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“Well, free tacos are hard to beat.”
We got out and headed up near the building where I’d agreed to meet Nolan. Tristan had a temporary stage set up under the sign on the building. He’d wanted everyone who was part of the planning of the center sitting up on stage behind him, but to all our relief, Nolan had convinced him it would be better if he was the only one up there. We would all be standing right up front, though.
We found Nolan and Cruz standing with the same group of guys they normally hung out with. Guys that I’d barely known a few months ago but that I now considered friends.
“Hey, Spencer, Nash,” Ty said as we walked up.
“Where’s Bear?” I asked. I’d gotten to know Ty a lot better during the time we’d been up here getting everything ready. Because his building was right next door, and he managed Artist Row, he’d taken a huge interest in Colors.
“He’s grabbing us a drink. Here he comes now.” Ty pointed toward Bear, who was making his way through the growing crowd with a drink in each hand.
“Here you go, cub,” he said, handing Ty a drink. “Hey, guys, if I’d known you were here, I would have grabbed you one.”
“We’re good, but thanks,” Nash assured him. “Oh, hey, before I forget, I’m supposed to give you this.” He handed Bear a business card. “This guy was out looking at some of the horses today. He bought a farm out south of town, and he said his barn needs a new roof. I told him I’d have you get in touch.”
“Thanks, man.” Bear tucked the card in his pocket.
“I guess we better get in place,” Nolan said, pointing to the spot in front of the stage where Gibson was waiting. We all headed over that way to stand next to him.
Shortly after, Tristan stepped up the mic, tapping on it to get everyone’s attention.
“Hello, River Gorge!” he said loudly. “I’m so happy to stand up here tonight for the unveiling of the new Upper River Valley Youth Center. I grew up here, and I’ve known a lot of you my whole life. We’ve made a lot of progress together, and I’m proud of all that we’ve accomplished, but none of the things we’ve done have made me more proud than this right here. Not to sound cliche, but our children truly are the future of this town. Now, without further ado, I present to you…Colors!”
He motioned at Noah, who’d been standing off to the side. He stepped up, grabbed the rope, and pulled it to the side, unveiling the colorful sign, and everyone clapped.
“Tristan is really excited about this, you know?” Gibson said, looking proudly up at him. “Things like this are why he wanted to be mayor. He wants to make River Gorge a great place to live for everyone, our teens included.”
“I know he does,” I said. “And he’s doing a fantastic job. Honestly, I can’t think of any place I’d rather live. River Gorge is home.”
I looked around at this amazing crowd of people who’d gathered here to celebrate the opening of a youth center that promised to be completely inclusive and then smiled up at Nash. He took my hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing my ring.
“You did it, baby boy.” He motioned at the sign. “And I’m so proud of you.”
Moving away from home had been scary, but it was the best thing I’d ever done. This was where I belonged. I hadn’t just been saying that to Gibson. River Gorge was my home, and Nash was my heart. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
I hope you enjoyed visiting River Gorge as much as I enjoyed writing it! Nash is the last book in the Daddies of River Gorge series, so that is all for River Gorge for now. However, just like Spencer said, it feels like home, so don't be surprised if we find ourselves back here again in the future.
But for now, it's on to Vesper for some smoking hot firefighters. Nash's brother Keith is up first and you can preorder his book here: Controlled Burn.
And if you need to get your Daddy fix and can't wait for Controlled Burn, check out my Blue Collar Daddy series. You can get the first book here: Ryder
