Re-learning how to walk takes determination, strength and courage. Re-learning how to date is brutal.

It took Anthony Potosi years to recover from the accident that claimed his father's life, and doctors told him he'd never walk again. He proved them wrong. Now he's back at the landscaping business, Potosi and Sons, he shares with his two older brothers—but they seem more interested in getting him to sell out his share than in celebrating his recovery.

The oil-and-water relationship between Tony and his brothers is hardly new. Even when they were kids, they delighted in terrorizing each other with stories like "The Hook," complete with visits to the abandoned Victorian half a mile down the two-lane.

Now Tony towers over his brothers...but he's still the youngest. When the new owner of the Hook House calls in an order, they take a little too much satisfaction in sending him to face his old fears. And learning to open up again to trust, desire—and maybe even love—is far scarier than The Hook.

Sympathy is a gay romance novella with moderate steam and just a hint of magic.