Babe? I liked it, but was he really not concerned about claiming me in front of a complete stranger? Wait. Husband. Hot PT was taken.
I shook off my stupidity and was blessed with brain waves. “Yes! Good. Oh, hey. Would you two want to come over for dinner tonight? I’m making enough to feed an army, and we could really use some taste testers for one of my recipes.”
Winter’s eyes widened in delight. “Oh, hell yeah. Let me text Gent to make sure, but I think we’re good. That would be amazing. What time do you want us here, and what can we bring?”
After arranging the details, we sent Winter to his final appointment of the day. When we returned to the kitchen, I asked Tiller about it. “You’re not worried he’s going to tell someone we’re… whatever we are?”
Tiller grinned at me. “What are we, Mikey?”
I flapped my hand in the air between us as if that answered it. He raised an eyebrow.
“Gah! Don’t make me use words. The ‘babe’ thing. The kiss. You know what I mean.”
He leaned in and kissed me again, wrapping his arms around me and leaning me backward a little bit so I was off-balance. I clung to him and went with it, enjoying the way he took charge of my mouth. By the time we came up for air, I didn’t care who the hell knew.
“Winter’s husband is a celebrity, so he gets it,” Tiller said. “Besides, once I found out he was gay, I got an itch to make sure he knew you weren’t available. I didn’t realize he was with someone until later.”
I could get very used to being unavailable as long as it meant Tiller Raine kept kissing me.
13
Tiller
Spending the evening with Winter and Gent was way more fun than I’d expected. When Mikey had first floated the offer of dinner to Winter, I’d bitten back a wince. I wanted Mikey all to myself right now. I knew this time in Colorado was limited, and I wanted to spend as much of it as possible alone with my favorite person. There was an unspoken understanding we wouldn’t be able to continue this… whatever it was we were doing… when we returned home.
But Winter and Gentry were great company, and seeing Mikey’s pride as he served up each dish and answered Winter’s questions about his cooking was worth it. He was in his element. Mikey loved feeding people and having willing tasters to experiment recipes on.
Mikey sat down after serving dessert. “Is it true everyone in Aster Valley is gay?” he asked with a teasing smile. “We’ve been here like forty-eight hours and we’ve only met gay dudes. Not that I’m complaining.”
Gent chuckled. He was the lead singer of one of Mikey’s favorite bands, and when Mikey had opened the door earlier to see the singer/songwriter standing there, he gasped loudly enough to wake hibernating bears nearby. It had only taken a couple of glasses of wine to calm Mikey down enough to remember Gentry Kane was a regular guy despite being the lead singer of GUS. “Then you’ve had an unusual experience. When I moved here, it felt like Pim and Bill were the only gay guys around. They’d dealt with some homophobia early on, but it started getting better several years ago. I think Truman’s the only one who’s had any bad experiences lately, but I think that has more to do with his history here than his sexuality. Our friends Mindy and Mia are always mistaken for sisters, but that’s because they really do look alike. For the most part, it’s becoming an artistic little town that seems to be attracting more and more LGBT folks.”
Mikey frowned. “What do you mean about Truman? Does he get bullied?”
Winter leaned in to reach for the wine bottle. As he poured his husband a refill, he began to tell us the story of Truman’s role in the ski slope shutdown.
“This was right before the Salt Lake Olympics. Langdon Goode was training here before heading off to Salt Lake. Truman’s dad managed the resort at the time. Anyway, Truman was a kid—maybe four or five?—and had always wanted to try his grandfather’s old metal sled. So one night he snuck it out and took it for a spin on the slopes. The moon was pretty full, I guess, because he said he saw a mountain lion at the edge of the slope. Scared him shitless. He took off running for home, not even thinking about the sled he left behind.”
Gent took over the story. “Poor kid. It snowed all night. Goode was excited for the first run on fresh powder the next morning. He had special early access to the lift. Took the run down and just so happened to ski right into the hidden metal sled.”
Winter shook his head. “Fucked up his knee. ACL, MCL, the works. Not only was he done for the season, he was never able to get back to the same level again. Ruined his career.”
I winced. I’d heard a hundred stories of pro athletes experiencing a career-ending injury, but it never got easier to hear. Especially when the kid was on the verge of finally realizing his dream in the Olympics.
Mikey sighed. “Poor Truman. He was just a kid.”
Winter nodded. “Apparently, the whole town blamed him, and his parents were the worst of the whole lot. As soon as they were put out of business, they upped stakes and moved away. Durango, I think? Truman had a shit time of it after that from what I’ve been able to glean from other people in town.”
Mikey leaned forward. “Why’d he come back here? I’d think he’d want a fresh start somewhere else.”
Gent was the one who answered. “His aunt owned a large property with a greenhouse at the edge of town. She grew vegetables and sold them at the local farmer’s market in the summer. She died a few years ago and left him her place.”
“But he’s so young,” I said. If he’d been around five before the 2002 Olympics, that would put him in his early twenties.
Gent nodded. “He was eighteen when he inherited the property. Moved back when he was nineteen. We think it was to get away from his toxic family. He hasn’t been to college or anything. He’s completely self-taught.”
I was impressed. And I could see the same thoughts running through Mikey’s head. We’d liked the guy, and hearing his story made me want to protect him from anyone who would blame a kid for an honest mistake. I couldn’t imagine carrying the burden of the accident around like that.
“And he’s still getting hassled for it here in town?” I asked.
Gent held up his hands in a shrug. “He says no, but Pim and Bill have witnessed some bullshit from a group of assholes called the Stanner brothers. Their dad, Gene Stanner, was the head mechanic for the lifts. When the lifts stopped, Gene’s employment stopped. Instead of finding another job nearby in Steamboat or at any of the other three hundred ski lifts in Colorado, I guess he just stayed here and whipped up a boatload of hate instead. It doesn’t help that the sheriff is Erland Stanner, Gene’s brother.”
“Fuck,” Mikey said. “Poor Truman.”
Gentry sighed. “Yeah, the rest of us try and look out for the kid as much as possible. Pim and Bill treat him like one of their own.”
Mikey quickly turned the conversation around to what eligible bachelors might be in town for us to set Truman up with so he could have a built-in bodyguard. Gent laughed and shook his head. “Truman already has a boyfriend.”