Book Title: Sleigh Bells and Second Chances (Love in Mission City Book 3)
Author and Publisher: Gabbi Grey
Narrator: Michael Dean
Release Date: October 22, 2024
Tense/POV: First person, past tense, alternating POV
Genres: Contemporary MM Romance
Tropes: Small town romance, former soldier, hurt/comfort, age gap, slow burn, therapy dog
Themes: Redemption, acceptance, demisexual awakening, coming out
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 10 hours and 38 minutes
Each book in the series can be read as a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Feeling worthy of love is sometimes the hardest battle.
Blurb
Ryan
The moment I landed in that war zone, I knew I’d made a big mistake. I wasn’t a soldier, and my good intentions almost got me killed. Being wounded and shipped back home to Canada was both a blessing and a curse. I’m safe now, but I can’t stop thinking of the men I left behind. My therapist claims Healing Horses Ranch will help heal my wounds—physical and mental—but I’m not sure how much tranquility and wholesome fresh air I can take. But then I meet a beautiful, shy man who makes moving forward seem almost possible. Can I let go of the past and reach for a future with Simeon?
Simeon
I’ve made peace with being different from the folks around me. I love my home in Mission City, and if anyone needs something fixed, I’m the guy they call. When the owner of the therapy ranch hires me for a big project, I’m excited to get started. I always work alone, but one of the patients keeps hanging around, and I can’t bear to send him on his way. I can see how much he’s hurting. If helping me helps him, that’s a win for us both. As we share the work, something about that wounded man draws me deeper and deeper in. I’m no therapist, and I have my own issues, so am I a fool to be thinking about a future with a guy who’s likely to leave once he’s healed?
Sleigh Bells and Second Chances is a slow-burn, age-gap, hurt/comfort, mid-angst, gay romance novel with a shy handyman, a reckless former gamer, a precocious borrowed kid, and a therapy dog named Tiffany.
Ryan
I screamed.
The noise stopped.
A dog barked.
I curled into a ball.
Why did you think the bathroom would be safe? Bathrooms aren’t safe when the bombs are dropping. A bit of ceramic won’t prevent a drone from blowing everyone into pieces. Oh God, the blood.
The dog woofed again.
A hulking figure appeared in the door.
Oh God, they’ve found me. I can’t even find a good hiding spot. Nowhere is safe.
“H-hey.” Slowly he stepped into the room. He was a giant in this small space. “L-let me get Rainbow.”
Rainbow? What does a rainbow have to do with…?
Oh.
I fought for breath. “No!”
Golden furry Tiffany stepped to the guy, nuzzled his hand, then came back to me and wormed her way under my arm. See? You remember the dog’s name. Rainbow works with the horses. Kennedy owns the ranch. Justin is your counselor. What are five things you can see? Oh, Jesus, the exercise that had so often been taught to me. How to ground myself after a panic attack. I didn’t feel ready to come back from the sheer panic—the abject horror. Wasn’t in any shape to deal with people.
“Sorry. N-n-nail gun…” The hulking figure slowly sank to the floor.
Whether he understood I didn’t want him to find Rainbow, or whether he realized I wasn’t fit to be left alone, I couldn’t be certain. But I wanted to be left alone. That’s why I’d come to this empty house.
Right?
I just didn’t know.
He pointed to himself. “S-Simeon.”
God, poor guy couldn’t even say his own name without stuttering. Although maybe he didn’t have a stutter? Maybe he was just nervous? I’d screamed. I was certain I’d screamed. So why had this guy come into the bathroom? Why not run the other way when he had the chance to get away?
I drew in a breath. “Ryan.” Hell. The word had barely come out as a whisper.
USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.
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