AfterloadingBartinto the back seat of the truck, we were on our way out of town to theLangsfordfamily farm.Ithadn’t been a true working farm in decades, but it was easy to imagine the generations that had come before gathering just like they did today, growing something far more valuable than crops and livestock.
Itwasn’t surprising to see the gravel area between the house and the pole barn filled with cars when we arrived.Itlooked as though all ofAnson’sbrothers and their families were already here and there was a handful of carsIdidn’t recognize.Thehouse was abuzz with activity as we walked through the back door.
Eleanorgreeted us with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. “It’sabout time the two of you showed up.I’vehad to pull out the big wooden spoon to keep your brothers from eating all the bacon.Now, get in there,Mr.HopefulMayor.Youcan distract them whileIfinish getting everything ready for breakfast.”
“Thanks,Mom.”Anson’svoice wavered, andIknew he wasn’t as unaffected by their show of support as he sometimes seemed.
Thevolume in the living room rose exponentially as soon as the brothers spottedAnson, everyone rushing to ask him how they could help with the campaign.Carsonswiped the nomination papers out ofAnson’shand as soon as he reached into his coat pocket for them, and a line formed behind the sofa with everyone waiting to sign their name.
IcaughtEzrastanding off to the side, looking shell-shocked at the scene.Iunderstood his pain becauseI’dhave felt exactly the same ifIhadn’t at least known the family when we’d been younger.Atthe time,Iwould have sworn it was a front because no family could possibly be that close, but nowIknew they sincerely loved one another unconditionally.
Theroom quickly cleared out, with every man disappearing into the kitchen as soon as they’d huggedAnson, each letting them know how proud they were of him.Theonly exception wasDanny, who turned in my direction.Thetwo of us had drifted apart after high school and hadn’t rekindled that friendship whenI’dmoved home.Therehad been timesI’dwondered what he thought about me dating his brother, but there had never been a good time to bring it up.
“Happylooks good on him,”Dannyobserved as he stood next to me. “Ihave to admit, it was a bit of a shock when the two of you admitted you were seeing one another.Isthis something new or…?”Therewas no need for him to finish the question.
Andnow thatIhad the manI’dlusted over for most of my life since puberty, there was no reason to keep my feelings a secret. “Imight have had a crush on him when we were in high school.Butback then, he was the bigshot sitting at the kitchen table studying for law school, andIwas a pimple-faced, scrawny dork who didn’t want to let anyone get too close.Noway couldIhave admitted howIfelt to anyone.Thefear of someone laughing in my face was too much to bear back then.”
Shockingthe hell out of me,Dannywrapped his arms around my torso, hugging me tightly. “Man,IwishI’dknown.Noone would have laughed in your face.Imean, have you seen this family?Ifthey got over me crushing onBilly’sbest friend, then having a kinky relationship with him until it all went to hell, and thenBillygetting together with his best friend, who also happened to be my ex,I’mpretty sure you’d have been safe with us knowing you had a thing forAnson.Theonly concern is your taste in men.Howdid you find yourself falling in love with someone who has zero sense of humor and serious control issues?”
Oh, he had plenty of control issues, andIwas already looking forward to exploring those later this month.Butthose weren’t the issuesDannywas speaking of.Ishrugged. “Weeven one another out.Heneeded someone who wasn’t put off by his surly attitude, andIcould use a bit more order in my life.Itjust…Well, it sounds cliché, but we just fit.”
Twohalves of a whole, the light and the dark.That’swhat we were.Andnever had things felt more right.Dannygave a thoughtful nod before leaving the room, most likely to find his husband.Therewas something about watching the two of them that felt like a relationship goal to me.MaybeAnsonandIwould eventually be the same for another couple.Andif not,Iwas looking forward to us achieving whatever goals we set for one another.Together.
EPILOGUE
ANSON
Thepast fourmonths had flown by.Betweentrying to find an attorney to join my practice soIcould step back from the day-to-day operations, becoming more active atHarmonyHouse, spending time withKevin, and a mayoral run, there’d hardly been any downtime.Butthat didn’t mean life had been all work and no play.
KevinandIhad spent more time withRowanand the rest ofKevin’sfriends fromPinevillesince the grand opening party.Rodneyhad also been there, and we were getting along much better now that we’d reached an understanding.Wewere still polar opposites, but there were plenty of places where we’d found common ground.He’deven volunteered to help with the campaign following a long conversation around the bonfire whereIproved to himIwasn’t someone who viewed city government as a steppingstone to something bigger.Ihad no aspirations to do anything bigger than makeHarmonyGrovethe best small city in the southern half of the state.
Tonight, worlds would collide once again, win or lose.Kevinhad worked withEzrato plan what we hoped would be a celebration, but no matter how the ballot count turned out,Ifelt like a winner.Ihad a manIloved, true friends who’d stuck by me even whenI’dspent years pushing away anyoneIthought took my attention away from my work, and family who supported me in whateverIwanted to do in life.
“Areyou ready for this?”Mydad stepped onto the front porch ofHarmonyHouse, leaning against the railing beside me.I’dbeen out here most of the day doing nothing more than watching traffic and waving at people driving or walking alongMainStreet.Itwas funny how we took things like the casual friendliness people here displayed for granted.Somethingas simple as a wave—or two fingers raised from the top of the steering wheel in the case of those driving by—made people feel noticed.
