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

“Parents, plural. They’re…,” he started, took a sip of his beer, and then pushed out the words he’d never admitted to anyone before. “Emotionally abusive.”


“Always, or…?” she prodded when he went quiet for a while.


He kept drinking his beer, and suddenly he’d finished the first bottle and was almost done with the second then. “Do you want more wine?” he asked, getting to his feet.


“Yeah, bring me a whole glass while you’re at it.” She grinned, emptying her glass and giving it to him.


Mark started toward the bar and Stuart watched him approach with a sheepish expression.


“No, it’s fine. Or maybe it’s not, but bygones, okay?” Mark waved dismissively. There was no need to make things any more awkward, after all. “Can I get a double whiskey, something better this time, another beer, and a glass of whatever Evy is drinking?”


Chapter 30