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One Last Note:
Some of those on my list I have read, reread, & even listened/re-listened so I've included the review posted in my latest read/listen. Also, those that are read/re-read as a series the latest review may be an overall series review. If any of the purchase links included here don't work be sure and check the authors' websites/social media for the most recent links as they can change over time for a variety of reasons.
Here at Padme's Library I feature all genres but followers have probably noticed that 95% of the posts and 99% of my reviews fall under the LGBT genres, so for this year's Pride Month I am showcasing 20 of my favorite M/M single dad reads in no particular order. The single dads fall under a variety of genres and tropes with a perfect blend of romance, drama, healing, and heart, creating unforgettable reads.
One Last Note:
Some of those on my list I have read, reread, & even listened/re-listened so I've included the review posted in my latest read/listen. Also, those that are read/re-read as a series the latest review may be an overall series review. If any of the purchase links included here don't work be sure and check the authors' websites/social media for the most recent links as they can change over time for a variety of reasons.
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Summary:
Single Dads #1
Single Dads #1
Reeling from the painful rejection of a man he thought he loved, Asher is left holding the baby.
Ash wants a family, and is determined to continue with a surrogacy he'd begun with his ex. Bringing baby Mia home, he vows that he will be the best father he can be. Nothing in this world matters more to him than caring for his daughter, not even accidentally falling in lust with the doctor next door. Challenged by his growing attraction to Sean, and confronted by painful memories of his family, Ash has to learn that love is all that matters.
When ER doctor Sean moves in with his friends next door to sexy, single-father Ash, he falls so quickly it takes his breath away. The sex they have is hot, but Ash is adamant his heart is too full with love for his daughter to let anyone else in. Why is Sean the only one who sees how scared Ash is, and how can he prove to his new lover that he desperately wants the three of them to become a family?
Original ebook Review June 2019:
I love it when my favorite author starts a new series. Single Dads has so much potential I can't wait to see what is yet to come. Personally I think there is nothing sexier than a man caring for a child. I was 16 when I saw a boy in our class carrying his little sister into the stands at a basketball game and I've been a goner ever since for men caring for kids, so to have Single Dads be the series focus and title, I was all kinds of "YAY!"
I'm not going to say Asher and Sean have a "cutesy meet" but it definitely fits the overall stress levels of said characters. "Collecting your bestie off the front steps of the next door neighbor because he was so drunk he went to the wrong home while said neighbor is trying to keep his baby girl sleeping" may not be rom-com gold but it definitely screams "yep, they are destined for romance".
I think Asher is pretty indicative of most single parents, perhaps his stress levels are a little higher than they need to be but considering how his ex behaved leading up to the surrogacy, his behavior really isn't all that unrealistic. There were moments where I would have liked to see Ash let Sean in a bit more but again his past mixed with new fatherhood, its understandable and there is no doubt whatsoever that he loves his little girl. The scenes with Mia are beyond adorable, his inner fears and imaginations not only made me smile(not so much at the fear part as the imagination, hey I like to see characters suffer but I'm not sadistic😉😉) but they made him more real.
As for Sean and his fellow roomies. Well, I do love a man in uniform and what better uniforms than a doc, a cop, and a firefighter? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke but its who the boys are both in occupation and spirit. Sean may be the star of Single from that house but the others factor in too. Eric is the drunk friend who instigates the introduction between Ash and Sean and Leo is like a baby whisperer with Mia, or as I believe a character at one point calls him "the baby wrangler".
Sometimes I think Ash should have been doing a bit more pursuing to level out the playing field but at the end of the book I was more than satisified with how RJ Scott wrote Ash and Sean's journey. Single isn't just a romance between a single father and his next door neighbor, its also a tale of friendship, fatherhood, and finding a way to balance all of it together. If you're looking for loads of angst then this might not be up your alley right now, I wouldn't label Single all unicorns and roses but there really isn't any of what I call "high-end level drama" either. Nope, RJ Scott's Single is a lovely romantic read that will put a smile on your face and fill your heart with warmth, so its a win-win in my book.
Ash wants a family, and is determined to continue with a surrogacy he'd begun with his ex. Bringing baby Mia home, he vows that he will be the best father he can be. Nothing in this world matters more to him than caring for his daughter, not even accidentally falling in lust with the doctor next door. Challenged by his growing attraction to Sean, and confronted by painful memories of his family, Ash has to learn that love is all that matters.
When ER doctor Sean moves in with his friends next door to sexy, single-father Ash, he falls so quickly it takes his breath away. The sex they have is hot, but Ash is adamant his heart is too full with love for his daughter to let anyone else in. Why is Sean the only one who sees how scared Ash is, and how can he prove to his new lover that he desperately wants the three of them to become a family?
I love it when my favorite author starts a new series. Single Dads has so much potential I can't wait to see what is yet to come. Personally I think there is nothing sexier than a man caring for a child. I was 16 when I saw a boy in our class carrying his little sister into the stands at a basketball game and I've been a goner ever since for men caring for kids, so to have Single Dads be the series focus and title, I was all kinds of "YAY!"
