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

“Oh, come on, Alistair, I’m just fucking with you.”


“I need you to—” He stops, pouting and looking into the fire still. “Never mind.”


He shoots me a desperate look. “I need you to pray for me too sometimes.”


I lose the smile. Look down at my feet.


“I’m here, Ryde, I’m doing this, and I’m facing all of these memories, and I’m scared, you know. I’m scared.”


“I’m sorry.” Something comes over me. Something selfless. Why refuse him the one thing he needs from me more than anything else. My faith. Or a show of it. “I’m being so obstinate about the whole God thing, okay? I’ll pray, all right? I’ll pray with you right now if you want me to.”


“Yeah, say something. Get me started. How does this thing work?”


“You just close your eyes and talk to God.”


I stare at him. How? How do you just close your eyes and talk to nothing inside your head? But I’ll try. I’ll do it for him. I shut my eyes and wait for him to begin.


Chapter 76