Desperate to escape the pain of his brother’s death, Jesse Melnik ran—but he couldn’t outrun the grief, no matter how much distance he put between himself and his past. Now, after fifteen years of trying, he’s finally ready to face his hometown of Charlottetown again.

He expects the memories of his brother to hover in every corner of his family’s sailboat and whisper in every sea-tinged breeze.

What he doesn’t expect is Parker Willis, the best friend he left behind without a word the day he fled.

And he certainly doesn’t expect old feelings to resurface.

Parker’s been stuck in a rut since his father died three months ago. Every day is the same: try to keep his father’s dinner cruise business afloat so he can chip away at Dad’s debts, one bill at a time, all while working a job that leaves him more frustrated than satisfied.

Then Parker’s routine shatters in the best way possible: Jesse Melnik arrives on Prince Edward Island for the summer, all six feet three inches of gorgeous hockey player.

Now, that’s different.

Jesse kickstarts Parker’s heart.

Parker makes Jesse feel again

And although both men are a little bit damaged from struggling down the broken path of loss, maybe—just maybe—if they can lean on each other, they’ll learn to move forward at last.

Content warnings: themes of grief, discussions of a parent’s death from cancer, descriptions/discussions of a sibling’s death by suicide.

Aaron Hokanson