Hotel owner and part-time musician Zeke Bandy is too busy for love. His plate is full running the historic Bandy Hotel and upholding his family’s tradition of offering refuge to strays and runaways. For fun two nights a week, Zeke also plays and sings traditional folk music with his rewritten gay lyrics at the Stonewall Saloon and for occasional celebrations. Then at a gay wedding, Zeke meets Victor Longbow, who just might be the man of his dreams. However, Vic isn’t looking for love either. In fact, because of his upbringing in a strict, white foster family, Vic’s not sure he believes in love. He’s in Stone Acres to open a branch office of a national brokerage firm. He also hopes to track down a vintage photo of what might be his Native American ancestor. After their paths cross, they become friends. Connected by their experiences as orphans raised by flawed fathers, Zeke and Vic wonder if their future could possibly hold love and family or if they are destined only to be lifelong friends.

Relative Best

In the back room before getting my instruments together and tuned, I went through the requests, throwing away the illegible and strange ones. I had to laugh at one that said, “Play that fiddle tune about the two guys who’re about to have a showdown.” Right. Two guys about to kill each other. Since it was a fiddle tune, how the hell did he know what the lyrics were? I tossed it in the Are-You-Kidding basket.


Chapter 13