I'm not going to say Asher and Sean have a "cutesy meet" but it definitely fits the overall stress levels of said characters. "Collecting your bestie off the front steps of the next door neighbor because he was so drunk he went to the wrong home while said neighbor is trying to keep his baby girl sleeping" may not be rom-com gold but it definitely screams "yep, they are destined for romance".
I think Asher is pretty indicative of most single parents, perhaps his stress levels are a little higher than they need to be but considering how his ex behaved leading up to the surrogacy, his behavior really isn't all that unrealistic. There were moments where I would have liked to see Ash let Sean in a bit more but again his past mixed with new fatherhood, its understandable and there is no doubt whatsoever that he loves his little girl. The scenes with Mia are beyond adorable, his inner fears and imaginations not only made me smile(not so much at the fear part as the imagination, hey I like to see characters suffer but I'm not sadistic😉😉) but they made him more real.
As for Sean and his fellow roomies. Well, I do love a man in uniform and what better uniforms than a doc, a cop, and a firefighter? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke but its who the boys are both in occupation and spirit. Sean may be the star of Single from that house but the others factor in too. Eric is the drunk friend who instigates the introduction between Ash and Sean and Leo is like a baby whisperer with Mia, or as I believe a character at one point calls him "the baby wrangler".
Sometimes I think Ash should have been doing a bit more pursuing to level out the playing field but at the end of the book I was more than satisified with how RJ Scott wrote Ash and Sean's journey. Single isn't just a romance between a single father and his next door neighbor, its also a tale of friendship, fatherhood, and finding a way to balance all of it together. If you're looking for loads of angst then this might not be up your alley right now, I wouldn't label Single all unicorns and roses but there really isn't any of what I call "high-end level drama" either. Nope, RJ Scott's Single is a lovely romantic read that will put a smile on your face and fill your heart with warmth, so its a win-win in my book.
Original Audiobook Review September 2019:
Honestly I don't think there's much I can add to my original ebook review back in June that would fully express how much I love Ash, Sean, Mia, and the whole gang. Sean Crisden once again brings RJ's words and characters to life in a way that almost reminds me of the old radio shows from the 30s & 40s that I collect. There's no sound effects but he puts so much into the individual characters that sometimes I swear I'm hearing the background noise, the footsteps, the door knocking and creaking open, the cars on the street.
Now I don't normally listen to a book this close to having first read it but the opportunity arose and you know what? Single is just as good in audio as it was on my kindle.
RATING:
Honestly I don't think there's much I can add to my original ebook review back in June that would fully express how much I love Ash, Sean, Mia, and the whole gang. Sean Crisden once again brings RJ's words and characters to life in a way that almost reminds me of the old radio shows from the 30s & 40s that I collect. There's no sound effects but he puts so much into the individual characters that sometimes I swear I'm hearing the background noise, the footsteps, the door knocking and creaking open, the cars on the street.
Now I don't normally listen to a book this close to having first read it but the opportunity arose and you know what? Single is just as good in audio as it was on my kindle.
RATING:
Hop On by Kiki Burrelli
Summary:
Welcome to Morningwood #5
An overweight omega puts his life in the hands of a battered and bruised alpha...
Captain Aries did not escape his last mission unscathed. His work with the Elite Force is always dangerous—it’s not easy protecting an entire town of trusting shifters from outside threats—but Aries blames himself for the danger he put his team in. To make certain that will never happen again, he decides to resign after one last mission: to protect a VIP named Arthur on his way to Morningwood. Aries failed as a Captain, he won’t fail as a bodyguard.
Arthur has lived his life alone and on the run. Hiding from his sadistic twin, Arthur keeps a low profile. Overweight and afraid, he cloaks himself in clothes and never engages with shifters, despite being one himself. His evil brother taught him that shifters only bring danger. But when a ruggedly handsome Captain from Morningwood shows up at his house to escort him to the shifter community, for the first time, Arthur wants to believe he could be safe. Arthur isn’t just concerned with himself though. He has his adopted daughter, Harlow, to care for. At two, she should be years away from her first shift, which makes her ability to spontaneously turn into a tiny bunny strange. Not to mention the troubles it causes around bath time.
Aries is drawn to Arthur from the first moment, but who would want a battered alpha like him? He has no right to put a claim on Arthur. Aries knows the single father is perfect just the way he is and deserves perfection in return. But when a rival alpha approaches Arthur and offers him the safe life he craves, will Aries stand back and watch his future family be whisked away?
Hop On: Welcome to Morningwood Book Five is a full-length omegaverse romance with equal parts heart, angst, humor, and steam. It can be read as a standalone or in order and has a definite, you don’t gotta worry ‘bout it HEA.
Original Review March 2024:
At first I had a bit of a difficulty getting into this story which I fully blame on my brain not wanting to let go of the characters from Sack of Gold. It only took a chapter, maybe a few pages less than to fully be absorbed in Hop On. As I said in my Sack review recently, I am unfamiliar with this series as a whole and though I found it bit darker than other omegaverse and mpregs from other authors, I couldn't speak to Burrelli's Welcome to Morningwood. Well, I think there are definitely some more disturbing if not full-on dark elements in Hop, I won't spoil them but just know that my heart hurt, physically hurt, for Arthur and his little girl, Harlow. How he found the strength to face it as he did, I'm not sure but he did but I don't think Arthur sees himself in full survivor mode which only added to the hurt my heart felt.
