Big, burly CEO Abe Behr is furious to discover someone -- probably a relative -- is embezzling from Behr Construction, a family-run business in the Sierra Nevada foothills outside Lake Tahoe. To confirm his suspicions, Abe takes the unprecedented step of hiring a non-family accountant, handsome Jeff Mason, to go over the books and help find the culprit. As they talk to Behr relatives and visit construction sites, Abe and Jeff are drawn to each other, bringing out new, softer emotions in workaholic Abe. Since he has sacrificed romance all his life to build the construction business, Abe’s surprised by his feelings for the handsome Jeff. He’s even more shocked when they come face to face with homophobia in the small foothills community where generations of Behrs have called home. Abe had always thought Stone Acres was a live-and-let-live kind of town. As he and Jeff get closer, he finds out how wrong he is when he comes out to both family and a community who think he’s making a big mistake. Will being the head of a large, powerful family and a pillar of the community be enough to win Abe his happily ever after with Jeff?

Behr Facts

“Sorry I left you in the lurch on Friday night. I wasn’t ready to have people gang up on me and harangue me. Hope they didn’t stay too late.” I smiled at him.


Ben’s face registered his surprise. I’d never left them holding the bag before. “Uh, no. No problem. Mostly everyone was, well, trying to get Connor and me to change your mind.”


“We said you’re the boss and what you say goes,” Connor added. “There was a lot of complaining.”


Understatement, I knew. There was probably a lot of shouting, yelling, posturing, until everyone realized the Big Behr wasn’t there to hear or see it. Then I imagine they all slunk away muttering threats and leaving Ben and Connor and the catering company to clean up—after taking home the leftover food, beer, wine, and soft drinks. At least this time I’d thought to hire a catering company so the older women didn’t feel like they had to stay and clean while their menfolk bitched and moaned.


Chapter 24