
When a man hits rock bottom, he needs someone to remind him life comes with second chances. Luke Lafontaine lost everything—his father, their family farm, and a whole way of life. He’s survived the past year by putting one foot in front of the other in dead-end jobs to survive. Cleaning up city folks’ trash at the State Fair is just another two weeks of money between him and being back on the streets. But seeing Mason Bell in the parade—gorgeous, gay, out-of-his-league Mason—stirs dreams he thought he’d given up long ago. Mason left his small hometown for college in Minneapolis without looking back. It’s been fun and easy—classes and guys—but nothing has really felt important. Then he spots his high school crush, Luke, picking up trash at the Fair. Mason’s done with smooth and easy; he desperately wants a second chance with the boy he left behind. This is a rerelease of the 2018 Dreamspinner Press novella, with only minor editing changes.
Author

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I was born in Montreal but have lived for 30 years in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kind, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – fifty years*), mostly for my own entertainment, usually M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi…) I also have a few Young Adult stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.) My husband finally convinced me that after all the years of writing for fun, I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out from MLR Press in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts, and teachers who speak their minds, and I had fun writing four novels and three freebie short stories in that series. I was delighted and encouraged by the reception Mac and Tony received. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published. A complete list with links can be found on my website "Books" page at https://kajeharper.com/. You can find me and my book reviews on my author page here on Goodreads - I hang out on Goodreads a lot because I moderate the Goodreads YA LGBT Books group. I also post free short YA stories on that group, more than 50 of them so far. You can also find me on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/KajeHarper