heavy flirting vibes my way when I stopped in for a Minnesota license. Sean’s his name. I didn’t ask, but he was happy to tell me.”

  Dak turned and stared at Brody before he looked back at Alan. “Sean Wilson? He’s a choirboy. I played football against him for a couple of years.”

  Brody reached out and rubbed at his forehead before staring in disbelief. “I don’t think he’s gay either. As Dak said, he’s a little…devout.”

  “Choirboy?” asked Alan. “And I think I know a flirt when I see one.”

  “He was sort of a crusader in high school,” said Brody. “I heard stories from guys in the band down in Zephyr. I have to admit that I haven’t heard much about him since high school, so I guess a lot can happen. I only saw him when I renewed my license a few years ago.”

  “Dak? Do you know anything else?”

  “Nothing except I think he had to pray every time we squared off on the football field. He was a little scrawny, and I was a linebacker. I know I plastered him to the grass on more than a few occasions.”

  “So it’s not worth the pursuit?” asked Alan.

  Dak shrugged. “I haven’t seen him for four or five years, and I haven’t heard anything about him for almost that long. Who knows what could have happened. He always was kind of cute. You said serious flirting, eh?”

  Alan nodded. “I think I know that when I see it.”

  Dak saw a smirk on Brody’s face, but it was followed by, “Go for it. Who knows. Maybe he’s not as straight as we think.”

  Alan leaned across the table. “Enough about me. What’s up next for the two of you?”

  Dak blushed slightly. “I guess we haven’t gotten that far. I’m taking a month off fr
om the river.”

  “The river?” asked Alan.

  “Oh, that’s right. I didn’t tell you about my work. I’m a towboat deckhand. We work one month on the boat and then two weeks off.”

  “Wow, that’s a rough schedule.”

  Dak nodded. “Yeah, it can be, but I’ll be onshore for at least eight weeks now before I go back to a boat. That’s why you see Brody sitting here smiling like the cat that got the canary.”

  “Well, he has something pretty awesome,” said Alan.

  Dak leaned and back said, “Damn, if you talk to Sean like you talk to me, you might turn a straight boy.”

  “Dak is no stranger to flirting skills,” said Brody. “I guess he knows it when he sees it.”

  Alan stood up from the table. “Are you going somewhere?” asked Dak.

  “No, just need a trip to the men’s room. I’ll be back in just a few.”

  After watching Alan disappear around the corner in the rear of the bar, Dak turned to Brody and slid a hand under the table to his inner thigh. He whispered, “Do you know how damn hard it is to concentrate in a public place with you sitting next to me?”

  “I’m not going anywhere. You’ll have me at home, too, when we get back home.”

  “And naked…in bed.”

  Brody whispered, “Fuck, Dak, you’ve got me hard, too. I know Alan’s a nice guy, but can we head home before long? I know it’s good to be social, but I want you naked, too.”

  Dak rolled his head back and laughed as Alan returned to the table. Alan asked, “Did I miss a big joke while I was gone?”

  Shaking his head, Dak said, “No, not at all. I think I better get Brody home. It’s getting past his bedtime.”

  Alan pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the time. “A little early isn’t it?”

  “I said bedtime, not sleep,” said Dak.

  Brody blushed while Alan nodded with a smirk. “Well, I hope to see you two around again soon. Maybe a double date if I get Sean at my side.”

  As Brody stood from the table, Dak reached out a hand to shake with Alan. “It’s a deal, bud; welcome again to Coldbrook Bend.”

  Alan leaned to the side to look around Dak. “And great meeting you, too, Brody.”

  “Likewise.”

  It didn’t take long for Dak and Brody to exit the bar. Dak slapped an extra tip down for Jake. His generosity elicited a smile and, “Have a great rest of your night, Dak!”

  Dak had barely pulled the driver’s side door of his truck closed when Brody was on him. He whispered, “I don’t care if we’re parked here downtown under the brightest street light in town, you’re mine, Dak, and I can’t wait until we get home.”

  Dak leaned back against the door and watched as Brody methodically tore open the top button on his jeans and pulled the zipper down. He glanced around through the side window and the windshield of the truck just in case someone decided to be a voyeur. With Brody on fire, he expected it might not be long before the windows were steamy and impossible to see through. At that moment, he was thankful for living in such a small town. It was just after 9:00 p.m. and the sidewalks were empty on a weeknight. He closed his eyes just as Brody’s lips wrapped themselves around his throbbing cock.

  “Brody, I love you,” whispered Dak, and he laughed out loud once more as Brody mumbled the same words in return when his long flat tongue began a slow coaxing toward the edge.

  Vintage Short Story

  1

  Photograph

  “Joel, I’ve never seen this photograph before. Are these relatives of yours? They are handsome guys.”

  I put the serrated knife down from slicing tomatoes in the kitchen, wiped my hands on a towel, and stepped into the living room to see what Andi was asking about. “What photo? Most of the ones in here are my relatives…both ancient and current.”

  She pointed at an old sepia-toned print and said, “These fine gentlemen. I just love vintage photos. They look like best friends.”

