Danny
I may be young, but I've done a hell of a lot of growing up in the past year. I
watched my big brother deal with the challenges of loving someone, went through
some medical stuff myself, and changed my career plans and ultimately, my city.
Gaynor Beach is smaller than where I was, but it has two attractions—my
brother's big new house, where he's letting me live for now, and Rob Dunn. When
I met Rob, just, damn. Like my brother, I wanted to help that sweet, stubborn
guy and his cute kids get back on their feet. Maybe the rescue husky wasn't the
right gesture, despite Rob’s connection to her, but a dog is love on four paws,
and I plan to be there to help all the way.
Rob
I fled my abusive husband with my two kids and the clothes on our backs. I'm
grateful every day for the support the Gaynor Beach folks have given us…okay,
I'm not sure I'm precisely grateful for the rambunctious young husky Danny
Reynolds gave us, but Trouble makes my kids smile, and that's a big win in my
eyes. I'm determined to get back on my feet. I hate relying on other people to
help us, but somehow it doesn't bother me as much when it comes from Danny.
It's nice to have a real friend after all those isolated years, but do I want
to keep him in the friend zone?
This slow-burn small-town gay romance novel is
about fresh starts, accepting help, two sweet kids, and an adorable husky named
Trouble.
Exclusive Excerpt
As I ushered Danny into the house, with him
carrying Thomas, it struck me that this was the first time someone else had
hauled the carrier for me. Gerard certainly had never done it. And we’d been
within walking distance of the medical clinic and stores, so I’d just pushed
the double stroller.
In other words, no one had ever helped before.
I blinked rapidly. He’s just carrying your son.
Don’t make a big deal out of it. And I wouldn’t, I promised myself. I
glanced over my shoulder at the other two men, but they just waved us on and
turned to peer at something on the porch. I left them to do whatever, and
followed Danny.
He moved to the couch, gently placed the carrier
on the floor, straightened to his full height, and looked around. “You know,
this is my brother’s house and I’ve never seen the inside.”
He spoke in a hushed tone around Thomas, which I
appreciated. He needn’t have bothered. Thomas could sleep through anything.
Danny stretched a little, rolling his shoulders
back. He was tall, although not as tall as his brother. He was also… I sought
the right word. Not fat or chubby or anything like that. Just…solid. Both he
and his brother had some heft to them. As opposed to myself who was short and… short
and scrawny. No! Slender. Slim. Something that wasn’t a word Gerard had used to
make me feel bad about myself. Only now was I realizing just how often I
repeated Gerard’s cold criticism in my own head. I was determined to learn not
to put myself down.
Gerard did enough of that for the both of us.
Danny smiled broadly. “My brother’s lived here for
a couple of months, and I’ve never even seen the place.”
“It’s a great place.” I tried not to think of how
small it was in comparison to my LA house because that didn’t matter. We had a
roof over our heads. For the moment, we were safe. “I love that Hallie’s going
to get her own room.” I didn’t mind sharing a room with Thomas. Having the crib
next to the large bed would be a tight fit, but—having
met James—I saw why the bed had to be so big. The guy was massive. And Colin
wasn’t a slouch either.
As Danny craned his neck, I offered up a smile. “Why
don’t you take a look around? Then you can say you’ve seen the place.”
“Oh, I don’t want to—”
“Really, it’s okay.” And Hallie was growing heavier in
my arms.
As if sensing the issue, Danny nodded and headed down
the hallway to the bathroom, bedroom, and den.
I lowered Hallie to the couch. “Do you want to read a
book?”
She nodded silently, her gaze on where Danny
had vanished.
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