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

Jo shifted, her discomfort obvious. “I didn’t mean—”


Althea eyed Wheat coolly. “Dupuis? Any relation to Edison and Constance Dupuis?”


“They’re my parents. We were separated a few days ago, and as Laurie said, he and I are looking for them.”


She gestured toward her SUV. “They’re asleep in the back seat. We ran into them about fifteen miles back.”


“Just exhausted. From what I understood, they’d been on the road for a couple of days, but their car ran out of gas this morning, and they were on foot when we spotted them—”


“Excuse me.” Wheat took off running, and skidded to a stop beside the SUV. He opened the rear passenger door and looked in, then turned to stare at Laurie. Wheat’s lower lip trembled.


Oh God, are they dead? Laurie raced to his boyfriend’s side. “Wheat?”


Tears streamed down his cheeks. “She’s right. They’re asleep.”


Laurie opened his arms, and Wheat fell into them. “It’s okay.”


Chapter 44