I could help solve his brother’s murder, but I couldn’t take away his pain.
“But it hasn’t.”
“No.”
He rolled over all the way and pressed his back against my chest. I trailed my hand along the shape of him, memorizing his contours with my fingertips. I fell asleep soon after and stirred only once more. Dare, still naked, was sitting in my desk chair facing the window. Moonlight silhouetted his long, lean frame as I watched him from where I lay still half-asleep in bed, Dare flicking his silver lighter with a rhythm as regular as a heartbeat.
“Aren’t you cold?” I said while holding up the blanket for him. My mom didn’t run the heater much in the winter. She said that was one of the perks of living in Florida.
Dare turned around and looked at me like he’d been caught. He snapped the lighter shut and laid it on my desktop.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked when he was nestled in my arms again, his nose just inches from my own and the comforter pulled up so we were safe and secure.
“We still haven’t watched Jocks on Cocks,” he said.
I chuckled at that, and even though I knew he was dodging my question, I didn’t push it. “I bet there’s some really good acting in it,” I said.
“I wouldn’t know,” he said loftily. “I’m a better singer, after all.”
I pinched his side, and he squirmed in my arms. His naked body thrilled me. At the foot of my bed, Boots snuffled at us to be still. I regretted not bending the truth on that particular comment. “You’re going to throw that in my face forever, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Of course I am. That’s what couples do.”
I squeezed him a little closer. My cheeks felt tight with a smile that stretched my entire face.
“What?” he asked, his smile mirroring my own.
“You said we were a couple.”
“If that’s what you want.” The tender note in his voice when he asked made me melt. “I have some demons.”
I brushed away the lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “I want to be your boyfriend, Dare. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” he echoed and pulled me in for a kiss.
Boots, resigned to the fact he wasn’t going to get any sleep, lumbered up and flopped between us, then rolled onto his back so we could scratch his belly. It seemed Boots approved.
Then the three of us burrowed together under the blankets like bears denning down for winter. I had a cozy house, a mother who loved me, an awesome dog, and now I had Dare.
I was confident I could handle whatever Dare threw at me, demons and all.
Acknowledgments
FIRST AND foremost, I’d like to thank my daughter for helping me plot this mystery using only the lyrics to one of our favorite songs, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” by Nirvana, which is a cover of a much older song with a somewhat sordid history. Needless to say, we took a few liberties. I also credit my daughter for her consultation on teen slang, the ever-changing beast of social media, high school trends, and wicked burns. She’s also really good at telling me when I’m “trying too hard to be cool.” It’s hard to put a price on that kind of honesty.
Thank you to: my writing group Pen Ten for their feedback on a few pivotal scenes; Heather Whitaker for keeping our pens sharp and our wits sharper; Dr. J. for being so generous with loaning out her lake house to us starving artists in need of a place to hole up and write; and my wise readers Sarah, Sky, and Ashley, experts on the mystery genre, for their feedback on In the Pines.
Thank you to AngstyG for her brilliant cover artistry, to the Dreamspinner team for growing my readership, and to the community of readers who continue to support my work—you are what makes my writing world go ’round.
And finally, thank you to my darling husband and delightful son. These two, along with the little miss, keep me on the sunny side of life.
More from Laura Lascarso
When up-and-coming Miami painter Martin Fonseca encounters youthful pretty boy Andre Bellamy washing dishes in the kitchen of La Candela, he swears he’s known him before, intimately. But Andre only arrived in Miami weeks ago, after running away from small-town Alabama and his abusive father. When Martin discovers Andre trading sexual favors for a place to stay, he offers him a room in his studio apartment. As roommates only.
What starts as a playful friendship turns into something more as Andre begins posing for Martin, whose true passion is painting fantastical portraits. Martin’s obsession with Andre grows until they are sharing more than just flirtatious conversation. But when an eccentric art collector buys one of Martin’s paintings, Martin’s past jealousies resurface and threaten to destroy what he and Andre have so lovingly built.
High school junior Berlin Webber is about to reap the fruits of his hard work and land a football scholarship—if he can keep his sexuality a secret from his best friend, Trent, and their homophobic coach. Then Hiroku Hayashi swerves into the high school parking lot on his tricked-out motorcycle like some sexy comic book villain, and Berlin knows he doesn’t stand a chance.
Hiroku is fleeing his sophisticated urban scene to recover from drug addiction and an abusive relationship when he arrives in Berlin’s small Texas ranch town. Initially sarcastic and aloof, Hiroku finds in Berlin a steady, supportive friend who soon becomes more. As Hiroku and Berlin’s romance blossoms, they take greater risks to be together. But when a horrific act of violence tears them apart, they both must look bigotry in the face. While Berlin has always turned to his faith for strength, Hiroku dives into increasingly dangerous ways of coping, pushing them in opposite directions just when they need each other most.
Two very different young men search for the bravery to be true to themselves, the courage to heal, and the strength to go on when things seem darkest. But is it enough to bring them back together?
Sometimes the people we need most aren’t bonded by blood but by something deeper.
When they were kids, golden boy Chris Mitcham rescued dweeby Theo Wooten from the neighborhood bullies and taught him how to “be cool.” Now, years later, Theo’s developed romantic feelings for his best friend that “arise” at the most inopportune times. Theo hates lying to Chris, but in coming out, he might lose the one person who understands him best, a risk he’s not willing to take.
When a relationship with another young man goes south, Theo is forced to confront his own sexuality along with his growing attraction to Chris and the stunted, tenuous relationship Theo has with his father. Will Chris abandon Theo when he learns the truth, or will he stand by him in this tumultuous season of self-discovery?
In this quirky coming-of-age romance, Theo’s path to manhood is fraught with several awkward firsts, a few haters, but also the tender comfort of an unexpected lover.
Readers love Laura Lascarso
When Everything Is Blue
“If you’re looking for a great story about two young people falling in love for the first time, this is your next read. It’s charming, earnest, and balances teenage angst with plenty of hope.”
—Love Bytes
“When Everything Is Blue is a coming out and coming of age story that resonated with hope and possibility.”
—The Novel Approach
The Bravest Thing
“Lascarso’s writing is enthralling and stays true to the inner workings of a seventeen-year-old mind.”
—Foreword Reviews
“I absolutely loved this book and can’t praise it highly enough.”
—Sinfully: Gay Romance Book Reviews
Andre in Flight
“Andre in Flight by Laura Lascarso is a beautifully written story about soul mates and eternal love. The author has done an excellent job in capturing the emotions, longing, grief and creativity which will leave you wanting for more.”
—Gay Book Reviews
“…the writing is elegant and the characters well drawn and realistic, which is exactly what I expected.”
—Prism Book Alliance
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LAURA LASCARSO wants you to stay up way past your bedtime reading her stories. She aims to inspire more questions than answers in her fiction and believes in the power of storytelling to heal and transform a society. When not writing, Laura can be found screaming “finish” on the soccer fields, rewatching Veronica Mars, and trying to convince politicians that climate change is real. She lives in North Florida with her darling husband and two kids. She loves hearing from readers, and she’d be delighted to hear from you.
Website: lauralascarso.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lascarso
Twitter: @lauralascarso
By Laura Lascarso
Andre in Flight
The Bravest Thing
One Pulse
When Everything Is Blue
CHARLIE SCHIFFER MYSTERIES
In the Pines
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
In the Pines
© 2018 Laura Lascarso.
Cover Art
© 2018 AngstyG.
www.angstyg.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-740-2
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64080-741-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018935334
Digital published October 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
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