Fractured Hope
By Kady Cordova
Hope's Ridge, Book 1
Can I really escape hell to find all I’ve ever longed for?
Bodhi
Finding yourself is hard. Finding someone you can truly trust is harder.
I have never known what it was like to have a true home or family, let alone real love.
After almost a year of planning, I finally escaped my abusive ex and ran as far away as I could with just the clothes on my back and a handful of cash. When I arrive in the quaint town of Hope’s Ridge, I’m ready to start over and reclaim my life.
When I painfully crash into Atticus’s life, something about him puts me at ease. I’ve never been one to trust, but now I’m in a situation where I have no choice. He might be what I’ve been longing for my whole life.
Atticus
I love my tight-knit town, my big Greek family, and the life I’ve built. I have a successful garage with my brothers and love my job. I have it good, but every now and then I long for a connection. Someone to chase away the loneliness that’s been creeping in. As my brothers like to point out, I am set in my ways and not one for flings, bar hopping, or one-night stands.
When a beautiful man stumbles into my life, I’m blown away. He’s skittish and afraid, but all I want to do is take care of him.
When Bodhi’s ex starts making threats, danger gets ever closer and threatens everything I hold dear. Can I keep Bodhi safe and prove to him he is worthy of love? Or will he run and take my heart with him?
Fractured Hope is a small-town, hurt/comfort, age-gap MM Romance with a broken boy looking for a safe place, a lonely man longing to find his person, and a family full of love, mischief, and colorful characters ready to step in and protect each other no matter the costs.
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Excerpt
I breathed through the pain and a growing knot of anxiety. It felt like darkness was closing in on me, but I knew what I needed to do. If I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t ever do it. I’d been slowly preparing for this for a lifetime—or at least, it felt that way. I needed to wait until Derek finished his last drink and passed out for the night. I opened my eyes and watched the sunset through the grimy window above the kitchen sink.
It was now or never.
I slipped into the bathroom as quietly as I could, my socks barely making a noise on the tiles, and carefully pulled on my usual jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. I had to take the clothes out of the laundry basket because if I had gone into the bedroom or had clean clothes ready, Derek would’ve known something was up. I braced myself as I tried to lift my arm to slip my shirt on and my breath caught. Pain radiated down my right side as my ribs protested the movement. Leaning against the bathroom counter, I was able to carefully pull my shirt over my head and down my arms. I had to maneuver my jeans on with one hand, since my wrist throbbed from my last encounter with Derek.
Once I was dressed, I opened the bathroom door a crack and could just make out Derek passed out in front of the TV, the football game still playing in the background. Opening the bathroom door as slowly as possible, praying it wouldn’t squeak, I tiptoed to the front door. Grabbing my hoodie off the hook, I shot one last glance back to check that the coast was clear and quietly slipped out. The night air was cold on my face, and it pricked my feet through my thick socks as I carefully closed the front door and crept down the steps, then around to the side of the house.
There was an overgrown mess of plants, which had once been a neat hedge along the property line, where I’d been hiding things slowly over the last few months. Recently, I’d added a backpack I’d found in the very back of the closet. Crouching down and breathing through the pain, I quickly moved the branches, dirt, and debris out of the way, then lifted the pack out from under a particularly dense bush. I’d managed to hide some food, money, my driver’s license, a few keepsakes from my long-forgotten childhood, and a change of clothes. I’d also been lucky enough to stash away my favorite pair of canvas sneakers. I grabbed the backpack and shoes before heading to the rear of the house and over the fence into the adjoining woods.
I stopped by the old oak tree where Derek and I had once carved our initials, tracing my fingers over the scarred wood while remembering the day we’d shared. This was back when things were still new, and I didn’t know the truth about the man I’d loved. No more. I rushed to put on my shoes as fast as I could, not really able to tie the laces. I just tucked the ends under the tongue so I wouldn’t trip. Standing carefully, I righted my backpack.
“Goodbye,” I whispered with one final look at our initials on the tree and the house that loomed behind it.
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About the Author
Kady Cordova is a queer author from Australia.
They survive on coffee and chaos. She has always been a hopeless romantic at heart even though they grow a little cynical and sarcastic with age.
Love is love and everyone deserves a happily ever after.
Kady is an advocate for Mental Health, Invisible Illnesses, and Protecting Trans Kids.
Fractured Hope is Kady's debut novel.
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