As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Home Again

by W. S. Long

David Peterson had his whole life charted out for him by his parents. An athletic scholarship to a prestigious college in California and a future in major league baseball were almost certain. But his high school love affair with quarterback Kaden Morris almost changed his predetermined path. When Kaden eventually rejected him, David swore he would never return to Orlando.

Fifteen years later and divorced with a child, David returns home to find a newly divorced Kaden seeking forgiveness. Old feelings resurface, but can the pain of the past be forgotten and a new future together forged?

This book is on:
  • 2 To Be Read lists
Published:
Publisher: JMS Books, LLC
Editors:
Belea Keeney

Cover Artists:
Written Ink Designs

Genres:
Contemporary

Tags:
format - novella 15k-40K, what - concept - second chance

Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 2
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Tropes: Coming Home, Coming Out / Closeted, Coming Out Later in Life, Families/Raising Kids, Second Chances
Word Count: 30000
Setting: Florida
Languages Available: English
Excerpt:
    • Kaden changed his shirt again. He sighed and threw the third shirt on the bed. Once he had found out that David Peterson had moved back to Orlando and was living in the same neighborhood that they lived in as kids, he obsessed about running into him. When Sarah texted him and told him she would be at David’s house later and would text him if it was okay to stop by, he’d been nervous all day.
    • The last time he spoke to David was right before graduation, and he was a dick to David. David hadn’t deserved that.
    • Thinking about David now depressed him. Maybe David’s father was right, in keeping them apart.

      READ MORE
    • He sighed, sat in the living room, and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels and couldn’t make up his mind. He continued this way to channel surf and finally wound up watching baseball.
    • David and baseball, Kaden and football.
    • Life was so simpler back then. He should’ve never let David out of his life. He hoped Sarah was right and David could forgive him.
    • * * * *
    • David opened the last box as Sarah and Quinn sat in the newly delivered leather sofa and watched a movie on Quinn’s iPad. He checked the air conditioning unit one more time. It didn’t seem to blow a lot of cold air. They were a few days away from heading into the Memorial Day Weekend, and it seemed that Florida was more humid than he remembered.
    • “Does it feel like we are getting cold air?”
    • “I had them check the air conditioning unit before you guys flew.” Sarah glanced up from the couch to talk to David. “They said everything checked out. Actually, now that I think about it, it was like a day before you go here the A/C guys were here.
    • “Papa, when are we getting wi-fi? I want to watch a Disney Junior show, and my Star Wars cartoons.”
    • “They’ll be here to install cable and wi-fi in two days.”
    • “Should I order pizza or Chinese?” Sarah asked.
    • “I’m still full of Beefy King,” David said. David closed the box containing Quinn’s Star Wars toys. Five of the seven boxes he shipped to Sarah were Quinn’s stuff. The other two contained David’s baseball memorabilia.
    • He hoped the movers would arrive on time because they only had a limited amount of clothes.
    • “Oh, come on, the owners of the old restaurant we loved in ViMi have a new place now, and it’s so good. You can have leftovers from whatever we don’t eat! What about you Quinn, are you hungry?”
    • “Yes.”
    • “He’s always hungry. He’ll eat a little but ask me to finish the rest. This is why I have a middle-aged spread.”
    • Sarah laughed. “You’re not middle-aged, and you don’t have a gut.”
    • David pinched his soft love handles. “Remind me to have your eyes checked. I really need to go back to yoga.”
    • “No, yoga! No!” Quinn shouted.
    • Sarah glanced back at David who stood near the kitchen. He shook his head and signaled to Sarah to drop it. Sarah shrugged.
    • “Daddy had a friend over when Papa went to yoga.”
    • David’s face flushed from embarrassment. He hadn’t expected Quinn, who’d been reluctant to tell David that he caught Jason kissing another man, to suddenly turn in to someone who wanted to tell everything. Even if that someone was Sarah.
    • “Oh,” Sarah said. “You could go with Papa and me to yoga.”
    • “But if Papa goes to yoga, then Daddy will have a new friend visit.”
    • David didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this. His son equated Jason’s cheating with his other father going to yoga.
    • David moved into the living room and sat next to Quinn.
    • Sarah stood up. “I’m going to order some Chinese food. I’ll be right back.”
    • “Quinn, son,” David paused. “Your father ... your daddy and I will never be getting back together. You remember we talked about this at the pool, right? We cannot live together anymore. I hope one day you will understand. But it is something your Daddy has agreed to, I agreed to, and hopefully you will one day be okay with it.”
    • Quinn straightened himself on the couch, then threw the iPad in his hand on the seat cushion next to him. Without saying anything, Quinn got up and ran upstairs.
    • Sarah ended her phone call. “What happened?”
    • “I think he’s upset. I thought he was okay yesterday when we were at the pool.”
    • The doorbell rang, and David stood up to answer the door. “Wow, that was quick for Chinese. Did you order it before you got here or something?” When David opened the door, Kaden stood behind the screen door, holding a basket of edible fruit, some dipped in chocolate, sealed in cellophane.
    • Kaden appeared the same as he did in high school except his blond hair was a little darker, and his muscular chest stood out more. It was like he was still working at the mall at Abercrombie and Fitch.
    • David stood, almost shell-shocked.
    • “Hey,” Kaden said.
    • “Hey, yourself,” David said.
    • “Sarah said you just moved in. I moved back about a month ago.”
    • “Hi, Kaden!” Sarah had moved in so close she practically was shouting in David’s ear.
    • “I brought you a welcome gift.”
    • “Thanks,” David said matter-of-factly as he opened the screen door and accepted the arrangement. He debated a millisecond on what to do. “I’m sorry, Kaden, this is a really bad time. My kid, my son, is not happy about being here and I have to check up on him.”
    Before Kaden responded, David retreated into the house leaving Sarah behind with Kaden, who stood open-mouthed.

