Running to You by Andrew Grey | Cat's Release day Review, Excerpt & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @andrewgreybooks

Home, love, and possibilities he never imagined are waiting for Billy Joe to claim them. But first he needs to escape the horrors of his past.

A twisted act of cruelty and prejudice drives Billy Joe from his Mississippi home, and he makes it as far as Pennsylvania—where his car breaks down just as the year’s first snowstorm blows in. Fortunately, Carlos is there to lend a hand.

Carlos is no stranger to hardship. His family rejected him for being gay, but with determination, he put himself through school and became a librarian. Carlos sees the same willpower in Billy, and he wants to help Billy and his son succeed in a new life that is very different from the one they left behind. With his support, they start to adjust, and before long, both men want more than encouragement from each other. They want the chance for a future together, but their families have other ideas… and Billy’s will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon US 

Cat gives this one 5 Meows with a 2 Purr heat index...

As usual Andrew Grey wrote another beautiful romance. 

Billy Joe was raised in a white supremacist family in Mississippi one night he sees something that makes him certain he needs to get out of there. He doesn't want his son raised with that attitude. He gets some supplies, silently packs up his son and slips out in the middle of the night heading as far as he can. He ends up in Pennsylvania in a snowstorm and his car dies. A nice man stops and helps him get it going and finds him a place to stay overnight.

Carlos knows what Billy Joe is going through having done the same six years prior. He helps Billy Joe get settled in the apartment and find a job. They become close friends.

I absolutely loved this story. It started off with a touch of mystery making you not want to put down the book. It is a real page-turner. I loved Tyler, Billy Joe's son. My only issue with the story was Tyler seemed much older than 2 going on three. That said I adored him and he made the story.  The connection with Carlos and Billy Joe is great as well. 

If you are looking for a good friend to lovers, coming out, cute kids, and all over great romance I highly recommend this.

Excerpt...

