Quiet and imaginative, Derek O'Reilly spends a lot of time watching a movie in his head. His fiancé Nathan wonders why Derek hasn't taken any interest in their wedding planning, and Aunt Fran -- his spiritual guru -- would like to know when her guilt-tripping nephew became a kept boy. When she drops Derek's childhood journal on his lap, he's forced to remember the name he's been trying to forget since he was twelve years old. Nicolai Lund. Nick was Derek's neighbor ... and first love. Weeks before Derek's engagement party, a chance meeting with Nick catapults Derek into the past. But Nick isn't that seventeen-year-old rebel anymore. He's a man hardened by invisible scars. A man struggling with grief. As Derek reads through his childhood diary, he realizes what Nick was to him, still is today, and yet might be ... NOTE: This edition has been expanded and substantially edited.

Split

Scott didn’t seem to enjoy that. “Yeah? Some folks ‘been complaining about vandalism—some obscenities being spray-painted on the wall of the pharmacy out by Lanouette Street.”


“Obscenities, Officer? Nick’s arrogant smile stole a giggle out of me, but Aunt Frannie shot a hard glance my way, so I glued my eyes to the floor and held the laughter in.


“Yes, that’s right, Lund. Obscenities. You know, garbage. Filth.”


“Well that’s a shame. Verdun being such an upstanding town and all.”


Scott’s brown eyes blazed. “They thought maybe they’d spotted the Pinet boy’s car down there, rightabout last week.”


“Last week, huh? What time exactly?”


Aunt Frannie tugged on Di Paglio’s sleeve. “Come on, let’s have some of this cobbler. The ice cream’s melting.”


“Is that right?” Nick rubbed his chin. “Seven you say?”


“Derek, can you set a place for Scott. Scott? Can we enjoy this cobbler?”


Chapter 54