Country Road Romance

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“ U gh, this guy is the worst, ” Jared muttered to himself. “No one should get to be that handsome and successful and also be gay and be from West Virginia. It just isn’t fair.”

“Who are you talking to?”

He turned around to face Rebecca Oggleson, the director of the Mountain State Queer Film Festival, his boss and, not coincidentally, his best friend. In an earlier time and place, she would have been called a lipstick lesbian. Her honey-blonde hair was styled into a variety of tight curls, and her full lips pushed out in a bright-red pout. Though she was just over five feet tall, her pointed high heels gave her another couple of inches and, with her sleek pantsuit, she looked like she was about ready to run for office.

“Um,” he stammered, “no one.” He knew it was too late to try to cover up who he’d been looking at on his computer, but he was still tempted.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes and then, when she saw what was on the screen, actually smirked.

“You’ve been internet stalking Charlie Garrett again, haven’t you?”

He sighed and thought about disputing that claim, but it would be a waste of time. “Fine, yes, I’ve been internet stalking Charlie Garrett,” he said, throwing up his hands in mock exasperation. “You got me. Are you happy now?”

“I don’t know why you have such a hang-up about him,” Rebecca said. “He’s handsome and successful and also gay and from our state. And, perhaps most importantly, he happens to be a pretty good actor. What’s not to love?”

Jared snorted at that. “I guess that’s true, if you count being in cheesy romance movies for the Romance Network being a good actor.”

“Don’t be a film snob.”

“I’m not,” he insisted. “It’s just that I think there have to be some standards where movie acting is concerned. He’s handsome enough, but that doesn’t mean he’s good. ”

“Well,” she said, “are you sure that you’re not being hypercritical of him because you have a little bit of a crush?”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “There’s no way I would ever have a crush on someone like that, and let me tell you why. Not only is he a subpar actor; he also does literally nothing for West Virginia or the LGBTQ community, either here or elsewhere. He made it out, and he’s never looked back, which is apparently good enough for him. As if that weren’t enough, he’s also one of those ‘straight-acting gays’ who thinks they’re better than those of us who are more explicitly queer.” He snorted to show just what he thought of such self-hating gays.

As he went on, the look on Rebecca’s face became more and more concerned, and he started to have a dark suspicion about what she was going to say next.

“What?” he said, interrupting his own diatribe.

“Well, you know how we’ve been struggling to put the film festival together?”

Jared nodded. It was no secret that there were some members of the Huntington City Council that would have liked nothing better than to see the Mountain State Queer Film Festival canceled altogether, and Rebecca had had to make do with both a very small staff and a very skinny budget. He admired her abilities in that regard, and he’d been open with her about that fact. Her next words, though, made him rethink all of that.

“It turns out that we were very fortunate in our timing, because your celebrity boyfriend has a new movie coming out, The Gentleman Usher, and as part of the promotion for it he’s volunteered to headline our festival. Surprise!”

Jared couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Oh, sure, he’d read the rumors about this new project of Garrett’s and how it would elevate the erstwhile TV star into the realm of movie stardom, but he’d never imagined it would premiere in Huntington, let alone that Charlie Garrett himself would be here.

Ugh,” he groaned, “that’s just great. Didn’t you hear what I just said? We’re going to have a straight-acting gay headlining our queer film festival and, as if that weren’t enough, now the whole city is going to make a nuisance of itself, with middle-aged wine moms beating down the door to get a sight of him.”

Rebecca wagged a finger at him. “They’re going to buy tickets, and that’s the important thing. And it wouldn’t hurt you to be a bit more positive about this. This is a big get for us, and it’s gone a long way toward convincing City Council, particularly Councilman Rhodes, that this festival has the ability to be a genuine draw for the city. The paperwork is all signed, sealed, and delivered. This is going to be our crowning achievement.”

Jared could tell from the way that she was talking there was something she wasn’t telling him, and he knew it was going to be something he didn’t like. He narrowed his eyes at her and was rewarded with a faint blush.

“I know you’re hiding something from me,” he said. “Out with it.”

