Zane's truck has broken down on a deserted Arizona highway. He's been driving for days to get as far away as possible from the boyfriend who beat him up and sold off most of his things. He managed to fight back and get away with just his truck and a few clothes. Construction worker Butch spots the broken-down truck and pulls over to offer help. When he sees the battered young Zane, Butch offers to take Zane home and patch him up. Butch's boyfriend, Randy, is the opposite of the level-headed construction worker. Randy is an eccentric artist who bounces from one thing to the next and says whatever comes into his head. Both men become attracted to the sweet, helpful young man, but while Zane's physical wounds heal, it's not clear he can ever bring himself to trust another man enough to be comfortable with their touch.
“Three of a Kind” is a sweet, slow-burn romance about finding love in unexpected ways. The emphasis is very much on the characters, with the drama coming mostly from the tension over Zane's bad experiences and the potential repercussions it might have on him and his new friends.
Zane seems like a very nice young man, not in the too-good-to-be-true way we often find in romance stories, but in a very natural way. He is fundamentally a good person, as are Butch and Randy. It becomes clear that Zane's former boyfriend took advantage of the young man's caring nature. His journey back to learning to trust his feelings and allow people to get close is depicted very well and quite naturally.
Butch and Randy are also depicted very realistically, although we don't get much of their backstories. Randy definitely provides the comic relief in the story. He seems to have a severe case of ADHD, but Butch provides just the kind of supportive environment he needs. Even before the romance begins to develop with Zane, it's clear that the young man fills a gap in their “family” that Butch and Randy hadn't realized existed.
“Three of a Kind” is available from Smashwords or Amazon (commissionable link).
