8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

"Seven dollars and forty-six cents."

T he three Calaway men played rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first. They played three rounds and the man who lost the most times, would go first. That was Rand.

"Dammit. This is what happens when I sink down to you boys' maturity level."

Corbyn laughed. "I'm pretty sure you're the first person who taught this game to me."

"Well, that was a long time ago. When I was younger than the both of you."

Gage patted his shoulder. "You've got this, Uncle Rand. Remember, you have a guaranteed bidder."

Rand looked around the crowded room. "I haven't seen her yet, though. Maybe she decided against it."

"She'll be here. She's a Rafferty. They always follow through."

He sighed. "I guess we'll find out."

After a few rounds, Delaney addressed the crowd. "As you all know, there aren't many available Calaways left. But I'm happy to say that we have three of them participating in the auction today." There was a round of applause. "And first up is my brother-in-law, Rand. It's been a few years since he was up here." She thought for a moment. "A lot of years, actually. But if you're looking to spend the evening with a handsome, mature cowboy, I open the bidding for Rand Calaway." She waved him over as the crowd applauded again. "Who wants to throw out the first bid?"

A woman near the front of the crowd raised her hand. "Seventy-five dollars."

This got the rest of the group excited and the bidding rose quickly to $325.00.

Gage nudged Corbyn. "Son of a bitch."

"The old guy still has it."

When it sounded like the bidding was stalled, Delaney said, "The bid is three-twenty-five. Going once." She looked around the room. "Going twice."

"Three-seventy-five." Wynter was at the back of the crowd and waved a hand. Delaney gave her a nod.

When no one else raised the bid, Delaney ended the round and smiled. "Looks like all you local ladies were outbid by out-of-towner, Wynter Rafferty."

Gage whistled as everyone clapped for Wynter while she made her way to the front of the room. Rand looked relieved and quite pleased to see her as he went down the steps to join her. When Delaney looked at Gage and Corbyn, Gage gave his brother a light shove.

"You're next."

"Might as well get it over with." Corbyn joined his mother on the stage.

Delaney smiled at him. "And here's my oldest. And of course you all know him. He's been keeping you all healthy for the last several years." Corbyn's applause was louder and longer than Rand's. Delaney held up a hand. "Okay. Let's start the bidding for Dr. Calaway."

The bidding for Corbyn rose pretty quickly, then seemed to stall out around three-hundred. Just as Delaney was about to call it, Cassie rose her hand. "Three-fifty."

Corbyn cocked his head at her, then smiled. Cassie shrugged.

Delaney closed the bidding at $350.00, with the winner being Cassie.

Gage shook his head. If that didn't signal to Corbyn that Cassie was interested in him, nine years older or not, nothing would. But now it was his turn. He still felt like he was going to draw only silence. He stepped up next to his mother.

She put her arm around his waist. "And last but not least, our favorite newspaper editor, and enthusiastic photographer, Gage." The applause seemed to fall somewhere in between Rand's and Corbyn's. Which made him feel a little hopeful.

He was also shocked when the bids started coming in. When it seemed like he was going to end up in the hands of Lily, the town librarian, Sydney made her way to the front of the crowd.

"I have three-hundred sixty-seven dollars and fifty-four cents."

Gage started laughing, and Delaney shook her head. "Unless anyone wants to overshadow that cuteness, I think we have a winner." The crowd clapped and Delaney declared Gage was sold. He went down the steps and smiled at Sydney. "Why did you do that?"

She took his arm and whispered into his ear. "I didn't want you stuck across the table from Lily. She's even less verbal than you are."

"So you did it to save me from a boring dinner?"

"Yes. Of course. Why else would I do it?"

Gage grinned. "I appreciate you looking out for me."

"That's what I do. I have two jobs now. And both of them involve saving you from yourself."

They walked over to Rand, Wynter, Corbyn, and Cassie, who were at the back of the room.

Rand stroked his chin. "Hmm. Seems the mature cowboy got the highest bid."

Gage smiled. "By seven dollars and forty-six cents."

"Hey. Seven dollars and forty-six cents is still seven dollars and forty-six cents."

Paxton came up to them. "If you ladies will excuse these lucky men for a moment, we have a bet to resolve."

Wynter laughed. "Do we even want to know?"

"Probably not."

The four men left the women and went to the bar. Paxton went behind it and retrieved the slips of paper. "Okay, I'll read mine first." He opened it and laid it on the bar. "Corbyn."

Corbyn smiled. "Thank you brother."

Paxton opened Rand's next. "Another one for Corbyn."

Gage scowled at Rand. "I see how it is."

Paxton opened Gage's. "Gage bet on Corbyn."