“Well,” she said, dragging out the word, “it turns out that one of the conditions for him coming here was that he have someone to show him around town. You know that he did his degree at WVU, and amazingly enough he hasn’t ever been to our little corner of the state. So I kind of…volunteered you to do it.”

“You did not.”

She shrugged sheepishly. “I’m sorry, Jared, but you were the only other member of the board who was going to be available. Besides, you know Huntington like the back of your hand. If there’s anyone who can show him the best points of interest it’d be you.”

He snorted. “You’re actually a native of the city, you know. I’m just a transplant who’s been here too long.”

“Yes, but I’m also the chair of the board and the one handling all of the rest of the planning.” She batted her eyes at him. “Surely you’d love to be a key part of the festival’s success?”

“Okay fine,” he said. “I’ll do it. But I’m not going to be happy about it, and I can’t guarantee that I’m going to be very nice to the guy.” He huffed. “I’m sure you knew I’d cave the moment you asked.”

“I did, in fact,” she said.

“When does he get here?”

“Well,” she said, “the festival is in a few days, and he’s slated to arrive the first day of it so…Thursday.”

Jared sighed. A few days wasn’t that long to prepare for what he knew was going to be a very unpleasant experience dealing with a Hollywood diva, but he supposed it was better than nothing.

“Okay, fine. I just hope that Mr. Hollywood is content with riding in my old Ford pickup truck, because I’m not going to rent a car for him.”

Rebecca gave him a mischievous smile. “Actually, that’s perfect. If you happen to run into any reporters, and you most certainly will at some point, it'll be good for his image to be seen driving around in a truck just like regular people. It’ll help give them the impression that he really is the humble guy that he says he is.”

Jared didn’t even bother hiding his eye roll. “What are you, his publicist now?”

“No, but there’s always hope.”

“So what time should I be at the airport?”

Rebecca tapped her chin. “He’s set to land very early in the morning. So I’d say that you want to be there at eight at the latest. They’re hoping that they can get him into town without a lot of reporters noticing. I’m sure they’ll start hounding him later on, anyway, but at least he can have a bit of time out of the spotlight.”

“You have got to be kidding, right?”

Before Rebecca could say anything her phone started buzzing, and she gestured at him to stay there while she answered it.

“Hello? Yes, this is Rebecca. Oh, hello Councilman. Yes, we have someone already lined up to go pick up Charlie Garrett. Yes, everything’s in hand, I promise, and everything is going to go smoothly. You don’t have to worry about anything.” There was an ominous pause. “Yes, it is Jared, why do you ask? Oh, well, you don’t have to worry about that, either. He’s promised to be on his very best behavior. Okay, fine, yes. Goodbye, Councilman.”

“That,” she said, “as you might have guessed, was Councilman Rhodes.”

Jared hated just hearing that name. He’d had more than his fair share of run-ins with him, largely during meetings of the Council, when Jared had pointed out his many deficiencies when it came to protecting the rights of the queer community. In fact, he could distinctly remember the time when he’d called the man an idiot to his face, to conspicuous laughter from the gathered crowd and even from some of the other members of the Huntington City Council.

Clearly, he wasn’t one to forgive such a slight.

“And what did he have to say?” he asked innocently.

“He said that if you did anything to embarrass this city or himself again that he’d see to it that you were run out of town on a rail. At least, I think those were his words.”

That did sound like something the prickly Rhodes would say. He was as blue-blooded as they came, but he always liked to make it sound like he was one of the common people, hence his earthy little sayings that sounded like they came from some 1950s western.

“I’m glad you told him that I would be on my best behavior,” Jared said. “Though I suspect that his definition of what that means is probably different than ours.”

“I’m sure,” she said. “Ugh. I wish that Councilman Tate would hurry up and find a good reason to get rid of him.” She lowered her voice. “Confidentially, she told me that she’s been investigating him for some financial irregularities in his accounting, but so far she hasn’t been able to find anything. When she does, though, that’ll be the end of him. He’ll be out of our hair for good.”