As for Aries, well the name is more menacing than the man but don't count this injured Elite Force Captain out, he may be recovering from the mission that took Arthur's evil brother down but he's not as helpless or unlucky to those around him as he thinks he is. Hop On is only my second read in Morningwood series but I can't think of a better bodyguard to bring Arthur back to recover his brother's belongings and ID him through said belongings. At first glance they couldn't be more opposite but truth is as we get to know them better they aren't so different in their hopes and fears.
And I can't forget little Harlow. What a sweetie with such a heartbreaking past but in Arthur she has found a sense of family and love. She has seen too much in her young years but you know that with Arthur and perhaps Aries(I won't spoil anything) she'll never go unloved.
As I stated in the beginning, Hop On definitely has dark and sad elements but they are all prior to the start of the story but they have left a lasting impression so not only do we see the heartache through Arthur's inner thoughts but also the stranglehold they have left on his present. There is plenty of goodness in this story too, the darkness does not win, does not overshadow, but the author shows how it takes time to overcome those demons. Heartbreaking but also very heartwarming story that lifts you up. Definitely the perfect second read to continue my want to discover more from this author.
Hurt Me Not by Davidson King
Summary:As a lieutenant at the Fool’s Pass Fire Department and a single father, Easton Kooper’s life revolves around his children. When he receives an urgent call from his son’s doctor, it upends Easton’s world. Suddenly, barreling into a burning building sounds like a piece of cake. With no idea of what to do or where to turn, he’s never felt more lost. And then in walks the answer he didn’t know he needed: a gorgeous fae with an angelic smile, bearing grand promises to turn the Kooper family’s life right side up again.
Finch knows the rules: don’t fall in love with a human. That’s always been simple enough to follow—at least until the Kooper family. Despite his best efforts, Finch grows attached to Easton and his children…attached enough that he’s tempted to turn his back on the fae and their laws completely.
Before long, the pair must brace themselves as both their worlds seek to destroy them. When the darkness crashes down, it’ll take every ounce of defiance and magic Finch has to keep the Koopers safe. Faced with immovable magic and unspeakable danger, is there really any way Finch and Easton’s love can prevail?
Fighting it is hopeless, but embracing it could mean ruin for them all.
Hurt Me Not is a standalone MM urban fantasy. Guaranteed HEA. No cliffhanger.
Original Review April Book of the Month 2024:
HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!! Davidson King has done it again!!! Hurt Me Not is a highly personal journey for the author, perhaps not the paranormal element but all the emotions the characters feel stem from personal experience. I'm not a parent but I have spent too much time at my mom's bedside, hospital and home, feeling the very same things: fear, worry, need to breakdown but not being able to, wanting to take their pain away but can't. It can really weigh on a person and seeing the author take those experiences and channel them into an amazing storytelling journey, well it's just very uplifting and gives one hope on a variety of levels.
So let's talk Hurt Me Not.
Easton is facing what no parent wants: a phone call from his son's doctor who has low lab numbers and more tests are needed. When the team has issues getting an IV placed for young Milo, Finch is called in as he has an unbelievable yet welcoming calming ability about him. My mom is a hard stick when it comes to IVs and have seen nurses of all kinds try and fail, unintentionally cause pain and be so gentle you didn't even know you got poked, so I understand Milo's fears and the relief Finch provides.
Speaking of Milo, he and his sibling, Tru(or Tru-Bug as daddy Easton says) are an absolute delight. Hurt Me Not may be Easton and Finch's journey but seeing the kids navigate the illness and all the emotions that go with it warms the heart. In fiction I find kids can be hard to balance between sugary sweet and spoiled brat but Davidson King does it beautifully.
You could say Hurt Me Not is a story told in two parts: the contemporary tale of Milo's illness and effects on family and the paranormal tale of Finch, his family, and the Fae. On the surface it seems like an odd pairing to mix but King balances both with an equal mix of realism and fantasy until they are two sides of the same coin. My heart bleeds and cheers for everyone, well not everyone, Finch has a few family members that are on the dark side of life😉. Not a single character is filler, they all have a purpose.
It's hard for me write this review without putting loads of personal emotions and experiences in so I'll just stop here and say that Hurt Me Not is brilliant. I can see why it was one of the hardest stories to date for the author to tell but I can also see why it was most likely the most rewarding and therapeutic. The Fae brings a fantasy element that only heightens the story. Put together Davidson King's storytelling expertise is chuck full of tears, cheers, and heat that guts you to the core and then heals the soul leaving an entertaining gem in it's wake.
Checking it Twice by VL Locey
Summary:Snowed Inn #3
Will confessing his deepest secret to his best friend ruin their friendship?
Sutter Thompson has spent a goodly part of his life living a lie.
That lie led him to marry a woman he didn’t love as he should while he struggled to be all that his family wanted him to be. Finally, after the birth of his son Zachary, Sutter came to see that he needed to live a life of truth. Not just for himself, but for Zach as well. The truth included coming out at forty, getting divorced while his son was an infant, and trying to readjust to being who he was born to be.
