Jacob Baumgardner is struggling to get his nonprofit shelter for gay teens off the ground because the building needs a lot of help before it can pass inspection. Raised by his grandparents for part of his life, Jacob feels that the shelter is his chance to honor them, but someone is making things difficult. An anonymous extortionist seems determined to ruin Jacob’s late grandfather’s good name and keep the shelter from opening.<br><br>Luka Smith is struggling to find his place in the world after a traumatic event in his teen years pushed him to run. When Jacob hires him to help with repairs at the shelter, Luka falls for his new boss hard. Luka wants nothing more than to help Jacob realize his dream.<br><br>As they work together to ensure The Promise of Hope Shelter gets off the ground, their feelings for each other only grow. But will a calculating blackmailer close the shelter before it even has a chance?

The Promise of Hope Shelter

Shelby’s looked confused, but didn’t say anything as he followed the adults upstairs to the office. Jacob shut the door before taking a seat at his desk and powering up his laptop.


“What I’m about to show you, Shelby, is a video that was sent to me. I need you to take a look and tell me what you see.”


“Okay, but what’s on it?” Shelby asked impatiently.


“You’ll see in a second. After you watch it, I need a completely truthful answer from you so I’m not going to give you any information until then, okay?”


Jacob found the video and pressed PLAY, turning the laptop to show it to everyone. It was short, but he still wished it would hurry up and end. The thought that Shelby could be the one his grandfather helped was almost too much to hope for. Still, the story was too coincidental for him to ignore. He hoped he wasn’t setting himself up for more disappointment.


“Hey, that’s me!” Shelby exclaimed.


Chapter 38