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

“Then it doesn’t matter when I get my wicked way with you,” Jim said, tossing out Ronnie’s phrase with a newfound twinkle in his eye. “Because as long as we both want the same thing, we’ve got all the time in the world to make that happen.”


Ronnie nodded. Silently, he sat back when Jim finally let him go, patience leashing his fidgeting as Jim returned to gathering what he needed. Jim might say they had all the time in the world, but Ronnie knew the truth. Neither of them would be able to wait very long. Once the specter of the morning faded from memory, with their mutual understanding back in place, it’d be impossible to keep their hands off each other.


How they’d keep it under wraps with Grandpa around, he had no idea. They’d figure something out.


Chapter 19