Read more.<\/a><\/p>\nIt never ceases to amaze me how Benson manages to have his hands in almost every single operating business in Devon Falls. That\u2019s what happens, I suppose, when your town only has two lawyers. I shake my head as I wave at the papers. \u201cThere\u2019s no need for me or Malachai to sign anything,\u201d I tell them quickly. \u201cMalachai and I will not be entering into any kind of relationship. I would never allow that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benson snorts. \u201cJust because you\u2019ve basically become a robot since you got here doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re actually made out of metal,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd let\u2019s be honest, right now your house is one giant boning waiting to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sit upright in my chair. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d I ask carefully. I thought I had done a fairly strong job of keeping my attractions to myself. Have Jack and Benson noticed my feelings for Malachai? An icy sensation begins to spread through my extremities.<\/p>\n
Jack sends Benson one of those quick, coded glances they so like to share before he looks at me. \u201cSam,\u201d he says, \u201cthis paperwork is about our concerns that Malachai has feelings for you. He\u2019s clearly in a vulnerable spot right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would never do anything to take advantage of him.\u201d I bark the words more than say them, and Jack holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone in our office knows that. It\u2019s just\u2026 listen, Sam. If you were interested in Malachai, that would be okay. You know that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnically it does create some further paperwork, from an HR perspective,\u201d Benson says. Jack sends him a narrowed look that\u2019s far less coded. \u201cBut hey, what\u2019s a little more paperwork?\u201d he adds quickly. \u201cBillable hours are my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would certainly not be okay. Malachai works for us. Not to mention that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t bring myself to finish the sentence. As far as I know, Jack has no idea that I\u2019ve been questioning my feelings for Christian ever since his death. I don\u2019t exactly feel like starting that conversation in the middle of a large and very crowded room.<\/p>\n
Jack sighs. \u201cI know this is a tough subject for you, Sam. Believe me when I say that I\u2019d rather swim in the Rykers\u2019 cow pond than make you keep talking about this, and you know how seriously I take the potential dangers of swimming in standing water. But we have to discuss this. Christian\u2019s been gone for a long time now, and you\u2019re still not moving on. You don\u2019t date. You barely talk to anyone besides us and Milo. You\u2019re insisting on moving back to New York to live in that giant echo chamber of an apartment once our wedding is over. You can\u2019t be a monk for the rest of your life, okay? Milo and I are worried about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I close my eyes against the push of pain building between my temples. I\u2019m contemplating making a complete escape from this conversation by mentioning the headache that\u2019s currently building in my skull, but a smack of a gavel at the front of the town hall grabs my attention first.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, folks! Time to get started!\u201d Amelia appears at the lectern at the front of the room, and I\u2019ve never been so excited to see hair the color of an Easter egg basket. I sink back down into my chair, only because leaving the room would attract a great deal of attention right now. \u201cListen, I called this meeting because the town\u2019s moving up manure creek and we need your help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henri Fontaine, who once ran the office at Lancer Family Medicine before she trained Malachai to take over and then retired, rolls her eyes as she steps in front of Amelia at the lectern. Her brown braids with their graying ends sway behind her head, brushing up against her dark brown skin. \u201cLet\u2019s not be melodramatic,\u201d she tells Amelia. \u201cBut here\u2019s the scoop, friends. As you all know, I\u2019ve been in charge of managing the festival for years now. I love this town and I love this festival. But Harry and I have some exciting news: our daughter in California is having a baby!\u201d Everyone in the room bursts into applause, and Henri curtsies slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, loves. We couldn\u2019t be more thrilled. The downside to this wonderful news is that the pregnancy has had some rough patches, and Melody\u2019s on bed rest. She\u2019s asked me to come out to California to help her out, and of course I can\u2019t say no. Which means that we need to hire someone to take care of managing the rest of the town\u2019s leaf festival.\u201d<\/p>\n
A small gasp runs through the room. \u201cBut no one can replace you, Hen!\u201d Burt Busby calls out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Burt.\u201d Henri nods in his direction. \u201cBut listen, most of the hard work is done at this point. Everything is all planned out, including the Lewis-Lancer wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benson makes a choked noise as the entire room turns to look at him and Jack. A smattering of people applaud.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now the job\u2019s really just about keeping the train on the tracks. Not a ton of hours of work each week, I don\u2019t think, mostly just managing some lead-up events here and there, and then coordinating things through the festival itself. The job pays a stipend, so the person wouldn\u2019t be working for free, and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The entire room seems to turn again as a voice I know all too well sounds from the back row of chairs.<\/p>\n
Malachai\u2019s standing there, his face flushed and his arms crossed in front of him. He takes a long gulp of air, and my heart clenches at the nervous expression on his face. It\u2019s clearly costing him a great deal to make this announcement in front of such a large group, to put himself out there in front of the town like this, and yet he does it anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emotions that seem to linger in the area of pride swirl within me. The urge to protect Malachai from anyone who might make this moment difficult for him has me nearly jumping from my seat.<\/p>\n
Henri beams. This entire town knows she adores Malachai, her protege at our office, and my nerves relax for a moment. Certainly there\u2019s no danger to Malachai\u2019s ego here. \u201cWonderful! Malachai, you\u2019re the perfect choice. Everyone, looks like our problem is solved! Sweetie, let\u2019s meet tomorrow morning and we can\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think this is a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
