30. Chapter 30

Chapter thirty

"City employees go first."

B y seven o'clock, Gage still hadn't heard from the city council or Mayor Bessler. He was tired of waiting and he was hungry. He'd been a little on edge and teetering on the grumpy fence for the last two hours, and Sydney left thirty minutes ago to take a walk. She said she needed some fresh air. But Gage knew she needed to get away from him. He didn't blame her. He'd get away from himself too, if he could.

When she came back in, he left his office and went out to her. He took her hands. "I'm sorry."

"I get it. I just wanted to leave before I needed to leave."

Gage laughed. "Smart woman. I don't think I could take you quitting again."

"Any word?"

"No. But I'm hungry. Let's go eat."

"Okay. I just need to use the restroom."

While he waited, Gage damped down the wood stove and put on his coat. He had no plans to come back here tonight. After the day he had, he needed to sleep tonight in his bed, not on the couch in his office.

When Sydney came out of the restroom, she smiled. "Let's go. Are we walking?"

"Yeah."

They left the office and headed down the street toward the restaurant. He felt a little guilty Remington was staying late for him. But he was also glad his brother would be there when the news came in. When they went through the front door of the restaurant, the room was dark, which it usually wasn't. Paxton's customers had to go through the restaurant to get to the bar.

Just as Gage realized what was going on. The lights came on and his whole family shouted, "Surprise!"

All of his immediate family was there, along with his grandparents and all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. Gage looked at Sydney.

"Did you know about this?"

"Um…I might have."

He looked at the group. "I haven't officially won yet." His cell phone rang, and he raised an eyebrow, then took it from his pocket. The call was from Mayor Bessler.

"This might be it."

Cooper called out. "Answer the damn phone, Gage. And put it on speaker."

Gage put the phone on speaker so they could all hear the conversation. "Hello?"

"The votes are in, Gage. I'm pretty sure this is the first election in the history of elections that every vote cast was for the same person."

"I hope that person is me."

Bessler laughed. "Of course. Congratulations. You are Calaway Crossing's next mayor."

Gage blew out a breath. "Thank you."

"And just so you know. We had an eighty percent voting turnout."

"Is that good?"

"That's very good. The rest of them probably figured it was a done deal, and you didn't really need their vote. I heard your family is going to help you celebrate. So, I'll let you go. Take the weekend, and I'll see you on Monday. We'll start the transition."

"On Monday? That soon?"

"I should've left a month ago."

"Okay. I'll see you Monday."

Gage ended the call and looked at all the expectant faces in the room. "You may address me as Mayor Calaway."

The family swarmed him with hugs, kisses, and handshakes. When Lincoln made his way to Gage, he put a hand around his shoulder, then whistled. "Okay. Let's give the kid some room to breathe."

Everyone backed away and moved to the prepared tables. There was a bottle of champagne and champagne glasses on each table, along with plates, silverware, and napkins. Gage and Sydney sat with Booker, Clementine, Cooper, Lyric, Cabe, and Jovie.

Remington, Brynlee, Becca, Cassie, Londyn and Rand headed for the kitchen and came out with prime rib, baked potatoes, two different vegetables, lots of bread, and salad. They set all the food on a long table, buffet style.

Remington waved toward Gage. "City employees go first."

Gage stood, and Booker laughed. "That means me too, right?"

Clementine raised a hand. "Me too. Sort of. Ex-city employee married to the chief."

She got in line behind Booker, then everyone else fell in place behind her. Sydney ended up in the middle of the line. When she got to the table with her food, Gage smiled at her.

"You need to be more aggressive."

"I'm the only non-family member here. Except for Cassie. And she doesn't count. She may as well be a Calaway. I was being polite."

"You'll go hungry being polite. And so will I."

She looked at his untouched food. "You didn't need to wait for me."

"Sure I did."

"You're sweet."

"Am I though? I believe you needed to take a walk to get away from me a couple of hours ago."

