One drunken night turned Phillip’s life upside down. Could James be the man to turn it right side up?
A drunken decision in college during dare week changes Phillip Drake’s life forever. In less than two years, he becomes a nurse, a father then a widower. For a young gay man, this was way past tilt on his shock meter. To his disappointment, the life he’d planned for himself with his lover James will never happen. A tragedy brings Phil home with his son. He learns James wants to be with him again, but Phil is hesitant. His focus is on what’s best for his son.
Could James be what’s best for both the father and son?
Publisher's Note: This book was previously released by another publisher. It has been revised and re-edited for release with Totally Bound Publishing.
General Release Date: 15th August 2014
Phillip sat in the back of the limo holding his son close to his chest as the small boy slept peacefully. He watched the scenery go by for a while then looked down at the child. His poor little Tyrell had no idea how much their lives had just changed. The toddler stretched in his arms, and a small smile touched Phillip’s lips for the first time in two weeks. Tyrell’s tiny fist flailed around for a moment as he adjusted in his father’s arms, then he settled back down to sleep.
Phillip let a lazy finger slide down the light brown skin of his son’s chubby cheek, and sighed. As his son grew older, he would notice the obvious differences between them. Phillip’s hair was light brown and straight while Tyrell’s was darker and curly. Tyrell may grow to six feet tall like Phillip had, and he might even share Phillip’s slender physique, but Tyrell would never have the same white skin. Phillip was pleasantly surprised to see that his son had inherited the pale blue eyes that ran in the Drake family, but in the future, when Tyrell looked into the mirror, he would see bronze skin that was a gift from Monica. The mother who was now lost to him.
It was up to Phillip to keep Monica’s memory alive for Tyrell. He would never know the mother he had gotten his beautiful features from—his lips, his nose, his smile. Somehow Phillip had to find a way to explain all that had happened to their son. Suddenly, he held the boy fiercely close, rocking him back and forth as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. He had no idea how he was going to do that.
The limo slowed to a stop, then the back door swung open.
“Mr Drake, we’re here.”
“Yes, right.” He wiped his face quickly. Gathering Tyrell and his things, he shifted the boy to his shoulder and slid out of the limo. “Thanks for everything, Dennis. I know you were only supposed to drop me at the church, but—”
Dennis held his hand up, shaking his head. “No thanks necessary, Mr Drake. I couldn’t leave you and your baby stranded at the church.”
“When we got dropped off this morning, I… Well, I guess it didn’t occur to me how we would get home,” he explained softly.
“Yes, well, you had other things on your mind.” Dennis closed the door and tipped his hat. “Again, Mr Drake, I’m sorry for your loss. I hope everything turns out great for you.”
Phillip nodded and watched the limo drive away before he took Tyrell inside. He stood in the doorway of the house that Monica had decorated and took a deep breath. The whole house screamed of her. They had only lived in the place for a year, but it was their home. They had not been a quintessential married couple. Monica had known Phillip was gay when they’d married, although she’d had no clue about it when they’d hooked up on that one fateful night when Tyrell had been conceived. In public, they’d been a young, happy couple, and when it came to Tyrell, they had done everything together, but in the privacy of their home, they were friends. He’d had his bedroom and she’d had hers.
Phillip carried Tyrell to his room and put him in his crib, then he went to his own room to change clothes. As he pulled his pants off, he sat on the bed and was suddenly overcome with emotion. He fell against his pillow and cried.
When he opened his eyes again, the shadows in the room had shifted position and he knew that hours had passed. Phillip sat up and reached for his cell phone.
“Yes, hello?”
“Hi, Mom, it’s me.”
“Phil, sweetheart, are you all right?” his mother asked, her voice full of relief. “We haven’t talked in so long.”
“I know, Mom. I’m sorry. I just got caught up in some stuff, then one thing led to another and—”
“Phil, what’s wrong? Have you been crying? Has something happened?”
His mother’s knowing nature made the tears fall again. He could barely speak without choking on the words.
My writings are a combination of some things that I have learned over the years, good and bad, mixed up with a lot of imagination. I can only hope that you like what you read.
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but I escaped and I now live in Indiana. My dream is to buy a house near the beach and write all day and make enough money to live off it. I spend most of my time working a nine to five and traveling, when I can, to new and wondrous places that I can incorporate in to my stories (or that will at least spark ideas for me). I do have love in my life thanks to my life partner, Hou, and our cat, Judo, who graciously lets us live with him in his house. So, all in all, I have a full and happy life.
You can follow Jaxx on Twitter.
Reviewed by The Novel Approach
What I loved about this story was the believability of the emotions. A definite recommended read.
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Reviewed by The Jeep Diva
If you want a quickie read, with a sweet premise, pick up
Package Deal.
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Jaxx Steele - USA Today Post
Three of my favorite desserts:
• New York cheesecake with or without strawberries because I'm not really a cake person so this is my go-to dessert.
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