Two men with nothing in common except friendship. One man is Darren Cameron, a cop who patrols the streets nightly. After his divorce -- because he revealed to his wife he was gay -- he gained full custody of his son, Jesse. Jesse is now twenty-one, living with his girlfriend, and trying to play matchmaker between his landlord, Malcom, and Darren. The other is Rob, a homeless war veteran living on the streets, who has adamantly resists all Darren's efforts to help him start his life over. When Rob is attacked, Darren finally has what he needs to help his friend get off the streets. Despite Rob's wariness, he moves into Darren’s home under the guise of protective custody ... much to Jesse's dismay. Can Darren and Rob handle what comes next, including their growing attraction for each other? Or will Rob ultimately reject Darren's help and return to his former life?

Lonesome Men

“There’s nothing to talk about. I suspect you’re going to be moving out soon. Sure, we’ll probably remain friends, but that’s it.”


“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Then Rob smiled slowly as if understanding what lay behind Darren’s words. “You were hoping I’d get so used to it here I wouldn’t wantto move. That you’d have a permanent house guest.”


Turning away, busying himself by putting the sausage on to fry, Darren mumbled, “Yeah, that, too.”


There was a long silence before Rob said quietly, “You think there could be more between us than mere friendship.”


Glancing at him, Darren saw a speculative look in his eyes. “Perhaps,” Darren admitted. “Not that there will be. It takes both of us wanting the same thing, for starters.”


Rob laughed. “No kidding.” He sobered. “To be honest, I’ve…considered the idea. Never seriously. I mean, look at me. I’m hardly someone that a nice, upstanding guy like you would want to get involved with.”


Chapter 31