Throughout all the turmoil, Sutter’s best friend, Watley McCutcheon, stood by his side. Watley understood how difficult breaking free could be. He had done it many years ago when they were still on the same college hockey team. Sutter always admired Wat’s bravery. He also admired his best friend for many other things…his smile, his laugh, his adoration of his son, Adam, and his caring heart. Now that Watley is single again, Sutter is hoping he can unlock the final secret he’s been carrying in his heart…he has and always will love Watley.
He’d not planned to do so at the youth hockey awards, but then again, he hadn’t expected an avalanche to strand him, Watley, their sons, and several of the boys’ teammates in a cozy Colorado inn either. Maybe it’s the romantic atmosphere or the sudden realization that life is too short to harbor such strong feelings forever, but he’s ready to declare his feelings to Watley. Can they step out of the friend zone and into a romance, or will Sutter’s heartfelt admission destroy years of brotherly affection?
Checking it Twice (A Snowed Inn Novella) is a friends-to-lovers gay romance with plenty of snow, a heaping helping of romance, snowball fights, terrible dad jokes, pop culture references out the wazoo, and a joyous happy ending.
Original Review December 2022:
I know forced proximity tropes aren't for everyone, especially since Covid but I've always enjoyed a well written one or what I like to call "tale of necessity" or "fate at work". There is always a cloud of "will it last once the necessity is gone" hanging over the heads of those involved but lets face it, there are "what ifs" hovering over everyone's head at some point or another. I enjoy this trope because it can make some who might never get a chance to say two words to each other really get to know the other. Be honest, communication and seeing one deal with the unexpected, can be key to lasting love.
Now that I've said that, Checking it Twice, though forced proximity gives Sutter and Watley the opportunity to face what is in the room, is actually more of a friends to lovers trope as they've been best buds since college. Just because they probably know all the nitty gritty of each other's psyche doesn't mean they've been completely open about everything and the avalanche near The Retreat forces them to face a few truths. Kids and fellow-trapped hockey parents play a hand in it as well.
I don't want to spoil anything but we know VL Locey and the whole holiday tale genre is all about the HEA so it's no secret where the men will end up but the how they get there is where all the fun lies. I refuse to spoil your fun. I will say that one thing I loved the most is how the kids act and react. I have found too many kids in entertainment(book, tv shows, movies) fall into one of two categories: super sickly sweet or spoiled obnoxious brats so when I come across kids in my readings(or viewings) that are simply "normal"(I hate that word because what is "normal" but I can't think of a better one right now) with some sweetness and a hint of bratty potential but mostly "I just want to see you happy, dad. When can we eat?", I not only remember them but need to shine a spotlight on them. So kudos to VL Locey for the "normal" little boy behavior😉.
So to reiterate in much more brevity: Checking it Twice is brilliant holiday fun that will make you smile and leave said smile on your face for hours afterwards. Oh and, men caring for kids? Yummy to the Nth degree!
One last series note: Snowed Inn is a multi-author series of standalones with the only real follow thru being the avalanche that traps the main characters at The Retreat. The entries can be read in any order although if I'm completely honest I'm glad I read RJ Scott's Stop the Wedding first simply because there are the occasional wedding(or non-wedding) comments, none of which really effect or play a role in any of the other entries but I was glad I knew what they meant having read Wedding first. But that's more a personal preference of mine than an actually need to know scenario. I still have a couple of entries to read but so far they are all topnotch.
Everything I Know by Josh Lanyon
Summary:Connor loves teaching. He loves working with kids, he loves feeling like he's making a difference. And the kids -- and parents -- seem to love him. Until the afternoon he makes a small error in judgment, and an angry father's thoughtless comments start the kind of rumor that destroys careers. And lives.
Now everything Connor thought he knew about himself and his world is in doubt. But sometimes help comes from the most unexpected direction.
Connor makes a snap decision when one of the children in his care is injured and in doing so his life is turned upside down. When Wes Callahan makes a comment in anger and fear, and even though the inferred rumor is only known to two or three people it has a lasting effect on Connor's life. Will Wes be able to make it right?
I'm going to start by saying that Everything I Know has been on my Kindle since June 2014, that's right, for over four years this little gem has been sitting there in my hand and yet it went unread. How you ask? I have no answer for that because Josh Lanyon is one of my favorite authors and one of only a handful I call "1-clickers". My only excuse is that it just kept getting pushed down, down, and down on my TBR list. Well, I read it now and I loved it!
Connor is the kind of teacher we all want for our kids(even those of us who don't have kids), he's attentive, he's encouraging, he's friendly but not a pushover, and he dispenses wisdom all while still letting kids be kids. Wes is a single dad with a wonderful relationship with his daughter's mother but unfortunately he lets his fears run his mouth in a single, emotional moment without realizing what he has set in motion. As this is a novella, I won't say any more about the plot but I do want to say that even though what sets the story in motion is heartbreaking and can leave the reader almost angry I found the story as a whole to be uplifting and simply put entertaining and still can't believe it took me over four years to read.
