When State Trooper Travis Kinslow is injured right before Thanksgiving, the only positive is that for once he won't be working during the holidays. Since he has no family, Travis was absorbed into his best friend Joe's, and he considers them as good as his own. Everyone except Joe's brother Noah. Travis has been in love with the younger man for much of his life, but he's always kept his distance.<br><br>As an ER nurse, Noah is a caretaker by nature. When his brother's best friend is hurt, he's happy to help Travis while he heals. He's only ever allowed himself to think of Travis as the next best thing to an older brother, but by the light of the Christmas tree, Noah finally sees Travis's true feelings. And in that moment, everything changes.<br><br>When faced with opposition and a Christmas nothing like they imagined, will their hopes for the future be enough to carry them through?

His Needs

“Look, it was a long time ago. And it doesn’t compare to some of the things I’ve seen since. It was bad, and it was wrong. But I made my peace with it years ago. I don’t need to talk about it, and it doesn’t affect me anymore. I’m one of the lucky ones.”


I could see him processing my words, really weighing them, before he gave a single nod and small smile. I tugged him closer then, wanting to kiss him and cursing that I couldn’t bend that far without my side protesting vehemently. I was definitely well on the way to being healed, but I wasn’t quite there yet.


Chapter 34