Thomas Durling escaped his small-town upbringing for over ten years, until a single phone call drew him back. Told his mother has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, he returns to the small northern Michigan town he once called home to find a mute stranger taking care of her in his stead.<br><br>On the surface, Andre seems harmless enough, but Thomas has enough problems trying to deal with his mother’s illness. He doesn’t need a gorgeous young man to distract him, especially in a town that drove him away once already with its homophobia.<br><br>But Andre has nowhere else to go. A wolf without a pack, he’s been on the run since witnessing his father’s murder, always looking over his shoulder, never looking ahead. Taking care of Thomas’s mother has given him a welcome sanctuary, as well as a place he can call home for a couple months. He wants to stay, but more importantly, he wants to help, even if Thomas isn’t ready to accept that they could actually be friends ...

Moon-Touched

Her gray hair had more white threaded through it, but the thick braid she wore it in was exactly the same. His hair would probably do that, too. He’d started going gray at thirty, just like she had. Upon his entrance, she glanced up, but when her gaze caught on him hovering in the doorway, her blue eyes widened with delight and recognition.


His throat closed, and tears pricked the back of his eyes. She knew him. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how afraid he was that she wouldn’t.


“Thomas!” Grabbing a kitchen towel, she hurriedly wiped her hands as she rose from the chair and came toward him. She tossed it aside at the last moment and threw her arms around him in an all-encompassing hug. “What’re you doing here?”


Chapter 4