Love Means… Courage by Andrew Grey
This series is intended for people loving the old country lifestyle with a modern touch. In the first book, Love Means… No Shame, Geoff was a young man who was raised by his two fathers and who happened to be gay as well. Of course reading that book people could wonder how it was possible, if in today society it can happen to have same sex couple, 20 years before it was not so common, above all not in the little small town where Geoff was living.
Cliff and Len’s story was for sure a story that was worthy to be told, even if there was a bit sad epilogue in the long stretch: in the first book, Geoff is hurriedly coming home since his father died of cancer and his partner Len is unable to manage the farm all alone. But for the romantic reader, at least you know that Cliff and Len were happy for more than 20 years together, and that they raised a good son in Geoff. Love Means… Courage is the story of how they met and how they ended with a already made family.
Cliff and Len attended high school together. Both of them were wondering about their feeling for other guys, and they probably liked each other, but that was late ’70 and a small town, and so nothing really happened if not a chaste kiss. Years later Len got invited to Cliff’s marriage: Cliff is marrying Len’s childhood bestfriend, Ruby. Len is really happy for Ruby, and apparently is feeling for Cliff are forgotten: Len had a lover for a period, a real lover, and he probably had a chance to see that there is a chance of happiness also for him. Plus Ruby seems really happy, no worries from her side on Cliff’s love for her; moreover, they soon have a child, Geoff, and the perfect happy family is complete.
But then Ruby suddenly dies in a car accident, Cliff is left alone with a baby to grow and a business to manage, both of them activities he seems unable to perform alone. At the same time Len is unemployed, and working for Cliff seems the perfect solution. When Len goes working for Cliff, there is really no hidden agenda, Len’s crush for Cliff seems old history, but of course spending day after day near the man will help him remember; plus there is an added bonus: Geoff is really a cute kid, and he is soon able to conquer Len’s heart. I think that most of the success of Len and Cliff’s relationship is due to Geoff: he readily accepts Len in their life, maybe since he is too young to being influenced by other judgement parameters if not that Len is good with him and makes his dad happy. On the other hand Cliff falls in love with Len both since he is a man, and Cliff was suppressing his homosexuality for too long, and both since Len is the perfect right hand Cliff needs to have things get going on.
Aside from one element in Cliff’s family, the same sex couple had it quite easy: Len’s mother was accepting, Cliff’s hands were also, the small town more or less didn’t care or was all right with it. This is not a story of an homophobic small town and how hard was for the men to live among them, it’s more a nice and quiet story about two men who fell in love when they were very young and had to wait a bit before having their happily ever after.
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Amazon: Love Means… Courage
Amazon Kindle: Love Means… Courage
Series: Love Means
1) Love Means... No Shame: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1011299.html
2) Love Means... Courage
Reading List:
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