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 can’t help smiling. I tug at his T-shirt. “Look at you. No black shirt. No white collar. What’s going on?”


“Well, Ryde, I’ve—I’ve officially left the church.”


“Yes, yes. I had a meeting with the bishop. And I told him everything. I told him about my disorder, my therapy. Our love affair.”


“You just went there in your Levi’s jeans and white Gap T-shirt and sat in his office and told him everything?”


“Yes,” Alistair says, and I suddenly see a young man standing there in my living room. Not a priest or a boy, but a beautiful gay man with the cleverest black eyes I’ve ever seen. “So, you know,” he adds, “he asked me if I wanted to think about it, you know, seek help and think about it.” Alistair nods to himself, clearly just comprehending what he’s done. “But I don’t want to think about it. I can’t. I need to make a decision and commit to something. And I want to commit to someone I’ve never taken care of before.” He looks at me and takes a deep breath. “Myself.”


Chapter 71