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 ...

On Monday, Emil went back to looking after Joie, because Leah had caught a summer cold and Lotte was helping out at the diner. Lotte had been meaning to do some grocery shopping that day, so she had made a list for herself and for Joie, which she had given to Emil.


“So basically, she’s making this a teachable moment. How to grocery shop and so on,” Emil told Makai on the phone on Monday morning. “It’s pretty neat.”


“I’d say so. Where are you going to shop?” he asked, while making sure the shed was ready for Leah and Stuart’s broken furniture.


“I was actually thinking that he’d benefit most if we went to Target, so Woodruff, probably. We’re taking Lotte’s car, and Joey has his kids’ tablet for a game or a movie if he gets bored. Although I was going to look for audiobooks once we’ve ended this call.”


“Either way, have fun, drive safely, and say hi to Joey for me, okay?” Makai smiled as he walked to his truck.


Chapter 68