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 ...

Makai popped open the paint can and added a little bit of water to it, then stirred thoroughly. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Do you want to stay over?”


“We’ll see,” Emil replied, a code for “I want to see how I feel after spending the day with you first.” Sometimes it still became too much, even though on most days when he hadn’t seen Makai, he started to get antsy. Something about him settled Emil’s weirdness, and he liked being around him.


“Okay, so I made sure the old flaky paint is off. I went around the house yesterday.” Makai gestured at a spot nearby he’d clearly worked on. “So it should be fine, but if you find a spot I missed and think it needs to be cleaned, there’s the tool for it on the table by the extra brushes.”


Makai poured some of the paint into a tray and gave it to Emil. Then he cranked up the radio and grinned. “We could try your playlist, but let’s see what the radio has to offer first.”


Chapter 58