Grady

By M Tasia

WATCH OUT FOR

After coming out, Grady Reynolds is disowned by his family, and is forced to leave his job in the Dallas PD. Becoming an officer in the small town of Brighton, Grady has to start over while feeling adrift and alone. When he meets firefighter Ben Mason, life takes a sudden, happy turn until Ben tells Grady they have to keep their relationship on the DL. After months of loving a man who thinks of him as no more than a booty call, Grady has had enough and wants out.

THE WRECKING BALL

Ben Mason loves Grady Reynolds like crazy. But Ben can't tell his lover how he feels. He can't acknowledge him in public. He can't claim him as his own. Ben wants to tell Grady the truth, but the danger in that is deadly, and Ben won't risk it. But peril and menace find Grady anyway, and Ben's lies and deception come crashing down around him. Just when he thinks he's lost everything, he learns that a love as deep as theirs can survive anything.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948029131

M Tasia

Michelle M. Tasia is a paralegal and romance author who lives in Ontario, Canada. She is a proud member of the Romance Writers of America and its chapters; the Rainbow Romance Writers and the Toronto Romance Writers. Michelle is a dedicated people watcher who often uses what she sees around her in the creation of her characters. She likes to read romance as much as write it and is a firm believer that love is meant to be celebrated and shared. She is the author of the Boys of Brighton series and the new series Gates of Heaven. Connect with Michelle: website: mtasiabooks.com facebook: mtasiabooks twitter: mtasiaauthor instagram: m.tasia.author

Book preview

GRADY

The Boys of Brighton – Book 7

M. Tasia

ALSO BY M. TASIA

The Boys of Brighton series

Gabe

Sam’s Soldiers

Rick’s Bear

Jesse

Coop

Travis

EVERYONE LOVES THE BOYS OF BRIGHTON

I loved this book and I love this town. I hope there’s going to be more.

—Melissa Lemons on Gabe

An amazing read that was filled with lust, love, crazy hot sex, danger, action and so much more. This is the first book I have read in this series, but I will definitely be reading more in the future.

—Gay Book Reviews on Sam’s Soldiers

I was crazy impressed that the author made me teary over the ending of a relationship that I shouldn’t have even been invested in. I didn’t yet know these characters yet the author made me hurt for them. That takes some mad writing skills!

—Love Bytes Reviews

Jesse and Royce together have my heart. Jesse has it all by himself.

— The Book Junkie Reads on Jesse

Welcome back to Brighton, Texas. Where any man can find home.

WATCH OUT FOR

After coming out, Grady Reynolds is disowned by his family, and is forced to leave his job in the Dallas PD. Becoming an officer in the small town of Brighton, Grady has to start over while feeling adrift and alone. When he meets firefighter Ben Mason, life takes a sudden, happy turn until Ben tells Grady they have to keep their relationship on the DL. After months of loving a man who thinks of him as no more than a booty call, Grady has had enough and wants out.

THE WRECKING BALL

Ben Mason loves Grady Reynolds like crazy. But Ben can’t tell his lover how he feels. He can’t acknowledge him in public. He can’t claim him as his own. Ben wants to tell Grady the truth, but the danger in that is deadly, and Ben won’t risk it. But peril and menace find Grady anyway, and Ben’s lies and deception come crashing down around him. Just when he thinks he’s lost everything, he learns that a love as deep as theirs can survive anything.

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

GRADY

Copyright © 2018 M. Tasia

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

ISBN 978-1-948029-13-1

E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

This has only been possible with the love and support of my family.

Love you Craig, Samantha, Katie and Jason.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Virginia, Elizabeth Levander, and MJ Ferguson.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

About the Author

GRADY

Chapter One

Grady sat in his rusting truck behind the Brighton police station. Today marked his first night back on the force, at least on a probationary basis. He wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Travis and Chief Graham speaking on his behalf. Grady swore he’d prove he was a capable officer and regain everyone’s trust.

His cell phone rang and he answered it without looking at the screen. Hello. As soon as he heard the voice on the other end, he cursed himself for not checking.

Hello, Grady.

Ben. Definitely not a person he wanted to talk to right now. Grady was nervous enough.

I thought I’d call and wish you good luck on your first night back. Ben’s deep, rumbling voice that never failed to send chills through Grady’s body echoed through the phone.

Thank you. Short and sweet.

Did you want to meet up after your shift? Ben’s voice purred across the line.

And there it was. The reason for the call. Damn if he wasn’t tempted. I don’t know.

I miss you. I need to see you, Ben spoke softly. He sounded sincere, and dammit, Grady knew he’d cave.

I’m off at six in the morning. Meet me at my apartment. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. How many times was he going to punish himself with the impossible? How long could he hold out while Ben made his decision? It’d been months already.

I’ll be there. Ben disconnected the call.

Grady sat staring at the screen. He’d promised himself that the last time they were together would be the last time. It wouldn’t happen again. And yeah, he’d said that the time before, and the time before that.

How many more times would he put himself directly in the path of the wrecking ball that was Ben Mason?

Okay. Time to get your head on straight and concentrate on getting back to the police officer you’re meant to be. Grady reprimanded himself for being so easily distracted today of all days.

He sat in his truck for a few more minutes to clear his thoughts. So much had happened since he’d moved to Brighton, Texas. His father, Detective Richard Reynolds, would say Grady had gotten what he deserved. Perhaps. But he’d sworn to himself he would make this work. He didn’t plan on going back to Dallas. Not now. Not ever.