I just want to say that the title says so much and is so true, Everything I Know, and then you turn the page to see the rules most of us learned in kindergarten that the title refers to:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life-Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
It's a shame we don't continue to follow the lessons we learned as we started school, life would be so much better for so many of us. Having said that, don't think Everything I Know is about teaching the reader a lesson but at the same time if you walk away having realized something about yourself than all the better. Truth is this is just a lovely, frustrating-at-times, entertaining read that made me smile and I can't ask for more.
Re-Read Review August 2020:
Truth is I can't think of a better way to describe how much I loved Connor and Wes than the things I mentioned 2 years ago. We all say things in anger and fear that we often don't realize how it can be perceived and effect others so as much as I wanted to hate Wes, I understood it. The beauty of the story is what comes after the single second of fear and anger. Everything I Know is an easy, reasonably quick read, not because there isn't much to it but because it speaks to the reader and your want to see Connor and Wes' journey unfold. A lovely gem of entertaining romance.
Truth is I can't think of a better way to describe how much I loved Connor and Wes than the things I mentioned 2 years ago. We all say things in anger and fear that we often don't realize how it can be perceived and effect others so as much as I wanted to hate Wes, I understood it. The beauty of the story is what comes after the single second of fear and anger. Everything I Know is an easy, reasonably quick read, not because there isn't much to it but because it speaks to the reader and your want to see Connor and Wes' journey unfold. A lovely gem of entertaining romance.
RATING:
Single by RJ Scott
Asher
Vin Diesel is outside my house.
It’s two a.m., Mia is asleep, and I’m hallucinating that a Hollywood actor is outside my house in the San Diego suburbs.
“Open the door!” the big man bellowed, banging on the wood. I grabbed the nearest thing I could find to use as a weapon, then switched on the porch light that illuminated the area with the light of a hundred suns, and wrenched open the door. My attempt at acting like a hard-ass was undermined by the fact that my weapon was a citrus-yellow bowl my twin sister had made. It didn’t help that I was wearing pajama bottoms that barely sat on my hips and a T-shirt emblazoned with a farting unicorn, but still I growled.
And there stood Vin Diesel himself.
Now that I was up close I could see it wasn’t the real actor. Just someone who, in my state of exhaustion, appeared a hell of a lot like him. In my defense, my vision was blurry. This was my first night being completely and utterly alone with my brand-new baby daughter. No more sister backing me up, no more getting a few hours’ sleep. Actually, I’d had no more than an hour’s sleep at a time in the past three days. Too late to do anything about it, I wondered if this behemoth might have a weapon, because it was two a.m., he was swaying, and he was obviously off his head on something. Drugs. This had to be something to do with drugs.
Why didn’t I pick up my cell phone first?
I’d forgotten my damn phone, and I’d only opened the door so the banging wouldn’t wake Mia up, and I hadn’t even considered this guy could be an armed intruder.
An armed intruder isn’t likely to knock or shout so loud the whole neighborhood is probably peering out of their windows.
Also, I lived in a small house in a peaceful San Diego suburb, in a quiet cul-de-sac, where excitement was what happened last month when the guy at number six lost his garage remote.
Fake-Diesel stumbled back a little and winced up at the porch light, shielding his eyes and cursing.
“My keys,” he mumbled and patted his pockets, pulling out a bunch of keys with a joyful whoop, then immediately dropping them on the ground.
“Who are you?” I stood right in the doorway and kept my voice low; anything not to wake Mia. I’d just gotten her to sleep, and if this Diesel wannabe woke her up with his asshole banging on my freaking door, then I would shove a dirty diaper in his face before calling the entire police department down on him. Or maybe a SWAT team consisting of parents who knew what it was to have a new baby who refused to sleep. An entire armed force of sleep-deprived adults would end up killing him.
Now, that would get him the fuck off my porch.
He straightened and blinked. Then he cruised me. Or at least it seemed as if he might have. Right here on my property, clearly stoned, he raked his gaze from my head to my toes and lingered in the middle for way too long.
“You’re not them.”
Oh, so he wasn’t cruising me unless he identified his friends by staring at their crotches.
He swayed toward me, his eyes glassy, his hand outstretched.
“You have the wrong house,” I shoved the hand away and stepped outside, before pulling the door half closed behind me.
The guy was big, way bigger than me but he was so unbalanced I thought I could take him down if he tried anything.
Fake-Diesel spaced out in an instant, and for a brief shining moment, I genuinely thought that he understood what I was saying. Then he began to cry, great rivers of silent tears running down his face.
“Jesus,” I said, unsure what to do next. Should I comfort the complete stranger crying on my doorstep or call the cops or what?
“Sean!” the stranger yelled through the open part of the door. “Leo!”
What the fuck? You’ll wake the baby.
“Shut up!” I snapped as loudly as I dared, and hoped to hell his shouting hadn’t reached through the house and up to the very light sleeper that was my daughter.
“GUYS!” he yelled again, and this time, he pushed it too far. So I did what every sleep-deprived adult would do in my situation. I lost my cool and snapped.
Luckily, for him, the extent of my snapping was thrusting the fruit bowl toward him in the most threatening way I could imagine.
“You. Stop. Go. Away. Or I’m calling the cops.”
He took a step back. Wide-eyed. “What? Who? Where’s Sean? Is Leo home yet?”
“My name is Asher,” I snapped.
