1970

Will has known Bran since he first taught him to swim, when Bran was eleven years old. But now, seven years later, Bran has returned from a year of hard work on a ranch outside of Houston and he is no longer the boy Will remembers. He is now eighteen, quite grown up, and making no secret of the fact that he’s interested in a sexual relationship with Will. At first, Will is horrified. He has a hard time forgetting the Bran he knew as a child, and given their seventeen-year age difference, he can’t understand why Bran is interested in him. But everything changes when he finds out that Bran has been drafted.

Will and Bran will have only two weeks together. But two weeks may be enough to change Will’s life.

Review

For me this is an excellent short story but as I was expecting a romance... well while it ends hopefully, it isn't a romance. I wish that the story had rolled forward after where it rested and we got to see the new life and new love. 

However, Marie Sexton is such a talented writer and this is much a lovely character driven love story set in a moment in time perfectly with age difference during the Vietnam War and right after Stonewall.

Sometimes family chooses you.

At forty, Vincent “Vinnie” Fierro is still afraid to admit he might be gay—even to himself. It’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, it’s getting harder to ignore what he really wants.

Vinnie attempts some self-exploration in Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.

Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek, Trey agrees to let Vinnie court him and see if he truly belongs on this side of the fence—though Trey intends to keep his virginity intact.

It seems like a solid plan, but nothing is simple when family is involved. When Vinnie’s family finds out about their relationship, the situation is sticky enough, but when Trey’s mother goes critical, Vinnie and Trey must decide whose happiness is most important—their families’ or their own.

River reached for him, his arm moving slowly, as if he was afraid of being rejected. He laid one hand on Phil’s back, between his shoulder blades. Just a simple touch, a bit of pressure, and Phil thought he might crumble. His first instinct was to pull away, to tell River he could handle this on his own. Instead, he closed his eyes, focusing on that place where River touched him. River’s bulk moved closer on the bed, and Phil let himself be pulled gently off-balance, choosing to be weak, just for that moment. And as a reward, he received the very thing he’d longed for — the wonderful comfort of being held against River’s chest, River’s strong arms wrapping around him, River’s lips in his hair. Phil didn’t let himself resist. He melted into River, wanting to soak in his strength and his warmth. Why had he thought only Warren could offer comfort? Why had it never occurred to him to turn to River?

Wow.  I will be honest, at first I was not excited to get Phil’s story.  The put together pharmacist held little interest during the first book but wow…I adore this man.  There was so much more to him than met the eye and while River took time to work through his issues, he was such a perfect companion to Phil.  Their dynamic and River’s ability to be flexible where Phil’s needs were concerned were lovely.  And I loved how River brought sweet Phil out of his structured life and woke this man up…the photography aspects absolutely beautiful.

“Because dragonflies skim just over the surface of the water but rarely touch it. And that’s what Phil does with his feelings. He flies along the top, barely noticing.”

It was such an apt description, River found himself nodding.

“The thing is, River, the water’s still there. It’s not like Phil doesn’t have the emotions. It’s more like he’s so afraid of drowning in them, he’d rather hold himself back.”

Sorting through the photos of Phil’s former lovers had left River jealous — not because he wasn’t like them, or because they’d known Phil first, but because having their picture taken seemed like a privilege he’d never be allowed. Phil kept the camera between himself and his subject, and yet his attention and focus was its own kind of devotion. Of all the wonders in Colorado’s great Rocky Mountains, Phil had chosen River as his subject.

I do wish there was better editing in this book.  Goodness the number of grammatical errors and typos were overwhelming and while I expect a few in each book this became distracting.

That aside, this was simply amazing and is highly recommended. Will anxiously await more in this series. Love for Gray.

Wow. Easily one of my favorite books this year. What a complex relationship. Love Warren and eagerly await Gray’s story.

“Listen to me, Tay: you are my roses. Do you understand what I’m saying? And it kills me when you ask me to cut you down.”

Wow.