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

“I don’t want to,” he repeated. “And I don’t have to if you come back with me. We can hire Andre to act as a caretaker. That way, we can come back here whenever you want and Andre has someplace to live without having to rely on people like Pastor Schmader.”


Both of them now stared at him like he was insane. This was part of why he’d wanted to talk to Andre alone first. If he could’ve sold him on the idea of taking care of the house, convincing Mom would’ve been easier because he’d have an ally. As it was, he had to sell this idea to both of them at the same time, because honestly, it wouldn’t work at all if Andre wasn’t on board.


“Why do I have to go at all?” she said. “Why not just go back to Pennsylvania on your own and leave Andre here to keep on going like we were? We were doing just fine until you showed up.”


Chapter 41