Rand took a step away from Gage. "So you expected me to bet on you. But you bet on Corbyn, too?"

Gage shrugged. "He's a doctor."

Paxton opened the last one. "Corbyn bet on Gage."

Rand laughed. "It really doesn't matter. No one bet on me, which I believe means the forty dollars is mine. I got the highest bid."

Gage shook his head. "By seven dollars and forty-six cents."

Paxton handed the money to Rand. "You won fair and square."

Rand folded the bills in half and put them in his shirt pocket. "Thank you gentlemen. Now I believe we have three young ladies waiting for us to escort them to dinner."

They returned to the dining room where the auction had ended and the tables were being set up for the dinner. The three women had moved three tables together.

Corbyn laughed. "What's this?"

Cassie smiled. "We figured it'd be more fun with the six of us, since we're all friends."

Corbyn and Rand seemed as relieved as Gage felt at the suggestion. "Great idea." He and Corbyn moved the chairs over, then they sat down with men on one side and women on the other.

Wynter looked at them all. "Very cozy."

Gage looked at Sydney. "Why three-hundred sixty-seven dollars and fifty-four cents?"

"That's how much I have in my checking account."

Gage groaned. "Don't tell me that. I need to pay you back."

Corbyn laughed. "You also need to start paying her more."

Sydney raised a hand. "That's not all the money I have in the world. I have savings." She smiled at Gage. "But a raise would be nice."

Gage nodded. "We'll talk about that tomorrow." He looked at Corbyn. "Thanks, brother."

"Just trying to help."

Becca came up to the table. "I think you guys are doing this wrong."

Wynter laughed. "No. Three times the fun this way."

"Okay. Are we drinking champagne?"

Everyone but Corbyn raised his hand. "I'm on call."

Becca cocked her head. "One glass won't hurt."

"Will you still think that if you slip and fall in the kitchen and need me to put stitches in your head?"

"Um…no. Iced tea?"

He nodded. "Iced tea with lemon."

Becca left, then returned a few minutes later with five glasses of champagne and a glass of iced tea. After she set them all down, she asked, "Steak and baked potato? Or chicken parm?"

The three men and Wynter all ordered the steak. Cassie and Sydney wanted the chicken parmesan. Becca left the table and Rand lifted his glass of champagne.

"To old friends and new friends."

Gage laughed. "And by old, you're referring to yourself, right?"

Rand looked at him. "I'm not too old to kick your ass, young man."

"Yes, sir. I have no doubt you could." Gage picked up his glass and tapped it on Rand's. "Cheers."

Dinner was fun with lots of lively conversation. The whole evening may not have helped much with Gage's social presence, but he was glad he was sitting across from Sydney and not Lily the librarian.

When the food was gone, and most everyone had moved onto the dance floor or were enjoying the music of the local band, the six of them were still at the table. When Corbyn's phone went off, he sighed.

"That would be the clinic." He answered the call, listened for a moment, then said, "I'll be right there." He tucked his phone away. "I need to go. I have a vomiting child to deal with."

Wynter smiled. "Sounds like fun. Not yours, I hope."

"No." He looked at Cassie as he got to his feet. "Thank you for a wonderful evening."

She nodded. "It was great." She stood too. "Will you walk me to my car? It's on the way to the clinic."

"Of course." He nodded to the rest of them. "This was fun. Not what I was expecting at all. Thank you."

They all said goodbye and Corbyn and Cassie left the table.

Wynter reached across the table and took Rand's hand. "Can I get at least one dance with you before you mosey on out of here?"

He grinned. "I think I can handle one dance."

They headed for the dance floor and Sydney looked at Gage. "They are pretty darn cute."

"Don't tell Uncle Rand that. I don't think he realizes that they are a they." He looked at her for a moment. "I should spend some time in the darkroom. Paper comes out in two days."

"Do you want some help? Or I guess company. I don't know how much help I was Friday night."

"Sure." He finished his third glass of champagne. "Hopefully, the night air will clear my head a little."

"I'll make us some coffee when we get to the office."

The walk to the office was cold, but it felt good. The sky was clear for a change and full of a million stars. Before they went into the office, Gage stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky.

"Wow."

"Now that's a picture."

"You never have a camera when you need one." He looked at her. "Thank you for saving me from dinner with Lily."

"You're welcome. I feel a little guilty, though. I think she really wanted to spend some time with you."

"I guess I should go check out a book or two this week."

She nodded. "That would be a smart social move."

"That's what I'm all about. Upping my social presence."

Sydney laughed. "Mmm. I guess we'll see." She patted his chest. "You did good tonight. Not socially awkward at all."

"I was just trying to impress my social liaison."

"Mission accomplished."