BILLY JOE didn’t move as he realized that being here was a huge mistake. He blanched and was relieved no one could see him. The chirping of birds and singing of cicadas had faded, replaced with a chorus of crickets emanating from the tall trees. Spanish moss hung from the branches, and the only light came from a bonfire that did little to pierce the blackness. The night was hot and sultry, but cold fear left Billy Joe with ice water running through his veins, wishing to hell he’d stayed home and kept his curiosity in check.
He turned and slowly made his way back down the old trail, hoping like hell he didn’t step on anything. He made it about halfway to his car before his stomach rebelled, and he leaned over, losing his dinner in the undergrowth by the side of the trail.
He did his best to make as little sound as possible, wiped his lips, and continued on to the road. He stumbled to his old black Escape and got inside, started the engine, and pulled out, waiting for some distance to turn his lights on, hoping he was far enough away to not draw anyone’s notice.
“Jesus Christ,” Billy Joe breathed under his breath, gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white, pressing the accelerator damn near to the floor in a desperate need to get the hell out of there. More than anything, he wished he could unsee what he’d witnessed. The reverend always said things happened for a reason. Billy Joe wondered if the long-winded old gasbag wasn’t right about something for once, but he’d be damned if he could see the reason behind something like this.
Billy Joe’s hands trembled, and he pulled off to the side of the road, breathing deeply, willing the shuddering in his hands and legs to subside. Damn it all, he wasn’t going to do this again. He shook his hands rapidly and took calming breaths, pushing away what he’d seen. Billy Joe knew he had to seem as normal and relaxed as possible when he got back home. Feeling a little better, he got back onto the road, heading toward the city.
A plan—he needed a plan, Billy Joe realized as he reached the outskirts of town. He turned into a Walmart parking lot and hurried inside. Reaching an ATM, he used his card to take out as much cash as it would allow and stuffed it into his wallet. He grabbed a cart and decided now was a good time to do some shopping. Originally he’d thought that bringing a few things home might provide a cover for where he’d been, but as the image of his new future solidified, Billy Joe knew what he needed to do.
After trips up one aisle and down the next, he had the cart pretty full. Lastly, he added a couple of bags of chips and the Cheetos his mother adored to the top of the cart and headed for the checkout. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he paid for everything, then pushed the cart out the door and to his car. He loaded everything into the back, out of sight, except for a single bag with the snacks, and drove home.
“Hi, Mama,” Billy Joe said quietly as he stepped inside through the screen door. He set his bag on the table and hugged her the way he usually did, feeling very little. The scales had fallen from his eyes and he saw things more clearly. “How is Tyler? Thank you for watching him for me.” He pulled out the chair and sat down, his balance going a little wonky.
“Were you drinking with those good-for-nothing friends of yours?” she scolded in a tone only mothers seem to have mastered—that weird mix of anger at the behavior and acceptance that boys will be boys.
“I stopped and had a beer at the Road House.” That place was always so crowded that, on any given night, anyone could be there and no one was going to remember shit. “Only one, and then I got some snacks and came home. I needed a chance to breathe a little bit.” Billy Joe pulled out the bag of snacks as a silent peace offering, at least to the tiny niggle of his conscience. He’d just lied to his mother, something he rarely did.
“It’s all right. Tyler and I had a quiet evening, and he went to bed a couple hours ago. He’s such an angel.” She poured herself a mug of coffee and sat back down. She opened the bag of cheesy snacks and ate them one at a time. He knew from experience that she’d finish the entire bag if she allowed herself. But she closed the bag and put it away after a few minutes, the packaging rustling as Billy Joe left the room.
He quietly crept down the hall to Tyler’s tiny room and peeked inside at his sleeping son. The space was little more than a closet that held Tyler’s crib and small dresser. Billy Joe went inside and closed the door behind him. He stood next to the crib, watching Tyler sleep as a tear ran down his cheek, followed by another. He wiped them away, knowing they couldn’t be seen, no matter what.
Tyler was the light of his life—an accident that had resulted in the greatest happiness and pride so far in his young life. Carol Ann had been the mistake. Getting involved with her had been hell. She’d said she was on the pill, but she’d lied or done something wrong. She got pregnant and had asked Billy Joe to take her out of state to a clinic so she could take care of it. When he’d refused, she threatened him, saying her father would come after him unless he agreed to marry her. At least he’d been smarter than that. He was not going to get trapped in a marriage with a girl who was involved with two other guys. In the end she had the baby, and he requested a paternity test. By some miracle, he was Tyler’s father and agreed to raise him. Carol Ann was happy enough to sign whatever he wanted and walk away.
Tyler had blue eyes and light hair, gifts from his mother, and an easy disposition, from Billy Joe, according to his mother. Tyler sniffled and turned over, pulling at the blankets that Billy Joe had straightened. He settled down again immediately.
Billy Joe’s plan solidified as he stood next to the crib, watching. He went to the window, looked out, and then glanced around the room. A clothes basket sat next to the dresser, with Tyler’s folded laundry.
Billy Joe leaned over the side of the crib, kissed Tyler’s hair gently, and picked up the basket. He opened the door, listened, and heard his mother still in the kitchen. Quietly, he went to his room, closed the door, and turned on the lights. He set the basket on the bed and hurried to the window. His father wasn’t home yet. Billy Joe had to get busy.
He pulled open the closet door and shifted the junk of twenty-three years collected in the same place. “There has to be that old….” He smiled when he found the duffel bag and backpack he’d used when he’d gone camping in high school, in the back of the closet under a pile of old shoes. Billy Joe dusted them off and, as carefully as he could, emptied the contents of the laundry basket into the duffel. He gathered some of Tyler’s books and stuffed toys, adding them to the bag, along with more clothes he had in one of his drawers because Tyler’s little dresser was too small to hold everything. With the duffel full, he zipped it closed and stuffed it under the bed, out of sight.
Billy Joe cracked the door open. The flicker of the television lit the walls, the muffled volume on low, and he realized his mother was in the living room.
He closed the door and searched for something else to hold stuff. Getting down on his hands and knees, he checked under the bed, hoping for a box. An old suitcase caught his eye, and he tugged it out. It was small, with Chewbacca on it, and Billy Joe remembered using it when he was a kid. It must have been there for years, shoved back near the wall behind the leg of the bed. He filled it with more of Tyler’s things and slid it back under the bed.
That part done, he needed something else. Maybe plastic garbage bags? He wished he’d thought to buy some at Walmart.
Billy Joe left his room, checking that everything looked normal. He grabbed the basket, took it back to the laundry area, and placed it with the others before joining his mother, who was slouched in the old recliner that no longer reclined.
“Where’s Dad?” he asked as innocently as he dared.
“He went to a meeting.” She popped a single Cheeto into her mouth, then licked the cheese off her fingers. “You shouldn’t bring me these. I’ll just eat them all.” Her sigh filled the room. She got up, closed the bag once again, and put it in the kitchen cupboard with a soft bang. She returned and sat in the chair. She was getting older, her dark auburn hair now streaked with gray. She had been beautiful when she was younger, and vestiges of that beauty were still there. She took reasonable care of herself, in most ways.

“Did he say what he was doing?” Billy Joe pressed.

Andrew Grey is the author of nearly 100 works of Contemporary Gay Romantic fiction. After twenty-seven years in corporate America, he has now settled down in Central Pennsylvania with his husband, Dominic, and his laptop. An interesting ménage. Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He is a recipient of the RWA Centennial Award, has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and now writes full-time. Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing). He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

• Andrew Grey: http://www.andrewgreybooks.com

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