Walk the Line (Man of the Month 12)

"That would make me very happy," he continued. "And I'm sure Faith wants you as much as I do." He took her hand. "What else?"

"All my friends have boyfriends or husbands who are in the Man of the Month calendar. The Mr. December contest is next week." She flashed a mischievous grin. "I want you to enter it. Bonus points if you win."

"Good God. Really?" He stepped closer. "And what's my bonus?"

"I'd show you, but these nice men might not want to see me naked."

He laughed then pulled her close. "All right. I'll win the contest. And then I'll marry you. And then we'll live happily ever after. How does that sound?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled at him, her eyes full of warmth and tenderness and love. "I think that sounds just about perfect."

Epilogue

"Everybody!" Tyree stood on the stage and thrust up his hands. "Hey, can I have everyone's attention, please?"

All around him, the friends, co-workers, and customers who'd come for The Fix on Sixth New Year's Eve bash continued to talk and laugh and drink as the clock ticked its way toward midnight.

"Hang on," Taylor said. She stood just a few feet away holding Landon's hand, and the two of them were among the few who were actually listening. She released Landon long enough to trot to the locked cabinet that was camouflaged into the exterior wall. She punched in the code, pulled out a cordless mike, fiddled with the settings, then hurried back to Tyree. "You're all set," she said as she handed it to him.

Tyree shot her a grateful smile, then lifted the mike to his mouth. He flipped it on, then said hesitantly. "Can y'all hear me?"

His voice boomed out through the recently upgraded speaker system, and a chorus of "yes!" accompanied by applause filled the bar's main room.

He'd rehearsed tonight's speech, but for a moment, he feared that he would forget it as he looked out at all the people who were looking back at him. But then he reminded himself that these were his friends. His customers. Hell, they were his family. And remembering that, his nerves faded, and he flashed a broad, happy grin at the crowd.

"First of all, I want to thank you all for coming. As some of you know, this New Year's Eve party is a tradition at The Fix. But this year it's extra special, because a few months ago, I'd been afraid that we were going to have to shut this place down by the end of the year."

A chorus of boos and "no way!" echoed through the room.

"Well, you're right," Tyree continued. "Because I have some brilliant and generous folks working with me. Jenna, Brent, Reece, you three need to take a bow. We not only infused some capital back into this place, but we launched the Man of the Month contest, which pulled us back firmly into the black."

Another explosion of applause, and Tyree's grin grew wide.

"Not to mention a reality show," he added, as someone in the crowd lifted Brooke up above the sea of faces as she laughed and squealed in protest.

"And of course most of you know about Brent and Easton and Landon's heroic and successful work in thwarting an attempt to use the city's power of eminent domain to shut us down. We couldn't have foiled that without lawyers and cops--who happen to be customers--working together."

They'd caught the vandals, who'd ratted out the higher ups at Bodacious, including Ted Henry and the local Bodacious manager, Steven Kane. Easton had used that evidence to challenge the eminent domain action, proving that absent those crimes, The Fix was being well-cared for. Seeing the writing on the wall, the city had withdrawn the action.

In front of Tyree, Taylor hugged Landon while Brent gave Easton a congratulatory slap on the back just seconds before Selma pulled him down for a messy kiss, and Elena moved in to hug Brent, her diamond engagement ring shining.

"In other words," Tyree continued, "it's been quite a year. And I'm looking forward to many, many more."

Once again, glasses were raised along with congratulatory voices.

There were still a few minutes left, so he told the crowd about the calendars and cookbooks, then went around the room, pointing at each of the calendar models and introducing them to the crowd, starting with Mr. January, Reece, who stood by the bar next to Jenna, who looked ready to pop any minute. Hard to believe she still had most of the month to go.

And then there was Spencer--Mr. February--who was sharing a bottle of wine with Brooke and their cameramen, Nick and Casper were their nicknames--Tyree never did learn their real ones. The four had moved from filming The Business Plan at The Fix to filming Mansion Makeover at the old Drysdale Mansion that Brooke and Spencer both occupied and were in the process of renovating.

M

r. March, Cam, was working behind the bar, moving at a speed that would have intimidated a lesser man. His girlfriend Mina and her brother, Darryl, sat on the stools in front of him, their attention split between Cam and Tyree.

It took Tyree a second to find Mr. April, but then he saw the group in the corner, with Nolan in the center telling what appeared to be a raucous joke as Shelby looked on, both amused and appalled.

Of course, he had to introduce himself as Mr. May, then he continued to navigate around the room, finding Mr. June, Parker at the bar with Megan talking to Mr. July, Derek, and his girlfriend Amanda.

August was easy, as Landon and Taylor were right by the stage, and Landon took a bow with sportsman-like grace.