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

When he went quiet, Francis eventually murmured, “We put a lot of trust in our parents, as we should—mothers especially. Some people aren’t fit to be parents, even when they want children. The beauty of being an adult in a committed relationship is that you get to make your own decisions and you have backup. You haven’t been their child for a long time, Mark. You’ve been a verbal punching bag they think they have ownership over. But they don’t. You’re not theirs.”


Mark nodded. “I’m mine.” Then he thought for a few beats and added, “And I’m yours. As much as I can be anyone else’s, other than my own.”


Francis made a curious little sound, and when Mark moved to look at his face, he could see tears in his eyes.


Chapter 77