“Why are you in our house?” The guy looked so confused. “Are you Sean’s latest hookup? He likes pretty boys…” He stopped, blinking back tears. Should I be offended? At thirty-one, I was a long way past a boy or being called pretty, for fuck’s sake. One more step back and my visitor would be tumbling down the steps from my wraparound porch. He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out an old flip phone, and stared at the screen before punching at buttons with his big fingers.
“Sean? Leo? Guys?” he pleaded and then took that one fatal step back, tumbling down the steps and into a chaparral broom so overgrown it gave him a soft landing. I toed off one of my fuzzy duck slippers, a gift from Siobhan last Christmas, and wedged my front door open before going toward the idiot. Before I reached him, he’d jumped up, swayed, and then was violently sick in the same bush he’d landed in. His cell was on the grass, still lit up, and a tinny voice was calling loudly for someone called Eric.
I assumed the guy decorating my chaparral broom was Eric, and I picked up the phone. “I don’t know who the fuck you are or who Eric is, but I’m at 23 Birds View Court, La Jolla, and you need to get your ass over here now to get him before I call the damned police.”
“Sorry? What was the address?” the man at the other end of the call asked.
What the hell?
“San Diego, La Jolla, 23 Birds View Court.” He’d better not be living hundreds of miles away.
“I’ll be there in… shit… will you look at that?”
I held the phone away from my ear, some kind of weird echo made it sound like the voice was coming from right behind me. Then, with a flurry of movement, someone walked past, scaring the shit out of me, and went straight to fake-Diesel-Eric.
“Eric?”
“I couldn’t help any of them,” the big guy said, and then, in my front yard, with puke down his shirt, he started to cry again. “We tried, but the doors…”
The man who’d appeared from the darkness gripped his shoulder. “Jesus. I’m sorry.”
I still couldn’t get a good look at the second man or understand why either of them was hugging it out in my yard, Eric deadly quiet, and the other man holding him upright.
“Sean, I couldn’t do a thing…”
Evidently, the guy holding Eric up was the Sean who he’d had been calling for, the one who seemed to live in my yard somewhere and liked pretty boys.
Maybe this is a dream? Maybe I’m still asleep. This is a whopping Alice in Wonderland kind of nightmare.
“Let’s get you home, okay?” Sean said.
Eric pulled back, swayed a little, and Sean grabbed him. Then he turned to face me.
“Sean Roberts,” he said and attempted to extend a hand to me but realized at the last moment he couldn’t let go of Eric. “We moved next door last week.”
“Go away.” I’d had enough of people on my doorstep. So far, Mia hadn’t woken up, and I might just get away with it. “Take your friend and go.”
“We’re sorry. Eric’s not had a good night.”
Mia’s piercing cry split the night, and I closed my eyes and counted down from ten. “You morons have woken up my baby, for fuc— for goodness sake.”
I left Sean and this Eric guy and slammed the door in their faces. No point in trying to stay quiet when Mia was awake. I stopped outside her room, calmed my temper, cooled my stress, and pasted a happy smile on my face. All the books said that with Mia only six weeks old, I was probably a blur to her, but I never wanted her to see me unhappy. If there was the smallest chance she understood complex layers of loneliness, fear, and anger, then I would keep working on pushing them behind a smile.
I placed the bowl on the hall table and headed straight for the crying. The scent in my room was that of the small, scrappy human who had taken over my life. It was a new baby smell, talc and cream, and warmth. I scooped her from her cot, feeling every tiny molecule of my stress vanish in an instant. Snuggled with her head up and under my chin, my hand supporting her tiny diapered rear, she mewled unhappily.
“Aww, Mia, I bet you’re just as sad not to be sleeping as I am,” I murmured to my sweet, precious baby girl. She couldn’t have been hungry, or at least she shouldn’t have been. She’d finished her last bottle a little while back, and I went through my emergency checklist, which was fuzzy and unfocused and lodged in the back of my mind somewhere under a desperate need to sleep. One thing the nurses had drummed into me, followed by my sister, was that routine was everything and I needed to learn all the checklists until they became second nature.
Second nature they weren’t, not yet, but I could work through them step by step.
The room was warm, but not too warm, and Mia’s crib was right up against my bed. She didn’t feel hot to the touch, and with the sniff test carried out, I didn’t need to change her diaper after I’d done so an hour earlier. Or thirty minutes. I couldn’t quite recall the time. Only that it was dark and past midnight. Her crying lessened, and she wasn’t hunting for a bottle like a baby bird. She lay against my chest, all soft and sweet and wanting her daddy to fix it all.
“It’s okay, Mia. The shouting men have gone. I made sure of it.”
She hiccupped, and I rubbed her back before picking up the embroidered pink blanket, a gift from our surrogate, and taking her out to the living room. We snuggled on the sofa, me and my girl, and she sprawled over my chest as I pulled the soft blanket over her. Within minutes she was slumbering again, and I fought napping myself long enough to get her back to her crib. My phone showed it was three a.m., Mia was asleep, and I climbed into my bed, scooting next to the open-sided crib, and for a little while I stared at the miracle that had changed my life forever.
Familiar fears rose inside me, the ones that had plagued me ever since I’d received the email about the successful implantation. Was I good enough? Was she okay? Why couldn’t I have stopped a drunk man from shouting and waking her? She shouldn’t know fear or anxiety. She should never be pulled from innocent sleep.
