When they graduated from high school in 1962, best friends and secret lovers Jim McCutcheon and Ronnie Mayer had high expectations for the rest of their lives. Six years later, both are back in the small Nebraska town they called home, and worse, no longer together.<br><br>Once the golden boy, Jim now works on his grandfather's farm, away from the town's disappointment he didn't end up at NASA. Ronnie lives in his parents' basement, recovering from the blast that sent him home from Vietnam. Neither is where they want to be, but it takes a special request from Ronnie's mom for Jim to swallow his pride and visit.<br><br>Though it doesn't go well, it opens the door for the two young men to start communicating. One question haunts them, though. Have they changed too much to find their way back to each other again?

Silences of Fallen Stars

“Next time I come, I’m bringing a chair down,” he complained.


He was rewarded with a glance through Ronnie’s thick lashes. He’d been wrong earlier. Not everything about Ronnie’s face was the same. The gleeful innocence in his bright blue eyes, the excited trust that had wanted to believe in the good in everyone, was gone.


When Ronnie’s gaze returned to his book without his uttering a word, Jim scowled. “I don’t even get a hello? Some friend you are.”


Still nothing, though Ronnie shifted to the side slightly, hiding the scars that peppered his neck.


Chapter 3