A Light in the Dark

By Thomas Grant Bruso

Christian Rivers has been single for a year and a half. Emotionally disconnected, he focuses on writing his next best seller. Unfortunately, his neighbor’s teenage son, Bret Hicks, causes trouble next door with his bad friends hanging out, smoking marijuana, drinking, and abusing Christian's dog, Darth Vader.

Incensed, Christian phones Milestone County’s Sheriff Philip Erickson to lay an animal cruelty charge. When Sheriff Erickson arrives, the two men have coffee, and a spark of attraction that has been developing between them since they met, flickers to life. But Philip is on duty and has to leave.

Later that night Christian wakes up from the sounds of breaking glass as someone forces entry into his house. He calls Philip but before the sheriff arrives, Bret appears in the door of Christian’s bedroom, drunk and wearing a Halloween mask.

In the aftermath of the drama the suppressed attraction between the two men comes to a boil, leading to new hope and mutual satisfaction for Christian and the sheriff.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Oct 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781611526653

Thomas Grant Bruso

Thomas Grant Bruso graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2004 with a Bachelor’s in theatre performance and English writing. He knew at an early age he wanted to be a writer. He has been a voracious reader of genre fiction since he was a kid. His literary inspirations are Dean Koontz, Karin Fossum, Jeffery Deaver, Joyce Carol Oates, and John Connolly. He loves animals, book-reading, writing fiction, and prefers Sudoku to crossword puzzles. He writes book reviews for his hometown newspaper, The Press Republican. He lives in Plattsburgh with his husband, Paul, and their miniature pincher diva, Riley. For more information, please visit facebook.com/thomasgrantbruso.

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A Light in the Dark

By Thomas Grant Bruso

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2014 Thomas Grant Bruso

ISBN 9781611526653

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Dedication: To my husband Paul. Thanks for your support. I could not have done this without you.

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A Light in the Dark

By Thomas Grant Bruso

I head to the kitchen for a third refill of Earl Grey. Through the window above the sink, I stare out into a bare October morning and glimpse Darth Vader, my neighbor’s grey and white Huskie, thirty feet from me over the well-tended hedge separating our yards. He yanks at the end of his too-short leash as though he is playing tug-of-war with himself, trying to get free from the metal porch railing.

My lips curve into a snarl at the ungodly sight. Some people should not be allowed to have pets.

Bret Hicks, the dog’s owner, is a seventeen-year-old high school dropout who lives with his mother and hosts drinking parties at his house on weekends when his mother is out of town. Which