A man with black hair cut into an absurd bowl cut and pale skin perfectly at odds with said hair shouts loudly from the other side of the room, and immediately I see Malachai sink into himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My nerves stand on edge again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that?\u201d I ask\u2014okay, I possibly growl the words\u2014Jack and Benson.<\/p>\n
Benson looks slightly murderous. \u201cAvon Loseff.\u201d He and Jack share one of their patented looks. \u201cThis isn\u2019t good,\u201d Benson adds.<\/p>\n
I clutch the edge of my seat and will myself not to stand. I can\u2019t step in for Malachai here. Such an action would go against all the promises I\u2019ve made to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If only he wasn\u2019t lowering himself back toward his chair right now, his face reddening, as though he wishes to disappear into the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAvon,\u201d Henri says cooly, \u201cMalachai\u2019s an excellent choice. I\u2019ve worked with him before, and I know I can easily train him before I leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a criminal.\u201d Avon nearly sneers the words, and whispered gasps run through the crowd in the hall. \u201cA lot of money goes through that festival. We can\u2019t trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n
A heat is running through my blood now\u2014a kind of heat I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve ever felt before, not even in the most frantic, panicked moments of my early days as a doctor, working hard rotations in emergency departments. A kind of heat I don\u2019t remember ever feeling on behalf of anyone before, but there\u2019s no time to think of that right now. Despite the fact that both Jack and Benson look as though they\u2019re on the verge of intervening in this disaster of a meeting, I\u2019m on my feet before I can second-guess myself. \u201cHe\u2019s not a criminal,\u201d I bark out. \u201cHe\u2019s a hard worker, a good soul, and this town would be incredibly lucky to have him managing your festival.\u201d I cross my own arms and ensure that the glare I\u2019ve carefully fixed on this Avon Loseff character lands squarely and surely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He just tilts his lip in derision. I\u2019m not generally a violent man, but I find myself wondering how many ways I could take him in a physical fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEasy for you to say, you\u2019re not even from there.\u201d Avon-Terrible-Bowl-Cut scoffs. He tosses his head in Malachai\u2019s direction. \u201cListen, kid, this is nothing personal. But you\u2019ve proven that we can\u2019t trust you. And everyone here knows it, even if they don\u2019t want to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murmurs move through the crowd around me, and it\u2019s now the heat that\u2019s been building in my blood suddenly reaches a rolling boil. Jack opens his mouth to say something, but once again I beat him to it. \u201cI\u2019ll vouch for him,\u201d I bark out. Loudly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crowd goes silent, and in my peripheral vision I see Malachai\u2019s eyes go very wide. I can\u2019t look directly at him right now, and instead I keep my eyes fixed on Avon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I can\u2019t tell if Avon\u2019s response is outraged or incredulous, and frankly I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll vouch for him. If any funds go missing or anything else goes awry, I\u2019ll take responsibility. I\u2019ll even help with overseeing the upcoming festival activities if that will put your mind at ease. I\u2019m only working at the medical practice part-time right now, so I can support Malachai with the extra hours in my day. I\u2019m quite certain he doesn\u2019t need my supervision or my backing, but I\u2019ll provide it if that\u2019s what you want.\u201d My fists are curling in on each other as I imagine the many more hours of time with Malachai I\u2019ve possibly just added to my schedule. What on earth am I doing? I\u2019m starting to worry that Jack\u2019s father might be putting some of the herbs from the \u201cspecial\u201d section of his garden into the tomato sauce he sends me every week.<\/p>\n
But I could never stop what I\u2019ve started now. Malachai\u2019s looking at me with an expression that\u2019s something akin to awe, and the way that look spreads more heat through my body is, well\u2014<\/p>\n
That feeling is as utterly addicting as Malachai himself, I\u2019m sure of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWonderful!\u201d says Henri. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got our solution, folks! Now, I\u2019m sure that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Avon glares and Henri gushes on about what a wonderful team she\u2019s certain Malachai and I will make. But I hardly notice either of them. All my attention now is on one person in the corner of the room, whose expression remains possibly awe-filled. Or maybe he\u2019s confused? Distraught? I can\u2019t begin to unwind or fully understand the look on Malachai\u2019s face at the moment.<\/p>\n
But I do know this is likely the worst decision I\u2019ve made since the day I chose not to attend Christian\u2019s pool party. And yet, if time were turned back right now, I can say with all certainty I\u2019d make the exact same decision I just made; I\u2019d stand up and offer my help to Malachai over and over again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Malachai needed me today. And it\u2019s becoming increasingly clear to me that any ounce of willpower I ever possessed trickles farther from my grasp with every moment I spend with him.<\/p>\n
J.E. Birk, also known as Johanna Parkhurst, writes LGBTQ+ fiction and romance. She is a long-time lover of all types of genre fiction, and serves as director of the MA\/MFA Genre Fiction program at Western Colorado University. Raised in Vermont, she now lives in Colorado and enjoys paddleboarding, skiing, and traveling.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/J.E.-Birk-mug-1200x1197.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This book won the 2025 Colorado Book Award for Romance. Author\u2019s note: Here we join a scene from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[223,88,3865,3026,32820],"class_list":{"0":"post-90214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-fiction","11":"tag-lgbtq","12":"tag-romance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755459388_580_cal-transparent.png\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755459388_222_Copy-of-sunlit.png\")
<\/p>\n