Available now from MLR Press
Sometimes attraction is stronger than the best kept secret, even when it’s Too Soon For Love.
Michael Stricker is still reeling from his partner’s sudden and untimely death when he meets someone new, someone he could really care about. But first he needs time, time to get his life back in order and time to get over is lost love. But learning to live alone again is nearly impossible with his well-meaning relatives treating him like a poor helpless blind guy.
When Alan Stuart befriends Phillip DiMartino’s grieving partner, the last thing he expects is to discover hidden lies and infidelity. Guilty over his attraction to the still-grieving man, Alan resolves to stay silent. But the truth has a way of coming out, and soon a dead man’s secrets bring about more heartbreak than Alan could have imagined.
Although both men vow to keep their distance, staying away is easier said than done, even when it’s Too Soon For Love.
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© Copyright 2011 by Kimberly Gardner, all rights reserved.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust …”
The voice of the priest–Father Malone, was it?–droned on, the words of the Catholic burial ceremony little more than a buzzing in Michael’s ears.
The February sun, brilliant and bright after the snow storm, felt warm on his face. But the wind was all teeth and claws as it whipped across the open cemetery grounds. Inside his boots Michael could no longer feel his toes. Thanks to the valium Dr. Z. had prescribed, some of that numbness had seeped inside him. He hated the numbness, hated feeling like his emotions were wrapped in cotton, but even that feeling of chemical detachment was better than the wrenching pain that was his constant companion ever since Phillip’s death nearly a week ago.
Yes, Phillip was really gone. For the first time in nearly twelve years, Michael was alone, the pain his only companion despite the people who’d surrounded him ever since he’d made that first phone call. Continue Reading »
