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 ...

“Dad, I don’t even know what to say.” Emil sighed. “I want to be mad at you for looking all that stuff up. It’s Makai’s story to tell, not for you to look up in some impersonal paperwork!” He felt frustrated for a moment, but…. “I understand, though, why you did it. I appreciate it, but….”


“He lost a decade of his life. He hasn’t had normal young adult experiences, and he’s thirty, Emil. That was one of the things that worried me. But I know him better now, and with what I learned….” Dad took a deep breath and looked at Emil. “Sadly, you two aren’t that different. You aren’t on two different levels like I originally thought. And it’s so wrong. Neither of you should’ve had to go through all the things you did because of other people.” Dad swallowed hard. “If this is who you want to be with, if Makai is the person for you, son, then I’m glad. He’s a good man, and he shouldn’t have had to save two people he didn’t even know that well just to get me to see through my prejudice.”


Chapter 72