by Kim Fielding
“This is great,” said Tully.
“Yeah, not bad. I might up the cumin next time.”
They chewed in silence, enjoying the peace, the companionship, the food. Occasionally one of them snuck a morsel of meat to Tooth while the other pretended not to notice.
This. This was happiness. Yes, Sage worked even longer hours than ever, but he put in those hours at his own beloved restaurant. Even though he came home tired, he beamed every night with enthusiasm and delight.
And Tully? He’d had to adjust a bit. He traded in his Tesla for a more practical but less exciting vehicle, an SUV that was as yet unnamed. He took a year off from practicing law so he could help Sage set up the restaurant and Deb recover from surgery. He economized his spending habits—although less so now that the Station was firmly in the black. He got used to living in an old house, to not having every conceivable convenience close at hand, to replacing the gym with jogs down country roads, to watching out for wildlife and stray livestock when he drove. He called Deb Mom, which gave him a warm thrill every damn time. He changed his last name. He learned the names and personal quirks of several dozen new relatives and accepted the fact that they knew just about everything he did. He had long text conversations with Kayley, who turned to him for advice on surviving college and what was, to her, an urban existence.
All right, he’d had to adjust a lot. But they were good adjustments—wonderful—like having a chiropractor fix a spine long out of whack. And every night he fell asleep with his husband in his arms and woke up that way too, happy in the knowledge that neither of them needed to go farther away than downtown Hair Shaker. That was the best adjustment of all.
“You’re all dreamy-eyed,” said Sage, who looked fairly sappy himself.
“I should be. I’m in a dream. A really good one.”
“I bet nobody has ever said that about Hair Shaker before.”
Tully shoved another forkful of salad into his mouth, shrugged, and swallowed. “I don’t know. Your customers might have.” With the exception of a few tables Sage kept open every night for locals, dinner at the Station was booked solid for weeks in advance. “Oh, and did you hear about the Zabalas’ plans?”
“Something about a B and B?”
“Yep. We’re meeting this afternoon to draw up some paperwork. They’re my first clients.”
“They’ve got that big old farmhouse, so they have plenty of room. But what makes them think anyone wants to stay there?”
“You, my darling.” Tully reached over to pat Sage’s arm. “I guess they’ve been renting out rooms through Airbnb, and now they want to go bigger. People come here for you, Sage. For the Station. The Zabalas figure they can throw in some trail riding and guided hiking and make Hair Shaker a weekend destination. You’re a genuine tourist attraction.”
“Huh.” Sage was trying to play it cool, but Tully could tell he was pleased. “Next thing you know, Harrington’s going to want to buy the whole town. Turn it into a floating spa or something.”
“I think he’s pretty busy with his pods.” And also, actually, with Paul the writer. Having bonded over Tully’s messy medical crisis, they’d started dating. Paul had contacted Tully lately in hopes of doing an article on Sage and the Station—Sage was still mulling that one over—and he’d said he and Eddy were getting pretty serious. Tully was happy for them. Hell, ever since he and Sage married, Tully had found himself in a weird mindset in which he wanted the entire world to enjoy connubial bliss. He’d even been considering setting up his mother-in-law with Newt Clemens, a dashing retired rancher who spent most mornings watching her bustle around the Station.
Sage set down his fork and shook his head slowly. “How did I get here? I never hoped for much, you know? Just… I wanted the best for Kayley and I wanted to cook. And I ended up with so much more.”
“God, me too.”
Tooth thumped his tail, no doubt sharing their sentiments. Or maybe he was just happy with that last piece of steak Tully had given him.
After an arm stretch and a noisy groan, Sage stood. “They’re not gonna need me next door for an hour or two. Want me to fetch us something more to eat?”
Tully stood too, stepped close, and grabbed Sage’s belt loops. “I think I have my dessert right here, Mr. Filling.”
Sage wrapped his arms around Tully’s middle and gazed at him with eyes as warm and inviting as fresh-baked bread. “And you’re looking good enough to eat too, Mr. Filling,” Sage said.
For the time being, Tully’s plate was almost empty. But his heart? Well, for the long haul, his heart was definitely full.
KIM FIELDING is very pleased every time someone calls her eclectic. Her books have won Rainbow Awards and span a variety of genres. She has migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States and currently lives in California, where she long ago ran out of bookshelf space. She’s a university professor who dreams of being able to travel and write full-time. She also dreams of having two perfectly behaved children, a husband who isn’t obsessed with football, and a house that cleans itself. Some dreams are more easily obtained than others.
Blogs: kfieldingwrites.com and www.goodreads.com/author/show/4105707.Kim_Fielding/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KFieldingWrites
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @KFieldingWrites
By Kim Fielding
DREAMSPUN BEYOND
#8 – Ante Up
DREAMSPUN DESIRES
#56 – A Full Plate
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Coming in May 2018
Dreamspun Desires #57
Stand by Your Manny by Amy Lane
Learning to trust and falling in love.
Sammy Lowell has his hands full juggling his music, college, some pesky health problems, and making the uncles who raised him proud. He needs help fulfilling his after-school duties with his siblings. Nobody can be in two places at once—not even Sammy!
An injury puts Cooper Hoskins in a tough spot—if he can’t work, the foster sister he’s raising can’t eat. But years in the foster system have left Cooper short on trust, and opening up to accept help isn’t easy.
Luckily, family intervenes—Cooper needs a job so he can care for Felicity, and Sammy needs someone who can see past his illness to the wonderful things he has planned for his life. Each heals the damaged places in the other’s heart. But falling in love is a big responsibility for young men deep in family already. Can the two of them get past their fear of the immediate future to see forever with each other?
Dreamspun Desires #58
Bad to the Bone by Nicki Bennett
A second chance at first love—if he has the courage to take it.
Alex can’t think of himself as anything but a failure. In high school, he was on the fast track to a career in pro football when he forged an unlikely friendship with a half-Comanche boy from the wrong part of town, Ricky Lee Jennings. Their shared love of books could have grown into more—but a homophobic teammate attacked Ricky Lee, and Alex wouldn’t risk his scholarship to defend him. Ricky Lee was kicked out of school, and Alex never heard from him again.
Now Alex’s glory days are nothing but a memory. An injury ended his football aspirations, his marriage fell apart, and his dreams of making a difference as an environmental lobbyist are as dead as his fantasies of sports stardom.
But all that could change in one magical night, when Ricky Lee shows up at their high-school reunion.
Coming Soon to
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establi
shments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
A Full Plate
© 2018 Kim Fielding.
Cover Art
© 2018 Bree Archer.
http://www.breearcher.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-102-8
Mass Market Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64108-001-9
Library Of Congress Control Number: 2017948535
Digital published April 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America