DAC_II_GenVers_Sept2013 by Donna McDonald Page B

Amanda asked.
    “Yes. Now mind the shop,” Walter said, heading to the front door at a run faster than Jane’s. “I have to go by the fire station.”
    “Got an emergency?” Amanda asked.
    “Yes,” Walter said, as he thought about several ways to kill a lying photographer.
    ***
    “When I told Ames all the guys at the station had signed a release, I was talking about all the guys that posed. I wasn’t thinking about you goofing off beforehand. But what’s the big deal, Walter? It’s for charity. Why would you mind?”
    “I want my photo pulled, Chief. I didn’t sign any release,” Walter said.
    “Sure we can do that, but even if we pull the calendar off the press right now, there are twenty thousand already in print that have been sold. Those calendars paid for themselves, and they helped buy a new engine last year without costing the taxpayers one red cent. And think about this Walter, the publicity could garner you some media coverage for your eco experiments at North Winds.”
    Walter shook his head. “There are reasons I didn’t put my name in the pot. My mother’s friends are buying the calendar. You can’t believe the grief I’m getting from just her alone.”
    “Great! We want everyone to buy it,” the chief said. “More is better.”
    “Not really,” Walter insisted, rubbing his forehead. His headache was getting worse.
    “What’s up with you, son? I would have thought a young guy like you would appreciate the side benefits of being the man on the cover. And you’re fully dressed, for pity’s sakes. The only questionable photo of you is Mr. March . You have a wicked smile that goes great with your shirt up, Walter. My wife says it’s sexier than the bare-chested ones.”
    “Don’t make things worse for me,” Walter ordered. His chief made no secret of how sexy he found his wife, or how interested his wife was in men in general.
    Walter shook his head as the chief kept laughing at his anxiety.
    “Before the print run, we found out Garrett’s wife was pregnant and apparently feeling a tad insecure. He decided the limelight was a bad idea at the moment. Have you ever dealt with a hormonal woman?” the chief asked.
    “Only in my dreams,” Walter exclaimed. He was miserable with worry over what Jane would think. “The woman I like isn’t going to take this well either.”
    He watched the chief rub his chin, but still didn’t think the older man cared one bit that Jane was never going to trust his feelings for her.
    “Sorry if we’ve caused you grief, Walter. I didn’t know you had a woman. You haven’t brought her around for a tour. How was I to know?”
    “I haven’t brought her because I don’t have her yet. And I might never get her after this mess,” Walter said, throwing up his hands. “She thinks I’m a kid as it is. Now she’s going to think I’m out to. . .hell, who knows what she’ll think?”
    “Maybe she’ll understand. Some women love that stuff. They pass naked photos of guys to each other in email. Don’t ask me how I know. That’s in the TMI category and my wife would kill me for sharing.”
    Walter snorted and stood. “I give up.”
    “I can only apologize so many times, Walter. What do you want me to do? Pull it or don’t pull your photo from the next run? They want to go back for a reprint tomorrow. Have you even seen it? We’re selling them as fast as they can come off the press.”
    Walter shook his head. Twenty thousand or two hundred thousand. One was all it would to take for Jane to write him off. He wished like hell that he had kissed her senseless today instead of playing it so cool. He was going to die of frustration if he didn’t get his hands on her soon.
    “Sure would be nice to buy another shiny new fire engine, don’t you think?” the chief asked.
    Walter swore. “Fine. Don’t pull the photo. I know I didn’t undress, so what the hell. It’s not like it’s the first time I made my parents mad over something concerning the