Heat Rising [Brac Village 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (13 page)

“I called Dr. Prayze to ask him if any animals were being cared for overnight. He said he had a few kittens and a Labrador inside. There are also some horses in the stables out back.”

“I’ll meet you at the scene. Bring my bunker gear.” Bear tossed his phone on the bed and hurriedly dressed.

“Another fire?” Spencer asked from the doorway.

“Yeah, the vet clinic this time.” Bear laced his boots up and headed toward the door, stopping momentarily to give his mate a kiss. “Hurry up and get dressed.”

Spencer shook his head. “I’ll be fine here by myself. You go take care of the fire.”

Bear was hesitant. What if the pyro decided to target his house next? Although he wasn’t in the town limits, houses had been set on fire in the rural surroundings that were still considered Brac territory.

“Lock up,” Bear said as he walked to the front porch. He wasn’t sure how a locked door would help when it came to a fire, but it made him feel better to give the order. “Call me if you even think someone is close by.”

“I will.” Spencer gave him another quick kiss before Bear hurried to the truck. It took him less than five minutes to get to the clinic. Of course he had sped a little along the way to get there so quickly. Before he even reached the bend to the clinic, Bear saw billowing plumes of smoke high above the treetops.

Bear pulled his truck next to the rig and got out, going for his bunker gear. Sampson was pulling another hose from the truck, and Travis and Flint were apparently already inside, fighting the blaze.

He could see an orange glow on the left side of the building and knew where he needed to go. Just as they reached the building, a window exploded from the heat.

The two worked to get the fire out on the left side as Travis and Flint worked the right. As soon as the water vapors began to fill the air, Bear hurried toward the attached stables to check on the horses.

They were unharmed.

Bear walked back toward the front of the building and saw a small black car pull up. He recognized the vet. From the wildness of the man’s hair, Bear would have thought the man had just rolled out of bed. But he had seen the man around town. His hair always stuck up everywhere, as if he never thought about combing it, or constantly ran his hands through the strands.

“Are any of the animals hurt?” he immediately asked. The vet didn’t ask about structural damage or what was ruined in the fire. He wanted to know about his patients. It said a lot about the cougar shifter’s character.

“No, we got the kittens and dog out. The horses are still in the stables, but the fire didn’t reach them,” Bear said as he pointed to where Travis was kneeling, running his hands over the dog’s brown coat of fur. Flint was holding the kittens in his arms, and seemed to be having a hell of time keeping them from jumping free.

“Thank you for saving them.” The vet reached into the backseat of his car and pulled out a small cage. He walked briskly over to Flint and lifted each kitten from the firefighter’s arm and placed the small orange balls of fur into the carrier.

Bear’s eyes swept over the fire-damaged clinic and knew they had to find the pyro…and soon.

Spencer opened the door and stepped inside, immediately surrounded by the aromatic scent of coffee beans and the sound of shouting orders and people murmuring. He found Johnny already waiting for him at a table. The man was wearing orange boots that reached his ankles and a matching half jacket. One thing Spencer could say, the guy had a flair for colors.

“I can’t stay long.” Spencer took a seat and grabbed the ice tea Johnny always brought him. “I’m meeting Bear for lunch.”

“It’s just as well,” Johnny said, a little too bubbly. “I have to leave early because it’s my godson’s birthday. I’m supposed to help Gabby decorate the Den for the party. Do you want to come?”

A kid’s party?
“I think I’ll pass.” He liked kids, but tried to steer clear of a room filled with the little ankle biters. They were adorable on their own, but not when there was a crowd of them. Spencer thought about all the times he had seen a bunch of kids gathered and inwardly winced. The ones he had seen at parks or off in the kiddie play section at the mall were terrors. He didn’t think the ones at the Den were, but running around with toddlers wasn’t something on his to-do list. “I need to head out. Have fun decorating.”

