Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Out of the Past
AUTHOR: Sean Michael
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 60 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 20, 2016
BLURB:
Ten years after a terrible car accident left carpenter Andy Johnson dead, Steven Billings has yet to move on. Though he’s put aside his art to run his family’s foundation—just like his parents always wanted—Steven has never been able to put Andy and the love they shared behind him.
Except Andy’s not dead. And after a long, agonizing recovery—alone—Andy has come to hate Steven, believing Steven abandoned him when things got tough. When a chance encounter at a bar throws them back together again, it’s like the dead have come back to life and the past has come back to haunt them both.
REVIEW:
Pissed off! That’s what I felt when I stared reading this book. How could one’s own parents be so mean and cruel as to convince their son that his partner/lover/soul mate had died in a crash. How could they, or his own lawyer, be so heartless as to threaten a severely injured man with legal proceedings if he even attempted to contact his man after barely surviving a horrendous wreck that leaves him unable to even walk or talk. How could anyone be so totally heartless and cruel to two men who obviously loved each other with all their hearts. Well the rich think that they can get away with anything and they almost did. That was up until Steven Billings wandered into a small bar that just happened to be his “dead” lover’s watering hole.
Steven’s parents never thought that Andy Johnson was good enough to be with their son or would even amount to anything. Well Andy not only proved them wrong that he would just shrivel up and die or that he would simply just give up. He didn’t go back to college to become an architect but he did become a major home builder that was widely respected and sought after, for his quality homes he built.
I can’t imagine how either man could have survived this ordeal for ten long years but thankfully they met up, by accident, and Steven wasn’t going to let Andy ever slip through his fingers again. Andy might hate him but Steven never stopped loving and longing for Andy and he had enough love in him for the both of them.
I really loved Stephen’s love for his dead partner. For ten years he still visited his grave to place flowers on it each week. He had tried to move on but couldn’t. His love for Andy was too overwhelming. He couldn’t let go. Andy wanted to stay furious with Stephen but how can you hate someone who was duped by his parents and never stopped loving you. Their loving relationship was the glue that helped them survive a horrible injustice. It was a second chance love that was rewarding and poignant.
This is a short story that was an attention getter from the very beginning. I can’t imagine any parent being as cold-hearted as Steven’s. It’s not the way parents are suppose to be but, unfortunately, some are.
RATING: 
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