When best friends Jamie Eckert and Derek Duran realized they were in love, they took their relationship to the next level. But then Derek's budding music career took off, and so did Derek. Twenty years later, Jamie still lives in the small town of Ashbury, Virginia, where he grew up. He's grown up and moved on -- now he owns the family funeral home business and is raising Riley, his precocious six-year-old adopted daughter. But emotions Jamie thought long buried are stirred up again when he gets an early morning removal call. The deceased is Derek's mother and Riley's babysitter, Mrs. Duran. Now Derek's back in town for the funeral, and he turns to Jamie for support ... in more ways than one. Angry at Derek for not keeping in touch, and angrier at himself for still loving the man who left him behind, Jamie is torn between his professional duty and his feelings for Derek. Will he be able to put aside his past with Derek to carry out Mrs. Duran's final wishes? Or is Derek interested in rekindling their relationship after all this time?

Not Another One Hit Wonder

After the Palmer family leaves to get ready to receive visitors this evening, I’m at my desk checking email when the phone beside me rings. I throw a bemused glance at the two-line display above the numbers. It should read Receptionif the call is forwarded from Molly’s phone, but it doesn’t. It reads Incoming, which means there’s no one at the front desk.


“Taylor, seriously,” I mutter, snatching the receiver off the cradle as it rings again. That boy is walking on thin ice, I swear…


Taking a deep breath, I push aside my irritation and slip into a professional mindset. “Eckert’s Funeral Home, may I help you?”


On the other end of the line I hear soft breathing, then a sniffle. Just what we need today, another death, I think, reaching for a notepad nearby. Some days we don’t get any calls, and some days we’re flooded with them. It looks like today’s going to stay busy.


Chapter 13