Abe Cooper is starting over. For fifteen years he's lived the life that was expected of him, but not anymore. He's packed up his things, bought himself a cabin in Northfield, and managed to secure a job at the local high school teaching gym and coaching the football team. But his new beginning didn't include running into Crazy Joe on his first trip to the grocery store.<br><br>Jonas Raghnall has everything he needs -- good friends and a job he loves. He's worked hard to get over what happened sixteen years ago, but one run-in with his past and all the memories come flooding back. Seeing Abe Cooper, The Abe Cooper, sets everything out of balance.<br><br>Abe had pictured a fresh start with no ties to his past, but now that Jonas is there, he wants nothing more than to be close to the man who had butterflies filling his belly when he was in high school. Jonas doesn't want to come face to face with his past, but if he sees Abe every day, it's not really meeting up with your past, is it? It's more like a date with your future.

Crazy Joe

He pictured Jonas smiling at him as he handed them over. Maybe he should wrap them, or perhaps he should hide them in Jonas’ desk so it would be a surprise when he opened the drawer.


Grinning, he stretched in the chair. Tomorrow they’d go out to eat, then maybe Abe could ask Jonas over for dinner in a couple of days, show him his cabin.


Argh, what was he doing? So far Jonas hadn’t seemed keen on spending time with him. What if he had someone? He removed his feet from the table and got up. Perhaps he had a partner. A husband. There hadn’t been a ring on his finger, so hopefully no husband.


Putting the empty beer bottle on the kitchen counter, he grabbed one of the moving boxes and began unpacking. There weren’t many boxes left now. Right as he picked up a heavy cookbook he seldom looked in, the phone rang—Brian. Abe grimaced and put the phone on the kitchen table without answering.


He didn’t have the energy for Brian right now.


Chapter 8