Chapter 14
“HAVE YOU seen this?” Cotten asked as he strode into Connor’s office at the college the following Monday morning. “It’s from yesterday, and Carrie said I should save it for you. It seems your little calendar is causing quite a kerfuffle.” He held up the Local section of the Mechanicsburg newspaper. “‘Garden Club Goes Gay!’ Don’t you love the headline?” He snickered.
Connor practically snatched the paper out of his hands. “Good God.” He didn’t know whether to smile or not.
“The article is actually very positive, and they talk a lot about the fact that the money is for projects around the community, but there’s also a hint of snark, which makes it really good.” He grinned, and Connor groaned. “What’s with you? This article is going to sell a ton of calendars.”
“I know. Aunt Lucille is going to be thrilled. I think I’m worried that my students are going to see me as Mr. April rather than as their history professor.”
Cotten sat down in the wooden guest chair, leaning forward. “What’s going to happen is that your classes are all going to fill up and you’ll be beating them off with a stick. Besides, this is a local thing. Today it’s the calendar, and tomorrow the headline will be that someone’s cow gave birth to a chicken.” Cotten had a way of putting things in perspective. “Relax and enjoy the fact that you did something good. And just so you know, Carrie bought a copy and declared that every month was April.” He stood back up. “It’s a great thing.”
Connor smiled. “Yeah, it is, and it’s going to be a success.” That sank in, and he smiled, really smiled. “Can I keep this?”
“Sure.” Cotten stood slowly.
“How is the arm? I should have asked earlier.”
“It’s healing well, and I should be able to just wear the sling in a week or so. You know, if they decide to do a second version of the calendar, definitely keep me in mind, okay?” He left the office, and Connor shook his head before reading the entire article. Then he picked up the phone.
“Connor, sweetheart, I’m a little busy right now. The outlet in Mechanicsburg has no more calendars, and the bookstore in Carlisle is almost out. I have to run to check on the other stores and deliver calendars.” The excitement in Aunt Lucille’s voice was amazing. “Grant is picking me up in five minutes, so I have to go. Love you, honey, and I’ll call you this afternoon.” She hung up, and Connor snickered as he called Sterling.
“Did you see the paper?”
“Yeah…. Garden Club…. Hot Stuff,” Sterling chuckled through the phone at the headlines. “I saw Mechanicsburg’s too. This is going to sell calendars. I was so worried that it wouldn’t work, and….” Sterling choked up, and Connor did the same. “It feels good to do something right.”
Connor nodded, even though he was alone in the room. “Aunt Lucille says she’s already out delivering more.”
“Dad is taking her, apparently. This is going to work out, and the club is going to be able to continue their mission. That’s what we set out to do, and it looks like it will happen.”
That was right. What more did Connor want? It was perfect. “Yeah. It’s going to be okay.” His office phone rang, so Connor said goodbye.
“Wait—will I see you tonight?”
“I have so much to do. Wednesday? Do you have appointments?”
“I’ll see you then.” Sterling hung up, and Connor answered the other phone, happy that everything was good.
CONNOR SHUT down his computer, pleased that his article was finally done and reviewed. He’d just sent it to the editor, and now he was waiting to hear what they thought. But it was done. What he had supposed would be a quick article had turned into something much different than he originally anticipated. Connor chuckled as he realized a lot of things in his life had gone that way lately.
He and Sterling had expected to work on the calendar project together and then go their separate ways. It was only supposed to be a project to help his great-aunt, but along the way things had changed. Now they were dating, and Connor didn’t want to go back to the way things had been before. His life had been lonely and kind of black and white. Now his life had color and texture. Hell, he was happy. The only thing that nagged at the back of his mind was just how long this could last. After all, he’d heard once that you could have a hot job, a hot place to live, and a hot lover, but not all three at the same time. It was one of the laws of the universe. And right now, he liked his small home, Sterling was definitely a hot lover, and if things continued, he was in line to be mayor as well as a professor. The universe was going to kick in, he just knew it. The only question was where the foot was going to land, and he hoped to heck it wasn’t in the balls.
“STERLING?” CONNOR called as he walked through the gate into the backyard. The scent of grilling meat drew him in, and all he had to do was follow his nose.
“Dammit,” Sterling’s voice drifted to him through the open windows. “That bastard!”
Connor picked up the pace and called once again. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen this?” Sterling asked as he opened the back door and practically tugged Connor into the house. “It’s Pennsylvania Live , one of the online local news outlets. It seems that they’ve picked up on the calendar and decided to write an article. Only their headline is….” Sterling turned the screen so Connor could see it.
“Calendar Boy for Mayor!” it read. Connor felt his stomach fall to his feet and bounce back. For a second he thought he was going to be sick. The article included an image of their calendar page. Connor stepped closer to read the article, which explained that Connor, who had posed for the Cumberland County Garden Club calendar, was also running for mayor of Carlisle. It was surprisingly factual, given the inflammatory headline.
“Okay….” Connor tried to keep his nerves under control. “It isn’t that bad… really.”
“The article is pretty decent. It even gives you credit for doing the calendar to help the community. It’s the comments that made me angry, and I suggest you don’t read them. Most of them are from people outside of Carlisle and don’t count anyway. There are some that are very positive, but others are downright mean, and even more are just stupid.”
Connor scrolled down to read a few and then stepped away, relinquishing the mouse like his hand had been burned. “Should I just bow out?” he asked, almost to himself, and it took him a second to realize he had said that out loud.
