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

The officers seemed satisfied with everything. Elaine walked them out, but Rafael overheard them mumbling something about “arrest” and “foster care” and he hoped Daisy had someone who could take her in.


“You’re welcome, Daisy. I realize I don’t know much about what’s going on, but it sounds like you need a place to stay. Do you have relatives? Anyone we can call?”


She chewed her bottom lip and picked at the threads on the blanket. “I’m not sure,” she said, sniffling. “God, Mom is going to be so mad. She was screaming at me when I left. But I just couldn’t do what she wanted me to do. He was gross. And drunk like Mom. And he wouldn’t stop touching me. I said ‘no’ a bunch of times. I swear I did!”


Chapter 22