Deputy Mark Forrest and Nurse Francis Archer can’t deny the chemistry that arises between them. A chance meeting awakens the idea of something greater than either had ever imagined.<br><br>Mark craves being able to let go, and Francis loves to take him out of his head. But Mark’s past bears a truckload of personal demons that have kept him in the closet and made him lash out at the LGBTQ community in the town he’s come to regard as home.<br><br>Despite finding love and a new purpose in Acker, Francis’s new job might end up being temporary, and he doesn't want to lose the life he's settled into. Can the two of them build a future together despite a bitter past, and diverging paths?

Thirteen

“He says you’ve done it before, but he’s managed to get away. But now you cornered him in the breakroom, made sure he couldn’t escape, and touched him.”


With his head spinning, Francis tried to make sense of what he was hearing. “Sexual harassment? That’s what he’s going with?”


“It would seem so. He doesn’t have any proof, of course, just his word against yours. So I have to ask you this, Nurse Archer: Did you touch Mr. Walker inappropriately?” Talia’s voice was pure steel, yet Francis still knew that she didn’t believe Josh’s claims.


Francis summoned every bit of confidence he had left. “No, I did not. Not today and never before,” he replied. He was telling the truth. He had nothing to hide.


“All right. I believe you. I never doubted you in the first place, but you know, on the record and all that.” She gestured with her hand. “I’m just trying to figure out what to do here. You know we have to take these kinds of allegations very seriously.”


Chapter 4