Taylor has everything he was supposed to want: a thriving art career in Los Angeles, grown children who adore him, and Levi—a wealthy, kind, and devoted husband who saved Taylor from financial ruin. But beneath the curated surface of his life, Taylor is haunted. He is living with a chronic, quiet grief over Richard, the fiancé he betrayed and lost fifteen years ago in Ohio.
Unable to speak to anyone about his regret, Taylor creates a secret blog titled “Dear Richard.” What begins as a digital message in a bottle evolves into a raw, year-long confession. Through a series of intimate letters, Taylor dissects the anatomy of their relationship—the electric passion of two late-bloomers coming out in the mid-2000s, the struggle of blending two families, the financial stress, and the alcoholism that plagued them both.
As Taylor drifts deeper into his memories, the wall between his past and present begins to crumble. A chance encounter with the “other man” and a hidden photograph in the garage threaten to expose his secret to Levi. Taylor is forced to confront the ultimate question: Is he holding onto Richard because it was true love, or because he cannot forgive himself? “Dear Richard” is a heartbreaking and redemptive exploration of the difference between the “Lightning” we want and the “Lighthouse” we need.
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© 2025 Steven Preston. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by me. For permission requests, write to the author. steven [at] stevenpreston.im
— Disclaimer —
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.