 

COLLAPSE
Reviews:Amy on Amy's (Mostly) MM Romance Reviews wrote:

Review
My Rating - 5 Stars!

WS Long's Home Again had my heart melting throughout. It's a short, quick, and sweet second chance romance.

Former high school boyfriends David and Kaden have plenty of animosity and unresolved feelings between them when they meet again. Their second chance is wonderfully done, full of many tender moments throughout.

David's a former pro baseball player, who's back home after divorcing his cheating wife. And then there's Quinn, David's young son. Quinn is well written and his issues will totally pull at your heartstrings. He absolutely kills me.

David and Kaden are two men who definitely belong together, and when they finally get there, it's beautiful.

Home Again's a story of timing and life's bigger plans. It's perfect when you're in the mood for a heart-felt second chance romance. I will definitely be re-reading this WS Long gem often. At just under 100 pages, it's a perfect short read.

Sharonica Logic on Gay RoMMance Book Reviews and MMuch MMMore wrote:

I enjoyed this little Novie immensely. A compelling story filled with real-life struggles a single dad must now face after a long divorce process. David finds himself uprooting his four-year-old son, and his life for the past 15 years in L.A. and returning to his hometown in Orlando.

Moving back into his childhood home would be an easy adjustment were it not for his son’s desire to be with his other dad and his life back in California. To make adjusting harder David’s first and very secret boyfriend, Kaden has also returned to Orlando.

After a few tumultuous starts and stops, David and Quinn find their way in this new life without maids, Hollywood stars, and David’s ex-husband’s constant cheating, and learn to embrace the friendships new and old, thunderstorms and humidity, and other adventures. Behind every cloud and all that. Kaden slowly adds to the father-son duo, with the help of a childhood best friend, and what once was dead has been given a second chance at life.

This story is sweet and just an overall delight. A gentle reminder that sometimes trading the big things for the small allows for room to grow even better things than you had before. I am not a fan of second chance tropes, but this one left the baggage at the door and only allowed in a look toward better things to come. The author shared a piece of their gentle soul in this story and it moved me. I think it will move you too.

Jay on Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter wrote:

‘Home Again‘ is a sweet second chance romance that happens when the timing is right. The folks interact gracefully giving it a realistic and believable camaraderie.

Maria on Smokin' Hot Reads wrote:

If you are looking for steam, this isn't the book for you, but if you want a good book about second chances that include the love of the main character's life, then you need to pick up this book today! It's a quick read that doesn't take a lot of time, but it has the feels and some amazing characters. David and Kaden dated, and then, it fell apart. There were some outside forces at work, but now that they are both in their hometown, what is going to happen for them?

This a great read, and I do wish it was longer and included a few more scenes, but I was not disappointed. 4.5 stars.

Susan on Xtreme Delusions wrote:

[This review contains spoilers]

A good story and I love the cover.

I really enjoyed this book and I’m basing my review and rating only on the story itself (more about that later).

Second chance stories and friends-to-lovers are my two favorite romance tropes. Home Again has both of these elements. David and Kaden were friends in school and by the end of high-school they were much more than that. Both were in the closet and Kaden, in particular, was afraid to let anyone know about their relationship. He dated girls and was confused about the feelings he had for David and their relationship. They end up having a big fight, the night before graduation, that tears them apart for many years.

