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

He wants to leave the church. I did not expect that.14


“Let me see him!” I yell again, ready to knock Masson down to the floor if I have to. “Get out of my way.”


Another man, probably a priest, younger but sterner than Masson, with eyes like an angry eagle, comes to the door. “Let him in before he alerts the whole street,” he says, over Father Masson. He walks way, heading down the hall.


Father Masson moves out of my way and puts a hand on my shoulder, slowing me down. “Ryde, please, hold on before you go up there.”


I throw my coat in the corner and quickly remove my boots, looking around for Alistair. For a hint as to what the hell is happening here this evening. “Where is he?”


The other man returns from the kitchen with a glass of water. He walks past me as if I don’t exist, his serious face pulled with worry. He begins to mount the steps.


Chapter 55