Can two broken men build one life? Ten years. That’s what Makai lost for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been exonerated, but the abuse he suffered in prison isn’t so easy to leave behind. He heads to the one place he remembers being happy: Acker, Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his grandpa. Unfortunately, not everyone wants Makai there. Ten days. That’s how long Emil, now twenty-one, was held prisoner as a teenager. The mental and physical injuries he suffered at the hands of a drug trafficking ring still haunt him. Nightmares, anxiety, and PTSD challenge the connection forming between Makai and Emil, though together, they might find a way to move beyond their pain and into a future -- and a relationship -- that both had thought impossible. Now they just have to convince Emil’s father, the town sheriff. It won’t be easy with danger closer than they know ...

“I’m going to put them back now, Mouse,” Makai said and picked the kittens up, they still fit in his hands just fine, and carried them to the box.


Once Mouse, too, was in the box with the babies, the men went into the main part of the cottage.


Makai paid for the work Doc had done, although since he wasn’t a people doctor, he seemed to write the receipt as cat-related stuff only. Emil could understand.


“I’d put the antibiotic cream on your back once more after your next shower, but you should be fine,” Doc told Makai as he closed his bag firmly. Then he looked at Emil. “Since he can’t do it himself, I suppose I can trust you to do it.”


Doc’s phone rang, and he waved a quick bye to them, then walked out and answered the call as Makai closed the door behind him.


“Okay, well, that’s done. Want to finish Bo Burnham?”


“Sure.” They sat on the couch and continued watching.


Chapter 57