Arriving at Love’s Door

Book Cover: Arriving at Love's Door
Editions:ePub, Kindle, PDF

Will reconnecting after more than a decade apart rekindle their love? Or will they not like each other at all?

Unexpectedly, two-year college English instructor Joseph Rutledge gets a letter from Quentin Richards, the boy who sat in front of him at a charity school for wayward boys. Joe vividly remembers Quentin comforting him in fifth grade during an unprecedented earthquake. What could have been a lasting friendship with the boy he loved dissolved under Joe’s inherent shyness.

Little does he know Quentin too remembers the traumatic day of the earthquake and has relied on his memories of Joe’s comfort to buoy him during rough times. After recovering from a debilitating incident at the Olympics, Quentin’s keen to get together with Joe and writes to ask him out.

Will their memories of each other be enough to spark a relationship? Or do they each remember a person who never really existed?

Available on:
Publisher: JMS Books (https://www.jms-books.com/)
Editors:
Lourenza Adlem
Cover Artists:
Written Ink Designs
Genres:
contemporary, MM, romance
Tags:
college graduate, community college, contemporary, earthquake, future, gay romance, LGBTQ+, MM, non-series title, Olympics, renewing old friendships, runner, second chance, second chance at love, second chance love, small town romance, track and field
Excerpt:
    • Twelve months later, the dreaded annual performance review weekend of looking back at the past year and forward to the next one began Friday night with a welcome dinner. The Mogrovejo and Paredes Counties Community College Consortium managed seven two-year colleges in a predominantly rural area in the Northwest United States.

 

    • Since I graduated from college, I’ve taught English composition at two of the colleges and probably would until I retired.

 

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    • Attending the yearly recap, team building, and planning for the future was required for department heads such as myself. It was an extremely boring two days for those of us who’d been-there, done-that for the past eight years. Same people, same problems, no additional funds, no real hope for the future except for incentives the individual instructors could give their students.

 

    • At least the new area casino which was sponsoring this year’s symposium offered more entertainment than listening to my fellow instructors bitch and moan during the session breaks.

 

    • We had convened in the hotel foyer and had been milling around, talking about the casino and by-passing discussions of the recession year and the consequential budget shortfalls. A call to dinner had galvanized us into a booze-fueled crowd ready for food.

 

    • Following behind a group of others who were chattering away, I was stopped at the door to the dining room.

 

    • “Dr. Joseph Rutledge?”

 

    • Although I never got my PhD and am not a doctor, I nodded and stepped out of the way of the crowd which was moving toward the white-clothed tables and uncomfortable-looking chairs.

 

    • “I’m here to escort you to your seat at the head table.” He pointed at the stage.

 

    • “Oh, uh, no. There must be a mistake. Um, I’m not speaking or presenting or anything. I’m not even a PhD, a doctor. I think maybe you should check your records.”

 

    • When he looked down at the paper in his hand, I melted into the crowd and found a seat next to an English instructor from another college.

 

    • The scuttlebutt around my table was the Consortium had scored a coup by landing a well-known athlete to head up a new, revolutionary regional sports medicine program.

 

    • The women at the table were excited because according to rumor, even though the new program director was a man, he was an advocate for women athletes and their education as well.

 

    • Finally, the hall doors closed and the lights dimmed, signaling everyone had made it to the ballroom and was to be seated. The casino had opted to serve us. No plodding buffet lines this year. But as we settled down, no waiters hustled into the room with trays of food. Instead, the PA system clicked on and a shrill screech assaulted us.

 

    • “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?” As if the noise hadn’t already made us sit up and react. “Will Doctor ...” the sound of a hand covering a microphone, “Will Mr. Joseph Rutledge please come forward to the stage? Mr. Joseph Rutledge?”

 

    • Reluctantly, I rose as everyone looked around for the mysterious Mr. Rutledge.

 

    • “Joe! What in God’s name ...?” my fellow instructor started to ask.

 

    • I shook my head in bewilderment.

 

    “I have no idea.”

 

COLLAPSE

Bright, Shiny Love

Metal artist Martin Murphy knows dragons don’t talk, especially the dragon crafted of sequins on a former flame’s vest. So when the dragon seems to reach out and tells him to help its creator Ty, Marty refuses to believe the illusion. The sparks between him and Ty, on the other hand? They’re as real as it gets.

As he and Ty reconnect after so many years, Marty sees firsthand how the big man’s innate kindness and willingness to help others consume his time and energy. Maybe the dragon was right, and Ty needs saving.

While Marty is willing to try, what he really wants to do is pounce on the man and keep him all to himself while they walk down the path to HEA. Does that count as saving him?

