11. Scott

Y es, ma’am. No, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am. Yes, I understand. Still terrifying, but it does make me feel a little better.” Scott ended his call with April and looked at Gage.

“Well? What did she say?” Gage wanted to know. His inner Mal’s tail swished back and forth impatiently, and his ears twitched.

“I’m getting a commendation despite the explosion. I guess I did better than some of the more seasoned agents who got caught without backup. I’m sure it helped that I didn’t have to report losing my gun and badge since the sheriff found my stuff when they did the site cleanup.”

Scott was surprised how much better he felt after just a day, thanks to medication, magic, sex, and a good night’s sleep. “In fact, I didn’t get the feeling they thought the explosion was a bad thing. More of a bonus round. She didn’t share details, but their phone systems and AI were hacked. Reading between the lines, it involved a disgruntled employee, magic, and a confusion spell.”

“Okay.” Gage drew out the syllables. “And?

“April approved me moving to Fox Hollow,” Scott said with a grin. “Turns out they’re aware of the Fox Institute and thought it would be good cover for me.”

His smile slipped. “Unless that’s too fast? If you’re not okay?—”

Gage wrapped his arms around Scott and nearly took him off his feet before planting a kiss on his lips. “Of course I’m okay with it! You can live with me, or we could have separate places until you’re more comfortable. My Mal says you’re our mate, so I’m not going anywhere.”

“It’s early days, but we could give living together a trial run. And if we need more elbow room or time, we can figure it out from there.”

“How about the whole spy thing?” Gage sounded anxious.

“As it turns out, SPAM also investigates white-collar and financial crime,” Scott says. “I told her about how when I was working for one company, I always got a dirty penny taste in my mouth whenever the financial director came around. Turns out he was cooking the books. That will only work when my cover as a food reviewer fits. I might still have to travel from time to time, but she was hopeful it would involve fewer explosions.”

“Fewer? Not none?”

Scott nodded. “I guess there’s always a chance.”

“Okay,” Gage relented. “I’ll take my wins where I can get them. What else?”

“They think Jennings Weston—the witch—died in the explosion, but he’s a slippery fellow given his magic, and they aren’t entirely certain. So if he’s not dead he might show up again, but they think he’ll lie low for a while.”

“Let’s hope it’s a very long while, and he moves far, far away,” Gage said.

“Along with the commendation comes a raise and a promotion,” Scott added. “They promoted me from Associate Special Agent to full Special Agent. Maybe I should blow things up more often.”

Gage put a hand over his heart dramatically. “Please, no. There has to be another way to move up in the organization or people would have flattened all of northern New York.”

“And Dr. Jefferies left a message,” Scott said. “I emailed him about classes that might help me understand my abilities better since I’ll admit SPAM’s orientation was a bit light on the details.”

Gage looked like he was holding back on a more pointed opinion but didn’t share his thoughts. Scott suspected he already knew, given his boyfriend’s initial reaction to his nearly non-existent on-boarding.

“Jeffries says they have several classes and that there are psychics on staff who would do an independent study with me,” Scott said. “And I figured I could volunteer at a certain taproom to use my superpower for good instead of evil as a taster on your new batches.”

Gage grinned. “I already put a stipend for an official consultant in the new budget.”

“Do I get that on a T-shirt?”

“I can make that happen if you want.”

“Before this SPAM stuff, I had hoped to open a small plates kitchen or food truck someday,” Scott said. “Maybe down the line, we could add to the taproom menu—if you like the idea.”

“I think that would be a great addition. There are all kinds of things we can do,” Gage said enthusiastically, which made Scott’s heart soar.

Scott nodded, then winced. “I’ve got to quit moving my head like that.” He touched the bump on the back gingerly with his fingertips.

“The doc said it would take a little while to go away, even with ice,” Gage reminded him. “Does it hurt?”

“Only when I move my head,” Scott replied.

“I’m doing a First Responders’ Night at the taproom as well as a Squirrel Appreciation Night,” Gage said. “That way we can thank everyone who was involved in the rescue. Liam is helping me with a hazelnut-flavored brew.”

“I can’t thank any of you enough for coming to save me,” Scott said. “And everyone says you were the one who sounded the alarm and rallied the troops.”

Gage blushed as his inner Mal preened. “I wasn’t going to let those coyotes get away with it. You’re my mate. I have to keep you safe.”

“That goes both ways,” Scott replied. “I protect you too. But I’ll try to keep the explosions to a minimum.”

The taproom was packed for First Responder Night. All first responders got their first drink free and a discount on subsequent drinks. Scott repeated his thanks to the group, even if he couldn’t give details about his work.

“Everyone seems to be having a great time.” Liam caught up with Scott at the bar. Liam and Madden were honorary first responders due to their roles in the rescue. Brandon and the Lowe brothers were Fox Hollow volunteer firefighters.

“I’m glad,” Scott replied. “I owe everyone for saving my ass.”

