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

“The castle was built for one purpose and one purpose only: killing!” Mark said, reprising his Vincent Price persona. 


“Anyone who stays in the Pink Room in the castle often receives a midnight visitor. It’s said he’s a twelve-year-old boy who was walled up alive in the fireplace. At midnight you can hear him crying pitifully. And, if you’re lucky, you can see a small figure bathed in blue light coming out of the fireplace. 


“When they found his bones in the early 1920's, his fingers were all worn down. They say that’s because he tried to dig his way out using his hands.”


“As I said, the castle was built for the sole purpose of killing people. The prisoners were housed in the dungeon where they waited until they were killed.”


“Prepare to die!” Sam said, diving at Billy, who fended him off.


Chapter 36