Published:
Publisher: JMS Books (https://www.jms-books.com/)
Editors:
Lourenza Adlem
Cover Artists:
Written Ink Designs
Genres:
contemporary, magical realism, MM, romance
Tags:
art, contemporary, dragon, fabric art, family, gay romance, metal art, MM, novella, renewing old friendships, second chance at love
Excerpt:

“You know what I liked best about the play?” I asked Ty.

We were at Luca’s, a tiny family-owned Italian restaurant. Luca’s is one of those Bay Area eateries with no fixed hours. It’s open until it’s not. This meant diners dropping by the place could get a meal most nights unless the Luca family had an emergency and the doors were locked.

One of Luca’s big plusses is everyone who worked there was always happy to prepare a meal for friends. To them, every customer is a friend.

“I don’t know. What did you like best about the play?” Ty’s eyes lit with mischief. “That you didn’t have to sit through it more than once?”

“Ha, ha,” I scoffed. “No, I’m serious here. I loved the illusion with the dragon.”

At his questioning look, I expanded my comment, “When your character turned away to get R and J the poison.”

“R and J,” he laughed. “Sounds like a tobacco company!”

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Then he smiled. Lines of exhaustion framed his eyes. But he seemed to relax and be less tense as we talked.

“Yeah, I’m glad you liked it, Marty. I was hoping the light would catch the sequins just right. Make the dragon head leap out and look menacing as a comment on their buying poison.”

Although we hadn’t ordered it, a plate of appetizers appeared on the table.

“For you gentlemen while we prepare your meal.” The waiter winked at us and ran his hand under Ty’s hair along his shoulder.

“Hey, thanks, man.” Ty touched his hand and nodded. The waiter strutted back to the kitchen.

“Ricardo,” Ty said to me with a nod in the guy’s direction. “He likes too think of himself as a player even though he’s pretty much bonded at the ... hip ... with Wayne. He thinks I’m pining after him. I play along. Doesn’t hurt anybody. Makes Ric feel like a stud, though.”

He popped a piece of ham-covered toast in his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and sighed. I followed his lead, without the outward sigh.

“Anyway, I’m glad you like the dragon illusion,” he added after a gulp of his wine.

“Well, not exactly what I meant. Don’t get me wrong. The dragon reveal was great. No, I meant the bit afterward when its head reached out over the audience and talked to us. Now that illusion was really special.”

He stared at me a moment and then wiped his lips with his napkin and brushed off his beard.

“What do you mean? I don’t get it. The dragon spoke to the audience? What did it say?”

I stopped munching.

“You don’t know? How could you not? The dragon’s head went from the back of your vest out into the audience and said something like, take care of him or keep him safe or something like that. Then it said or he will die.”

Ty tilted his head as he stared at me. Did he think I was making this up? He had to be teasing me.

Finally, he shook his head and resumed clearing out the hors d'oeuvres. The empty plate was taken away and our entrees appeared.

Before he dug in, he looked at me for a few seconds. Then he shook his head and grinned.

“Wish I had thought of it and how to do it, Marty. Would have been cool. But, no, I didn’t. I don’t think any of the others working on the show did either. Your CBDs are playing tricks on you.”

He dismissed it so casually, I was stunned. It hadn’t been a part of the play? Then what was it? A bit of theatrical craziness on my part? An hallucination? How unsettling.

But now wasn’t the time to unravel what I’d seen. I’d have to think about the vision later. Ty and I were together again. Why waste the time with idiotic speculation?

COLLAPSE
Reviews:Scott on Queeromance Ink wrote:

I am thrilled to see Pat Henshaw tackling a new series of magical realism romance novellas featuring unlikely pairings. It’s set in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the art scene.

The first one, Fragile as Glass, was between Ashton and Hunter, a glass artist and a rockstar. That unlikely pairing worked out really well in the end. Hey, it is a romance! Ashton had a gift – when he touched pieces of crafted glass, he could see their future.

In Bright Shiny Love, it’s Tyson who has the gift – his ability to make his sequin art come to life.

Marty, whom his mother calls “delicate,” starts out recounting the time in high school when he was crushing on another boy. A really tall, robust boy, whose family had absolutely no use for art in their lives. Fast forward to the present day, when an older Marty finds out his old friend Ty is doing the costuming and art for a play that’s a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, only gay.

They get lunch together, but Marty’s rosy memories of the past are tempered when they smash into the reality of Ty’s current life, and how much his step-family relies on him, making everything into an emergency and demanding far too much of the gentle giant’s time, with very little thanks.

