Tristan used to be top salesman at his firm, but when his friends suffered a tragedy, he stepped in to support them. Their ordeal over, Tristan turned to partying to ease his new solitude. Now his job is at risk and he stands to lose his home. Rain spent years putting up with his husband Milo's bad behavior before moving out. Single again and insecure, Rain dreams of creating a marionette show to celebrate kids on the autism spectrum in honor of his son. When Rain meets his neighbor Tristan, he's drawn to Tristan's sex-appeal and protective nature. But Milo keeps pulling on Rain's strings and messing with his head. Tristan loves everything about Rain, including the strange sandwiches, mismatched socks, crazy marionettes, glitter makeup, and messy apartment. And Rain wants to give Tristan everything, but can he cut lose from Milo's hold?

A Touch of Rain

After visiting the store, they’d stopped by Bernie’s to borrow Constance’s bike. Now, Tristan was going to try to teach Pip how to ride a bike—he had a feeling he could do it and that today was the day. He was working on finding a way to ask Pip what he thought of the idea, when Pip spoke. “The boy ducks have the best feathers,” he said.


“Yeah?” Tristan glanced over at him.


“Yes, they have the best colors. Green mostly, and some orange, and some red, but mostly if you’re a duck, then green appears to be your choice.”


“But it only works for the ducks and birds, but not for the dogs or cats, because the boy dogs have the same fur as the girl dogs and notice that you can only tell them apart if you turn them over.”


“Indeed, I’ve noticed that.” Tristan laughed and offered another piece of the orange to Pip.


“Also, dogs and cats live longer, but they don’t have a lot of freedom and can’t fly, so I’m not sure if I’d be a dog or a bird.”


Chapter 46