Mydad’s question had nothing to do with the party.Asexpected, not everyone in town was happy to hear one of thoseLangsfordboys was running for mayor.We’deven upgraded security atHarmonyHouseafterBillyarrived one day to a hate-filled manifesto informing the reader of all the reasons we were going to hell for our mission to help people.Itnever failed to surprise me how those who claimed to be good, solidChristianswere often the ones who spewed the most hate.
Butnone of their attempts to get me to drop out of the race had worked.Ifanything, their words fueled my passion.Theywouldn't have been so brazen if they weren’t scared about their puppet’s chances of being re-elected.Andthe moreIwatched what was happening around me, the moreIlistened to the words uttered in hushed tones at the diner and bakery, the moreIrealized that was exactly whatMayorThompsonwas.Hewas a puppet, constantly doing whatever the members of his church wanted, trying to create the citytheywanted to live in.Therewas a chance the same could be said for me, butIwasn’t trying to change things through exclusion.Itruly believed we were on our way to becoming a town where everyone felt welcome.Andas long as we continued on that path,I’dconsider it a job well done.
“Thepoll is still open for another hour,”IremindedDad.Everyonein the family was convinced the better-than-normal turnout was a positive sign, butIwasn’t going to count my chickens just yet.Peoplefrom both ends of the spectrum were showing up to vote, and things had gotten tense down there a few times today.Kevinhad actually been called into work because the police chief needed every officer available just in case shit went sideways.He’dtexted a few times to let me know things were still calm at the community center we used as a polling place.Thebest update had been shortly after school ended.He’dtexted to let me know several cars had pulled up filled with young adults ready to vote for the first time.Thathad made me emotional because it proved that what we were doing was bigger than a single building in one small town.Itwas the younger voters who gave me the most hope.Ilooked at my dad and smiled. “Butyeah,I’mmore than ready.”
Asif they’d been waiting just inside the door, givingDadand me a moment alone, my brothers and their families poured onto the porch, surrounding me.Asmuch asI’dhave loved one of them handing me a beer to calm my nerves, we’d decided that tonight’s party would be dry.Later, after things calmed down, we’d all head out toMomandDad’splace for a bonfire, but the first part of the gathering was open to all ages, andIwouldn’t give anyone a reason to thinkIwas contributing to the delinquency of minors.
“Incase none of us have said it, we’re proud of you.”Billydraped an arm over my shoulders. “Weknow this wasn’t something you imagined doing, butI’mpretty sureIspeak for all of us whenIsay we’re not shocked.You’vealways wanted things to work just so, and you have a strong moral compass.Seeingthe way things have been going the past few years, it was only a matter of time before you felt like you needed to do something.Now, how about we head inside and wait forMichaelto get here.”
Thatsounded like a damn good idea.Billy’sfiancé was busy working today and wouldn’t be here until the ballots were tallied and the election results signed off on.Whileit would have been acceptable for me to head down to the polls while the count happened,Iknew that would have turned into a circus.Instead, we’d agreed to entertain whoever showed up atHarmonyHouse, givingMichaelthe honor of telling us the results after he’d signed and submitted.Italso ensured a bit of distance in caseThompsonlost and his minions tried screaming about improprieties.
Thehands on the clock seemed to slow with every passing minute.Ibusied myself thanking everyone who stopped by to congratulate me on a clean race, at least from my side.Itfelt like more than half the town was there at some point, even thoughIknew that was impossible.Theirexcitement made it difficult for me to temper my expectations.
Itwas almost eight-thirty by the timeMichaelandKevinarrived.Insteadof joining the family in the smaller community room the way we’d planned,Kevinwove his way through the crowd to join me asMichaelsought out his little family.Theirfaces were impassive, butKevinwas practically vibrating by the time his hand landed on the small of my back. “Let’sgo.Carson’stalking to your mom and dad.They’llbe right in.”
Myheart dropped.WhenIlooked across the room,Billycouldn’t meet my eyes, and he looked tense.Thetension in the air grew with every passing moment, conversations falling off as everyone turned their attention to me, wanting to see howIwas acting.Iwas barely aware ofKevinguiding me through the crowd, people reaching out to me to give my arms or shoulders a quick squeeze.
Thiswas not how tonight was supposed to go.Fora moment,Iconsidered pulling away fromKevinand bolting for the back door.Asmuch asI’dinsistedIwouldn’t get ahead of myself,IrealizedIhadn’t considered what it would be like to receive word thatI’dfailed in front of everyone who mattered to me, as well as those who believed in me.IfI’dlost this election,I’dfailed all of them, and there wouldn’t be an opportunity to lick my wounds in private.
Everyonewho wasn’t family stepped aside as we made our way to the community room.Kevinsat me down on the same couch we’d relaxed on after the holiday party.Iclung to his hand as though it was a lifeline andIwas a drowning man.Thelump in my throat made it impossible to breathe as each of my brothers and their partners joined us.EvenBartseemed to know something was wrong, and he sat on the floor at my side, his big head resting on my knee.
Carsonfollowed my parents into the room,Ezraby his side.Hisboyfriend still struggled with all the strong personalities in our family, and he tucked himself behindCarsonas my dad closed the doors.Atleast they were sparing me having this moment in front of everyone.
