Page 35 of Stronger Than Blood
Mick picked his up and, carefully holding the wrapper so as not to let his dirty hands touch the food, took a bite. When he swallowed, he said, “It’s just years of practice, I think. That store has been around for a few years.”
“You’d think there’d be too much competition with all of you in one small town,” I said as I took another bite.
“For a long time, there was nothing here at all. When I first moved here just over a decade ago, Uncle Eddie had his tiny grocery store, there was a fairly nice bakery, and Brenda’s restaurant was about all that was open. Well, besides the church’s thrift store. The city hall was falling in, and if you looked around, you’d have thought the whole town was about to fall in as well.”
“What changed?” I asked, truly curious.
“A few things. Christian, he’s the mayor’s son, moved back and married his high school sweetheart. Then we elected the mayor, who has been a big influence. Oh, and the town seems to attract gay men. I think that’s helped too.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised at that.
He shrugged. “Yeah, really.”
“I knew I liked it here,” I said, getting a chuckle out of Mick.
“So, how did you know I was gay? It shocked me when you called me out when we met through Mr. Kennedy.”
I shook my head. “I don’t have a handle on my gifts, not really, but my gaydar is spot on. You were cute, and I had a feeling you might be a little into me.”
Mick popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth before wadding up the plastic wrap and throwing it onto the ever-growing pile of trash from the back room. “Well, you’ve got good self-esteem, I’ll give you that much.”
Before he could move toward the back, I caught him and drew him toward me. “It’s average self-esteem, but when I see a man that warms my engines like you do, I try not to shy away.”
Mick leaned back against my arms and laughed. “And do you have a lot of men who warm those engines of yours?”
“Pretty average amount, but I do have to admit, you warm them a little more than most.”
“Is that so?” he whispered as he drew closer. The moment our lips touched, the blood rushed from my head, leaving me light-headed. The kiss started gently, chaste almost, before Mick took it deeper, letting me in, giving me more.
“Mmm,” I moaned as I rubbed my hands up and down his muscular back. Something fell in the back room, causing us to pull apart.
“What was that?” Mick asked, and I chuckled.
“I’m willing to bet that is your uncle telling us to get on with it.”
“Seems to me like we were getting on with it very well,” Mick said grumpily, but he took my hand and led me back toward the back room.
“So, as you can see, there’s nothing here. Most of the trash is gone. So, like I said…”
Just then, something fell again, causing us both to glance to our left, where the sound had come from. “Is that a safe?” I asked and, still holding Mick’s hand, led him toward the big door.
“Maybe,” Mick said. “I heard there was one here.”
He tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Well, so much for that,” I said disappointed.
“But something fell inside there. We both heard it,” Mick said excitedly.
“Yeah, but if we can’t get in—”
We had just walked away when we heard a click, then a squeak. “Um, why don’t you try it again,” I said. Mick looked at me, then walked back to the door, and sure enough, it came open.
“What the hell is that?” he asked, and I knew exactly what we were looking at.
I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing. “Mick, my boy, it seems like your great Uncle Eddie was a good ol’ bootlegger.”
Chapter twenty-four