I was her dad, and she was my daughter, and I had never loved anyone or anything the same as I did Mia Francesca Haynes.
Hop On by Kiki Burrelli
Chapter One
Aries (Captain)
"Fuck, shit, dammit!" I clenched my hands into fists to keep from slamming them against the dashboard. This was a rental, and I didn't think the Elite Force would want to foot the bill for my aggressive outburst. Then again, they wouldn't be getting many more bills from me. Not if this went like I wanted it to.
I sucked in the cool early morning air, taking a moment to breathe through the rage like my appointed therapist had instructed me to do. My jaw ached from the pressure and movement. It felt so tight I wouldn't be surprised if soon it simply snapped in two, right off its hinges, leaving me with a floppy horror movie mouth.
But at least the breathing distracted me from my non-functioning leg. For half a second. I yanked the keys out of the ignition to stop the relentless dinging and grabbed onto the door ledge. Pulling my left half, I negotiated my injured leg out of the car. It had been a long drive from Morningwood to Monterey, and I'd chose to drive straight through, rather than take breaks like my doctor suggested.
I was so close to being rid of Golden Bone, though—and my current life—the idea of stopping, delaying that for even a moment, felt unacceptable. My days with the Elite Force were numbered, and once I transferred Golden Bone's remains to the right person and out of my life, all the other parts of me that had refused to heal would start to do so. They had to.
All I had was this one last task. Captain Stellers was too smart a shifter to take over my team without first making sure the most notorious hitman to ever enter Morningwood was completely taken care of. Golden Bone. The golden retriever shifter hitman who moonlighted as a serial killer was cursing me even in death.
He'd met his end, brutally, but not before leaving a wake of destruction behind him. I was still alive. I was one of the lucky ones. But I wanted my life from before, the one where I could walk and move freely, without pain. The life where I didn't need to see the bottom of a bottle of whiskey to fall asleep and where my muscles didn't twitch at the slightest sound or movement.
Which was why I found myself parking on the side of a quiet street with large, fenced-in homes. Stately oak trees lined the sidewalk, their branches breaking up the bright blue sky that stretched overhead, decorated with large, puffy white cloud formations. This was a road where nothing bad happened. I almost couldn't believe anyone related to Golden Bone could live here. Finding a next of kin had been nearly impossible. Everyone at the station told me to just forget it, to let the hitman's remains rot in the holding storage. But even knowing his ashes were in the same city as me would not do. That, and Stellers wouldn't take over otherwise. He was a dot your i's, cross your t's kind of guy.
I hadn't told my team I was leaving. They'd put on airs, pretend to be surprised or disappointed, but we'd all been waiting for this day. Ever since Golden Bone snapped my leg in two and made me a fool in front of my team.
I shut the car door and stepped onto the sidewalk, wincing. Just a few more steps became my personal mantra. The leg wouldn't stop hurting—nothing could make it do that—but it would loosen up. My body would remember after the long drive in one position how to compensate with my other limbs.
Most people would still be bedridden after the injury I'd sustained. A double compound fracture with torn ligaments and tendons on both ends. That was fancy talk for Golden Bone stepped on my leg hard. The bones stuck through my skin, and then he shook them like a dog with a bone. Except—jokes all around—as a golden retriever shifter, he had literally been a dog with a bone.
The break had been bad enough. The torn ligaments on both sides were worse. Even my enhanced shifter healing was having a hard time bringing me back to one hundred percent. I was beginning to think I simply didn't go that high anymore.
"Harlow!" an urgent whisper came from ahead. "Harlow, get back here. No! Don't you—!"
I checked the street address, noting the whispers were coming from behind the fence of the home I was walking toward.
Fear, as jagged as broken glass, lodged into the top of my throat. Was this Golden Bone's next of kin? What sort of person would I find? They were a paranoid sort, proof from the fact that they refused to come to Morningwood alone and would not even entertain the idea of signing for the ashes unless I could personally ensure their safe travel.
If there had been any way to mail the remains, I would have. But the mayor had been adamant that we do things by the books—despite the fact that nothing had been done that way before this point—which meant this person was required to come to Morningwood and personally sign the documents that would transfer ownership.
"If you don't get over here right now, that's it, Harlow. No cookies for lunch. No Peppa!" the voice threatened.
I couldn't be sure, but I thought the person was either a man trying to sound quiet while being loud or a woman who had smoked most of her life. At the thought of smoking, I patted my shirt pocket, relieved by the small cardboard lump I found there.
Quitting the first time had been difficult, but after the attack, those deathsticks were the only thing that kept me sane when the sun was out.
I'd made it to the front gate. The fence was double layered with staggered wrought iron poles that made it very difficult to see inside unless a person stood at the exact right angle. I tried to look in before pressing the intercom button, but all I saw was a bundle of movement. Someone wearing a puffy jacket in the middle of an expansive yard.
On the other side of the fence came a trilling noise. I pressed the intercom again. The noise happened a second time.
"That's—oh no," the voice said. "Harlow! Harlow!" The person on the other side had reached panicked levels.
