Page 25 of Dragged Home for Christmas

Sam sighed. “Three reasons. First, I think once the downhill slide began, it was too much effort to climb out of the hole we found ourselves in. Nick was… well, he’d lost all interest. Second, after Nick died, we couldn’t have done any of these things because it wasn’t our space. And third…” He gazed at the others. “We didn’t have the heart. Losing Nick… we lost a part of ourselves.” Sam met Mike’s gaze. “But you brought back the memories of how good it was. You walked through that door and brought a little piece of Nick with you.”

“Can we go back to the original idea for a second?” Jim gazed at his fellow queens. “I’m the oldest one here, and to tell the truth, I’m feeling a little… jaded. I think my drag days are almost up.” Three voices rose in protest, and he held up his hands. “Hey, it comes to us all, okay? I’m just being honest.But…” Jim focused on Mike. “If you decide to relaunch the hotel, consider me for the post of manager. I’d run the whole shebang—reservations, maintenance, supplies, housekeeping…And I’d do a great job.”

Mike smiled. “I’ll bear that in mind.”

“If all of these plans work, and we have money again, then I think we should go back to how it used to be.” Elliott’s eyes sparkled. “The week leading up to Christmas, we used to have a show every night. We’d spread the word, and pull out all the stops.” He cocked his head. “What do you say, Mike? Wanna give P-town a week of drag shows they’ll never forget?”

Mike beamed. “I think that’s a great idea. I also think Nick would have loved it.” The front desk bell rang, and he chuckled. “And there it goes again.” He peered at Jim. “What about you? Think you’ve got a few performances left in you?”

He smiled. “If we do a run of shows, of course I’ll be apart of that. For Nick.”

Sam coughed. “Not so fast. You haven’t read the small print yet.”

Mike blinked. “What small print?”

“Well, if we do this, we’re short a drag queen.”

“You mean because Polly left?”

Sam shook his head. “No, sweetie—Nick.”

Ashley cleared her throat. “You saw the contents of his closet, remember?”

“My uncle took part in drag shows?” Mike tried as hard as he could, but he found it difficult to visualize Nick in a dress, especially the ones he’d seen hanging in Nick’s former bedroom.And those heels…

“Only the Christmas shows,” Sam replied.

“Did he have a name?”

Anthony smiled. “He sure did. Dirty Diva.”

Mike laughed. “Okay, I didn’t expectthat.”

Sam looked Mike up and down. “The good news is the costumes will probably fit. You and Nick are of a similar size.” He leaned to one side to glance at Mike’s feet. “Even the shoes might fit. And you’d totallyrockthat blue and purple wig.”

It took a moment for Sam’s words to register.

“Wait—you wantmeto take part in the shows?” His heart pounded.

Hell. No.

“Of course not,” Elliott said with a wave of his hand.

Mike gave his brow an exaggerated wipe. “Thank God for that.” His pulse was still racing.

“Just one of them, that’s all.” Sam grinned. “That was all Nick usually did. It would be a pity for all those costumes to go to waste. None of us could wear them. Anthony’s too tall. I’m too short. Whereas you?”

“What about me?” Mike’s heart hammered.

There was an evil gleam in Sam’s eyes. “Goldilocks, you arejustright.”

Chapter 10

Mike stepped behind the bar to take stock. “I’d have thought all the alcohol would be long gone by now. I guess you’re not heavy drinkers.”

Sam cleared his throat. “We like a drink as much as the next guy, but all of this?” He gestured to the bottles that lined the shelves. “It wasn’t ours to drink.”

Yeah, Mike had nailed it the previous night. Sam was a good guy.

---