Chapter One

Chapter One

Milo

Milo smiled to himself as he tapped his phone to snap a photo of the town's freshly painted welcome sign: all hope embrace ye who enter here.

He planned to do just that.

The mountain was different from what he'd been told. Those blurry photographs he'd grown up looking at. The bittersweet stories he'd been weaned on about Hope Peak didn't do it justice.

Seeing it himself was better than anything he'd heard secondhand.

Milo leaned against the hood of his sedan and soaked up the faint afternoon light. There were still a few more hours of good sun left despite the chill in the air. Winter had started, but it'd yet to fully descend across the mountain. He intended to do a little exploring of the town before he checked out the house.

His house.

A real house with his name on the deed. The sedan had been a similar purchase. While he hadn't driven it fresh off the lot he might as well have with how few miles it had on it. He'd bought it for a song from a kind elderly man who'd been too excited to sell it.

The house too and the property it sat on had been bought from an elderly couple relieved to sell and move away.

When it came time to cut the cord on his old life and start his new one, it was as if the stars had all aligned and made his dream come true.

He was finally free.

Free of the gritty demands of the clubs he'd worked at and free from the crass treatment of the bosses he'd worked under. Milo would never have to serve another round of drinks or smear glitter on his face. No more squeezing into unspeakably tight pairs of booty shorts and laughing along to jokes he didn't find funny.

He'd never have to let another man touch him again. Not unless he invited it. There was no longer a price tag attached to his affections. No more of that. Milo was free from it all.

The shame of what he'd done in the dark of his past was long gone and replaced with hope for his bright future.

Milo's smile grew into a grin as he marveled at the peace. No smog. No police sirens. No skyscrapers. Nothing but bright blue sky above him and pleasant birdsong around him. A smattering of brightly painted buildings dotted the winding road leading up into the town.

He took a photo of that too.

Milo wanted to remember those moments for the rest of his life. He'd documented his whole trip, snapping photos and writing himself notes ever since he'd left the city limits and hit the highway.

He hummed happily as he took a few more pictures on his phone.

The casual photo shoot ended early as a big tow truck pulled into the scenic rest stop. He didn't think anything of it until both doors opened and a feminine voice called out to him, soft and sweet and so full of warmth that it reminded him how summertime was still far away.

A pregnant dark-skinned and dark-haired woman wearing a puffy jacket awkwardly exited the truck. She rested one hand over her rounded belly, greeting Milo with a smile and wave. "G'morning, hon. You having car troubles?"

"Good morning," Milo greeted back. He waved his phone. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I just stopped to take some photos. It's so beautiful up here."

He glanced briefly over at his car, peering through the window to double-check that his backpack was shoved out of sight.

Safe and secret.

Milo may have been able to run away from his past, but he hadn't left everything behind. He'd taken what he needed to make his new life possible.

"This is one of the best spots for photos. I'm Becky, by the way. Nice to meet you too." She walked over to offer her name and her hand. Milo accepted both with a genuine smile. It felt like he was already making new friends and becoming part of the community.

"I'm Milo," he said as they shook hands.

"What brings you to Hope Peak? Come early for the festival?"

"I'm here to live, actually," Milo answered with a smile. "I bought a house over on Wildberry Road."

It was such a stark yet cute change from the city. Milo was used to streets being named by numbers, but out in the country everything had a unique name.

"That right?" The driver of the tow truck finally joined in the conversation. He was the same age as Becky. Much older than Milo, but not so old he'd started to gray. His voice was rough though his blue eyes were not unkind. "Best of luck with him."

"Oh, Leonard. Stop that." Becky gently patted the man's chest, avoiding the splotches of grease and oil scattered all over his denim overalls. "This is my hubby. We own the only mechanic shop between here and Pleasantview."

Becky's husband offered his hand next. His shake was much stronger. Leonard's whole hand was calloused from fingertips to palm. It made Milo immediately aware of how soft his own hands were.

"Is something wrong with it?" Milo asked as the handshake ended.

"No, no," Becky shook her head. "Nothing like that. It's your neighbor—Shane Harding. Don't be too put off when you meet him. He's the ornery type, but he's from good people. Hope Peak is full of good folks."

"I don't doubt that. Nobody in the city would have stopped to check on me like you two did. Well, you three," Milo corrected with a quick laugh while rubbing the back of his neck. Becky, Leonard, and the baby made three.

"He's all right, your neighbor," Leonard reassured Milo, "but he's a…strange fella."

"Hope Peak has room for all types," Becky smiled. "The town accepts me and Leonard being together, after all."

It didn't click for Milo, right away, but as he looked between Becky's rich brown face and Leonard's stark pale face realization dawned.

"Oh, that's good to hear." Milo held his tongue and said nothing more.

