Smoke and Spots

By Deirdre O'Dare

When firefighter Grady Ashcroft adopts his deceased sister’s son, he knows life will change. He never expected to be a dad, but he’ll give young Jamie his best, even if it means a celibate life in a new home. He does not expect to find the man of his dreams in the Colorado village where he takes a new job, either.

Sullivan Parker wanted to be chief of the Valle Vista fire department when the former chief was forced to leave. Instead, the town council hires a stranger from far away. Despite his resentment, Sully finds himself drawn to the newcomer. He also discovers a need to take Jamie and the spotted pup the former chief left behind under his wing.

Can the brotherhood of battling dangerous blazes morph into stronger feelings for the two men, or will conflict prevail?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Sep 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781634862103

Deirdre O'Dare

Deirdre writes gay romance channeling a prior life’s gay male twin she calls Danny. Fascinated by love’s diverse shades and guises, she explores and experiences a range of attachments. She still believes in happily ever after, that Love is the One True Thing and genuine Love is never wrong. For more information, visit deirdredares.blogspot.com.

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Smoke and Spots

By Deirdre O’Dare

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2016 Deirdre O’Dare

ISBN 9781634862103

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

NOTE: Previously published by Amber Quill Press.

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To fond memories of the Falcon, Colorado, volunteer fire department as it was in the 1973-77 period. Several of the fire fighters inspired some of the secondary characters in this story. It was an honor to know and sometimes work with you!

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Smoke and Spots

By Deirdre O’Dare

Chapter 1

Valle Vista, CO

Late spring

Are we there yet?

Grady Ashcroft glanced across the cab at the speaker, a tow-headed ten-year-old. He still struggled with the fact he now had a son. Even though Jamie was really his nephew, his sister’s sudden death had left him the boy’s guardian. With a father who had never even wanted the child, Jamie had fallen to Grady by default, but he could not regret the fast decision he’d made to accept the role.

Although he’d never thought of himself as father material, Grady knew he had to rise to the occasion. Part of that rising was a move from Kansas City to Colorado, leaving behind a job as a senior member of the city fire department to take the post of fire chief for the tiny village of Valle Vista and the surrounding rural area, one of only a few paid posts on the mostly volunteer department.

About another hour, he said. I know it’s boring, but we’ll be there before supper time.

Jamie gave an eloquent sigh. He knew better now than to whine, If I was still with Mom… The first few weeks he’d lived with Grady, the phrase had become an almost constant complaint. Finally, Grady had lost patience enough to remind the boy that his Mom was irrevocably gone, in spite of their desires. And that, without Grady, Jamie would be either in an orphanage, a foster home, or possibly with the paternal grandparents who wanted him little more than his father had. The words were cruel but necessary. Reality was. There was no way to escape cold, hard facts.

Of course, after his lecture, Grady had gathered the weeping child into a hug and reassured him as best he could. "You’re with me because I want you, because I love you. Your mom was my baby sister, very special to me and you are, too. We’ll miss her forever, but now it’s just the two of us, and we’ll be together until doomsday. You don’t have to call me Dad, but you can if you want to. I promise I’ll be here for you, with you, until you don’t need me anymore and even after that."

Jamie seemed to have gotten it then. No more whining. Maybe a sense of security began to develop. He might be silent and sullen at times, but that was to be expected. So much had changed so fast for both of them. Grady had been on the verge of forming a partnership with a co-worker who’d started as a casual friend and soon become much more, although, when Ed learned Grady was going to be taking in a child, he’d hightailed it out of Grady’s life. Maybe Grady had been lucky to learn what the other man was made of before things went too far, but it still hurt. Chances of finding someone else who’d fit into his world now seemed slimmer than ever.

A lot of people found the idea of hooking up with a firefighter exciting, until the down side emerged: odd hours, long shifts and the constant danger