27. Chapter 27

Chapter twenty-seven

"Go ahead and say it."

I t was good to be back at work and Gage made it through Monday without taking a nap on his couch. Though he was tempted a few times. With Sydney's help, he got the paper laid out and ready to print in the morning.

At four o'clock, Sydney came into his office. "You made it through the day."

"I did. But I'm ready to go."

"Get some dinner and go home."

He smiled at her. "Do you want to come have pizza with me? It's the only thing open this late on Monday."

"Are you sure you're not tired of me after the weekend?"

"Are you tired of me?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Let's close up and go eat, then."

Gage and Sydney had a pleasant meal and talked about how to best maximize his exposure over the next three weeks until the election. Even though it was a sure thing, and he'd only gotten positive feedback from the town, Gage couldn't shake the possibility he could be beaten by a random write-in candidate.

Sydney reached across the table and took his hand. "What? Your brow is furrowed."

Gage rubbed his forehead. "That's just old age creeping in." He shook his head. "What if—"

"Stop. It's in the bag."

"Which is just as scary."

"You can do this."

He nodded. "Okay. I can do this." He straightened up the cheese and red pepper containers, then stacked their plates and used napkins on the pizza pan.

"You're doing Lisa's job."

He smiled. "We better get out of here before I bus the whole place."

As they left the restaurant, Gage took Sydney's hand. It was time to let the world—and by that he meant Calaway Crossing—he and Sydney were together. They had both driven, so Gage walked Sydney to her car.

She smiled at him. "I'll see you in the morning."

He put his hands on her waist and pulled her in close. "I want to send you home with a little something to remember me by. He kissed her. Sydney put her arms around his neck and they kissed again. The world dropped away, and it was just the two of them.

They were brought back to reality with a "Whoa there."

Gage stepped back from Sydney and found Booker a few feet away. He grinned. "Sorry."

"Um…just saying goodnight."

"I see that." Booker nodded toward the building. "I'm picking up a Hawaiian pizza for your sister."

"She hates Hawaiian pizza. Calls it non-pizza."

"It's her newest craving."

Gage laughed. "Okay. That figures."

Booker took a step back. "So, I'm going to go pick up my non-pizza. You two…carry on."

"Goodnight, Chief."

Booker left them, and Sydney smiled. "Whoops."

Gage shrugged. "You heard the man. Carry on." He pulled her in for another kiss.

Gage knew Booker would tell Clementine what he saw in the parking lot. She, in turn, would probably tell Elaina and Brynlee. Maybe a cousin or two. By noon on Tuesday, the whole family would know he and Sydney were together. By nightfall, the rest of town would know. But that was fine. Gage was ready to explore this new facet of his life. A relationship. It'd be an interesting adventure and one he was looking forward to. Now he just needed to not blow it.

He got to the office early to make sure the papers were printed and ready for Dale to deliver. Then he poured himself a second cup of coffee and went to his office. Sydney would be there soon, along with Dale, and they'd fold and box the papers.

When Sydney arrived, she looked through the opening between his door and the door frame.

"Good morning."

He waved her in. "Good morning."

She walked up to his desk. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty damn good."

"Any family blowback from our encounter with the chief?"

"Not yet." He checked his watch. "But it's early."

When they heard the front door open, Gage assumed it was Dale. But a moment later, Clementine appeared at his door.

"Good morning, guys."

"Clementine."

Sydney smiled at her. "Morning." She looked at Gage. "I'll go get to work on folding papers." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Clementine grinned at Gage as she sat in the chair in front of his desk.

He shook his head. "Go ahead and say it."

"It's about damn time."

"So your husband ran right home and told you what he saw?"

"You know Booker better than that. He tried to keep it to himself. But I knew something was up. So don't blame him. He can't resist my charms."

Gage glanced at her six month pregnant belly. "I noticed that."

She rubbed a hand over it. "What does this mean, exactly? Are you together, together? Like…you know."

"First off. How together we are is none of your business. But considering I'm recovering from a giant pine tree attack, it's probably safe to assume the extent of our togetherness has been a bit limited."

"Gotcha."

"How many people have you informed about this development?"