Liam met his gaze and cocked his head as if the statement didn’t quite compute. “That’s what friends do.”

Scott knew the others understood how special Fox Hollow was, especially those like Liam who hadn’t grown up there.

“I’m looking forward to your Library Night,” Scott told him.

“It’s a fundraiser, where a percentage of each drink price goes toward our book fund,” Liam replied. “And we’ll have a table with a display of our newest books and a wishlist for people who are willing to just buy books for us outright. The Fox Hollow library is small, but we have an impressive collection—not just the number of books but what we have for different ages and interests.”

“Gage speaks highly about what you’ve done with the library,” Scott replied.

“The library was already strong when I came into the position,” Liam deflected, although he blushed. “I’m honored to be able to continue the legacy.”

“I heard about the new exhibit about the area’s defunct theme parks,” Scott said.

“I can’t wait to debut it,” Liam replied with an enthusiastic glint in his eyes. “A lot of the folks in Fox Hollow have lived here their whole lives, so they remember the parks in their heyday.”

“I wish I could have seen FrontierWorld under better circumstances,” Scott said. “I bet it was fun.”

“Russ and Drew remember it from when they were kids, and they thought it was great,” Liam said. “But it’s not the only park we’ve lost. There used to be a big water slide place and a very strange UFO-themed attraction, as well as a real Atlas missile silo.”

“Wow. But I guess that’s not a surprise—the Adirondacks have been a tourist attraction for a long time,” Scott said, “Wasn’t there also a Gay Nineties place?”

Liam smirked. “Yeah. All very Vegas-style stage shows and ice skating extravaganzas. And there was a Mother Goose park. So I think the presentation will stir up a lot of nostalgia.”

He gave Scott a sly wink. “And it’s also given me ideas for Halloween and Christmas. We have lots of places that are reputed to be haunted and plenty of mediums who can debunk the fakes and share their own stories about the real ones.

“For Christmas, those lost parks all did special displays and attractions with Santa and dancing elves and reindeer. I’m putting out a call to gather archival footage and family photos, plus stories of people who worked there or visited. I think it’ll be a real winner,” Liam said excitedly.

“And when people come in to see the display, we’ll give them a chance to donate to the book fund,” Liam added. “You haven’t been here during the winter yet, but books keep people sane in these parts when the snow falls.”

“I can’t wait to feel like a real Fox Hollow resident,” Scott said.

“We saved you. That makes you official,” Liam said. “Welcome to the club.”

Scott listened, fascinated, as Liam told the story about how Russ and the town had rallied to save him from an abusive ex when he accidentally found himself stranded nearby with car trouble.

“Whether you’re born here, rescued here, or moved here, once you’re in Fox Hollow, you belong.” Liam laid a hand on Scott’s undamaged shoulder before moving through the crowd to find Russ.

First Responder Night was a success, but Squirrel Appreciation Night broke all records. Madden spread the word to the squirrel shifters who had helped defeat the coyotes, and they packed the taproom.

“What about the ones who weren’t shifters?” Scott asked Madden. “Can I make a contribution for winter feeding stations or something? They saved my ass.”

“Good idea,” Madden replied. “Let me see what I can organize. Elias and I can do an event through the comics store and see if we can double or triple your donation.”

Scott looked out over the packed bar. “People seem to be having a good time.”

“That’s because squirrels just want to have fun,” Madden said with a grin. “Wait for karaoke.”

The DJ had been given a playlist, and as the crowd sang along, it was clear that every song replaced the word girl with squirrel.

Scott hung out at the bar with Gage, and he couldn’t remember ever laughing so hard.

“I guess it’s true what they say about hard-rockin’ squirrels,” Scott laughed.

When the night finished and the last patrons wandered outside, Liam was thrilled by the amount raised for the library; the karaoke DJ had gone through most of his repertoire, and the bar had done a very good business.

Gage refused to let Scott help with the cleanup. He and his barbacks had things sorted quickly, and they all headed out into the evening together. They waved goodnight to the others and headed back to Gage’s cabin.

“I’ll drive back to Albany with you, and we can rent a truck to move your things,” Gage said as they walked into the house. Midnight had come and gone but they were both still stoked from the energy at the bar.

“SPAM set me up in a corporate apartment until I got settled, so I don’t have a lease to break. I’ll still need to go back to Albany from time to time for more training,” Scott replied. “Which means other than a few groceries, I’m not leaving with more than I arrived with. It’ll be nice to have company on the drive.”

“We can start with what I’ve got in the cabin and add to it when we see what else we need once you move in,” Gage said. “I’m excited to make this place feel like ours.”

Scott felt tired but happy as they crawled into bed in the wee hours. They made out for a few minutes, not really intending for it to go anywhere, just for the sake of contact.

“I promise you a very happy wake-up,” Scott told Gage as they lay down together. “We’re mates. You’re my forever guy.”

“I could get used to that,” Gage murmured, giving Scott a long, lingering press of lips. “I’m counting on it.” Scott pressed in for another kiss.