“Hell no,” Sterling answered. “You can’t let the small-minded people of the world get to you like this. They will always be out there. And… really. You haven’t hidden that you were gay, so there’s no angle there. The calendar is out there for everyone to see. It’s no secret. Please. This will blow over in a day or two, and then things will return to normal.”
“Yeah. But people aren’t talking about you like this,” Connor said, lowering himself into a chair. “I probably should have seen something like this coming.”
“You did, in a way, but I didn’t see something like this happening. Honestly, I thought the calendar would sell a number of copies because it was the garden club, but I wasn’t expecting this type of splash.” Sterling slipped his arms around Connor. “It’s going to be okay. This is going to be good for your great-aunt and the calendar sales, and it will probably be good for your campaign. You just got more advertising than you could ever have been able to afford.” He scrolled down to the end of the article. “They actually included some things that you put on social media about what you stand for and hope to accomplish. This is a good thing.”
Connor wasn’t so sure. “But the headline….”
“Will grab attention.” Sterling hugged him tighter. “I’m not going to step back from this because things get a little rough. When I encouraged you to do this, I said I’d back you up, and I will. No matter what.”
Connor closed his eyes and leaned back against Sterling, soaking in his warmth and strength. Sterling was right—if Connor wanted to do this, then he was in for the long haul. “I’ll be okay.” He sighed. “The thing is that I want to be taken seriously, and not just because I did the calendar.” He wasn’t expressing things the way he wanted. “I don’t want to be the calendar-boy mayor. I want to be the best leader the borough of Carlisle has ever had.”
Sterling hugged him tighter. “You do realize that you can be both.”
And just like that, Sterling took a firmer hold of his heart. He was right. Connor didn’t have to be defined by one picture in a service calendar. He was more than that, he knew it, and it seemed so did Sterling. “Thank you.” He put his hands on top of Sterling’s and held them there.
“It’s just a few more days and then the deadline will pass and you’ll be the next mayor. The attention regarding the calendar will fade, and life will settle into whatever the new normal will be.” Sterling sniffed, and his arms jerked away. “Damn it all, I forgot about dinner.” He raced away to rescue whatever was on the grill.
Sterling returned with four hockey pucks on a plate. Apparently they had once been burgers, but now they were burnt offerings to a Grecian god. Sterling carried the plate into the kitchen and thunked the ashes of dinner into the trash. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out.” Now it was his turn to hug Sterling. “I can order something and have it delivered. It’s not a big deal. Go on and turn on the television. Sit down and relax. I’ll be right in.” Connor held him a few moments longer, and when Sterling left the kitchen, Connor called the tap room and placed a delivery order.
“Connor,” Sterling called as though he were in distress. Connor hurried back to find Sterling had been watching the local news.
“I wasn’t going to run again. But after consultation with my wife,” Mayor Randall was saying to a reporter, “I have decided that I have to run for another term as mayor of Carlisle. It’s obvious that the people need me, and someone has to stand up for decency in our community. The current candidate for mayor has already proven himself unworthy of the office. The people of Carlisle deserve someone with integrity—”
Sterling snorted loudly, cutting off the rest of what he said. “That man wouldn’t know decency if it bit him on the ass,” he practically shouted, and Connor tried to hear what else was said, but the interview ended, and he slowly lowered himself into one of the chairs.
Connor felt as though his legs had been knocked out from under him. “I’m not decent? Unworthy?” He blinked and ground his teeth.
“That man is an underhanded snake who isn’t worthy of anything. Don’t you pay attention to a single thing he says. Phillip Randall running for office on a decency platform is like Satan himself running on truth, love, and puppies.” Sterling’s voice rose, and Connor smiled as Sterling hugged him tightly. “He doesn’t know what decency is, and he certainly isn’t the standard for who is worthy of office. If he’s just decided to run, then he has to file everything in a few days.”
Connor sighed. “I guess I had figured that with no one else running, getting the job would be smooth. But I suppose that nothing worth having is easy.” He put his head on Sterling’s shoulder. Sterling’s scent surrounded him, and in seconds, the beginnings of desire coursed through him. This man made him feel good, even when the world seemed hurtful. Connor wanted Sterling—it seemed he always wanted Sterling. At work he found his mind traveling the blocks to Sterling’s studio, wondering what he was doing, rather than where it should be, on his work. He tightened his hold, taking comfort in Sterling’s strength and the way Sterling held him in return. The heated desire soon backed away to a simmer, still there but less urgent as he simply let himself accept the comfort and care so freely offered.
“Look, you’ve already started campaigning and meeting people. We need to move ahead with campaign literature, signs, and everything else. We’ll get your name out there.”
“I can’t afford all that. I don’t have a huge campaign budget. This isn’t like I’m running for president or something.” He was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and didn’t want to talk about it right now. Randall’s words hung over his head, and he wasn’t sure how to banish them. He knew that he had to let it run off his back and just ignore it. If he was going to run for office, people would say nasty things said about him.
“Just remember why you want to do this,” Sterling whispered. “This isn’t about you but what’s best for the community. Randall has spent the past twenty years using the mayor’s office for self-aggrandizement. People know that. You want to be mayor to help the community. So we’ll make sure that’s our message.”
Connor swallowed really hard at the our . Connor had never really been part of an our before. “Why would you do this? Why would you put yourself through this? People are going to be looking at you too, and who knows what they’ll decide to say about you.” Maybe this entire idea was crazy.
Sterling seemed taken aback. “Why wouldn’t I?”