Grady looked at himself in his rearview mirror, steeling his nerve. The sun hung low in the sky and shined onto his reflection, making him seem almost golden. Yeah, the Golden Boy. He was so far away from those days. He grabbed his lunch and opened his door, the familiar creak comforting him. It was one constant in his turnstile life, considering the truck, along with his clothing, were the only things he’d left Dallas with.

He didn’t bother locking the door; it didn’t work, and he had nothing to steal. His father would flip his lid if he realized Grady wasn’t adhering to basic safety practices, and that made him smile. Since he’d moved here Grady had let a few of his demons go, but that ended when he met Ben, and shortly after that, Grady had gotten himself suspended from the force. Now, he stood right back at the start of his journey. Well, except for Ben. That story should have ended a while ago.

The police department’s old brick building stood proud. Its wide stone steps and banisters always reminded Grady of arms welcoming people. It brought back memories of the station his father worked in when Grady was only a small child. Detective Reynolds had been a patrol officer back then and brought young Grady into the station for visits. He had loved every minute of being around a police department, and still did. Every time he walked through those doors his purpose renewed, and his conviction strengthened. He would be the best officer he could and protect the people of this community.

Grady huffed; that was the reason he found himself suspended: overzealous in his duty. So intent on doing his job he didn’t take a second to think through his actions before going into his fellow officer Bo’s home. If he’d stopped to wait for backup, he wouldn’t have pulled his gun on Bo’s boyfriend, Travis.

That’d been months ago; now Grady had the chance to redeem himself. He sucked in a deep breath and took the first step back onto the road of what he hoped would be the future he’d given up so much to have.

The station bustled with activity, officers arriving for shift and others finishing reports before leaving for the night. Grady had a few minutes before roll call so he stowed his lunch in his locker and left in search of that heavenly brew, coffee.

He walked into the small kitchenette area where they kept the fridge, coffeepots, and vending machines. Grady filled his mug, added sugar and cream before making his way back to the bullpen. As he sat down, Officer Bo Mason came walking through the front door. It’d been Bo’s boyfriend whom Grady had pulled his gun on by mistake. He doubted he and Bo would restart their friendship, but he’d try. They were a small department, and bad blood between officers hung over everyone.

Evening, Bo, Grady greeted.

Bo looked up and gave Grady a curt nod before walking by him toward the break room. Grady took that as a good sign. At least Bo hadn’t ignored him. Chief Graham came out of his office and headed to the conference room; time for roll call. Grady took a seat at the back of the room, cupped his hands around his warm coffee mug, and waited for everyone else to arrive. The chief handed out the briefing sheets. Any ongoing investigations, warrants, incident reports would be available in their mobile data terminal at a push of a button.

All right, quiet down. This won’t take long, the chief ordered. He read through the sheets, making announcements, and reminded everyone of the charity dinner coming up in a few weeks, which they would be expected to attend, in suits.

A few officers came over and shook Grady’s hand, welcoming him back, while others nodded in greeting. So far so good. The chief finished his announcements before looking at Grady.

Officer Reynolds, meet me in my office. Everyone else, you’re dismissed. Be safe out there.

Everyone stood and headed for the door. Grady waited and followed the chief out of the conference room and into his office. Have a seat.

Yes, sir. He sat and watched as Chief Graham pulled Grady’s duty belt and service revolver from a locked drawer and laid them on the table between them. He knew better than to reach for them; this would not be that easy.

So, here we are, Grady, the chief sighed. I don’t assume I need to remind you what’s at stake.

No, sir.

Good. I’m sending you out to the cutoff leading from the interstate. We’ve had a rash of speeders coming through there, Chief Graham explained as he slid Grady’s duty belt and gun across the table toward him. Check your new shift schedule before you leave and stay safe.

Thank you, Chief, Grady said before standing and gathering his belongings. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Thanks, boss. I’m thankful to be here. With a nod, Grady left the office and returned to the bullpen.

He took a long moment to look over his service revolver, confirming the chief had someone clean and lubricate the slide, barrel, and frame for him. After loading a magazine into it and checking his Glock 22 once again, he put his service belt on, its weight reassuring. He’d missed this. He grabbed his lunch and walked out to his cruiser. It took only ten minutes for Grady to reach his post and park the cruiser on a nearby side road. He set up his radar, adjusted his communications radio, and got comfortable.

Working a roadside speed trap wasn’t glamorous, but it was necessary to slow speeding motorists down on this stretch of the highway leading into Brighton. The night ended up being clear and warm. Stars flooded the sky as he sat alone with his thoughts.

It’d been slightly over a year since he’d come out to his family. He’d been twenty-eight and tired of living only half a life, always hiding his true self. At the time he’d been in a two-year relationship with a man named Tony, and was so in love. After he came out to his family, and they’d thrown him off the property, he’d sped past his apartment and raced to Tony’s house only to find him in bed with an unknown woman. Bisexual and a cheater—Grady’s heart tore wide open.

Things got worse after that; his father smeared him at every turn. Right until the day Grady resigned his position with the Dallas PD. Working in the same building as his detective father, who had contacts all over Texas, became too much. Grady’s applications to other departments had been rejected, and the Dallas PD had turned against him. Finally, Grady had an offer from the Brighton PD. Apparently Chief Graham didn’t care about the good detective’s reach or Grady’s sexual orientation. Now here he sat on the side of the road in small town America and loved it. It’d been a big change for him,

Reviews for Grady

[L'eau · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute story, but some more research needs to be done about ventilators and sedation. Also, I could have sworn that Ben was older than Bo in the previous book, Travis.