Retired from the police force after a tragic shooting, Jason Sweet hasn’t been back to his hometown, Sutter’s Bay, for fifteen years. With his mother’s final days approaching, Jason returns to make peace with his mother and his past. Part of that past includes former best friend and lover, Danny Yarrow.
Danny’s satisfied with his life as a drama teacher at the local high school, but the one thing missing is the love of a good man. He’s only too happy to be reunited with Jason. They’ve both grown and changed since their broken teenaged relationship. Jason hasn’t had an easy time of it since leaving Sutter’s Bay, but Danny intends to convince his friend and former lover that when it comes to taking chances, their love is worth it.
"I've got her settled in for the night," Jason announced to him later that night after they'd eaten and done the dishes. They stood on the front porch, gazing up at the stars and the rolling waves of the ocean.
"You're so gentle and kind with her, Jason. I'm really impressed."
"Well, she is my mother."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, but I know lots of guys who wouldn't be so forgiving as you."
Jason exhaled. "It's not been easy. Do I wish she'd done more to stand up for me and be a part of my life? Sure. But she was a victim of him, too, and it's hard to hate her, especially now."
"I feel the same way. She's so weak and frail. I just ... wish someone in your family besides Kent had been on your side. You know? I know it would have been hard for her to leave him and take you all somewhere safe. Hell, if she had done that, you would have been gone out of my life so much sooner. It's just I wanted you to have a family like mine. My mother and grandfather were so great to me, I wish you could have had that."
"I know," Jason said softly. "And I was such an ass to you."
"Nah."
"Yeah. I couldn't wait to get away from Sutter's Bay and everything to do with it because of my dad." Jason grasped Danny's hand and threaded his fingers with Danny's. "Only that meant getting away from you, too. I thought that was what I wanted. What I needed."
"It's okay, Jason."
He shook his head. "No, it wasn't. God, Danny, how can you just stand here and be so casual about this? Act like it was nothing. We were everything to each other. Best friends, first lovers. I just threw that away."
Danny looked away and bit his lip. "What do you want me to say, Jason? That it hurt me? Okay. It did. I was devastated. You ripped my heart into shreds. Happy?"
Jason gripped Danny's upper arms tightly. "No," he whispered. Jason pulled Danny closer, brushing his lips over the other man's in a light, almost hesitant kiss.
Danny whimpered and pushed himself closer still to Jason, their bodies melding together. He forced his tongue into Jason's mouth. He tasted of the orange spice tea he'd been drinking. Danny slipped his hands down to cup Jason's ass, pressing their jean covered erections together.
The screech of a bat directly over their heads broke them apart, reminding them they were outside on the front porch.
Danny smiled and stroked his thumb over Jason's bottom lip. "I better go home."
Jason sucked on his thumb. "I have a better idea. Want to walk to the beach? To our special place?"
Danny's stomach fluttered with excitement. He glanced back toward the house. "Do you think we can?"
"Yeah, hold on, I'll go tell her we're going to go for a walk." Jason went back inside.
Danny walked down to the end of the driveway. There was a cool breeze coming off the ocean and he was glad he'd thought to grab his windbreaker before he left his house.
Jason came back outside pulling a sweatshirt over his head. He smiled. "Okay, let's go."
