Is a gift of love enough to open Aiden’s heart and let Tris back in?<br><br>After the car accident that killed his parents and left his sister paralyzed, Tris is left with nothing. His family is destroyed. His reputation is shot. And all he has is the guilt of knowing it was all his fault. People in town know he’d been drinking that night, and know he should never have gotten behind the wheel. And even Aiden, the man he thought he’d be with forever, blames him too much to stay.<br><br>But Tris can’t let him just disappear. After months of loneliness and isolation, Tris brings Aiden a gift on his birthday, a hawk he’s carved from a chunk of wood they’d found in the forest during an afternoon of love. A small chink seems to open in Aiden’s heart, the first sign of forgiveness. With renewed hope, Tris takes a job renovating one of the older homes in town and tries to rebuild his life. But the townspeople have long memories, and when his sister’s condition worsens, forgiveness -- and Aiden -- seem to slip even further out of reach ...

Without Aiden

Tris shook his head. He could lie to himself all he wanted, but it would be a long time before he found someone to replace Aiden. If he ever could. At the moment, the thought of being with anyone else only made him feel sad. He sighed, picked a two-by-four off the pile and placed it across the sawhorse to be cut into the desired lengths.


He ran his fingers over the rough wood, recalling the innumerable times he’d done this for his father. He carefully measured the length then took up the saw. The scent of the cut wood acted as a sharp reminder of the afternoons he’d slipped away to the shed with Aiden for some sexy play. Hell.


Tris wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand then sawed in earnest, focusing on the movement of the blade through wood, welcoming the distraction from his lonely thoughts. 4


Chapter 10