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

“A sissy boy gets a sissy name,” he’d declared. Usually right before he threw something at Thomas’s head.


“Your mother loves you,” Pastor assured. “She stood by you, even when it got rough. Hell, she’d stand by you even now if she knew what people have been saying.”


“What was that?” All thoughts of his own troubles disappeared. “What are they saying?”


“You said they’re talking.” Everything rushed down to this moment, this place. He didn’t even feel the heat anymore. His skin was too busy prickling in righteous anger. “Talking about what?”


Pastor looked like a man who wished he could be anywhere but where he stood. “Stupid stuff. You know what this town’s like. Every time you come back, you’re everybody’s favorite topic.” Bitterness laced his tone. “I’ve done everything short of telling people they’re going to hell for being such narrow-minded bigots, but they never listen. They don’t like different here.”


Chapter 35