Contemporary Romance
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.
What Inspired Me to Write Running to You
I wish I could tell you that one thing inspired this story, but I think it was many different things that came together. A dear friend of mine is a librarian at Dickenson College and she took me into the library to show me where she worked. That visit was the beginning of the idea for Carlos. I realized I wanted to write a librarian, but not in the usual sort of way.
Then there is the overall situation. That part of the inspiration is harder to pin down, especially all these months after I wrote it. I think the overall story came to me out of the current political climate in the US and sort of bloomed and bubbled up from there. I know that part of the story is just my own optimism coming through in the face of hardship and adversity. At least I really like to think so.
“I wanted to ask. Is the dad you helped cute?”
And here Carlos had thought he’d managed to escape Angie’s matchmaking fanaticism… just once. She was the happiest person Carlos had ever known, and she wanted everyone to be as deliriously content as she was… whether they wanted it or not.
He groaned, trying to figure out how he could not answer without just hanging up.
Angie wasn’t going to let it go. “Just tell me!”
“Dang it. Yeah, he was cute, in a sort of clueless, scared rabbit sort of way. The guy is running from something. That’s pretty obvious, and there was fear written all over his face. I’m not sure what it was, but I think he looks the same way I did when I left Amarillo in the middle of the night. My cousin had threatened to kill me rather than have a maricón in his family.” Carlos swallowed hard as he remembered packing and getting out of town ahead of the lynch mob.
“That bad?” She whistled softly. “Just be careful and don’t get taken in.”
He rolled his eyes. She was a total mother hen. “I’ll be fine. It’s only for a night, and tomorrow he’ll probably be on his way.” He ended the call, making her promise again to let him know when she made it home okay.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t stopped to pick up something for dinner the way he originally had intended. He stared at the contents of his refrigerator and decided to reheat some pasta he’d made earlier in the week.
Carlos sat at his small table, eating his dinner. He was in no hurry, and a relaxing evening seemed in order. Once he was done, Carlos rinsed his dishes, headed to the sofa, and settled in to read.
Books were his passion, so he spent his spare time with them rather than the television. The wind rattled the windows, and even though the apartment was warm, the sound chilled him. He grabbed the blanket from off the back of the sofa and pulled it over him, making a nest before getting lost in the story of pirates and adventure on the high seas. Angie texted him that she was home just as he got back into the story.
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 has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew Grey
Fire and Water because it was my first
I have read about this one and hope to read it soon.
Congrats on another good sounding (potential start of a series?). I’ve just read Fire & Water, but liked how it started the cops series.
I have only read the first two in the series, but of those two Fire and Ice is my favorite so far.
I haven’t read any Carlisle Cops yet, but I own them!
I’ve read the first two books and loved them equally. I have always enjoyed all of Andrew’s stories. He puts so much passion and heart into everything he writes that each story is totally enjoyable.
taina1959 @ yahoo . com
I have them on my kindle but haven’t read them yet, although I’ve read many of Andrew’s other books and I love them!
I haven’t started the Carlisle Cops series. Plan to binge read them soon.