by Andrew Grey
“I do,” Alan said as he gripped him back.
Tyler kept his eyes closed, breathing in Alan’s scent, committing it to memory, along with every amazing thing about the man he held as tightly as he dared.
“I don’t agree with it, and I wish things were different.” Alan lifted his head, and Tyler looked into his eyes. “But part of the reason that I love you is because you have integrity and are willing to stand up for what you believe.”
Tyler stilled. “You love me?”
“Of course I do. How could I not? You make me feel like I’ve finally found the other half of me, and now, pfffft, you’re going to go and everything is up in the air because of that damned integrity.” Alan rested his head against Tyler’s chest and held him a little closer.
“I love you too, Alan,” Tyler whispered, because he had to say it. If this was the end of the road for them, then he wasn’t going to walk away without expressing what he felt. “And I want to stay. I want to sleep next to you and wake up to you smiling at me as Abey pounces on the bed. I want my family of two to become a family of three, but I can’t figure out how to make that happen. Not with the way things are.” It seemed like a huge blast door had closed on his future, and Tyler didn’t have the combination for it.
“Somehow we’ll figure things out,” Alan said. “There are other departments in this area that have been really impressed with your work. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. I mean….”
Tyler smiled as best he could. “I know what you mean, and I appreciate it. I don’t want to go, but I may have no choice.” The truth was that Tyler saw nothing but blackness as far as his professional future was concerned. No matter what, he would end up dealing with the chief in one way or another if he stayed nearby. “We should go back so the council can finish up the evening and everyone can go home.”
Alan nodded. “Yeah.” He slipped away and left the bathroom.
Tyler followed a minute later, after wondering if he was the biggest fool in the world. He returned to the council chamber and took his same seat. Alan seemed miserable, and Tyler hated that he had made him feel that way.
“I call this session of the Scottville Town Council back to order,” Mr. Lowell said, and turned to the others. “I think we all needed a chance to think over our response to what Mr. Banik expressed.”
“Yes, I agree,” the woman next to Alan said. “I’m very disappointed that such a capable person as Mr. Banik would feel the need to resign because our fire department is either unable or unwilling to modernize.” She looked straight out at those assembled. “If Mr. Banik truly feels that he would not be able to work on the fire department going forward, then I say that we must abide by that decision.” She turned to Tyler. “But I ask you to take some time to reconsider. I know there have been a lot of things said this evening, and in the heat of the moment, the situation may seem worse than it is.” She continued watching him, and Alan nodded. “Will you be willing to take, maybe—”
The door in back opened noisily, and she paused. Her eyes opened in surprise, and Tyler turned, as did many of those assembled.
Officer Marks walked into the room in full uniform. “Chief Tillis Coburn,” he said, and the chief turned and stood.
“What can I help you with, young man?” He put his hands on his hips. “We are in the middle of a meeting.”
“Yes, officer. This is a town council meeting,” Mr. Lowell added.
“I’m sorry about that. But I was at Chief Tillis’s home and his wife said he was here. I have a warrant for his arrest for embezzlement of fire department and town funds.” Officer Marks turned to the chief. “Please turn around and put your hands behind your back.” He strode up to the chief and handcuffed him. “Tillis Coburn, you are under arrest for embezzlement and other charges. You have the right to an attorney….” Officer Marks read the chief his rights as he sputtered for a few seconds until he realized it would do no good. Then he clammed up, and Officer Marks led him out of the room.
Tyler was stunned, and Alan seemed as flabbergasted as everyone else. He wanted to ask if Alan knew this was going to happen.
“Well, I think that about wraps up our meeting for the night, and—”
The councilwoman next to Alan raised her hand. “President Lowell, I believe that at the very least, the board needs to suspend Chief Coburn pending the outcome of whatever charges have been leveled at him. We should also appoint an interim fire chief to take over the chief’s duties until Chief Tillis is able to return or a permanent decision on his employment can be made.”
