For a chance at a future filled with love, he’ll have to face a painful past.Eric, recently dumped by his boyfriend, is summoned home after his dad suffers a stroke. His family farm in rural Vermont holds memories he’d rather forget, but he—with his degree in agricultural business—is needed to clear up a predicament with the bank. In trying to forget the bad, Eric has also lost sight of the good: green meadows dotted with grass-fed dairy cows and the sugar maples that once produced the area’s finest maple syrup. With Eric’s help, they will again.
A captivating farmhand named Phil tempts Eric to give the countryside another chance, but before they can consider being together, Eric must move past more than his feelings for his ex-boyfriend—he’ll need to stand up to the ghosts that sent him running from the farm in the first place….
Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon US
Cat gives this one 4 Meows...
Home is Where You Are a well-written sweet story and I love this cover as well, it really conveys the story.
Eric is dumped and learned of his father being in the hospital all in one day. His mom wants him home to help on the Maple farm, but he has is reason's why he doesn't come home much. Phil is a farmhand and he has always had a crush on the owner's son, Eric.
I love these states of love stories because I learn of states I've never been to and they are descriptive, like going on a vacation. I felt like I was on this Maple farm. I fond that very intriguing. I never really thought of how syrup was produced. I liked the snow on ice parties and really wanted some.
I felt the romance fell behind the scenery, the running of the farm, and the angst Eric felt.
If you like beautiful scenery, lots of description, maple syrup, and a sweet romance this is for you.
Excerpt...
Excerpt...
SOMETHING FELT off. Drew’s car wasn’t in the driveway, yet the door was unlocked and the lights were on. Had they been broken into? Eric had only been gone a couple of hours at the gym. Eric carefully walked into their spacious living room and noticed two boxes, filled with Drew’s books, sitting on the floor next to the leather sofa.
“What the…?” Not a break-in. Maybe a breakout?
“Hey, you’re back.” A man about Eric’s age, with a slight build and shock of blond hair, emerged out of his kitchen holding a bottle of beer from Eric’s refrigerator. The guy startled when he looked at Eric, like he was expecting someone else. Drew.
Eric glared at the intruder. “Who the hell are you?”
“Uh, um.” The guy looked around the room, shifting his feet. He seemed to come together as he walked over and reached out his hand. “I’m Sean. You must be Drew’s roommate.”
Roommate? That’s what Drew told him? Eric folded his arms and glared at the pixie, feeling a little better that he was making this guy squirm. “What’s going on, and who are you to Drew?” The guy shrank back. “Oh—” Eric stared him down, enjoying his obvious discomfort.
“Babe!” A shout came from the front entrance, as the late afternoon sunlight flooded the room from the open door. Eric and Sean remained in their standoff as Drew bounded into the room. Since Drew never referred to Eric as “babe,” he must be talking to the twink.
“Oh, hey, Eric. So I have great news.” He brings a guy into their apartment, leaves him alone to do God knows what, and offers no explanation, but has great news? This ought to be good.
“You know that promotion I was trying to get?” Drew was the golden boy at the bank where they worked in downtown Burlington. He’d been groomed for management, and Eric knew it was only a matter of time before Drew was made bank manager. He was tall, good-looking, and smart. He also had a sharp tongue and always knew exactly what to say in a room full of executives. Eric envied that about him. “I wasn’t going to say anything until Monday morning when it’s official, but…”
Eric blinked. “Did you get it?” What did that have to do with what was going on here?
“I’m moving to New York,” he announced.
What?
“They’ve made me account executive for the main branch. I’ll transfer my accounts to you over the next couple of weeks.”
“I didn’t know you applied for a transfer.” How long had this been in the works, and when was he planning to tell Eric? That still didn’t explain why he was leaving the apartment now. He knew Eric would be gone.
“You know I’ve always loved the city.”
Yeah, our city. Okay, Burlington, Vermont wasn’t bustling like New York, but it had a spectacular view of the mountains. Their apartment was minutes from historic Church Street Mall and overlooked Lake Champlain. Eric loved looking out their massive picture window. Sometimes he swore he could see the mysterious legend, Champ, who had supposedly lived in the lake for thousands of years, diving under the water.
Drew moved away from Eric and stood next to Sean, who curled into him. Eric seethed. They looked too comfortable for this to be a new thing. Eric folded his arms and frowned. “This seems really sudden.”
Drew shrugged. “Hey, babe?” He addressed the uncomfortable-looking twink again, who looked up at him with adoring eyes like a puppy whose owner just came home after a long day. Eric expected his tongue to hang out and an invisible tail to begin wagging. “Wait outside for me?”
“So who is that?” Eric asked once Sean was out of ear range.
“Sean.” Drew stood with his arms folded. He clearly didn’t want to explain the guy. Eric rolled his eyes.
“And who is he to you?”
“Eric, let’s not do this.” Drew sighed as though irritated by the questioning.
“Do what? Are you breaking up with me?”
“We’re not boyfriends.” Then what were they? They’d been sleeping together for the past year. But that’s all they did. Humiliation seeped into his gut as he realized the truth. Their relationship was a sham.
“And you and that guy are?” Eric felt his face warm. What the fuck. This day sucked.
Drew moved closer to Eric and cupped Eric’s face with his strong, manicured hands. His emerald eyes sparkled in contrast with his dark skin. Drew was a beautiful man. He planted a simple kiss on Eric’s lips. “We had a good thing for a while, and now I need to move on. You should too. I think we both need this. It was too—comfortable.” Wow. Drew stepped back and straightened the neck on Eric’s dress shirt, pursing his lips as he gave him a pitying stare before turning away. “I’ve paid for three months’ rent, so you can take your time getting another roommate.” Like that made up for running out on him.
