AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I just turned you down. That’s not very adorable.”
“Yes, it is.” She kissed him. “Adorable and completely Gage Calaway.”
Chapter twenty-nine
"Good morning, Mayor Calaway."
It was election day, and Gage wanted to hide out in his house and forget the whole thing. But he couldn’t. He got up early, took some photographs of the sun coming over the Sugar Pine mountain, then headed into the office after drinking a cup of coffee. Today, he might need to indulge and go beyond his two cups.
It was early, and the town was quiet. The café was open. But Remington wouldn’t be open for another hour. Gage really wanted his brother’s biscuits and gravy, so he’d wait. He parked in his spot in front of the newspaper office and went inside.
Even though it was now April, the nights were cool, and it was cold inside the office. Gage started the coffee machine, thenbuilt a fire in the old wood stove that came with the building when Lawrence Ambrose bought it in 1975. His best guess was the stove had been there since the thirties when the fireplace was bricked up. It still worked, though, and it was a beautiful stove. Gage saw no reason to replace it.
When the coffee was ready, he poured himself a cup, then went to his office. He left the door open so the heat from the stove would come in and warm the room. There was a small gas heater, but Gage didn’t like to use it unless he had to. The stove would do the job in thirty minutes or so. In the meantime, he left on his coat and sat at his desk.
He turned on his computer and began going over the articles for Tuesday’s edition. The top half of the front page was blank until the results of the election were in. Everyone knew what the outcome would be. But Gage didn’t want to jinx things by writing an acceptance speech. He’d do that over the weekend.
When he was about ready to leave for the tavern and get some breakfast, the front door opened. A moment later, Sydney came to his door.
“Good morning, Mayor Calaway.”
Gage laughed. “Not yet.”
She looked at the Grandfather clock in the corner of his office. “The polls close in eight hours. I’ll wait until then.”
“It seemed like I had so much time when Uncle Duncan first brought this up in February. Now all of a sudden it’s upon me.”
“How long have you been here?”
“An hour. I tried to distract myself by taking some photos, but it didn’t really help.”
“Have you eaten?”
“I was just about to head out to get some of Remy’s biscuits and gravy.”
“Do you want company?”
“Always. If it’s you, that is.”
They left his office, and Gage put another piece of wood in the stove. Then he put a note on the door saying, ‘Be back in an hour.’
As they walked down the sidewalk, Gage held Sydney’s hand. Well-wishers stopped them four times in two blocks.
Sydney nudged him. “Looks like we’re going to have good voter turnout.”
“As long as they’re not filling in someone else’s name, it’ll be good.”
“I’ll be glad when this is over and you stop doubting yourself. Don’t you think it would’ve become apparent by now if the town wasn’t behind you?”
“I guess. I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”
“Thank you.”
They arrived at the restaurant, and Gage opened the door for her. She shook her head and motioned toward the door. “After you. Today is your day.”
Gage went through the door, and they found a table away from the windows. “I want to eat in peace.”
Becca came up to them with a pot of coffee. “Have you already had your two cups this morning?”
