A broken-hearted Ward Cartwright left town to join the army when his boyfriend Tyler Hughes turned his back on their love and married a woman. Ten years later, Tyler is a widower with two young boys, and Ward has returned home. He is hopeful he can re-establish his relationship with Tyler. Even though a decade has passed, Tyler still feels tied to the family-owned feed mill. He has folks depending on the mill for employment, there are his children to consider, they live in a small town, and ... But despite this, Tyler finds there are plenty of benefits to giving Ward a job in the mill -- lots of out-of-the-way places to explore Ward’s army-honed, muscular body. Just when Tyler resolves to live more openly with Ward, rumors begin to surface, not just at the mill, but at his sons’ school. Ward knows the upcoming battle is just as serious as anything he’s faced in Afghanistan. Instead of fighting for his country, the soldier is fighting for his lover’s heart. Will Ward finally emerge victorious, or will Tyler’s self-doubt and fear of prejudice win out again?

Welcome Home, Soldier

Summerville was your typical Midwest farm town. One main street, called Main Street, of course, with it’s array of small businesses—drug store, hardware store, dress shop, men’s clothing store, grocery, a movie theater that was only open on Friday and Saturday and showed movies that had already come out on Blu-ray, Millie’s, and The Pub. The mill was at one end of the street and the soft serve ice cream shack was at the other.


The town wasn’t big enough for a Meijer’s or K-Mart or even a McDonald’s for that matter. But Summerville was homey and comfortable. Everyone knew almost everyone else—a double edged sword, which had led to the predicament that surrounded Tyler and Ward.


Ward parked his truck and hopped out. He nodded to a couple of ladies who walked by and jumped out of the way of two boys who were skateboarding down the sidewalk.


Chapter 18