Drew picked up a cardboard box and walked to the door. “We’ll finish getting the rest of my stuff and then….”
“What the…?” Not a break-in. Maybe a breakout?
“Hey, you’re back.” A man about Eric’s age, with a slight build and shock of blond hair, emerged out of his kitchen holding a bottle of beer from Eric’s refrigerator. The guy startled when he looked at Eric, like he was expecting someone else. Drew.
Eric glared at the intruder. “Who the hell are you?”
“Uh, um.” The guy looked around the room, shifting his feet. He seemed to come together as he walked over and reached out his hand. “I’m Sean. You must be Drew’s roommate.”
Roommate? That’s what Drew told him? Eric folded his arms and glared at the pixie, feeling a little better that he was making this guy squirm. “What’s going on, and who are you to Drew?” The guy shrank back. “Oh—” Eric stared him down, enjoying his obvious discomfort.
“Babe!” A shout came from the front entrance, as the late afternoon sunlight flooded the room from the open door. Eric and Sean remained in their standoff as Drew bounded into the room. Since Drew never referred to Eric as “babe,” he must be talking to the twink.
“Oh, hey, Eric. So I have great news.” He brings a guy into their apartment, leaves him alone to do God knows what, and offers no explanation, but has great news? This ought to be good.
“You know that promotion I was trying to get?” Drew was the golden boy at the bank where they worked in downtown Burlington. He’d been groomed for management, and Eric knew it was only a matter of time before Drew was made bank manager. He was tall, good-looking, and smart. He also had a sharp tongue and always knew exactly what to say in a room full of executives. Eric envied that about him. “I wasn’t going to say anything until Monday morning when it’s official, but…”
Eric blinked. “Did you get it?” What did that have to do with what was going on here?
“I’m moving to New York,” he announced.
What?
“They’ve made me account executive for the main branch. I’ll transfer my accounts to you over the next couple of weeks.”
“I didn’t know you applied for a transfer.” How long had this been in the works, and when was he planning to tell Eric? That still didn’t explain why he was leaving the apartment now. He knew Eric would be gone.
“You know I’ve always loved the city.”
Yeah, our city. Okay, Burlington, Vermont wasn’t bustling like New York, but it had a spectacular view of the mountains. Their apartment was minutes from historic Church Street Mall and overlooked Lake Champlain. Eric loved looking out their massive picture window. Sometimes he swore he could see the mysterious legend, Champ, who had supposedly lived in the lake for thousands of years, diving under the water.
Drew moved away from Eric and stood next to Sean, who curled into him. Eric seethed. They looked too comfortable for this to be a new thing. Eric folded his arms and frowned. “This seems really sudden.”
Drew shrugged. “Hey, babe?” He addressed the uncomfortable-looking twink again, who looked up at him with adoring eyes like a puppy whose owner just came home after a long day. Eric expected his tongue to hang out and an invisible tail to begin wagging. “Wait outside for me?”
“So who is that?” Eric asked once Sean was out of ear range.
“Sean.” Drew stood with his arms folded. He clearly didn’t want to explain the guy. Eric rolled his eyes.
“And who is he to you?”
“Eric, let’s not do this.” Drew sighed as though irritated by the questioning.
“Do what? Are you breaking up with me?”
“We’re not boyfriends.” Then what were they? They’d been sleeping together for the past year. But that’s all they did. Humiliation seeped into his gut as he realized the truth. Their relationship was a sham.
“And you and that guy are?” Eric felt his face warm. What the fuck. This day sucked.
Drew moved closer to Eric and cupped Eric’s face with his strong, manicured hands. His emerald eyes sparkled in contrast with his dark skin. Drew was a beautiful man. He planted a simple kiss on Eric’s lips. “We had a good thing for a while, and now I need to move on. You should too. I think we both need this. It was too—comfortable.” Wow. Drew stepped back and straightened the neck on Eric’s dress shirt, pursing his lips as he gave him a pitying stare before turning away. “I’ve paid for three months’ rent, so you can take your time getting another roommate.” Like that made up for running out on him.
Drew picked up a cardboard box and walked to the door. “We’ll finish getting the rest of my stuff and then….”
Emjay Haze is a Pennsylvania girl living in a Virginia world, growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs and moving to Northern Virginia to follow her now husband of twenty-plus years. She has two kids in college, a ten-month-old puppy named Max, a black-and-white cat named Tux, a gecko named Rex, a yellow tang called Reggie, and we hear the eels are coming this week. The family pastime is baseball, specifically the Nationals. They are also huge Redskins fans and love of classic rock.
Emjay graduated with a degree in Creative Writing in 2015 after realizing it was the only thing she really wanted to do. She has a wide and diverse work history in the fields of travel, hotel management, high-tech communications, web development, real estate, and the nonprofit health care industry where she has held positions such as travel agent, hotel concierge, web programmer, Realtor, account manager, and many, many others, giving her a varied and unique set of experiences that she draws upon in her stories and characters.
She fell in love with the m/m romance genre after discovering the world of fanfiction several years ago and hasn’t looked back. Her family keeps asking when her when she’ll write someone they can read, but she’s still having too much fun with her boys.
Her goal is to broaden the minds of those who might not normally pick up a gay romance because it’s more about the person than the sexuality. She’ll take you on a roller-coaster journey, but you’ll always get a happy ending.
Thanks for the good review, Cat. I agree about the cover, Vermont can be so beautiful in the autumn. I've also found it wonderful in winter for skiing, so this story would be like revisiting. - Purple Reader,
ReplyDeleteTheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
Sometimes a sweet story is just the thing.
ReplyDeleteexcerpt sounds great
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excerpt! It sounds like a fantastic story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the excerpt!
ReplyDelete