Dario Russo grew up on the road. The son of itinerant workers in California, he had no friends, no stability, and no concept of a normal life. Until the age of sixteen, when he meets Reverend Waters’ son, Billy Ray. The relationship is short lived, but it haunts Dario for the next thirty years. At the age of forty-six, he has the opportunity to return to Crows Landing, California, and the chance to track down the man who had meant so much to him.<br><br>But what he finds in Crows Landing is the last thing he expects. So wrapped up in his hopes for a second chance, he almost misses the very real interest from a local, Shawn Pederson. Shawn might not have the past working in his favor, but he’s willing to offer the future Dario always wanted.

Son of a Preacher Man

“I know you didn’t have intentions,” Shawn said quietly after a few minutes. “I just thought…well, it was all so good. You didn’t take off after, and we got to hang out with dinner, and…you stayed. I felt kind of dumb when I woke up yesterday and you were gone. I forgot for a while that you were probably just lonely, too. That you wanted Billy Ray instead.”


Dario’s chest tightened. He had obviously hurt Shawn, regardless of his intentions. He had the tendency to do that to everybody, regardless of his intentions. “I won’t lie to you, Shawn. I thought about that, too. Thought maybe I had come looking for Billy Ray and settled for the closest thing I could get. That’s actually why I left. I didn’t know if I had any right to stay.”


Chapter 23