Rainier Family

Returning home to sleepy Umberland was supposed to be temporary - just to see my family before securing a job in the city. But when my brother's old best friend and my teen crush, Ian Barrett, is here, too, I find myself making excuses to stick around a little longer. He's still everything I've ever wanted, but this former baseball star is also a big-time player....if you know what I mean. I don't know what Ian would ever see in steady, reliable Grant Rainier.

I knew I was gay forever, it seems. But my first love was the one that stuck with me all these years: Ryan Rainier. He's a big deal in the police department now, and as a man in uniform, he's every bit as gorgeous as he was in those young years. But Ryan's straight, right? So why does he keep looking at me that way, with hunger in his eyes? Am I just seeing what I want to see? And can I risk losing a lifelong friend for a shot at love?

The Rainiers are one big happy family. That is, except for me. I keep to myself mostly. When I learned that you can't always trust the people who are supposed to take care of you, I did my best never to rely on anyone. Except for my stable full of horses. They always understand. That's why I started a therapy program for kids who have issues, like me - I know the horses can help them too. When Jason walks in to the paddock, all the parts of me I thought were dead suddenly come alive with a vengeance.

Ever since I lost Gerry in the war, all of a sudden people think they can speak for him - but they're saying I should move on, forget him. That that's what he'd want. But they don't know how badly I betrayed him. How I left him when he needed me the most. It was Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and when he died, I took it to heart. When it comes to love, I'll never ask or tell again. Trouble is, now Shane is in town and the way he makes me feel, it's hard to resist wanting to shout it from the rooftops.