Drew Hunt

Middle-aged teacher David Grover is traveling home from a conference, but fatigue and bad weather force him to stop at a motel for the night. Unfortunately, the Marine ahead of him at the counter snags the last available room. But despair soon turns to elation when the studly Master Sergeant Bud Williams offers to share. Sharing a room also means sharing a bed, and their one night together turns into much more. Only later does David discover Bud is keeping secrets from him. Once these secrets come to light, their regular weekend trysts end, and David finds it hard to move on. Then David learns Bud volunteered for a tour in Iraq, only to be returned stateside after suffering extensive injuries caused by a roadside bomb. Forgiveness and healing doesn't come easily, but just as things start looking up, Bud's past threatens to pull them apart again. Both men face painful decisions if they hope to find a life together. It's a rough road to happiness -- as much as the rest of the world struggles to keep them apart, all Bud and David can do is battle to get back together since neither is complete without the other.

Rough Road to Happiness

“Huh?” Bud’s face was the picture of innocence. 


The two carried on working, they’d moved on to the shelving that David had bought, but never built. Standing on the ground, looking up at the gorgeously sculpted physique of his work-mate on the step ladder, muscles bulging in all the right places, David knew his previous resolve to remain distant was weakening. It broke completely when Bud asked him to hold the shelf level while he used the screwdriver to fix the bracket. This involved David leaning forward, his damp shirt pressing against Bud’s wide, firm, hot, sweaty back. David groaned low in his throat.


Bud, abandoning his carpentry, turned and wrapped his arms around David. “I promise I wasn’t trying to tease you. It’s just, well—”


The pair stayed locked in their embrace for a few more minutes, before the shelf fell off the wall. The two looked at it, then one another, before bursting out laughing.


Chapter 9