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

She removed the spout from the can, inserted the tubing into the gas tank, and set about siphoning out the gas.


“Not to be insulting, but how did a radio personality learn how to siphon gas?”


“My dad was a mechanic. He taught me.” She grinned up at him. “May I ask how the son of one of the town’s wealthiest men learned how to unlock a car without a key?”


“I was friends with the daughter of the chauffeur of one of the town’s wealthiest men.” He grinned at her in turn. “She taught me.”


“That it is. Do you think we have enough gas?” He looked at the side of the gas can, where the shadow of its contents indicated it was about half filled. “Is that all there is?”


“I think there’s more, but I don’t want to drain it to the bottom in case there are dregs that will foul the engine.”


Chapter 51