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

“No problem. My name’s Johnny. Let Mac know if you need me to bring out anything else.” He shook Dustin’s hand and gave him a smile.


“Sounds good. Thanks,” Dustin said with a nod. But he couldn’t help notice how the guy’s gaze slid toward Raf. Too bad, Johnny. He’s into someone else.


The interruption had knocked Dustin and Raf out of their weirdness and soon they worked together to set up the jacks. Dustin explained that originally he had planned to jack up one area at a time, not all three. “Trying to put the plane on wood or something like that can be dangerous. It’s safer this way. It’s also going to cut our labor time by half, at least.”


“Now we need to jack up the plane on both wings, then the tail.” At Raf’s confused look, Dustin pulled him under a wing and pointed out parts of the jack. Then he showed him parts on the wing.


Chapter 26