The Bend In River (Mulligan's Mill‪)‬

RIVER

It's been way too long since I set foot on the streets of Mulligan's Mill. But after serving six years in the Marines I just wasn't ready to return home, so I got myself a motorcycle and spent another two years avoiding the idea of going back—hoping that reuniting with my best friend Clarry would wash away all the hurt and help me start over again.

I'm a war hero and built like a tank, while he's still the sweet, sensitive, chubby kid he was at school, only now he runs the town's ice cream parlor. I can't put my finger on it, but the more I feel like I'm losing my best friend, the more desperately I'll fight to have him in my life . . .

CLARRY

Oh fudgesicles! River is back in town and although I want to see him more than anything else in the world, I'm also terrified that my lifelong secret crush on him will somehow surface and he'll never want to speak to me again.

But like a scoop of Cherry Berry Bubblegum Bliss melting in the sun, I can feel my confidence dripping away and my terrified true feelings beginning to show. If I do blurt out my feelings for my best friend, will he stay strong and steadfast and reject my undying love for him?