Unfortunately, the silent half of the crowd grew more restless. Someone began to shout, “Go home!” Hal didn’t hear it at first and soldiered on with his words.
More people joined in, and it turned into a chant. Hal gripped the podium with both hands. He watched as a few of the people holding signs shouted, “Shut up!” He tried raising his palms to quiet the crowd.
Hal’s efforts had no impact. The “Go home” chant grew louder. Hal paused, and he scanned the crowd to try to find Gabe. He was nearly invisible because Brandon stepped forward and was chanting, “Go home,” while he thrust a clenched fist into the air. Levi tried to pull the arm down, but he was unsuccessful.
Hal tried skipping ahead in his speech to end it as quickly as possible, but it didn’t calm the crowd. He was staring at the typed words when he heard a loud gasp. Hal looked up, and then he opened his eyes wide in shock.
Brandon suddenly doubled over, and people started to shove each other. Hal knew that someone must have hit Brandon in the gut. Hal glanced behind him with a helpless expression on his face, but nobody was there.
Gabe instantly tried to place himself in the firing line between Brandon and an angry supporter of Hal. He spread his arms wide and pushed back against his best friend to guide him toward the edge of the crowd.
Seeing the resolute expression on Gabe’s face gave Hal the confidence to step in and do his best to try and calm the situation from the stage. Hired security guards were already working to quiet the crowd, but they couldn’t control the fists that started flying. Panicked members of the throng began to flee the meadow.
“Please, everyone!” shouted Hal into his microphone. “We’re all neighbors and friends! Look for your better selves!”
The roar softened, and a few in the gathered crowd turned their attention back to the stage.
“My grandmother always said, ‘treat others as you’d like to be treated!’ That’s what I’m about, and that’s what I know all of you believe deep down inside.” Hal took a deep breath. For the first time, he’d improvised his response, and it looked like it had an impact.
Hal didn’t know how he found the words. They weren’t typed out on sheets of paper, and they weren’t handwritten in the margins by Trent. As he continued to encourage those in the crowd to be kind to each other, a half-smile took hold of one corner of Hal’s mouth.
When the crowd finally grew quiet, and it was apparent that no one was seriously injured, Hal breathed deeply. “Thank you. I knew that we could all respect each other.”
Hal looked down at his hands. They were quivering, and he gripped his speech so hard that two of his fingers tore holes in the paper.
Once the disturbing rally was finally over, Hal paced back and forth in the temporary room set up backstage for his speech prep. He was alone for the moment. He’d finally managed to relax enough that his hands were no longer shaking, but the entire event rattled him.
When he first left the stage, Trent tried to offer congratulations. “You handled that like a pro! You’ll be on national news. I’ll make a bet on that, and they’ll talk about you as a rising political star. Fighting Hal Brentwood! The champion of the ordinary folk.”
Hal shouted at Trent. “I’m done with it! One of my so-called supporters threw a punch! I don’t want to incite anyone to violence. I’m out, Trent. Starting now. It’s over. Get yourself a new candidate.”
Trent tried to argue. He grabbed Hal’s elbow. “Hey, buddy. Whoa! You can’t decide that right now.” Trent chuckled softly. “I mean, everybody’s a little riled up. It gets like that closer to election day. It just shows how important this is to everybody.”
Hal grumbled. “It just shows what idiots I’ve got on my side.” He pushed Trent away, threw his speech on the ground, and stomped off to seek refuge in the prep room.
Hal pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and stared at the screen. He wanted to call someone, but he couldn’t figure out who. He wanted to talk about what happened and have someone reassure him that he could exit the race gracefully. Trent relished a fight, but Hal didn’t want any of it.
There had to be something much better out there than the field of politics. Hal wondered how many other politicians were pushed into their roles by others. He couldn’t remember telling anyone that he wanted to run for office. His father drafted him into the job.
A knock sounded on the door to the room. Hal grumbled and shouted loud enough to be heard. “Trent, I’m not ready to talk yet. Go away. I’ll send you a text when I’m ready.”
