Page 3 of A Moment In Time

Paxton nodded. “See. He’s congenial.”

“He’s a bastard.”

“Well, yeah. But he’s a congenial bastard.”

Remington filled Gage’s cup. “Go get ‘em, sparky.”

Gage picked up his cup, gave Remington the bird, then left the booth to the sound of his brothers laughing. As he was walking away, he saw Elaina approaching. She was eight months pregnant and didn’t look very comfortable in the coat she could barely button.

He stopped in front of her. “Hey.”

She sighed. “Hi.”

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be home on the couch with your feet up?”

“This is the first Winter Festival I’ve attended as a civilian. I sat in the ambulance during the last two.”

“Well, I think you could’ve skipped the mayor’s speech.”

“You’re probably right. I’m just going to go hang out with my husband for a bit.”

“You know he doesn’t deserve you, right?”

She smiled. “Oh, definitely.” She touched his arm. “I just dropped Joaquin off with your parents. I need to sit.”

“You take care, Elaina. And stay warm. It’s cold out here.”

She waddled off and Gage went to find the perfect spot to take photos of the mayor. Mayor Bessler was generally liked by the town. Although he was still considered an outsider since he wasn’t born in the valley. He was the first non-Calaway or Ambrose mayor elected in the town’s one hundred and sixty-year history. He was also a bit full of himself and had the airs of someone who was in charge of a population larger than Calaway Crossing’s seven hundred residents. He was near the end of his second term and Duncan Ambrose would most likely be replace him in November.

Gage staked out a spot on the right side of the platform. It gave him the best unobstructed view of the mayor giving his speech. When he saw Sydney, he motioned for her to come to him.

She made her way through the people gathering around the platform and came up to him.

“He’s late.”

Gage checked his watch. “By a couple of minutes, yeah. I’ll get the token shots of him at the podium. You just concentrate on the crowd.”

“Okay.”

“How are you getting along with the camera?”

“Good. I have it down.”

“I’m curious to see what you do with it.”

She put a hand on his arm. “Thank you for trusting me.”

He smiled. “I’ve always trusted you, Sydney.” As my brothers just pointed out to me. “I may not always express it. But you’re a valuable asset to the paper.”

“Thank you.”

“I guess it’s about time I told you that.”

She laughed. “Better late than never.”

Chapter two

"We're off duty, right?"

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