Heat Rising [Brac Village 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)

Brac Village 5

Heat Rising

Spencer Dillinger is a quirky little impala shifter. He has finally found a job as a bookkeeper at The Pit. Between balancing the books and keeping his best friend from trying to kill all his coworkers, Spencer has his job cut out for him.

Bear Callahan was born into poverty but crawled out from the gutters of hardship to make a life for himself. He is the chief at the Firehouse and has to deal with men who act more like immature adolescents than firemen. He doesn’t mind. The only thing missing in his new life is a mate.

But Bear soon finds the one thing he has been looking for in the form of Spencer. The little impala shifter is perfect in every way.

When the fire department is called to one fire after another, Bear knows he has a pyromaniac on his hands. Between trying to stop Brac Village from going up in smoke, helping Spencer deal with all his havoc-filled moments, and trying to form a bond with his mate, Bear is soon feeling the heat rising.

Genre:
Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter

Length:
36,544 words
 

Brac Village 5

Lynn Hagen

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

HEAT RISING

E-book ISBN:
978-1-62242-870-0

First E-book Publication: May 2013

Cover design by Siren Publishing

All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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Heat Rising
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HEAT RISING

Brac Village 5

LYNN HAGEN

Copyright © 2013

“I’m telling you, Johnny,” Spencer said as he sipped on his ice tea, leisurely enjoying his lunch break at The Café, “I saw Harley Grouper talking with Damon Myers, and in my opinion, they looked pretty dang comfortable with each other. They were at The Pit, practically in each other’s laps.”

“No way!” Johnny said as he pressed a hand to his chest, his blue-grey eyes wide. “I just saw Harley in here yesterday, and he was talking with Bailey Festers. They were over on the couch making cozy. Whatever Harley was whispering into Bailey’s ear had to be pretty funny because Bailey kept laughing and slapping Harley’s chest.”

Spencer nodded his head as he pointed a finger at his friend. Spencer had met Johnny about six months ago, and they had been sharing their lunch breaks together ever since, indulging in town gossip—or more specifically, the shameless way Harley Grouper flaunted the men he was with. Spencer was pretty dang sure the men Harley was seeing were unaware of each other. “I told you that man was scandalous. I wonder just how many other men he is stringing along.”

“You think he can handle more than two affairs?” Johnny asked incredulously, as if such an idea was too farfetched. God, the man was too damn innocent for his own good. Spencer wasn’t worldly, not by a long shot, but he knew that some men were cheaters. Harley seemed to have more than his fair share of men though.

“Pfft.” Spencer twisted his lips as he draped his arm over the back of the chair. “I’m willing to bet there are a few more running around here who think they are Harley’s only sweetheart. The man is shameless.”

“Thank goodness he is human. Can you imagine if he had a mate?” Johnny asked as he tossed his hand to the side, looking as if he was thoroughly enjoying the gossip just as much as Spencer was. “I’m willing to bet he couldn’t keep it in his pants even then.”

“Honey, let me tell you,”—Spencer picked his drink up and took a long sip before setting it down—“men like Harley Grouper—” Spencer curled his lips in when none other than Harley himself walked into The Café, his arm draped over yet another man. This time it was the cashier from Village Mart, and it wasn’t Damon…or Bailey.

“Scandalous,” Spencer whispered in a singsong voice as he watched Harley take a seat on the very couch Johnny had said the man shared with Bailey just yesterday. The guy had tenacity.

Johnny snickered and then stood. “I have to get back to work. You should get heading back to The Pit. I’ll see you tomorrow, Spencer.”

Spencer grabbed his drink, glancing at Harley and then Johnny, giving his friend a wide grin before heading out the door.

The Pit was only one block over, which was why Spencer always walked—that and he didn’t own a car. As he sipped on his ice tea, he saw Recker heading his way. He loved his best friend to death, but there were days when he really didn’t feel like being checked up on. He understood Recker’s fears, Spencer really did. But sometimes he felt like the man was suffocating him.

“Checking on me again?” Spencer asked as he walked past the floral shop and appreciated the beauty of the arrangements sitting outside the door. The sidewalk was wet, telling Spencer that someone had just watered the flowers and plants.

The rhino gave him a boyish grin as he turned on his heel and began to walk next to Spencer. As handsome as Recker was, Spencer thanked the fates the guy wasn’t his mate. Recker had a short temper and went off half-cocked when riled. As a friend, he was fabulous. A lover, Spencer just couldn’t see it. Thank goodness Recker felt the same way. “Nah, just running some errands. Heading back to work?”

“Yeah, I just spent my lunch hour with Johnny.” Spencer quickly glanced around before he leaned close to Recker. “I saw Harley with yet another male. It wasn’t Bailey or Damon.”

“Dude, you are such a gossip whore.” Recker chuckled, his light-blue eyes filled with jollity.

Spencer shrugged at his best friend’s teasing. “I’m only stating the truth. If Harley doesn’t want to be talked about then he shouldn’t prance around town with a different man all the time.”

“Come on. I’ll walk you back to work.”

Just as he suspected. Recker may be in town to run errands, but he was also here to check up on Spencer. The guy was hopeless. They both had lost a brother before coming to Brac Village. It took Spencer a while to get over the loss. But ever since the two deaths, Recker felt that his duty was to keep everyone in their small pack safe.

Sometimes the guy drove Spencer up the wall. But he loved the big lug like a brother. His intentions were in the right place. “Are we still meeting at the diner for dinner?” Spencer asked as he sipped on his ice tea.

“I’ll be there. I still don’t understand why you don’t eat at The Pit. Is there something you know that I should know about?”

“The food is fine, Recker. I just don’t want to hang around at the same place I work. Knowing Priest, he’ll only try to put me back on the clock.” Spencer liked his boss. The man was a great guy. But when it came to his business, Priest was a little extreme. He was constantly yelling at Leigh and Parker, the cook and the cashier. But then again, those two spent half their time hanging out in the kitchen instead of working.