When he sees entrepreneur Mitch O'Shea whirling around an empty building, contractor Ben Behr is enchanted. Even though his two brothers are gay, Ben always thought he was a ladies' man until he met Mitch. Despite his feelings, Ben knows San Francisco native Mitch is totally out of his league. What could Ben possibly do to get out-and-proud Mitch to notice him? Turns out Mitch is just as attracted to Ben. As they compete in car rallies, camp in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and tour the bars Mitch owns in the city, they realize how stifled they've been their entire lives. Maybe looking over the fence and jumping it to explore what's on the other side are good ideas. When these two seemingly opposites get together, will Ben and Mitch find out they have the world at their feet and might even have love in their hearts?

Waking the Behr

Mitch was a pile of kaleidoscopic bits and pieces, mostly bright and fascinating with a few dull stones thrown in for variety’s sake. Fuck me if I didn’t want to pick up each little piece and study it, trying to learn what its job was in the life of the whole man.


Shit, and now I was becoming some sort of sorry cowboy poet. Dammit. Better to get back to the practical.


“You want to go camping? Why?” I liked to spend the night in the woods, especially this time of the year when it’s not too hot and the insects are at a minimum.


“Hey, I grew up in San Francisco, Ben. I’m what some people call a city rat. I never belonged to a Scout troop or anything like it, so all I saw was concrete most of the time, unless I trekked to the park or the shore.”


He was talking about Golden Gate Park, which was a long, wide swath of green cutting through mostly townhouses and apartments both fancy and plain. The park housed a bunch of my favorite buildings and walks.


Chapter 10