Andy Howard dropped out of college to get away from his abusive father. When his longtime boyfriend reveals similar tendencies, Andy refuses to endure another moment of it, running away with nothing more than the cash in his pockets. He makes it to Virginia, where he's taken in by Scooter Stahl, a restaurant owner looking for an extra hand who's willing to be paid cash under the table.<br><br>Scooter's been struggling for years: to keep the beachside restaurant he inherited from his parents above water (both financially and literally); to live down the fact that he's gay in a small southern town; to get over the man who's owned his heart since he was fourteen. But he's never had to struggle as hard as he is now, to keep his hands off Andy.

Nights in Sandbridge

The insurance check was a beautiful thing and if Chester Davis hadn’t been eighty-five, Scooter might have kissed the postmaster. It covered a little more than half the damages (after the deductible came out) and would ensure that Scooter didn’t have to buy a new oven on credit. Interest rates were stupidly high, and while he could take out an equity loan against Dockside if he had to, that put the restaurant too close to the bank’s hands for comfort. There were always box-places making offers on the land or the building.


The buyers would tear the building down the instant the papers cleared and something stupid and mainstream like an Olive Garden would go up in its place. They’d keep the staff on for a while, but eventually they’d be let go, since new people could be paid a lot less. Not that Jason would want to stay; cooking at a box-shop was all reheating stuff that was shipped in. None of it was fresh.


Chapter 46