DamionIt felt good to be back. I was exhausted, but it didn’t matter. We had touched down last night, rented a truck, and were home. Home for good. I didn’t know what the future held in store for me, but being home was the first step in the right direction. Since we had left with only a few suitcases, the rest of our things were still in the house. I had returned the car, breaking my lease and not caring about the cost.The horses were back. We were back and I was ready to get started living, like truly living. I knew it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. There would still be shit to deal with, but it would be in much smaller chunks. I didn’t have an exit strategy, which would force me to deal with that shit instead of getting up and leaving. I had burned my bridges in New York.There was no going back.“You good?” I asked Oliver, who was sitting in the rocking chair beside mine on the porch.He looked over at me, a huge grin on his face. “I’m good.”I laughed. “Do you feel happy?”He no

AlexI stared up at the man that had captured my heart. His dark hair fell over his forehead. His blue eyes stared down at me. The way he was looking at me sent my heart racing. He was so beautiful. I knew men didn’t want to be referred to as beautiful, but he was. He had a kind heart. It was a little bruised and battered, but I had a feeling I could help him heal. Just like he could help me heal.“Damion?” I breathed his name.“I’m just looking,” he said, a soft smile on his lips.“There’s a lot more to see,” I suggested.He chuckled. “I know there is. I want to peel it away, one slow inch at a time.”I groaned. “Can we do that next time?” I pouted, going up on my elbows.His eyes smoldered as he bent at the waist, his hand pressing into the bed on either side of me. His mouth hovered over mine. “Promise?” he whispered.I slowly nodded. “I promise. Next time.”“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” he growled, his mouth covering mine.My lips parted, making way for his tongue to swe

DamionIt felt weird and good to be back in the kitchen of the farmhouse. The kitchen was outdated and nothing like the upscale kitchen I had in my apartment back in New York, but it didn’t matter. It was functional and had a homey touch, something that was missing in the icy gray and black modern kitchen. I flipped the pancake in the pan, quietly humming a song I didn’t know the name of.I was happy. Content. I felt settled. I remembered feeling like that when I had first come home, but it wasn’t a true settled feeling. I looked back on those days and realized I had one foot in New York. I didn’t now. I was so over the city. It had taken me a while to figure it out, but I got it now. I was a little on the slow side. I smiled, thinking of my grandfather. He would say I was on the stubborn side. Always trying to fight against the inevitable.Oliver meandered into the kitchen, sitting down at the table with his book in hand. “Did you remember the whipped cream?” he asked.I smiled and r

AlexOur fishing had been a bust—again. I promised Damion I would eventually catch him an entire bucket of fish that he could feast upon. It just wasn’t going to be that day. I personally didn’t care that we hadn’t caught any fish. I had such a great time hanging out with the boys, the rest of it didn’t matter.“How about ice cream?” I suggested.“Yes!” Oliver jumped up and down.“I think ice cream would be great,” he agreed.We loaded up our gear into the back of my truck and headed to the diner to get some hot fudge sundaes. We took a booth near the back of the place, taking advantage of it being mostly empty.“I’m glad we’re back,” Oliver said as he scooped a big chunk out of the sundae.“I’m glad you’re back as well,” I told him.“We had to live in a hotel,” he pouted. “Dad promised me we would get a yard. We didn’t. We had to be in a hotel. I didn’t have my own room or my toys. The hotel room was tiny and I had to be quiet all the time. It only had one TV.”“Wow,” I said with fei

DamionI pulled up to the school, parking the truck and climbing out. I was hoping the day camp program would be a great way for Oliver to hang out with his friends while possibly learning new stuff. I hated the idea of sending him off while I was at home, but this was something he wanted to do.“Okay,” I said, prepared to give him a little pep talk.“See you later, Dad!” he said, rushing up to the front door.I laughed. It was not the same kid I had dropped off at the summer program in New York. “Can I at least get a hug?”He turned around and ran back toward me. I gave him a quick hug before releasing him. It was a lot like releasing a caged animal back into the wild. He raced inside the small building and was already down the hall by the time I made it in. The drop off was so much easier and less stiff. There wasn’t a mountain of forms or security guarding the place. It didn’t feel like I was taking him to prison. He was going to be a kid and have fun with other kids. I could hear