"You have your moments. Good and some not so good. But more good than bad."

"Hmm. Let's eat before my prime rib gets cold."

"It all looks so good." Sydney looked at the family surrounding them. "Are you glad they're here?"

Clementine answered for him. "Of course he is."

Gage nodded. "What she said."

The food was delicious as always and they were on their second bottle of champagne by the time Remy and Rand brought out the dessert. It was a huge chocolate cake with ‘Congratulations to Calaway Crossing's Newest Mayor' written on it.

Gage checked it out. "Wow guys. You went all out. What if some random write-in candidate had won?"

Cooper slapped him on the back. "Then we would've delivered the cake to them. That's why we didn't put your name on it."

"Wow. Thanks, brother."

"Just covering our bases."

Rand began cutting the cake and handing the pieces out. When Gage and Sydney both had a piece, they returned to the table.

She smiled at him. "Your family loves you."

"Yep."

"How are you feeling about all this mayor stuff now that it's official?"

He took a breath and thought about it. "Ask me tomorrow when the food and the champagne have worn off."

"Okay. But you're not going to the office tomorrow. You need to take the weekend off."

"I will. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to see you."

She smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

Gage shrugged. "I'll think of something."

The family stayed and visited until almost eleven. Gage and his brothers switched from champagne to bourbon and beer, but he tried not to over-indulge. The older generation started leaving first, followed by those who had to be up early in the morning. Cooper, Lyric, Cabe, Jovie, Sydney, and Gage were the last to leave. They spent some time with Paxton, who had to work through the evening, so he was in and out of the party. When it was down to just Gage and Sydney, he took her hand.

"Alone at last."

"Our private celebration wasn't so private."

"No. But it was great. Thank you. I'm sure you had a hand in it."

"A little one."

"Are you ready to go home?"

"Sure."

They said goodnight to Paxton, then left the restaurant. "How about I walk you home? It's a beautiful night and I could use some fresh air."

"You did have a little bit to drink tonight."

"Just a little? Actually, I tried to use some self-control. I wouldn't want you to see me drunk."

"Have you ever been drunk?"

"Oh yeah. Not often. But I've spent a few nights with Cooper that should've ended long before they did."

They headed down the sidewalk, and Sydney tucked her arm around Gage's. They walked the half-mile to her house in silence, just enjoying the brisk night and the cloudless sky above them. When they got to her house, Gage took her hands in front of the door.

"Ask me again."

She looked at him for a moment. "Ask you what?"

"If I want to come in for some coffee or—"

"Do you want to come in for some coffee or a beer?"

Gage smiled. "Yeah. I think I do."

She put her hand on the doorknob. "Just don't look at my messy house."

"I'm not going to be looking at your house."

She turned the knob and opened the door, then took his hand and led him inside. It was dark, and she put a hand on his chest.

"I'll get the lights."

He put his arms around her. "We don't need the lights." He pulled her in for a kiss.

She whispered in his ear. "Does this mean you're ready?"

He kissed her again, conveying just how ready he was.

They kissed their way across the living room and down the hall to her bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind them.

As they lay in the dark, Sydney whispered. "You finally did it."

"Did you think I wouldn't? Or couldn't?"

She laughed. "No. That's not what I meant. You reached perfection."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, if that wasn't perfection, I don't know what is."

"Hmm. I disagree." He kissed the back of her neck. "But I promise I'll keep trying to get there. No matter how long it takes."

"Okay. Maybe I'm wrong."

"But right now, I need to get some sleep."

"It has been a very long day. Exciting day. Interesting day." She rubbed his arm. "Wonderful day."

"Shh. We'll continue this conversation in the morning. I have a feeling perfection might be a little more attainable when I'm not so tired and didn't eat and drink so much." He kissed her again. "It's okay if I stay, right?"

"Of course. You can stay forever."

He yawned. "I will definitely consider that."