"You need directions to Wildberry?" Leonard asked. "Not everything around here has got road signs."

Milo wasn't about to turn down the help. Leonard described a few local landmarks to help guide Milo's way.

"Thanks," Milo said as he saved all the new information as a note in his phone. "Could you give me directions to the cemetery too? I was hoping to go pay my respects there before I get settled into my new place."

Becky's eyes widened in surprise. "You got kin out this way?"

"Yeah," Milo admitted with a hint of sorrow. "My mom is buried here."

"What's your last name, boy?" Leonard squinted his eyes as he looked at Milo, clearly taking more of an interest in him.

"Dawson."

"Dawson…shoot. I knew that name was familiar." Leonard sucked his teeth. "And something about your face didn't make you seem like such a stranger. I can see it now. You're Deborah Dawson's boy, ain't you?"

Milo nodded. That was him.

He might not have been born in Hope Peak, but he could trace his bloodline back to that town. Milo had never put roots down anywhere and he'd barely gotten to know his mama before he'd been torn from her and hoisted into foster care, but he knew where she'd come from.

And where she'd gone back to before she died.

"I went to high school with her. Shame, a damn shame. Your mama was a sweetheart, rest her troubled soul. We were sad to see her leave back in the day, but even sadder when she came back…"

Leonard chewed his tongue. He swallowed a word no one wanted to speak and nobody wanted to hear, but Milo still knew what the other man meant to say.

His mama returned to her childhood home only to move into an urn.

"Debbie was a sweet woman. You know we didn't let her be laid to rest all alone," Becky spoke softly as she cradled her belly. "Quite a few of us went to her interment."

"Thank you," Milo said as he swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and blinked away the prick of wetness at the corner of his eyes. That was a kindness he could never repay.

His sadness came and went like a passing breeze. No sense in letting himself drown in it. He'd always been a strong swimmer. He cleared his throat and let a grateful smile lift the corners of his mouth.

Milo hadn't moved out to Hope Peak to mourn his mama. She'd passed away years and years ago. He'd been only a boy when he'd said goodbye to her and he'd spent most of his life pushing through the grief of not having a mother.

But at twenty-five years old, he'd found his peace with that. Milo was ready to give his dearly departed mama a hello and honor the memories he had of their brief time together.

"Could you tell me where to find her?"

Becky took a turn giving directions. She relayed instructions on how to get out to the cemetery where his mother was buried. There were two cemeteries. The one in the town's center was as old as the town itself and had reached its capacity almost four decades ago.

Milo's mother was at the newer cemetery a few miles out of town.

And conveniently on the way to his new home too.

"You'll want to be careful out there," Leonard warned while giving Milo's sedan a pointed look. "We get surprise rainstorms and it's about time for our first snow too. The roads out that way ain't paved, it's all dirt. No offense, but your ride won't make it through a spot of bad weather."

Milo took another look at the skyline. Despite the cold, there was only blue for as far as his eye could see.

He was sure it'd be fine.

"Got it. Thanks again for all your help," Milo said as he pocketed his phone. All three said their goodbyes with a round of handshakes before getting back in their vehicles. Milo's sedan made an odd noise as he started it up, but after a moment it sounded more familiar.

While he didn't give it a second thought, his thoughts did start to wander.

Family seemed important on Hope Peak. Milo took another look at Becky and Leonard. A husband, wife, and their incoming baby. He tried to ignore the sudden pang of desire to have a family to call his own.

It wasn't the baby that he wanted at all, but it'd…it'd be wonderful to have a lifelong partner to share his new home with. At least he knew if he fell for a man on the mountaintop he didn't have to worry about being true to himself.

Or his love.

If Leonard and Becky were welcomed as an interracial couple, then there was some hope Milo wouldn't run into much trouble being gay.

Hope on Hope Peak, he thought with a chuckle. He didn't worry about all that. Milo might have been young, but he'd spent enough of his life being ashamed about who he was and who he wanted.

No more.

He was going to enjoy his new life and explore his freedom. And being a first-time homeowner was a big enough start to that. Settling into this new place and getting to know his neighbors was his prime concern.

Milo was happy to let love stumble over him instead of trying to hunt it down.

"Hey, Milo?" Becky called out from the window of the towing truck.

Milo rolled down his window to better hear her. "Yeah?"

Becky's smile was fond. "Welcome home, son. If you ever get stuck in some trouble and need help getting out you give us a call, all right?"

"I'll do that," Milo smiled back. He was no one's son and he belonged only to himself now, but he appreciated the folksy sentiment just the same.

As he pulled back onto the road, his smile blossomed into a grin. Home. That was the first time Milo had heard it said out loud.

Hope Peak was his new home.

A real home. A forever home.