"I only called Bryn and Elaina."

"Okay. And they told their husbands."

"Cooper may not know. I couldn't get a hold of Lyric."

Gage shook his head. "Wow. I think we can close down the paper and I'll just tell you anything I think the town should know."

She gave him a sweet smile. "Just keeping the family informed. If you don't want people to know your business. Don't make out in the parking lot of the Pizza Shack."

Gage laughed. "Okay. You got me there."

"Would you two like to come over for dinner tonight?"

"I've got to go to the town meeting."

"Later this week, then?"

"Sure. I'll talk to Sydney. The April Fools dance is Saturday. Maybe we could have dinner before that at the tavern."

She cocked her head. "I know how to cook now."

"I know. Booker seems to be getting plenty to eat. He's not wasting away or anything. I wasn't suggesting you can't cook."

"Okay. Dinner on Saturday sounds fun. I just don't know what I'm going to wear. Nothing fits me. I'm getting huge."

Gage knew this was where he was supposed to weigh his words carefully. He decided to not respond at all, and change the subject. "As my unofficial campaign manager, what do we have planned for the next two weeks?"

"After the dance, the town hall meeting next Thursday. And I think that's it. You made it."

"Yeah. But now I have to actually do the job."

"We all have complete faith in you."

"I guess time will tell."

The meeting was boring, but everyone seemed happy Gage was a few weeks away from becoming mayor of Calaway Crossing. After the official part of the meeting was over, he spent another hour talking with the city council members and Mayor Bessler. When he finally got free, he decided he needed to go see Paxton to unwind a bit before heading home.

Being Tuesday night, the bar wasn't very busy, and Paxton spotted Gage as he came in from the restaurant. Gage took a seat near the end, away from everyone else, and Paxton laid a napkin down in front of him.

Gage looked at him. "I know that you know. So don't pretend you don't."

Paxton smiled. "Congratulations. You've finally joined the club."

"I'm not a full-fledged member yet."

"It's only a matter of time. What are you drinking tonight, besides a shot to celebrate?"

"I'll take a draft. Anything new I should try?"

Paxton nodded. "I have just the thing." He left to pour the beer, then brought it, two shot glasses, and a bottle of scotch. He set everything down in front of Gage, then filled the shot glasses.

Gage nodded at the bottle. "Scotch?"

"Yeah. I've been drinking scotch lately."

"Does it make you feel more grown up?"

"No. Fatherhood does, though."

"How is my newest nephew doing?"

"He's great. When are you coming over to see him?"

"Does Thursday work for you?"

"Perfect." Paxton picked up his glass. "To new relationships."

"And new babies."

They both drank their shots, and Paxton poured a half-shot into each glass. "One more." He held up his glass. "To you surviving your unfortunate and quite weird accident."

"It was weird, wasn't it?"

They drank their scotch, and Gage looked at the bottle. "That's good. We should definitely drink more scotch. Not tonight. But in general."

"I agree."

Paxton went to serve a few customers, and Gage let the last three hours melt away as he listened to the country music coming from the jukebox, and the low murmur of happy customers. Paxon ran a good clean bar and there was rarely trouble. When it came, he was ready for it. There was usually a brother or two around to help. Or Booker was just a phone call away. Even the crowd who migrated over from The Oasis had adjusted to the way Paxton ran things. Good alcohol. Decent prices. And he didn't take any crap. Gage was proud of him. His little brother was doing alright for himself.

When Gage heard someone come up behind him, he turned to see Becca. She smiled at him.

"I need some details, cousin."

"Not going to happen,"

She sat next to him. "You're no fun."

"That's nothing new. I've never been any fun."

"Will you buy me a drink?"

"We don't pay for our drinks."

"I know. Just pretend you like me enough to buy me a drink."

He turned toward her. "Becca. My dear cousin. Can I buy you a drink?"

She put a hand to her heart. "How sweet of you. Yes, thank you."

"You're weird, you know that?"

"It runs in the family. It trickled down from Grandma and Grandpa."

"I'm going to tell them you said that. And what makes you think I don't like you enough to buy you a drink?"

"It's just hard to tell sometimes. But I think that's all about to change."