Fox McHardy leads a charmed life. Puget Sound penthouse, gorgeous boyfriend, jet-setting job -- everything he’s ever wanted, he’s gotten, including the heck out of the small Iowa town he grew up in. Even the trip he takes to Miami to surprise his boyfriend Jeremy is something of a long-shot wish fulfilled. Until he arrives in South Florida. Once things start to unravel, they do so with alarming speed, and he finds himself riding shotgun in a rented convertible with his new sworn enemy faster than he can say, “I want my old life back.” During an unscheduled stop on the cross-country road trip From Hell, Fox passes up a perfectly good opportunity to keep his mouth shut and finds himself planning the town’s first legal gay wedding -- his own, to a man he’s pretty sure he should hate. But someone needs to set a positive example for the queer and questioning youth in this corner of Middle America and, after creatively arranging certain of the facts of his life more attractively, he is proud to offer himself up as a role model. Small Town, USA, steps up; the grooms are widely celebrated, and generous offers of food, flowers, and picture-perfect venues pour in. The only real challenge will be keeping the lies straight and the truth under wraps until they can get out of town.

Crazy Like Fox

“You what?” Was it true? Who knows? Did it feel good to hear it? Only the sting of Jeremy’s cheek under my own open palm would have felt better.


“I slapped him in the face. He said ‘Get out.’ I said ‘Try and stop me.’ And then woke up in the morning to all this.” Another long pause. “I’m sorry, Fox.”


“For what? For slapping Jeremy? Please. I sure would if I could.”


“I’m just sorry, is all. For what happened, for what you’re going through, and for anything I had to do with it. I’m sorry he wasn’t what you thought he was.”


“Thanks, Thumper. I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry he was such a disappointment; to everybody.”


I heard the rustle of sheets, and felt his body shifting again, and soon he was up against me. The kiss was chaste, nothing seductive or sexual, but he kissed me like he meant it. “Good night, Fox.”


Chapter 47