Schoolteacher Julian Reynolds is disillusioned with the seedier side of gay life in New York City with its self-absorption, vanity, and preoccupation with sex. When his long-time relationship with his high school sweetheart ends, he returns to his hometown and vows to live a simple life free of the extremes of the gay lifestyle and romantic entanglements. With that end in mind, he rents the carriage house next door to a large Tudor-style home.<br><br>Tate Butler, a former student of Julian’s, lives in the big house with his mother. Tate is bitter and withdrawn after losing a leg while serving in the Marine Corps during the war in Afghanistan. Fearing rejection from his mother and blaming himself for his father’s death, Tate stays firmly in the closet and punishes himself by refusing to learn how to walk again.<br><br>Can Tate and Julian help heal each other’s pasts and forge a real and lasting future together? Or will the driveway that separates their houses prove too wide a gulf to cross?

The Marine Next Door

Julian tightened his embrace as Tate bowed his head.


After a bit, Tate continued, “My body shielded Tony from the blast, but shrapnel tore into my leg. I was bleeding badly. The sarge and the other guys ran up. They had to tourniquet my leg to save my life. But by the time they got me back to the base and the medics, the tourniquet had been on too long. My leg was dead. So they amputated it.”


Julian waited, puzzled. Tate’s story was tragic, but how could he believe it was his fault his father died as a result of the accident? Yes, the stress of hearing your son was severely injured could cause someone to have a stroke or a heart attack, especially if in poor health, but Tate hadn’t been killed. His injury, while serious, had been managed well. His actions had saved his friend’s life. He’d been injured when a land mine went off, not doing something stupid like drinking and driving. Surely all these facts had been conveyed to Tate’s parents.


Chapter 19