David goes on to college on a baseball scholarship and then to a major league baseball contract that ends with a shoulder injury that ends his career. He marries another man and they have a child together. Kaden marries the girl he dated in high school but that ends in divorce.

David returns to his boyhood home in Orlando after divorcing his husband for cheating. He doesn’t know that Kaden is living only a few blocks away.

I thought the pacing of this story was very good. It’s not a long book but David and Kaden didn’t immediately jump back into a relationship which I thought was good. David’s first concern was always for his 4-year-old son.

This is not a steamy story but I enjoy a good romance whether there’s a lot of steam or not. I think that W.S. Long did a very good job with the romance and the story overall. The only problem I had was that there were way too many errors in the copy I read. I’m not talking about just a typo or missing word here or there. I was told the review copy I received was the final for-sale edition. I attempted to find out for sure from the publisher but wasn’t able to in time to meet my deadline for this review. I sincerely hope that the copy I received wasn’t the final. ♥♥♥♥

Jessica Alcazar on OMG Reads wrote:

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a sweet second chance.
It was low-drama, former lovers finding their way back to each other. I really felt the heartbreak of David and the feelings he had about not being good enough. I even resented Kayden a bit for that. But 15 years is a long time to grow up and see what’s important in life.

For such a short read this was filled with emotion, friendship and the forever kinda love that was bouncing off the pages. If it’s not clear – I really enjoyed this story.

***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***

Lily on Double A Author Services wrote:

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a sweet second chance.
It was low-drama, former lovers finding their way back to each other. I really felt the heartbreak of David and the feelings he had about not being good enough. I even resented Kaden a bit for that. But 15 years is a long time to grow up and see what’s important in life.

For such a short read this was filled with emotion, friendship and the forever kinda love that was bouncing off the pages. If it’s not clear – I really enjoyed this story.

***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog*

Truus on https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AF4IHYWKGUBR6YSXG5CJHAVSSLAA/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_gw_btm?ie=UTF8 wrote:

Ahhh a sweet story about second chances.

He never expected it but now David and his son return back to where David grew up.
He left when he was eighteen, with a disillusion richer. Dumped by Kaden his lover.

Avoiding Kaden is difficult, Kaden wants to talk to David about all those years back.
Apologize and pick up maybe where they left.
No way David ever want to go back there. Diverse circumstances made them meet up more than once. With a son and a dog and some friends around and the opportunity to talk, the sharp edges seem to feel less sharp.

A lot happened fifteen years ago. We can witness them work out all the pain.
Quite a sweet story, captivatingly written with kind mature personalities.
One tiny thing I had some trouble with Quinn’s age he was four, I think his vocabulary and daily life didn’t match with his age. But maybe that’s me.
I love me some second chance love story.


About the Author

Lawyer by day, writer by night. When I'm not lawyering during the day, I'm often reading or writing gay fiction involving men who desire a happily ever after. I'm happily married to a mild-mannered college professor, who likes to escape to the Orlando theme parks, or to a faraway place. You can often find me on social media, sometimes talking about books, but many times mouthing about TV, movies and other geeky stuff involving superheroes. Oh, and I use a pen name to protect the innocent.

———————————–
You can find my fiction through these sites:

*Amazon US:  http://bit.ly/WSLongBooks

*Amazon Australia:  http://bit.ly/WSLongAus

*Amazon Canada: http://bit.ly/WSLongCanada

*Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/WSLongUK

* Barnes and Noble:

http://bit.ly/WSLongNook

*Booktopia:

(Paperback books - Australia)

http://bit.ly/WSLongBooktopia

*Angus  & Robertson (ebooks in Australia)

http://bit.ly/WSLongAustralia

*Bookstrand:

http://www.bookstrand.com/ws-long

*Dreame:

https://m.dreame.com/user/concern/1092682240/w.s.-long

*Dymocks (Australia):

https://www.dymocks.com.au/books/?author=w.s.+long

*iBooks/iTunes: http://bit.ly/WSLongWrites

*Google Books:

http://bit.ly/WSLongGooglePlay

 

*Mandadori (Italy)

http://bit.ly/WSLongItalia

_______________

*JMS Books: http://bit.ly/WSLongWriter

*Rakuten Kobo (Walmart ebooks):

http://bit.ly/WSLongKobo

* Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/author/249334532/W-S-Long
*Smashwords:

http://bit.ly/WSLongSmashwords
————————————

Other retailers like Bokus (Sweden) and Redshelf (U.S.A.) carry my ebooks.

 

Social media includes Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and:

Goodreads:   www.goodreads.com/WSLong 

Tumblr:         https://www.tumblr.com/blog/wslong

Twitter:         https://twitter.com/wslongauthor?lang=en