Of Autumn Leaves and New Beginnings

By Nell Iris

At 47, Oren Walker isn't looking for love. When he knocks on Pete Higgins' door, all he wants is to thank him for helping his mom after she broke her femur. He never expected that one look at the man would make his knees weak and heart flutter.


Pete is happy, albeit a bit lonely, after divorcing his wife of twenty years and isn't looking to replace her. But when Oren shows up, all grateful and handsome and in that fancy suit, the longing for the deep connection of a relationship flares up inside him.


As the leaves turn yellow, Oren and Pete spend a lot of time in honest conversations. Their attraction grows. Will the two men recognize the promise of new beginnings, and take the chance to find the happiness they both deserve?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Sep 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781646560325

Nell Iris

Nell is a forty-something bisexual Swedish woman, married to the love of her life, and a proud mama of a grown daughter. She left the Scandinavian cold and darkness for warmer and sunnier Malaysia a few years ago, and now spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food. One day she decided to chase her lifelong dream of being a writer, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a story about two men falling in love. Nell writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angst, and wants to write diverse and different characters.

Book preview

Of Autumn Leaves and New Beginnings

By Nell Iris

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2019 Nell Iris

ISBN 9781646560325

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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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For my mom, who broke her leg and had to call out for help to a passer-by, just like Ms. Daphne. But since her two kids are already in committed relationships, no romance ensued. So I had to fix that.

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Of Autumn Leaves and New Beginnings

By Nell Iris

Chapter 1

Peter Higgins? I raise my voice to make myself heard over the rock 'n' roll music booming in the garage, but the man crouched by the motorcycle resembling something you'd buy at Ikea before it's assembled hears me and snaps up his head.

He shadows his eyes against the bright light with his hand, then he holds up his index finger in the universal sign for hang on a minute. He jumps to his feet and jogs to the bench at the back of the garage, where I'm assuming the stereo is located, considering Robert Plant gets cut off in the middle of a magnificent moan.

As the man approaches me, his long legs quickly eating up the distance, I take in his appearance. Dark brown, tousled hair as though he just ran his fingers through it when he stepped out of the shower. A full beard with strands of silver, albeit still more pepper than salt. Laugh lines bracket his mouth and sprawl out in the corners of his hazel eyes. He's fit; his thigh muscles play under the faded denim and an oil-stained T-shirt clings to defined abs.

My mouth waters and I struggle to keep my face neutral. I don't want to get caught ogling the man before I've had the opportunity to thank him. But he is damned fine, that's for sure.

I'm Pete Higgins, he says. Can I help you? His tone is as friendly as his face; he shows no sign of irritation over being interrupted in the middle of assembling--or disassembling--the five-thousand-piece bike puzzle.

I'm Oren Walker. I smile and extend my hand. Daphne Walker's son.

Oh! Ms. Daphne! How is she? Is she all right? He moves to take my hand but stops himself with a grimace. Sorry, he says and holds out his oil-stained palms for me to see. I'd better not shake your hand. I don't want to get your suit all dirty.

I chuckle and lower my hand, ignoring the pang of disappointment in my stomach that I won't be allowed to touch him and see for myself if his palms are as callused as I hope they are. Yeah, I came right from work. I finger my blue-striped tie and feel out of place wearing my two-thousand-dollar suit in his garage.

"I figured. The day is too hot for a suit. Heck, this entire summer has been too hot for a suit. I'm glad fall is around the corner, so we'll be able to breathe again. Let's go inside. The air is cranked up. He flashes me a smile and waggles his eyebrows. I'm thirsty, and you can tell me all about your mom without the risk of being boiled to death."

Sounds great. With my eyes glued to his ass--it's round and squeezable, and if I don't look away soon, I'll be in trouble--I follow him into the garage, through a utility room, and into a big, cozy kitchen, with pale green cabinets, gleaming appliances, and a round kitchen table standing beside a bright bay window.

He nods at the fridge. Help yourself to whatever's in there. Grab a longneck for me, will ya? I'll wash my hands and be right back. He disappears into the hallway before I have time to answer.

Feeling rude and nosy for opening a stranger's fridge, I do my best not to snoop and take out the first two bottles of beer I find. There's a bottle opener magnet on the fridge door, and I pop off the caps and return it to where I found it.

The only other thing on the fridge is a photo that must be a family picture--Peter Higgins with his arm around a dark-haired teenaged girl who's the spitting image of him, minus the beard and the crow's feet. Next