“That day can’t come soon enough,” Jared said. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go. I have lots of good behavior to demonstrate.”

Before Rebecca could say anything to that he was out the door, a satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

The next few days passed in something of a blur, as preparations for the film festival finally heated up, and everyone put their heads down and got to work. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time, but Jared loved every minute of it, not least because it helped him put Charlie Garrett out of his mind, at least until Thursday.

When the day arrived he got up early, had some coffee and, yawning so big he thought for sure he was going to dislocate his jaw, went out to get his truck started.

Once outside, he paused for a minute to admire his old Ford F150. It was a deep burgundy color, and it had been a gift from his father when he’d graduated college years ago. He smiled wistfully thinking about how proud his parents had been of him, and how they’d always shown him unequivocal support, even after he’d come out as gay during his first semester at college.

I should go see them soon, he thought. Even though he tried to go home as often as possible, the fact that they lived in the northern part of the state meant that it sometimes took longer than he would have liked. They always told him that they understood, that he had his own life to lead and shouldn’t worry so much about them but, well, they weren’t getting any younger, and it weighed on his mind.

Standing here fretting about something that hasn’t happened yet isn’t going to get you to the airport any faster, he thought.

He got in and started the engine, savoring the way that it still purred and giving the wheel an affectionate pat. “That’s a good girl,” he said. “I treat you right, and you treat me right. And don’t let this Hollywood bigshot make you feel bad about yourself.”

Jared smiled to himself as he started driving toward the airport, for once actually enjoying being up before the sun. It was rather exciting, to think that he was up and about and starting his day, when a lot of people were still waking up and having their coffee.

Way to go Charlie Garrett, he thought. We haven’t even met yet and already you’re turning me into a morning person.

It had been quite a while since he’d been out this way, and it was like revisiting old friends. Despite what he’d said to Rebecca, in the years since he’d moved to Huntington he’d really taken the town to his heart, and he basically felt like a native son. He liked to think that the city felt the same way about him, though there were times when he had his doubts. People like Councilman Rhodes had made their animosity toward queer people abundantly clear but, so far at least, the allies were standing firm.

Off to the right Jared saw Camden Park, complete with its clown sign. He’d always thought that it looked a bit demented–like something out of a horror movie–but he was always smart enough not to say that where anyone from the town could actually hear him. He’d never managed to make it to this little amusement park, despite the fact that his friends had ribbed him mercilessly about missing out on such a quintessential piece of city life.

One of these days, he thought.

He kept on driving, through the small towns of Ceredo and Kenova, and then at last he turned onto the road that wound up to the airport, rolling down the windows to let the clear, crisp autumn air inside. Already the leaves were showing their autumn hues, luxuriating in the first rays of the sun, and Jared felt that pinch in his chest that always came with fall. It was his favorite season, and he couldn’t imagine being anywhere other than West Virginia.

No one does fall like the Mountain State, he thought, and he was glad that they were having the film festival at this time of the year, when his beloved state was at its finest.

At last the airport came into view, and Jared sighed. There was no mistaking the hulking private jet that took up one of the airport’s few runways. He grimaced, thinking of how much this whole situation was going to disrupt air traffic. It wasn’t as if the Huntington Airport was that busy, but still, couldn’t Mr. Hollywood have taken a commercial flight?

I just hope that having Charlie Garrett as a headliner is enough to get people to come to the festival, Jared thought grouchily.

Jared pulled into the parking lot, got out, and began walking toward the airport entrance. He wasn’t sure just what he was supposed to do or where he was supposed to go, one more disadvantage of being awake before everyone else, including Rebecca, who might at least have given him some guidance as to what he was supposed to be doing. Then again, he probably should have asked for said information rather than being so committed to being a smartass.

That wasn’t very smart of me, he thought.

Fortunately, a smartly-dressed woman who must have been Charlie’s publicist came out of the airport and stalked toward him, stiletto heels clicking on the asphalt.

“You,” she said, pointing at him. “I recognize you from the photo that Rebecca sent. You’ve been sent to take Charlie to his hotel, right?”