Tyler stood. “Mr. Lowell, I respectfully submit that Gregory Munson should be named interim chief. He knows the department and all of the men. He is a good and very capable man who will lead the department through this. And I also submit that I will stay on as captain, working with Captain Munson to ensure that the department is well managed.” Tyler sat down, and the president requested a motion. It was seconded, and Mr. Lowell clarified that he would contact Mr. Munson. At that point, the meeting was adjourned.
Tyler didn’t rush forward to Alan the way he wanted to. Instead, he remained where he was.
His father patted him on the back. “You did good, son.”
“I didn’t really do anything,” Tyler said softly.
His father shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong.” His dad swallowed hard. “You were willing to step aside for the good of the department. It wasn’t about the chief winning, but the department functioning properly, and that’s what a good man does.” His dad stood still. “I’m proud of you.”
Alan approached. “You know the board would probably have named you interim chief.”
“Maybe. But Gregory has been here longer, and he’s well respected. That is going to carry the department forward. I’ll be there to support him, and together we can update the department and bring it current. What I said was the right thing and the best going forward. If the chief returns, then….”
“I doubt he will,” Tyler’s father told him. “Not after that. At best he’ll retire, and at worst, if the charges are true….” He didn’t go on from that point.
“If they are based where I think they are, then they’re true.” Tyler leaned closer. “You helped with that, remember? Alan and I turned over what we had to the police and let them handle it.” Tyler straightened up as Mr. Lowell and a few other council members approached.
“That was quite a meeting,” Mr. Lowell said. “I don’t want to have another of those in my tenure. The fire chief arrested for embezzlement.” He seemed completely confused and shook his head. “Who was he stealing from, I wonder.”
“Us,” Alan supplied. “I found some irregularities in the department accounts and turned them over to the police. I’m not an investigator, and they took it from there.” Alan stepped closer. “It seems that not all of the benevolence fund money made it to the department. I’m sure whatever the police have found will come out soon enough.”
“Did you know beforehand about the arrest tonight?” the councilwoman, who Alan introduced as Helen Graves, asked.
“No. I didn’t. Like I said, I turned what I gathered over to the police, and they took it from there. I do know that the chief tried to shift the blame to me, but it was sloppy enough that the police saw right through it.”
She nodded. “So you were right. You were suspicious of him from the time you joined the council.”
“Alan has great instincts,” Tyler interjected.
Helen’s gaze shifted from Alan to him and back again. “Are you two seeing each other, socially?”
“Yes. My son, Abey, thinks Mr. Alan is special. We knew each other in high school, but didn’t get along. Thank goodness both of us grew up and realized that the world was a lot bigger than it was back then.” Tyler slipped his hand into Alan’s. He wasn’t going to deny what the other man was to him, and people needed to get used to seeing them together. “The three of us went riding out at Laughton Farms, and Abey still talks about his horse friend.”
“Peaches is waiting for Abey to visit.”
Tyler turned and greeted Geoff and Eli.
“I’ll call tomorrow and set an appointment to come riding again.” Tyler shook hands with both of them. “Thank you for coming tonight. The support was appreciated.”
“Of course. But please, don’t go falling on your sword every time something happens. You’re a good man and a great firefighter. The town needs you.”
“Yes, it does,” Eli echoed. “And we were wondering if you might want to come out to the house Saturday night. Geoff has his regular poker game that night.”
“I’d love to, but I have to check my schedule,” Tyler said happily.
“I don’t play,” Alan explained. “I can’t bluff for anything, and I never win.” He shifted closer to Tyler.
“I don’t either. Us poker widows and widowers sit in the living room, put on a movie, and spend the evening talking.” Eli grinned. “Just come and we’ll have a good time. Everyone brings something, and it’s a wonderful evening. Abey is welcome to come. Some of the other guys bring their kids, and they take over the family room. Jakey will be here, and he’ll take charge of the kids.”
Alan smiled up at him, and Tyler found himself accepting. It was nice having friends together as a couple.