Marty has to learn to step out of his own shadow to help Ty out of his. I love the allusions to fantasy throughout the peace, and the troubles they have to get through together in order to find their happily ever after.

Bright Shiny Love follows the normal romance beats – meet, fall in love, break-up, make-up – but it’s a cute, quirky little tale of unexpected love between two people who are very different, and yet clearly meant for each other.

A great addition to Henshaw’s new series – a perfect short light read.


When Heart Becomes Home

Is there a time limit on love and forgiveness?

Fifteen years ago, Manny didn’t show up to take Wes to the Shelby High School prom as he promised. Instead, Wes found Manny’s letter jacket at their meeting spot without a note or any explanation.

From college to his current job in Monterey, California, Wes has carted the jacket around as a memento of his teenage love and rejection. This year he decides enough is enough. He’s attending the high school class reunion, returning Manny’s jacket, and going home free to find the real love of his life.

When Manny sees Wes at the reunion tour of the new high school facilities, he’s determined not to let his teenage lover leave without them clearing the air and possibly getting back together.

Through reunion activities such as a quiz bowl, meet-and-greet meals, and a formal banquet with a prom-like ball as well as outside activities like the quinceañera of Manny’s niece, Wes and Manny work through the lies and misunderstandings of the past.

With so much to reconcile and forgive on both sides, will they end up together? Or go their separate ways with only memories of the past?

Published:
Publisher: JMS Books (https://www.jms-books.com/)
Editors:
JM Snyder
Cover Artists:
Written Ink Designs
Genres:
contemporary, MM, romance
Tags:
college graduate, community college, contemporary, family, gay romance, geeks, high school prom, high school reunion, Latino, letter jacket, LGBTQ+, Mexican American, MM, Monterey, non-series title, Northern California, POC, quincenera, quiz competition, renewing old friendships, second chance, second chance at love, second chance love, single mother, starting over, stood up for prom
Excerpt:

Manny stopped where we usually parked way back when. He cut the engine after rolling down the windows. A cool breeze ambled in, looked around, and exited on my side.

“So here we are.” Manny was whispering like he always did when we got here.

His arm rested on top of the backrest. But he didn’t play with my hair like he had then.

I clicked off my seat belt and turned to him.

“You promised me a look at the night sky.”

“So I did.” His seat belt made a decisive click just as mine had. “I’m not sure we can still see the sky from here though. I haven’t been out here in a while.”

“In a while?”

“In fifteen years. Not since the last time we came out here together.”

He spoke softly as if he was embarrassed to admit it. My dick heard his words as did my heart. My dick stiffened, even more than it already was. My heart pounded loud enough Manny should have been able to march to its beat.

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I opened my door and got out. The ground was uneven, lumpy with rocks and roots and branches. I held onto the side of the truck while I tried to make it back to the tailgate.

We nearly collided when we got there.

Manny cleared his throat. I stepped back, unsure what to do.

“Um, yeah, let me get a few things out first.” He lowered the tailgate, hopped up onto the bed, opened the tool box, and got out a couple of exercise mats. He unrolled them one on top of the other. “Here, give me your hand.”

Lying on the mats wasn’t quite like it had been when we were eighteen. Our thirty-three-year-old bodies were less fluid and unforgiving in the confines of the truck bed.

We also didn’t seem to be as slender and compact as we’d been back then. There seemed to be a lot more of him and me as we lay side by side. Or were we pulled away, trying not to touch? Maybe I was just turning into the princess of princess-and-the-pea fame and was being overly picky.

As I gazed up, even the view of the sky was different. Either the trees had grown and filled in above us or we really couldn’t have seen the sky while we were pawing each other underneath their branches.

I slapped at a mosquito or fly or gnat or something. Then Manny slapped at something on his side. Suddenly, all I could hear was soft buzzing around me, and it was game on. The word was out that fresh meat had arrived.

“You got any DEET in your tool box?” I sat up waving my hands around my face, warding off the attack.

“Condoms, lube. Nope, no bug spray. The yoga mats took up too much space with my emergency road kit. I couldn’t even get a six-pack inside it.” He’d jumped out of the truck bed and was doing some sort of primitive bug repellent dance.

After I joined him on the ground, he closed the tailgate, and we ran to get into the cab. It wasn’t much better inside since we’d left the windows down. The bugs just followed us.

“Okay, we’re outta here.” He started the engine. “You want to come to my place? We can talk there.”

 

COLLAPSE
Reviews:Fay on MM Bookworm Reviews wrote:

4.5 stars.

