Wanderlust

by Lexi Stone

To cope with his father's recent death from cancer, conscientious graduate student Shea Matthews returns to his family's old vacation cabin--long since sold--in order to keep a final deathbed promise. When he arrives exhausted and injured, however, he's surprised to encounter another trespasser: Jamie, a snarky, rebellious wanderer with an intellectual streak.

As the unlikely pair share the cabin and bicker with one another, they build a surprisingly intense bond as Shea struggles to cope with the death of his father and Jamie struggles to cope with the privileged but openhearted Shea. When their burgeoning closeness finally leads to a passionate night together, neither man can deny any longer that this chance encounter will forever alter the future for both of them--the only question is how.

Genres: M M Romance

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2013

Reviews

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This moving short doled out much more than I expected. Shea has always taken the safe route through life except for this one night when he broke into the old cabin his family used to own. Once inside the cabin he comes face to face with Jamie. Jamie, an aspiring writer, plays the sarcastic tough but seems to be running from something I'm guessing by the scars on his legs. Shea is finishing up his degree in Humanities and Jamie gave up on his Humanities degree. I liked these two main characters a lot for the amount that I got to know them. Their special bond of trust and understanding, though quickly formed, surprised and touched me. There were no promises for a forever together just a let's wait and see what time brings.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a freebie novella from Amazon. Though short, it deals with several interesting issues and both of the characters were well done. Shea is keeping a promise to his recently deceased father by visiting their old family cabin, even if it means breaking in to do it. The cabin is in very bad shape, having been forgotten and abandoned. Well, almost abandoned.

Shea runs into Jamie, a wanderer/writer who had been staying at the cabin off and on over the years, though Jamie doesn't own the cabin, either. Jamie is a prickly, defensive character while Shea is a naive but genuinely kind character. Shea is dealing with how things always have to change, while Jamie is getting Shea to see how safe he'd been living behind his "picket-fence life". Shea, on the other hand, is forcing Jamie to reevaluate his assumption that all human beings, including himself, are aholes (Amazon filtered my review for using Jamie's own quoted words....) .

[Tailtiu]

Prequel to Threshold