“I need to pick up Abey. He’s with my mom, and he isn’t going to want to go to bed until he sees me.” Tyler shook hands with everyone, and then he and Alan left the hall with his dad.
TYLER COULDN’T believe how things had worked out. The chief was in jail and had been suspended. Gregory was interim chief, Tyler wasn’t going to have to leave, and Alan seemed on cloud nine.
Abey met him outside as soon as he got out of the car, and Tyler scooped him up, flying his son through the air to fits of laughter. “Did you and Grammy have a good time?”
“I maked pancakes,” Abey said with a grin as he tugged Tyler toward the front door.
“We need to get your things, and then we can go home so you can go to bed.” Tyler lifted Abey into his arms. He wanted to go home, get Abey settled for the night, and celebrate with Alan for as long as the two of them could stay awake. God, the last few weeks had been chaotic, and now it looked like things were going to go his way—no, their way. That didn’t happen often enough. He kissed his mother’s cheek once he was inside, grinning to beat the band.
“I take it things went well,” she said.
“Our son is pretty amazing,” his dad pronounced.
Tyler found himself holding Abey closer and slipping his arm around Alan. Overwhelmed at the praise from his father was an understatement. Tyler hadn’t thought he’d ever do anything to please his dad, but it seemed that he was wrong.
“I have his things ready to go. I wasn’t sure how late you’d be, but he was determined to see you before he went to bed.” She held out her arms, and Abey gave her a hug. He also gave his grampy a hug, and then Tyler thanked both his parents and left the house.
Somehow Abey managed to fall asleep on the short drive home, and Tyler carried him inside and up to his room. He got him into his jammies and into the car bed. Abey curled up and went right to sleep. Tyler kissed his son good night, left the nightlight on, and paused in the doorway just to watch him sleep.
Alan’s arms slid around his waist, and he pressed right to Tyler’s back. “He’s pretty amazing,” Alan whispered, then lightly sucked on his ear.
“So are you.” Tyler smiled as he slowly turned around. “The people in my life have all turned out to be pretty incredible.” He guided Alan away from Abey’s room. “I’m damn lucky.”
“I think we both are.” Alan followed him down the hall.
Chapter 12
THE FOLLOWING evening after Alan had had a chance to get his thoughts together, Alan sat in the living room while Tyler put Abey to bed. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on the time that Tyler had with his son, but it seemed that Abey had other ideas, racing out on his little legs to the living room, jumping on the sofa.
“You come too.” Abey climbed down and practically dragged him by the hand along the hall to his room, then jumped into bed. “Story.” Abey squirmed under the covers.
“Say please.”
“Story, please. First Papa, then Mr. Alan.” He grinned, and Alan knew when he was being played and didn’t mind a bit.
Tyler read Goodnight Moon, and Alan regaled Abey with The Giving Tree. He loved that story, even though it made him sad. But it touched his heart as well because he knew he’d give just about anything for this little family right here.
“Good night, Abey. You go to sleep, and Mr. Alan and I will see you in the morning.” Tyler kissed his son, and Alan stroked Abey’s hair before they both left the room. Alan closed the door most of the way, and Abey had already turned over and was probably half asleep.
Tyler took his hand and led the way down the hall to the living room. “I think you and I should talk.” The words sounded ominous, and Alan tried not to stiffen. He had already dodged one bullet when Tyler had decided to throw himself on his sword at the meeting. They sat down on the sofa, and Alan did his best to relax. Talking was good—it was something that mature, responsible adults did.
Alan’s phone rang, and he scooped it up. The number was local, but not familiar. “Hello,” he said quietly so he didn’t wake Abey.
“Alan, this is Officer Marks. I wanted to call and let you know that we apprehended the people who damaged your store.” He sighed. “Things have been moving very quickly here in the last few hours, as you might well imagine. With the apprehension of the chief, a number of things have fallen into line, including a failed plot to discredit you, as we saw with the post office box, as well as attempts to put you out of business. That included one of the chief’s nephews attempting to short out the power in your store to cause a fire. We played them against each other. I can’t go into detail yet, but things will come out once the investigation is over.”