A great start and yah once I started reading I forgot about taking notes for my review as I do. Wes was on a mission to return a jacket. I loved the first meeting for Wes and Manny again setting eyes on each other again. What happens things kinda go wrong and Manny needed to make his apologies. They both find out their past prom had interference that stopped them from enjoying the night. I felt for them both when they finally get to talk about what happened.
A second chance romance with past hurts and feelings to work through. Different living locations for each to work out in the communications. A few scenes of forgiveness as life deals, poor John I was conflicted with this part.. Yah things ain't easy especially with Flippy and Manny's mother but they get through with a few dramas. Includes homophobia and bigotry.
Written with Wes POV and includes much more into the story and finishes with a HEA.

Wes 33 yrs was attending his high school reunion to return a jacket. Manny was once a high school boyfriend but it ended badly at prom night.

Jay on Kimmer's Erotic Book Banter wrote:

The past is not always as it appears. Rash decisions, the innocence of youth, and bigotry create a fifteen-year separation that subconsciously holds on to those years. When Heart Becomes Home, by Pat Henshaw, addresses aged hurt and reveals truths, providing a second chance that transcends time.

The love Gordon Westerhouse (Wes) and Manuel Garcia (Manny) held for one another was shattered the night of their senior prom. Homophobia and bigotry prevented them from experiencing their rite of passage, resulting in years of heartbreak and stagnant living.

The class reunion reaffirms that the years after high school change the dynamics of a group and the lives of inexperienced youth.

The Fifteenth Shelby High School Reunion, for Wes, is a time to break the cycle and move on. He will return Manny’s letterman jacket that he took that fateful night and let go of Manny once and for all. However, Manny has a different plan. He needs to explain that night, make his apologies, and get his man back.

The weeklong get together provides an opportunity for Wes and Manny to talk out their past and reconnect with old friends and foes. The class reunion reaffirms that the years after high school change the dynamics of a group and the lives of inexperienced youth. The clicks that existed during those days have gained real life experience and closely guarded secrets are now out in the open. Albeit there is a small contingent who hang on to the “glory days” of their youth, for the most part there is a sense remorse and regret for past actions.

There is hurt, comfort, drama, and a slew of realities bestowed on the Shelby High School Reunion attendees that mimic life in general, with its good and not so good realities. A situation with Manny’s mother is tough to swallow, but then again bigotry always is. And “Flip” needs to just stop… you will find out what this is all about.

There is hurt, comfort, drama, and a slew of realities bestowed on the Shelby High School Reunion attendees that mimic life in general, with its good and not so good realities.

When Heart Becomes Home is Wes and Manny’s journey to happiness told from Wes’ perspective. Fifteen years of torment come full circle for Wes and Manny as they finally get the prom they should have had so many years ago. With trepidation they work through the events of their past to bring themselves to their happily-ever-after.

Jen on Dog-Eared Daydreams wrote:

Henshaw did a notable job with this story about first loves and second chances, and how love truly does win in the end. When Heart Becomes Homes receives four stars.

(See Dog-Eared Daydreams for the rest of the review!)

Kat on Love Bytes wrote:

Do you ever wonder about the one that got away?

Manny has been on Wes’s mind for the last fifteen years. Every since Gordo, now called Wes, found Manny’s mud soaked letterman’s jacket when he got stood up for their date to the prom. Wes left the very next morning for college and never looked back. But here he is is at his High School reunion to finally give the boy his jacket back so he can finally get on with his life! But what happens when your high school love is standing right in front of you and trying to tell you what you thought was reality of that night isn’t the truth?

I loved this misfit group. I love how varied they all were but how fiercely protective of their band of nerds they each were. Wes had all his friends on his side as he moves forward with his plans to get rid of the old baggage of his life and move forward.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to meet up, discover the last 15 years had been a lie and then realize there was something still there that never died in either men. I did appreciate that the author didn’t have Wes immediately fall at Manny’s feet in mad love but that they had to learn to trust each other again. But, when the truths start emerging my heart hurt for all the wrongs that had happened to both boys at the hands of those that were suppose to love them completely.

I did have one part that bugged me. When Cee-Cee kept thanking her uncle it didn’t make sense. Manny was an only child. It would make more sense that she was a cousin or possibly second cousin but not her uncle.

Also, it was obvious that Teddy, Zack’s husband, didn’t go to high school with the rest of the team so how come he got to be a member of the team when actual alumni were set as alternates by the reunion trivia board? And what school anywhere in this country wouldn’t have ADA accommodations mandatory, especially in California?

All in all, even with these blunders, I liked this sweet story of second chance romance.