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Category: Erotica/Gay-Lesbian Erotica/Romance
Description: For over ten years, Sidney Wilks and Grady Nash have devoted their lives to each other. With their relationship solid and thriving, they each turn their attention to their careers. Nash loves his job as a day trader but hates what it's doing to his body. The hours of sitting in front of a computer combined with his love of beer begin to take a toll on his aging body. Worried that he'll lose Sidney to the hot muscled construction worker his partner works closely with, Nash decides to get his body back into shape, no matter the cost to his overall health. After the death of his father, Sidney is so busy dealing with the years of hurt and betrayal at the hands of Jackson Wilks that he doesn't notice the warning signs of Nash's dangerous new lifestyle. When Nash's sex drive falters, Sidney turns the rebuffs inward instead of looking at the bigger picture. It will take the counsel of a close friend to open Sidney's eyes to what is really going on, but will it be too late?
eBook Publisher: Total-e-bound, 2011
eBookwise Release Date: January 2012

9 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [146 KB]
Words: 30879
Reading time: 88-123 min.

an exploration of a lifelong committed relationship. Each book has built on the story from the one before, and each book is both a part of the whole and a bit of the romance by itself. I can hardly wait for the next installment. I love Sidney and Nash and when this series is over will miss them very much.. BlackRaven's

Sidney arrived home just as his phone rang. He set down his messenger bag and reached for it. "Hello?"

"Is this Sidney Wilks?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yes." Sidney prepared to hang up. Calls from people trying to sell him bullshit were starting to get out of control.

"This is Sheila, Jackson's wife. I thought you should know your father had a massive stroke yesterday morning."

"Is he dead?" It was the only thing going through Sidney's mind. He'd become so detached from his estranged father, he often went weeks without even thinking about the bastard. The fact that Sheila, a stepmother he'd never even met, was calling, didn't bode well.

"No. Not yet anyway, but the doctors believe it's only a matter of time. This was his third stroke in the last year and his body's just not able to handle much more. He's at North Colorado Medical Center."

Sidney remained silent. He had no intention of travelling to Colorado, especially with Thanksgiving only two days away. Did that make him a bastard? Probably. But Sidney believed strongly in the old saying, you reap what you sow.

Sheila cleared her throat. It was obvious she'd been crying, and although Sidney felt no love for the woman, he was still human. "Are you okay?" he finally asked.

"Not really," she answered. "I know the two of you haven't spoken for years, but he's still your father. You may not remember that but he does."

"Does he? How long were the two of you married before he actually told you he had a queer son?" Sidney took a deep breath. Yelling at a distraught woman wasn't going to solve anything. Few outsiders would understand Sidney's contempt for Jackson Wilks.

"We've had our issues over your father's secrecy, but that's all in the past now."

"Is it?" Sidney silently cursed himself for trying to pick a fight with a distraught woman. "Thank you for calling, Sheila. Let me know if there are any changes."

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Yeah. That's the best I can do for now. Sorry." Sidney hung up before dropping onto the sofa.

He was still sitting in the same spot when his partner of twelve years, Grady Nash, walked into the house from his office in the detached garage. Sidney smiled up at the man he loved. "Dad's had a stroke."

"Shit." Nash sank down onto the couch and wrapped an arm around Sidney. "Who called?"

"Sheila. I guess Dad finally decided to tell her about me. The fact that she hadn't bothered calling before now to introduce herself tells me everything I need to know about her feelings." For over an hour Sidney had been trying to pull some kind of emotion out of himself with no luck. He leaned against Nash's chest and closed his eyes. "She pretty much said he wouldn't recover from this one."

Nash kissed the top of Sidney's head. "Are you going to see him?"

Sidney shook his head. "I've got Thanksgiving dinner to prepare in two days, and I still haven't finished the grocery shopping."

"You know none of that matters if you want to go, right?"

"They matter to me. I won't slight the Ballentines to run off to Colorado to see a man who never loved me just because he's dying. Or to meet a family who've never acknowledged my existence."

Nash sat back and tilted Sidney's chin up. "That's not true. Jackson may be a self-centred asshole, but he did love you. I'm not gonna sit here and try to defend his actions because they still make me sick to my stomach to think about, but just because he didn't seem to like you doesn't mean he didn't have feelings for you."

Sidney stared up at Nash. Where someone who didn't know Nash as well as he did would think the man was sticking up for Jackson, Sidney knew the truth. Put simply, Nash didn't want Sidney to believe his own father was incapable of loving him. "You've always been my champion," he whispered, reaching up to cup Nash's face. "If he holds on until after the holidays, I'll think about it."

Nash pulled Sidney into a deep kiss. Sidney opened immediately and accepted the silent comfort with ease. Even if his father died before the holiday, Sidney would never regret time spent with the people he loved.