The woman’s tone rubbed him the wrong way, but he wasn’t going to start a fight right off the bat. So, instead, he just plastered on that plastic smile that he always used whenever he confronted people he didn’t like and who clearly thought they were better than he was.

“Why yes, I am,” he said, adding just a bit of a twang to his voice. It was all part of the act–since he was from the northern part of the state he usually sounded more like he was from Pittsburgh than West Virginia–but she ate it up.

“Where’s the limo parked?” she asked, and Jared almost laughed at her.

“No limo I’m afraid, ma’am,” he said, jerking his thumb at his truck. “All we had was the truck.”

She frowned, but she clearly knew that this wasn’t going to be an argument she was going to win. Besides, the sooner they got Charlie Garrett away from the airport–and any particularly intrepid reporters–the better. From what Jared had been able to learn about him, he was prone to saying things that got him into trouble and caused his communications and public relations team no small amount of headaches. While Jared would have been just as happy to let him spout off, he didn’t want an off-color comment to torpedo the goodwill they’d managed to get for the festival.

“I suppose that’ll have to do,” she said. “Just try to keep him out of trouble, okay?”

He gave her one of his best fake smiles. “Of course, ma’am. It would be my pleasure.”

If she sensed that he was being disingenuous she didn’t show it. Instead she just turned back and gestured toward the airport entrance. A moment later Charlie Garrett came bounding out–annoyingly chipper for it being so early in the day–and Jared got his first sight of the man who was going to be his charge for the next hour or so.

He’s like a golden retriever in human form, Jared thought.

Charlie’s California blonde hair was swept back from a face that looked like it belonged on an Abercrombie in fact, he looked like he’d been doing it his whole life. Before Sheri could make any more sarcastic comments they were barrelling down the hill and toward the city.

I just hope this ride goes quickly, Jared thought. Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my day babysitting.

“Thanks for coming out to get me,” Charlie said, his voice a deep rumble. “I’m sure that you had other things that you’d rather be doing than going out of your way to come up here.”

Jared was a bit taken aback by this offering of gratitude, but he managed to stammer out something that he thought was at least somewhat gracious.

“You don’t like me very much, do you?” Charlie asked.

The blunt honesty of the question took Jared aback, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. Instead he just kept his eyes on the road ahead.

“It’s okay, you know,” Charlie went on. “I’m used to it. There are a lot of people around here who kind of don’t like it that I went and made something of myself, got out of my little podunk town.” Out of the corner of his eye Jared saw Charlie shrug. “I guess I can understand where they’re coming from. And then, of course, there are the ones who don’t like it that one of the most famous people to come out of West Virginia is a queer. That rubs some of them the wrong way, believe me.”

“I’m not one of those, you can be sure,” Jared said, gritting his teeth. “But as it happens you’re right. I’m not a big fan. You talk a big game about being proud of where you came from, and yet you almost never come back here, and when you do it’s just to helicopter in, do a good deed or two, and then leave. Not exactly what one would expect of a proud son of the Mountain State, is it?”

Even though he didn’t look to see what the effects of his words were, he was conscious of Charlie stiffening beside him. He waited for a Hollywood-sized explosion or tantrum, but none came. Instead, the star just sighed.

“I guess you’re right,” he said defeatedly. “I’m just another big shot celebrity without much substance.”

Jared was so surprised by the fact that Charlie didn’t even put up a fight that he could think of nothing further to say, and the rest of the ride proceeded in a tense silence. When they got to the hotel Charlie got out, his face still an expressionless mask. There was no sign of the gregarious guy of a half hour before. In fact, he almost acted like a robot.

Well, what did you expect? Jared thought. You treated him like he was dirt, and he responded accordingly. You can’t really blame him for that.

What really surprised Jared, however, was how guilty Charlie looked, almost as if he was hiding something. There was no time to ask him about what it might be, however, because before Jared could even offer anything resembling an apology, Charlie was gone.

That definitely could have gone better, Jared thought. Rebecca is not going to be happy about this. At all.