Laurie Parkinson, who’s lived in Laurel Hills all his life, is a gay sheet metal worker who’d rather be a gay hairdresser. Wheat Dupuis, who’s also gay, is the scion of one of Laurel Hill’s wealthiest families. He’d rather grow grapes than become CFO of Dupuis International. Laurie wakes one morning to discover his family gone and his town decimated by a bacteria that has lain dormant for millennia, incased in ice. With the melting of the ice caps, the bacteria is released, and mankind faces a pandemic that could surpass the Black Plague. Wheat and his family are on their way to safety when the unthinkable happens and he’s left behind. Laurie knows of a bunker in the woods outside Laurel Hill, where he intends to take refuge. On the way there, Laurie finds and rescues Wheat. Can two such dissimilar men work together through a pandemic to find their families ... and possibly find love, as well?

Pandemic

“Well, that’s gonna make it easier to travel.” It was a large backpack that would cover him from the back of his head down to his butt and would be secured across his chest by a sternum strap. A sleeping bag was attached to the bottom, a coil of rope was fastened to a carabiner clip, and there was a hidden sleeve on each side of the backpack to hold stainless steel bottles for water. He filled the bottles from the sink and inserted them into the sleeves, then went looking for one of Lync’s hoodies. He’d tie it around his waist.


What was he going to do about a face mask, though? Normal people—which included Lync—didn’t have any need for them.


Laurie rummaged through Lync’s drawers, sagging in relief when he found a black and orange bandana. He folded it into a triangle. Before he left the apartment, he’d tie it around his face.


Chapter 9