“I see.” Alan leaned closer to Tyler, who put an arm around him. He needed the comfort and Tyler seemed to know it.
“No, I doubt you do. The chief’s intolerance runs a lot deeper than anyone expected.” Officer Marks cleared his throat. “The rumors about the chief and his views have circulated through the town for quite some time, but they pale in comparison to reality.”
Alan held his breath. “Is there anything you need? I’m sure the council will cooperate in any way possible. I can contact the president and the town manager. They can see to it that you have anything you legally require.”
“I’ve already been in touch with Mr. Lowell and will pursue the information I need. So, thank you.” He paused, and Alan heard some papers shift in the background. “I also wanted to call and tell you that the work you did was instrumental in exposing the chief’s activities. That’s all I can say at the moment because we are still investigating, but you started the ball rolling, and I’m grateful.”
“I’m glad Tyler and I were able to help. Our motives weren’t altogether selfish. I’ve had suspicions about the chief for some time, and yet I hadn’t been able to put my finger on anything until now.” Alan flashed Tyler a smile. “If you need anything more, please let me know. I have copies of the repair bills for the store if you need them.”
“Excellent. I’ll pick those up tomorrow. Thank you.” He said goodbye, and Alan set his phone aside.
“The chief was behind it all. The electrical incident at the store, all of it,” Alan told Tyler, breathing a sigh of relief. “There’s a lot more to come out. I don’t know what it is, but things aren’t going to stay quiet for very long, and I suspect a lot of the chief’s cronies are going to be running for cover.” He leaned against Tyler. “I want this to be over so we can have a quiet life.”
Tyler scoffed. “Somehow I don’t think our lives are going to be quiet.” He turned on the sofa to face him a little better. “I think that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh,” Alan breathed. “You mean the fut
ure.” He purposely made his voice sound ominous. “I’ll admit, you scared the shit out of me yesterday evening.” Alan grabbed Tyler’s rock-solid arm. “Don’t ever do anything like that again. If there’s a problem, you and I can talk it through and figure it out. This falling-on-your-sword shit, noble as it is, nearly stopped my damned heart.”
“I know, and yet I… I should have talked to you about it. You did so much for me and Abey, and I threw that back in your face. I know it went okay in the end, but what if it hadn’t? I don’t think I could have worked for the chief. He would never have let bygones be bygones. Our entire professional relationship would have been about him retaliating in every way possible.”
Alan couldn’t argue with that. “But you should have talked to me about it. You and I could have teamed up, the way we did to find the trail of money. I think there isn’t anything we can’t do together, but apart, I think we tend to mess things up sometimes.”
Tyler leaned closer, his head resting lightly against Alan’s. “So how do you see things moving forward?” Tyler asked. “I have a lot of baggage and I have Abey… and I know it’s a lot.”
“Baggage, yeah, right. You don’t seem to get it, so I’ll explain. Everyone has a past. Big fucking deal. And we all have things that keep us up at night sometimes. I think that’s part of being a good person.”
“Yeah, but… I sort of saw this tunnel when I was in the bathroom. I didn’t see any way out that wasn’t going to drive me around the bend, and…. Well, I couldn’t be the center of drama and angst. That wasn’t what I came here for, and I had to do what was right. I hope you can see that.” Tyler tugged at his collar like the room had just gotten too warm.
Alan shook his head. “I think I can. See, I think I get you more than you think. Maybe more than you get yourself. You’re a hero—it’s part of who you are. You fight fires and protect people. I mean, you spent three years of your life helping others in their worst hour of need. You rescued Abey and then fought for him so he would have a home and a papa who loved him. You’re a fucking hero in every sense of the word. So when push came to shove, I should have expected something heroic.” Alan wiped his eyes.
