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 ...

So yeah, Makai needed to take better care of himself and Emil too.


He did the creeper thing of watching Emil sleep for a while. He couldn’t help it. Emil just looked so lovely, with his curls wild after last night’s shower and the way he sprawled, ever mindful of Makai and the cats even in his sleep.


Makai felt his chest ache, but this time it was the good kind. He could feel the love there for Emil. Thing was, he’d never really thought about love before. He’d certainly never thought he’d find it, and not in a place like Acker, Wisconsin.


He’d come there to relive some vague childhood memories and be a hermit in his little cottage. Instead, he’d gotten a small-town family and… love.


Chapter 78