Simon Peters and his partner Mark Smith face a number of challenging life events in the fourth and final volume of this heart-warming saga. Because of his time working on the streets after being kicked out of home by his father, Mark worries he may have contracted HIV. Despite knowing the lack of treatment options if he were to test positive -- this is the late 1980’s before the age of retro-viral drugs -- Mark is determined to know his fate. Things become complicated when Mark receives a letter from his father wanting to re-establish contact. Roy entering their lives presents further challenges, ones which ultimately threaten Simon and Mark’s continued happiness. Gay teens Sam and Billy play an increasingly important part in Simon and Mark’s lives, often regarding the older men as surrogate fathers/big brothers. Can this unconventional family pull together and become stronger, despite all the world has thrown at them?

Fireside Romance Book 4: Glowing Embers

Rather than tell me, Mark slid the envelope over to me. 


He nodded. “It doesn’t say a lot, just that Dad wants to get in touch with me to apologise. It gives his address and phone number, which hasn’t changed.”


I opened the letter; it said what Mark said it did, but it also gave Mark a number of options. He could contact the Salvation Army and tell them he didn’t want them to pass on his current address—the letter was at pains to point out this wouldn’t be done without Mark’s permission. The Salvation Army could forward any messages Mark might want to have sent to his father, or, of course, Mark could contact his dad directly. Even though Mark had given me the letter, I still skipped the section containing details of why Roy wanted to get in contact. That was personal to Mark.


“I don’t know what to do,” Mark said and buried his head in his hands.


Chapter 21