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

“How’s the little princess doing?”


“Oh, she was so spoiled yesterday. My parents went a little nuts.”


“You went to your parents?” Sheryl hasn’t done a family gathering in years. She and her mother have been estranged since Peaches’s birth.


“Yes. I’m in their house right now actually. Me and Peaches slept in my old bed last night.”


“Yeah, I’m right across from your house.” I walk to the front door and open it. The morning is white, crisp, sunny. “Hello there.”


Across the street, Peaches and Sheryl stand in the open door. Peaches screams out to me. I hang up and put my boots and coat on, crossing over to them. When I come up the steps, I pause, overcome with relief and emotion. This is my blood sister. My Sheryl. “Hey,” I say, climbing the last step.


Peaches jumps into my arms. “Uncle Ryde!”


Chapter 64