Spencer walked from The Café and headed toward the firehouse. He could have just called Johnny and told him that he couldn’t meet him, but he was killing time. Bear would be off in another ten minutes. Spencer hadn’t wanted to get there early and sit in his mate’s office. It was too nice out today.

As he strode through town, Spencer saw more of the campaign signs with Bart Fishman’s name plastered on them. He still hadn’t figured out who the man was, but Spencer seriously doubted the guy would win against Maverick.

He wasn’t even sure why Bart Fishman was wasting his time.

Just as Spencer was about to turn the corner, strong arms grabbed him from behind, a kiss dropped on his head, and then he was lifted off his feet. He started to shout, until Spencer recognized the distinct scent of his grizzly bear.

“You better be lucky I know your scent. I was just about to give you a beat down.” Spencer shouted as Bear lifted him up into the air and threw him over his shoulder, chuckling deeply.

“Then I’m a very fortunate man.” Bear swatted him on the ass and then set him on his feet. “I was just heading back to the firehouse when I spotted you.” His mate grabbed Spencer’s hand and pulled him in the direction he had just come from. That didn’t make one lick of sense to him.

“Where are we going?”

“To get something to eat,” Bear answered as he skirted by a few people who were standing outside the bookstore chatting.

Why hadn’t his mate just called him and told Spencer to meet him at the diner? “I wish I would have known. It would have saved me from walking to the firehouse.”

Bear held up their entwined hands. “Then I wouldn’t have been able to take a nice afternoon walk with you.” The guy was so much taller than Spencer that he nearly pulled Spencer up off of his feet when he lifted his arm. He did stumble forward slightly, though. Not only was his mate an astonishing height, but he wasn’t a beanpole. The guy was pretty damn thick.

Bear opened the door and held it so Spencer could walk in. He spotted an empty booth and made a beeline for it. Scooting in, Spencer sat back. “Have you found out who Bart Fishman is?”

Bear pushed into the booth, moving the table toward Spencer a few inches to accommodate his frame. “He’s the principal at Brac Elementary. From what I hear, he doesn’t approve of the way Maverick is running things.”

Spencer grabbed the menu off of the Formica tabletop and began to scan the lunch items. “Then the man hasn’t had his eyes open. The town is flourishing and jobs are still scarce, but not like they once were. I just saw a store that had a sign in the window that read
Fine Threads Coming Soon
. I also saw an antique store opening up.”

“I’m not sure what Bart Fishman is complaining about,” Bear said as he raised his hand slightly to gain the waiter’s attention. “Maybe it’s something else that we don’t know about.” They gave their drink orders when the waiter came over to their table.

“Are you guys getting any closer to finding out who is setting the fires?”

Bear threw his right arm over the back of the booth, rubbing his stubbled chin with his left hand. “No, but they are moving closer and closer to the thick of town. My worst fear is that they’ll get right into the heart of Brac Village and then a domino effect will occur. The buildings are pretty close together.”

Spencer shivered. “That would be real bad.” He couldn’t imagine losing any of the picturesque buildings to a fire. What would he do if The Pit went up in flames? Not that he didn’t worry about that constantly with a grill right outside the building.

“The sentries are patrolling the town. After three fires, no one is taking any chances.” Bear leaned back as the waiter set the drinks on the table. Spencer grabbed the straw, unwrapped it, and popped it into the glass of juice he had ordered.

“Do you fellas know what you want to eat yet?” the waiter with the flames licking around his neck asked.

“We’ll be a few more minutes.” Spencer began to look over his menu again. Out of the corner of his eye, Spencer spotted Bailey. The guy looked like he had been kicked in the ass by the world. Spencer felt so sorry for him, but knew that time would eventually heal the man’s broken heart.

That was if they could get Harley to stop treating these men as sex objects. The way he was treating these men had Spencer ready to take up Bailey’s battle. He wanted to squash Harley like a bug.