Trent never left easily, and Hal braced himself for staring into his campaign manager’s face. He didn’t lock the door, so it was only a matter of seconds before Trent would try the knob and step inside.
While Hal watched, the door opened just a crack. One eyeball and a nose appeared accompanied by an unexpected voice.
“Hey, can I come in?”
It was Gabe. Hal bit his lip. Although he hadn’t thought of it himself, Gabe was the perfect person to see under the circumstances. “Of course. Please.” Hal felt an itch in the corner of his right eye and reached up to rub at it.
Gabe closed the door quietly behind him and opened both of his eyes wide. “Wow, that was quite something out there. I don’t think people get that riled up here except when the Packers play the Vikings. I thought they might set the meadow on fire.”
“Fuck them all,” growled Hal.
Gabe stepped forward. “Hey, are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come here.” Gabe opened his arms wide, and Hal couldn’t resist. He let Gabe fold him into an immense, warm hug.
Hal buried his face into Gabe’s strong shoulder. When Gabe began to rake his fingers through Hal’s hair to comfort him, Hal was startled to realize that his body responded with arousal.
Pulling his face back from Gabe’s shoulder, Hal looked into his eyes and wondered whether Gabe felt the same way. All that he saw was a familiar, friendly face. It was the same one that smiled down at him when he feared he was near death on the forest floor.
Gabe was handsome. The effect was even stronger up close. His dark brown eyes sparkled as they reflected the light from a string of LED lights in the room. He had a day or two’s growth of razor stubble that Hal wanted to reach out and touch. And he had full, but not too thick, lips. Hal remembered that he’d once kissed them, and he wanted to again.
Hal wanted to say something, but the right words wouldn’t come to his mind. As he looked at Gabe, he opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Gabe placed one finger on Hal’s lips. “You don’t have to say anything.” He pulled the finger back and continued. “I wanted to come back here and say thank you. It was getting a little sketchy out there after that cretin punched Brandon. I wanted to tell you that the way you calmed the crowd shows what a wonderful person you are.”
“I’m not half as good as you.”
Gabe’s forehead furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Saving lives, and I’m sorry if your friend got hurt out there.”
Gabe chuckled. “Brandon? The blond God? He’s as hotheaded as that guy that hit him. Although I never condone violence, maybe in a small way, he deserved it. You might have seen him riling up the crowd with his voice.”
Hal listened and wanted to hear and understand every word, but he found Gabe’s mouth, specifically his lips, distracting. He thought back to the kiss out on Lone Cedar Lake and his desperate phone call. When he talked to Gabe, Hal didn’t know for sure who he was trying to convince that it didn’t mean anything. Now, he knew that he had tried to convince himself.
And it didn’t work.
While Gabe started to talk about the tongue lashing he gave Brandon about his behavior, Hal reached out for the sides of Gabe’s face.
Gabe didn’t have time to respond. He only had a split-second to realize that Hal was touching him before their lips met.
Hal started it, and every fiber of his body wanted to push it further. He pres
sed the tip of his tongue against Gabe’s lips, and they parted. For the very first time in his life, he shared an open-mouthed, intimate kiss with another man.
So many moments from Hal’s past rushed through his mind. He remembered the gay romance movies he’d streamed online over the Internet when he was a teenager. He watched them alone huddling in his dorm room bathroom at boarding school. He waited until the entire building was quiet after 2 a.m. Hal found them more exciting than any gay porn. Back then, it frightened him.
Gabe briefly pulled back, and he gazed at Hal with his eyes open wide.
Hal whispered, “I mean it this time.”
Both men suddenly turned their heads at the sound of another knock on the door. “Hal, are you in there? We’re tearing down the stage. I don’t care if you don’t want to talk to me, but you need to get out of here. Call a cab if you want.”
“It’s Trent.”
Gabe held his finger to Hal’s lips. “I can take you home. You don’t need a cab. I have my truck. Do you want to ride with me?”
13
Gabe
Gabe pulled up to the curb in downtown Ely in his pickup truck. He looked out the window at the Eagle’s Crest hotel and then glanced at Hal in the passenger seat. “Is this where you live?”
