Three Gifts

He put down his window, resting his elbow on the door of the car, holding his license and registration between his fingers. His heart pounded. This was just great! He imagined having to call Chelsea from the police station to come and drag his sorry ass out of jail. He remembered this scenario all too well from when he was seventeen and getting an underaged DUI, getting arrested and handcuffed on the way back from a party in prep school after his father's death. Losing his sister and being banished to the boys' school had been bad enough, but dealing with his father had about broken him. He'd been pissed off and arrogant enough to go looking for whatever mind-numbing substances he could find. But that night the handcuffs and the jail time with the cast from Deliverance had humbled him, shaming him into living his life to a certain self-determined and rigid code. Yet, here he was, circling the drain once more. A bright flashlight shone directly in his face and a hand slapped his arm, startling him. Newlyweds Kyle and Chelsea Davis return from their honeymoon—their marriage consummated and their lives rejuvenated—ready to take the world by the tail. They have both made career sacrifices to be together and to live in Kyle's father's cabin in the North Carolina mountains. Stuart Davis' ominous presence makes itself known immediately, haunting Kyle, making him question his own life choices. How much of his father is truly in him, and how much can he fight the commonalities? Meanwhile, Chelsea learns quickly that her life is not falling into place as easily as she'd predicted, driving doubts and fears into everything she believes, even her connection with Kyle. Life in the adult world is challenging enough without the unexpected surprises they both encounter as a couple. As they walk the tightrope between dreams and reality, will the true love they think they deserve be possible for them?