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

“All part of the service, sir,” Mark said, snapping off a salute.


Sam laughed so hard at our antics, he almost fell out of the boat himself. 


“Spring has definitely sprung,” Sam said, loosely wrapping an arm around Billy’s waist. 


We were walking in the depths of the forest, the dappled sunlight peeking through the trees. Alas, the ground was damp underfoot and the air was rich with the smell of moist leaves and earth. I could see why Mark felt so at home in our garden at home. As for me, I could only appreciate nature on a grander scale like here.


Because of the wet conditions I feared we’d have to eat standing up. There wasn’t a picnic table anywhere in sight.


“There’s a clearing over there,” Mark said, pointing to his right. “Let’s have a look.”


We changed direction and soon emerged into bright sunlight. No, the clearing didn’t yield a picnic table, but instead I saw a couple of large fallen logs. 


Chapter 44