The waiter came back over, and both the Bear and Spencer ordered. “I’ll have the perch, but can the cook grill it, not fry it?”

“Yep.”

“Great. Can I get a few slices of lemon to go with that and some steamed rice?” Spencer set the menu down and saw the way Bear was staring at him. “What?”

His mate just shook his head. “I’ll have the big, fat, dripping-with-grease burger. Some unhealthy salted fries, and a calorie-filled chocolate shake. Add some whipped cream and chocolate sauce to that shake.”

Spencer kicked at his mate under the booth. “Are you making fun of me?”

“What makes you think that?” Bear grabbed his ice water and took a long drink. Spencer was relieved to see that his mate did something healthy—even if it was just drinking water. He wasn’t foolish enough to think he could change the man, and he really didn’t want to. But Bear could use a little healthy eating in his life.

Shifters may live a very long time and not suffer through the diseases humans were plagued with, but that didn’t mean his mate couldn’t get fat. The extra weight wouldn’t bother Spencer in the least, but he knew it would bother Bear.

The fire chief needed to stay in top condition for his job. Eating death on a plate was not conducive to that goal. But Spencer wasn’t going to say a word. It was what it was.

Spencer turned and watched all three of the Santiago brothers stride into the diner. He only knew who they were because Styles—the coyote he used to live with before moving in with Bear—worked for the brothers. Johnny had also told him about Tryck, the oldest of the three. He had said that Tryck was a very unique person.

Even Spencer knew a dangerous man when he saw one. He wasn’t sure about unique, but the word
lethal
did come to mind as he watched the three take seats at a booth on the opposite side of the diner as him and Bear.

Spencer’s attention was back at his table when the waiter brought their food. He absolutely loved that this diner didn’t serve slop. The cook was extremely talented and prepared food that should be served in a five-star restaurant.

Okay, so that was his opinion, but the food was awesome. He started to recant that thought when he saw Bear pick up an extremely large burger, a line of grease running down his mate’s finger.

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” Bear teased before taking a huge bite.

“Nope. I’m perfectly happy with my boring little fish.” Spencer cocked his head. “I thought bears liked fish?”

Bear nodded as he chewed, wiping his grease-laden fingers off on his napkin. Once he swallowed, Bear took a long drink of his chocolate shake. “I love fish. But that doesn’t mean I want to eat it all the time.”

Spencer began to eat, ignoring Bear’s overexaggerated moans of pleasure. The man could tease all he wanted to. Spencer knew how to get even. As a matter of fact, Bear wasn’t even aware that Spencer had been slipping healthy ingredients into his meals when it was his turn to cook. The guy hadn’t even noticed. So much for his sour face when Bear spotted the organic food in the refrigerator.

Spencer was dying to tell him that he had been eating it for days, but if he spilled the beans, he knew Bear would act like Spencer was poisoning him or something. So as badly as he wanted to set the man straight, he kept his lips sealed.

* * * *

Aside from the beautiful forest, and the well-crafted deck, the back of the house was pretty plain. Spencer glanced at the sloping hill and wondered what he could do to spruce it up. Every day he walked between The Café and The Pit, passing by the floral shop. What he wouldn’t give to have a nice-looking garden.

Maybe he could get some hanging boxes for the back porch. Although Spencer absolutely loved all the woodwork, it desperately needed some color added in. He was totally clueless when it came to caring for flowers, but he was pretty sure he could learn.

They were flowers. How hard could it be to keep them alive?

Bear had said that Spencer could add his touch to the place. His mate had already talked to someone about building a bigger closet, which Spencer was ecstatic about. He wanted to make the small cabin into a cozy home for him and his mate.

Spencer started back up the slope when a stranger rounded the side of the house. No. It wasn’t a stranger. He had no clue why Harley Grouper was heading toward him. Personally, he didn’t even know the man.

“I’m told you’re the one spreading rumors about me.” Harley’s average-brown eyes were filled with anger, his jaw tight.