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 really don’t remember,” I say. “I mean, my memory of last night sort of stops after that guy, what’s his name, Bob or Tom, dropped his beer on my shoes and you grabbed his hair and told him to lick it off.”


“Oh my God, Ryde, I’m such a bitch when I drink. Did I really say that to him?”


“I think so, yeah.” I rub my eyes. They feel swollen. “Well, how upset was I?”


“Like bawling your eyes out. I just held you for a long time.”


“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, embarrassed.


How many times has she done that in the last fourteen years? She’s been holding me or holding my head over the toilet for as long as I can remember.


“It was a pretty bad one,” she says quietly. “It reminded me of the old days. You know, after…Well, anyway, you got through it.”


“What was I saying last night?” I don’t particularly want to know. “Was I messed up about Shay?”


I sit up and rub my hair back. “Oh, shit!” I hate myself. “Shit, shit, shit.”


Chapter 31