When firefighter Grady Ashcroft adopts his deceased sister’s son, he knows life will change. He never expected to be a dad, but he’ll give young Jamie his best, even if it means a celibate life in a new home. He does not expect to find the man of his dreams in the Colorado village where he takes a new job, either.<br><br>Sullivan Parker wanted to be chief of the Valle Vista fire department when the former chief was forced to leave. Instead, the town council hires a stranger from far away. Despite his resentment, Sully finds himself drawn to the newcomer. He also discovers a need to take Jamie and the spotted pup the former chief left behind under his wing.<br><br>Can the brotherhood of battling dangerous blazes morph into stronger feelings for the two men, or will conflict prevail?

Smoke and Spots

Judy answered for the rest. “You bet, and we’ll be up there as soon as we’re done, unless you’re already back here with them.”


Sully said a few prayers himself as Grady drove up the forest road, faster than was really safe. Pesky as the boy and his dog could be, Sully had come to love them both. Night on a fiery mountain was not a safe place for them. Maybe one of the Indians had corralled them. Maybe they were…He hardly dared to finish the notion of where or how the pair might be.


When he glanced across at Grady, he saw the tense line of the other man’s jaw in the dim glow from the dash. Darkness came fast on the eastern side of the big range and here in the canyon, dusk was rapidly fading to inky darkness. Up ahead dim glows revealed where the fire still burned. In spots, it advanced like a fast freight train, roaring through the steep, rugged terrain. In spots—Sully thought of the lanky half-grown pup and the kid, somewhere up there in the hostile night. 5


Chapter 14