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

I’m home. Good. I slept in my own bed.


“I know my phone is ringing! But where?” Sheryl is starting to come apart. She’s going to lose it. “I just know it’s Peaches calling me!” She rips the blanket off me and digs her hands into my jeans. “Do you have it on you?”


“Hey, hey, hey, watch it there, Missy.” I shove her off. “That’s not your phone. And please, calm down.”


Somewhere in my bedroom, the phone stops ringing.


“I missed her call,” Sheryl says, sitting at the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall. “I missed it.”


“It’s okay,” I say, carefully. I try sitting up, but only make it halfway. I touch her bare shoulder. She’s in that purple bra I hate and her terrible beige underwear. “Peaches is with Michael and Gabe. You’ll call her later. It’s okay.”


“My baby girl is gonna think I don’t care about her.”


Chapter 30