Chapter One
TEDDY & GEOFF
Teddy paced in the kitchen, talking to Mr. Silva on the phone. This was the fifth call this morning, and his stomach churned.
“I understand, Mr. Silva,” he said.
“Please, I’ve told you, call me Bernard,” Bernard said.
“Okay, Bernard.”
“We’re sorry we have to cancel. We’re going to miss you guys.”
“We’re going to miss you guys, too.”
“You can hold our deposit for the next trip,” he said. “You know we’ll be back.”
“I’ll put a note. Thank you. We look forward to seeing you again. Have a wonderful day.”
He closed his flip phone and sat at the table with a heavy sigh. Opening the reservation book, he wrote CANCELED next to Bernard Silva and Rory Sinclair. He flipped through the book, looking at page after page of cancellations.
The news reported heavy storms approaching the area around Thistle. The weather report didn’t specify how long it’d last, or even when it would hit Thistle. Their small town in the mountains wasn’t a priority for most travelers.
Teddy and his partner, Geoff, ran a gay bed-and-breakfast outside a small mountain town in Washington. Teddy did the bookings and bookkeeping for their business, as well as the cooking. Geoff handled the cleaning, repairs, and yard work. This year would produce the worst storm they’d seen in years, and that scared tourists away. They made most of their income in the winter and summer when tourists traveled for vacation. The lack of tourists would affect the entire town.
“Hey, Teddy Bear.” Geoff wrapped his arms around him from behind and kissed his head. “Another cancellation?”
“Yeah, Bernard and Rory had to cancel.”
“That’s sad,” Geoff said. “They’re good guys.”
“That’s it.” Teddy closed the reservation book. “We have no one staying for the next three weeks. We’ll just have to close until this storm passes.”
Geoff squeezed him. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve been through worse.” Geoff kissed the back of his neck.
Teddy stood and turned to look up into his partner’s eyes. Geoff’s positive outlook gave Teddy hope. It’s one of the many qualities he enjoyed in Geoff.
“You’re right.” Teddy laid his head against Geoff’s soft chest, breathing in his cologne. “We have enough savings thanks to Bernard and Rory’s wedding last summer. That was a blast.”
When the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, Bernard and Rory threw a bear-themed wedding. They wore matching Bear Pride Flag vests.
“Yeah,” Geoff said. “That was an amazing wedding.”
“I’m guessing our current guests have left as well?”
“Yes,” Geoff said. “I told them we’d refund the rest of their stay.”
They had three couples staying with them. Two were scheduled to leave the next day, and the other was scheduled to leave on Friday.
“So, what do we do?” Teddy pulled back and looked at Geoff.
“We’ll just have to hunker down,” Geoff said. “Get whatever supplies we need and close up the cabin.”
“I’m going to update the site and make sure all the reservations are refunded, update the spreadsheet, and then I’m going to head to town to shop.”
“Can I go with you?” Geoff asked.
“You want to go grocery shopping with me?”
