Where the Waters Remember

Mark Hayworth has built a steady, successful life in Tulsa. An openly gay mixed-blood Cherokee man with a respected career at a local casino, he has learned to keep his world structured, predictable—safe. But when he inherits his Uncle Charlie's cabin in the Ozarks of the Cherokee Nation, everything begins to shift. Back in Berryfield, surrounded by land, memory, and family ties he never fully understood, Mark reconnects with a part of himself he had long set aside—his ability to make Cherokee pottery. There, he meets Jake Carter—a straight, small-town handyman with a complicated past and a quiet strength that stands in sharp contrast to Mark's ordered life. Jake spends his days working hard and helping care for his family, especially his fourteen-year-old brother Christian, who is trying to find his place in a world that doesn't always make that easy. Jake is everything Mark is not. And yet, the two form a bond neither of them expected. Not romance. Something deeper. Something lasting. Back in Tulsa, Mark crosses paths with Tyler Glass, a twenty-year-old young man living on the streets. What begins as a simple act of kindness quickly turns into something far more serious when Tyler suddenly disappears—pulling Mark and Jake into a search that reveals a darker reality hiding in plain sight. As the search unfolds, their friendship deepens, and the lines between obligation, loyalty, and brotherly love begin to blur—not into romance, but into something just as powerful. A family. One not bound by blood, but built through choice, trust, and the willingness to show up when it matters most. Set against the backdrop of the Cherokee Nation and modern-day Tulsa, Oklahoma, this story weaves together themes of identity, resilience, and belonging—while honoring the strength of Native communities and the importance of telling our own stories. Because sometimes, the people who save us… are the ones we find along the way. This is the beginning of a powerful two-book saga that introduces the enduring world of Berryfield, Redbird Ridge, and Carter Holler—and the unforgettable Carter-Hayworth family born from the heart of the Cherokee Nation.