“My apartment is on the top floor of the building. The owners beautifully renovated the hotel, and my place looks like a city loft. It’s not luxurious, but the architecture is fascinating. I’ll have to invite you up sometime.”
Gabe smiled when he looked at Hal, but no words passed between them.
Hal said, “I’m not ready for it tonight. We need to take it slow. I hope you don’t mind.”
Gabe placed a hand on Hal’s thigh. He’d been lost in thought about the kiss all the way from Arrowhead Falls. “That’s fine. I don’t want to push anything. I’m just happy we’re friends.” He thought about the panicked text messages. Hal was skittish. Gabe hoped that he wouldn’t back out again. When he listened, something deep inside Gabe told him that this time was different.
As he squeezed Hal’s muscular leg, Gabe knew that he was underplaying the entire situation. His whole body throbbed with desire when they kissed. Half of the images that danced in his mind while driving to the hotel were of Hal wearing only skimpy clothes.
“I’m not kidding that the kiss meant something this time. At least it does to me. I’ll understand if you’re still annoyed enough with me over the first time to kick me out of your truck.”
Gabe recognized the cue. He leaned across the front seat, wrapped one hand around the back of Hal’s neck, and pulled him close. They kissed again, but he still felt some tension in Hal.
Hal spoke and started to ramble. “I’m so sorry. We’re right here on Main Street, and people know me. Fuck, Gabe, I’m a mess. I’m sure you can see that. Maybe you should just go. I’m crazy to even think…”
“Shh.” Gabe shut the words down with a finger pressed to Hal’s lips. “Crazy to think that we might get together? That’s not nuts at all.”
“Trent would probably quit, and my parents would disown me. I’d end up dragging you through tabloid hell hitched to my bumper. You don’t deserve that.”
“I hope that I deserve you.”
“I….I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. One more kiss, and then you can go—for tonight.”
With an expression of annoyance filling his handsome face, Brandon asked, “Did you stop to look for deer? I was about ready to leave. We all thought you were coming along right behind us.”
Elle and Levi took Gabe’s delay in stride. They sipped mulled cider and lounged in a circular booth at the Lost Loon.
Gabe said, “I offered Hal a ride home.”
“Hal? Did you drive Brentwood to Ely? Hopefully, you crashed the truck along the way.”
Gabe slid into the booth next to Elle and frowned. “That’s not funny after the plane accident and all.”
“Well, holy hell, Gabe. Why would you do that? He’s the enemy.”
“Maybe because he’s a better man than you,” suggested Elle.
“Ouch,” yelped Brandon.
Gabe explained his position. “You know about me and politics. I don’t need to go over it with you again. I do my best not to take sides. Look, I’m sorry that ridiculous ape punched you. Violence is never acceptable. I do vote, but I take the secret ballot seriously.”
“Wow, I admire that,” whispered Levi.
Brandon elbowed Levi. “Political protest is the American way. If Brentwood has his way, he’ll ruin my business, and then he’ll destroy the entire woods. Who wants to ride in a canoe with sulfur leaching into the lake water, industrial noise booming in the background, and a smoky skyline billowing upward?”
“Aren’t you getting a little apocalyptic about this?” asked Elle.
“I don’t think so.”
Gabe sighed. “I do. Anyway, I think Hal’s a good guy. He argued with his campaign manager, and he needed that ride to cool off. We had an excellent conversation.”
Gabe knew that it wasn’t the time or place to tell his group of friends about the kisses with Hal. Brandon was already angry enough. His head might explode if he knew what happened backstage after Hal’s speech.
Brandon shifted the focus of the conversation. “Buddy, I do appreciate you stepping between the puncher and me. If you hadn’t done that, things might have gotten seriously ugly. I was ready to tear him apart—limb by limb.”
“For what? Insulting your pride?” Gabe wanted to take Brandon down a notch about the altercation.
“The fucker nailed me with an unannounced left hook. I’m going to have a bruise there.”
