Wes’s throat closed up. He looked at the ring—cherry wood, like the carving he’d made of Jake.
“Yes,” Wes choked out. “Yes, you idiot. Of course, yes.”
Jake laughed, slipping the ring onto Wes’s finger. It fit perfectly.
“I love you,” Wes said, pulling Jake in.
They kissed, barely noticing the applause that had erupted around them.
Suddenly, the music changed. The upbeat Christmas pop faded out. A crackle of static came over the speakers—Cal’s trademark vinyl sound effect.
Then, an acoustic guitar strummed. Bright, hopeful, and unmistakably folksy.
Two female voices harmonized in a melody that every queer kid in the 90s knew by heart. It wasn’t a Christmas song, but as the opening chords of the Indigo Girls’Power of Twofilled the barn, Wes realized it was the perfect choice.
He laughed, wiping a tear from his cheek while looking over at the DJ booth. Cal gave him a thumbs-up and tipped his Santa hat.
“He really is a prophet,” Jake murmured, recognizing the track instantly. “Adding up the total... multiplying life. That’s us, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Wes said, looking at the ring on his finger, the wood inlay dark against the metal. “That’s us. Stronger together.”
“May I have this dance?” Jake asked, holding out his hand.
“Everyone is watching.”
“Let them watch. They’re happy for us, Wes. Let’s give them a show.”
Wes took Jake’s hand. He let Jake pull him onto the dance floor.
And as they swayed under the thousands of tiny lights, surrounded by the people of Spoon, Wes looked past Jake’s shoulder toward the open barn doors.
Outside, the snow was falling harder now. It covered the muddy tracks in the driveway. It covered the scars on the pine trees from the old storms. It covered everything in a blanket of clean, quiet white.
Winter was here. But inside, Wes had never felt warmer.
Want moreSouthern Comfort? The stories of Tucker & Evan and Titus & Pedro are available now.
"Maybe guardian angels work both ways."
Tucker Shepherd is restless, living in the shadow of his family’s accomplishments. Nightly, he tends bar in the tiny town of Spoon while everyone else seems to be moving on.
Evan Harbuck is on the road to Atlanta to fulfill his dream of acting. Detoured along the way, he questions his passion and the meaning of success.
One stormy night, Tucker finds Evan broke and bleeding in his tavern’s parking lot. Tucker takes him in but soon discovers his nurturing may be reciprocal. With Evan there, Tucker’s little world is suddenly a whole lot brighter—but will it be enough for Evan and his big-city dreams?
Sweet T is a hurt / comfort romance between two men questioning their purpose in life. It is the first novel in the Southern Comfort series set in the tiny town of Spoon, Georgia. It features characters from future novels in the series that may enhance your enjoyment but is easily read as a standalone.
It contains mature content and hot summer days and men that play. But mostly it’s about a man, his love, his family, his extended family, predestination, reconciliation, Elizabethan drama, the meaning of success, and a big fat gay Southern wedding.
Get Sweet T on Amazon!
“Do you mind me holding your hands like this?”
“No. I think I might even be sad if you let go.”
“Then I won’t.”
Titus Shepherd once had it all. Born into a wealthy southern family, he ruled the high school football field, married the town sweetheart, and fathered a beloved son. His future as the next mayor seemed certain. But fate took a cruel turn, and now he's a reclusive widower raising his four-year-old son alone.
Pedro Torres was destined for academic success in Mexico until disaster forced him to abandon his dreams for thesake of his family. Determined to change his circumstances, he migrated to the US as a landscaper, aspiring to gain citizenship and bring his mother to their new home.
Both men sacrificed happiness for their families, and neither believed in love at first sight. However, a chance meeting at the Shepherd country home in the summer of 1995 sparked a passionate affair, as fierce and fated as the humidity, stars, and fireflies on a hot southern night.
But will their love withstand the harsh preconceptions and deep-seated prejudices of small-town Spoon, Georgia?
Big Britches is the second book in the Southern Comfort series and a prequel to the novel Sweet T. While it features characters from other stories in the series, it stands alone as a heartwarming tale of love and resilience. It contains mature content, hot summer days, and even hotter nights. But mostly it’s about two very different men with a lot in common… and the healing power of love.