  I said, “Oh, yes, that one is new. Remember when my Grandmother Wiley died a few months back?”

  “Wasn’t she the one that you said she was actually a great-grandmother?”

  I smiled and nodded. “You have good memory, Andi. Yes, she was 97. She lived a strong, long life. Anyway, my mom helped clean out her little house, and she brought home some of the photos. My mom said that she thought I might want to keep this one.”

  Andi turned in a circle looking around the room. “They certainly fit in. Your living room is almost like a museum, Joel, but the photos are so tastefully arranged. They go with the antique furniture. It’s just like this room could be part of one of those house museums.”

  When I was a little boy, only eight or nine, my parents sent me to spend a month each summer with my grandparents on my mom’s side. They lived on the edge of a tiny town near the shore of Lake Huron in Michigan. It was a three-hour drive from my hometown. I spent the days hiking with Grandpa or picking up shells and stones along the edge of the water. Then in the evening Grandma let me spend exactly two hours watching TV, and the rest of the time she told stories or we played endless rounds of Rummy with her worn set of playing cards before it was time to go to bed.

  I said, “This room will always remind of the summers I spent with Grandma and Grandpa Rounds. Their house was filled with old photos and portraits. Twice as many as I have. I expect that it still is.”

  Andi said, “You still didn’t tell me who these dapper men are.”

  I said, “Interestingly enough, they might be the only gay ancestors that I’m aware of. At least, the man with the mustache on the right is a family ancestor. He’s my great-grandmother’s uncle Leon.”

  “Gay?” asked Andi. “How do you know they aren’t just business partners or cousins or even brothers? It’s not like they are kissing or holding hands in the photo.”

  I laughed softly. “Mom told me that the photo was always on a table in her grandmother’s bedroom. She was told it was kept there because not everyone in the family wanted to see it. Some family members were ashamed of Leon and Sawyer, the other man in the photo.”

  Andi bent over and gazed intently at the photo. “Did your mom tell you any more about them? I love the formal suits.”

  I said, “If I’m going to tell you any more about them, you need to follow me back to the kitchen first. The lasagna is in the oven, and it’s not going to just stop cooking because we’re standing here having a rambling conversation about old relatives.”

  Andi followed me into the kitchen. She was my best friend. We grew up attending the Bentleyville school system together from kindergarten through high school. After graduation, I left town for college while she stuck around and went to a two-year program at the community college. When college was over, I returned home and started working for the Bentleyville Chamber of Commerce. Andi owns a profitable gift shop out by the Interstate.

  “What do you still have left to do for dinner?” asked Andi.

  “I’m putting together the salad. I was slicing tomatoes from the garden when you interrupted me.”

  Andi’s eyes opened wider. “Are those that special variety of heirloom tomatoes that you get from old Mrs. Beedle? Has she leaked the news to anyone about what kind they really are?”

  I picked up the knife again and popped a small, succulent chunk of the tomato into my mouth before I began slicing and chopping again. I said, “No, she’ll go to her grave with that secret. I’m just happy she gives me a new supply of seeds every year.”

  Andi opened the refrigerator door to retrieve the iced tea pitcher. “They are the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted, Joel. I always eat every single one you give me when your plants are at full-tilt production. I eat them all even if I don’t feel hungry anymore. They are just too good to waste.”

  “Pour me a glass, too, would you Andi?” She retrieved glasses from the cupboard by the sink, and I continued my story. “Leon and Sawyer were in business together. They operated a bakery in their little town
, and they also lived next door to each other. Apparently, their business occasionally struggled in the winter, but it usually made up for any loss of business with the crush of tourist traffic in the summertime.”

  Andi poured the tea into the glasses and asked, “Why didn’t they just move in with each other? Housing would have been much cheaper.”

  I sighed slightly and said, “This was over a hundred years ago. It would have been scandalous.”

  “But how hard was it for the people in town to figure out?”

  I said, “If they lived separately, then everyone could pretend that there was nothing out of the ordinary. They could just smile and wave at Leon and Sawyer and keep any personal thoughts to themselves. Leon and Sawyer both lived in houses inherited from their parents. My mom said each set of parents died tragically, and when they passed away, the other siblings were already married and raising families in their own houses. Leon’s parents were killed in a horrific fire when the opera house turned into an inferno downtown. Sawyer’s drowned in a boating accident.”

  Andi’s mouth dropped open. “That’s horrible.”

  I nodded, “Yes, it is, but it does sound like most of the rest of their life was happy.”

  “What did you find out about that?” asked Andi. She stepped up behind me, reached an arm around my side and snagged a small chunk of tomato.

  “Mom said they ran their bakery for decades, and then sold it and the houses when they grew older. She said the family story says they took the money from all of the property sales and moved to Chicago. I’ve been meaning to haul out census records and look them up. I want to go see where they actually lived in Chicago.”

  Andi said, “Well, supposedly being gay is at least partially genetic. You might owe a large debt to Leon…or at least a recessive little gene contained in Leon’s DNA.”

  I smiled saying, “And I don’t mind sharing a little bit of genetic material with a pioneer like Leon. There is one more fun bit to their story.”