Elle reached out and kneaded Brandon’s shoulder. “You can have Levi kiss it and make it well. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
Levi looked over the rim of his mug. “I’m already thinking about how to apply my healing magic. Let’s just say a little bit of that might happen below his waist.”
Levi loved to make suggestive comments, and he was good at riding the edge of socially acceptable erotic detail. Gabe said, “I think that’s all any of us need to know. The rest of it can stay in your bedroom.”
A minute later, Gabe regretted slowing Levi down when Brandon dragged the conversation back to Hal. “You’re not interested in him. Are you?”
Gabe pointed across the room. “Who? Mr. Lumberjack over there? I bet he has hot biceps. He practically poured himself into those jeans.”
“You know who I mean. Hal Brentwood. Taking him home sounds pretty cozy. My gaydar went off the first time I saw him. Please tell me no, Gabe.”
“I refuse to discuss it any further.”
“Fuck,” muttered Brandon.
Elle interrupted. “At the risk of sounding like the cool head in the room, I think this is entirely Gabe’s business. Why don’t we talk about something different? I’m going to play on the resort’s softball team this year, and we’re going gender-neutral this season to make sure we can field a full team. Brandon? Gabe? Levi? Are you guys all in?”
Brandon ignored Elle’s attempts at redirection. “Brentwood’s the enemy. He’s the leader of the evil horde.”
Levi whispered, “I think he heard you the first time. You don’t have to raise your voice.”
“I can’t let you do this,” demanded Brandon.
Elle interrupted again. “Okay, now, wait. How do you know what he’s done, or that he’s going to do anything? Even if he did, or was, or wanted to, I think I need to remind you of something. Love knows no boundaries. It’s not like picking teams on the playground during recess. Our hearts don’t understand that.”
Gabe grinned. “How did you get so eloquent about this? It’s like you ripped that right out of a movie.”
Elle pointed at Levi. “Don’t we have a case in point over here? The two of you butted heads in the beginning. I heard stories about rolling around fighting like little kids.”
“She’s got a
point,” said Levi.
Brandon was skeptical. “How? I thought he was cute when we first met, and it didn’t take long for us to like each other.”
“But he thought you were a threat from the outside world. Right, Levi?”
“Oh, yeah. Brandon was a total stranger, and we didn’t like interlopers out at the lake. He wanted to bring tourists to Lone Cedar. That was an evil thought at first. Grandma and I had it to ourselves all of those years. We didn’t want anyone out there but us.”
Brandon looked from one face to the other. Gabe nodded in agreement. “Okay, fine. I get the point, but I worked it out with Levi. I didn’t try to poison the lake. That guy you like wants to destroy us.”
Elle said, “You just wanted to let strangers trample the underbrush around the lake and steal Levi’s favorite diving rock.”
“We worked it out. That’s the point.”
Elle leaned partway across the table. “And you don’t think Gabe’s capable of working out whatever he needs to with Hal? Can we get you on record saying it’s all fine with you if they handle any disagreements like adults?”
Gabe watched as the red flush moved from Brandon’s cheeks clear up to the hairline on his forehead. He was boiling mad. His face always turned bright red when he was angry or frustrated.
Brandon pounded a fist on the table in front of him. The noise was so sudden that it made all of his friends jump, and many other customers in the Lost Loon turned their heads.
“This isn’t the same, and you all know it. Taking a few of my most skilled paddlers up to Lone Cedar Lake isn’t equivalent to what Brentwood’s planning. He wants to open up the woods to mines and lumbering. It can change everything. Nothing will ever be the same.”
“That’s one side of the story,” whispered Gabe.
Brandon turned his head to look directly at his best friend. “So you’re drinking the Brentwood Kool-Aid? What sweet promises did he whisper in your ear, Gabe? Did he say that he would give you a…”
Levi moved quickly. He reached his hand out and clamped it over Brandon’s mouth. “I’m sorry, guys. I don’t mean to kill the party, but I think I need to take this one home. A long hot shower and an evening of Netflixing might bring him back down to earth.”
Crash: Northwoods, Book 2 Page 10
