Fourteen years ago, on the banks of Craving’s Creek, Ryde swore to his best friend Alistair he’d never be alone in the world. Though Alistair was destined for the priesthood, there was something beyond holy about the first kiss they shared. But a fun camping trip went horribly wrong when Alistair was involved in a horrific incident. Now, at age thirty-one, Ryde’s life is a mess of alcohol and the painful imprint of his last look into Alistair’s desperate eyes. Since the evil they encountered on that shore, his first love has been lost to him ... until he learns a friend’s wedding is to be officiated by a priest named Father Alistair Genet. Amid the rush of emotions, one thought crystallizes: Ryde’s love for Alistair has never died. It’s stronger than ever. But can it win over the repressed memories slowly tearing Alistair’s mind apart?

Craving's Creek

My mother offers me the last of her beer. “It’s a few sips,” she says under her breath. “If you want it.”


I quickly gulp down the warm beer. Now I want more. But my father won’t like it.


“I’m glad he came along,” my mother says after a while. “He’s such a pleasure to be around.” She touches my hand on my leg. “Are you two having a good time at the creek?”


I can’t stop staring at him. He won’t look at me. I clutch the empty beer bottle. Another beer would be amazing right now.


“You watch him all the time,” my mother says quietly. “Like you’re afraid he’ll disappear.”


I finally look at her. “I know,” I say. “I try not to.”


“He’s very attractive. You know his mother used to be devastatingly beautiful before he was born. I guess she wanted him so bad, for so long, she gave him everything she had. Even her beauty.” My mother smiles, but there’s something bothering her. “There’s something about that boy,” she says.


I don’t like her tone. “What do you mean?”


Chapter 26