Jobe Tucker is the hottest fireman in Templeton by Lake Erie. Hot, single, and a fireman, he’s caught the eye of Stuart Talbot, owner of a local convenience store. But if Talbot doesn’t stop prying in the fireman’s life, there might be hell to pay. He just can’t control his crush, though.<br><br>Enter Talbot’s best friend, the straight Adam Lark, who balances Talbot when needed. Plus he owns a cabin away from the city where the two men occasionally spend weekends for downtime, relaxing. Unfortunately, Adam can’t stop Talbot from stalking Jobe.<br><br>When Jobe flirts with him, Talbot’s obsession and liking for the fireman heightens. But he has a heated history of being burned in a long-term relationship. Can Talbot put his tragic past behind him and begin a new love affair with the fireman? Or will his heart go down in flames?

Play with Fire

Jobe Tucker isn’t at the inferno. I don’t see him on any of the news coverage, although I expect to. Nor is he interviewed like he usually is by a young Tom, Dick, or Harriet of WTMP after the fire is extinguished. I expect him to show up at Speedy In, Speedy Out for his celebratory liter of chocolate milk and a Slim Jim. To my surprise, he doesn’t show.


“Strange,” I say to the front door of the convenience store, waiting for it to burst open and Jobe to appear. To no avail, though, ten o’clock ticks by, then eleven. When Mike and Matt Vanda (twenty-two-year-old twins) take over the night shift, I head across town in my Jeep and plan to get arrested for breaking the law.


Chapter 4