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

“I wasn’t sure back then. I knew you were, well, curious. But, well, I wasn’t sure.”


“I’ve tried the grass on both sides of the fence so to speak and I think I like men best,” Danny confided, speaking more quietly. “Hey, if you’re staying round here for a bit…maybe we could meet up. You know?” He waggled his eyebrows. “We could pick up where we left off.”


I tensed. Danny was a lot better looking than I; he had a kind of roguish charm to him, a natural confidence I lacked. 


“No thanks,” Mark said before I could get myself too worked up. “Simon is everything I could ever want. And I think it’s time we were getting back to Dad’s.” Mark applied gentle pressure, urging me forward.


“I’ll see you around sometime then?” Danny asked our retreating backs.


“Don’t think so,” Mark said without bothering to turn around.


Chapter 52