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

“It hasn’t rained for a few days. Do you think—”


They’d already washed the clothes they’d worn, and the bugout bag and the extra backpack had been packed with clothes for both Laurie and Wheat and ready to go for a few days.


“Okay, what do we do?” Wheat asked as he ran his fingertips up Laurie’s chest to cup his neck.


“Shower, eat something, pack up the pharmacy bag, and then tidy the bunker in case someone else is able to find it and needs to use it. Then we hit the road.” Laurie had insisted on tidying up after themselves from the beginning. He’d told Wheat how his mother had required it, even though he was one of two males in the household. He waited until Wheat moved away from the door, then closed and barred it. “No point in taking chances.” They had no idea what it was like on the outside now.


Chapter 39