Rafael Patino has a great life in Rain Valley. He’s a teacher at the high school, has a great group of friends, and enjoys the occasional baseball game. Other than the sporadic call from his drunken mother, he’s pretty content. He’s also been in love with his best friend Dustin for nearly a decade. Years of keeping those feelings under control are put to the test when they begin a summer project together. Dustin Vance builds furniture for a living, has just earned his pilot’s license, and has an amazing best friend. When he buys a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk, he asks Rafael to help restore it, then travel with him to Wisconsin for the largest aviation convention in the world. As they spend their days working on the plane, they begin to spend their nights together. Will they find love in the clouds, or will they stall out before they even take off?

Love in the Clouds

He used his arm to wipe the sweat from his brow and moved to the last side. He loved how the piece had turned out. Modern, clean lines, with mid-century-styled legs and a long drawer centered under the desktop. He planned to apply a dark stain the next morning. He’d set aside the morning to finish the desk and two coffee tables, then planned to spend the rest of the day at the airport.


God, he couldn’t believe he was going to be the owner of his own Cessna. It was a dream come true. Yeah, it needed some TLC, but he could do that. Being his own boss and working from home definitely had its advantages—setting his own hours being his favorite.


His body fairly thrummed from the excitement of getting his pilot’s license, purchasing his own plane, and planning his dream trip to Oshkosh, Wisconsin with his best friend.


Chapter 6