The Elite Force agent inside of me urged me to remain calm so that the person on the other side would be calm. I guessed I should be impressed that someone could still sound more panicked than I felt. That had to be why I wanted to soothe them. I knew what it was like to feel like you were stuffed into skin too tight that was slowly shrinking even smaller.
"Excuse me," I called out loudly. "I'm on the other side of the fence and can hear you." There was no answer so I kept speaking. "I'm the one you've been corresponding with." Still no answer. "Regarding the remains?" Bile rose up my throat, and I swallowed it down. The taste still lingered, sharp and acidic.
"Yo-you're with the Elite Force?" the voice asked timidly.
"I'd like to discuss that inside if I may." No one who lived on this street was supposed to know the Elite Force existed. Our duty was to keep the unique all-shifter town of Morningwood safe and, most importantly, a secret from non-shifters—normal humans—or as we called them, normies. Golden Bone had landed on the Elite Force's radar by using his shifter abilities to kill people for money. It had been only a matter of time before he would've been caught by the normie FBI and then who knew what secrets he would've told.
He wouldn't be talking now. Or hurting anyone else.
"Are you alone?" the person asked.
"Yes, as you requested." I'd nearly canceled the whole trip when the next of kin had asked that I come by myself. It had felt unnecessarily dangerous, but up until that point in our communication, my contact had simply seemed frightened, but earnest. Now they were standing on the other side of the gate, and I was even more curious about what type of a person this was. A type with a pet—I could assume that much already.
"Do you see the lens on the gate? It's nestled inside the zero in the address plate."
I peered more closely at the gate. Sure enough, inside the zero there was a small camera lens. "I see it."
"Stand exactly four feet back with your body directly in front of the camera. Arms stretched out to your side."
I did as he asked, hoping the additional strain on my leg that standing in that position gave me didn't show on my face. I waited that way for five seconds. Another five, and my left leg began to shake—a precursor to giving out entirely—and then—
"Stand back. The door swings out."
I didn't need to shuffle back, but I did. The door opened, revealing a wide, deep green lawn. Behind the lawn was a sprawling garden with bushes that lined the walk way and so many different kinds of plants I was momentarily awed. A garden this size and vibrancy must've taken a lot of work, dedication, and talent. It managed even to outshine the stately mansion behind it.
Standing to the side, looking utterly out of place with his multiple layers of dark clothing, black cap, and sunglasses stood a man. I could only assume he was my contact. Juxtaposed against the vibrant background, his unassuming presence only piqued my curiosity further.
"Are you Golden Bone's next of kin?" I asked quietly once the gate had closed behind me.
"Golden Bone," the man spat. "That's a dumb name." He spoke with so much hatred, so much vitriol, I didn't think he could be talking to me. "He probably loved it," the man said.
"And you are…?" I prompted, stepping closer. My contact had given me very limited information.
For every step I hobbled closer, he slunk back like a cat toward a mouse. "My name is Arthur. You already know I'm related to the d-deceased so I don't see why I need to give you any more information."
True. The task of finding someone related to Golden Bone had been difficult. From what we knew of him, he came from an affluent shifter family that did not grow up in any of the more common shifter towns. No place was quite as secure as Morningwood, but Dix Wallow was another popular shifter town, as well as a few others.
Golden Bone had never wanted for money—hadn't even needed the fees he'd collected while working as a hitman. While that fact had narrowed the list, it hadn't pointed toward any place or family in particular. After a while, I'd focused only on the rich families that weren't answering my calls.
Eventually, I'd crossed every name off my list except for an old number for a home in Connecticut. I'd spoken to an elderly woman who had given me a forwarding address which had led to another vacant house with another number to call that turned up an old email address, and the rest was history. And honestly, even if Arthur wasn't Golden Bone's next of kin, if he could just pretend long enough to take the ashes away, I'd be fine. I'd done my job and could wash my hands clean of the situation. Finally.
"My name is Captain Aries Canis. I am—"
"Your actual name is Captain?" Arthur asked.
"No. I am a Captain. I command a team. I'm in the Elite Force. We protect our town from outsiders. It's all very important work…" Why couldn't I shut up? And I wasn't going to be a captain for much longer anyway. "You know what, forget the captain part, just call me Aries."
"Hmm, Aries," Arthur repeated. He brought his hand up to the top button of his shirt. I spotted at least two other layers beneath that one. He worried at the button. "God of war or astrological?" he asked, and something about his tone made me wish I could see his eyes more clearly.
"Astrological," I replied.
"Hm," Arthur replied.
That single noncommittal noise filled me with so many questions. Who was this man, really? What was his connection to Golden Bone? Even with the glasses on and a pale beard covering some of his face, I could make out his tense, fearful expression. He wore clothes like they were a suit of armor, as if he could put on enough dark layers to protect himself. But from what? I let my eyes travel over his body. There wasn't much I could make out, not through the jacket, button up and undershirts. He was an average height, but stockier than most shifters, and I would've wagered that a luscious ass lurked beneath those slacks.
I cleared my throat. I'll take inappropriate musings for a thousand.
"Were you looking for something?" I asked. "When I walked up?"
"Oh! Shi-oot!" He spun from me, inching toward a large oak tree in the corner of his yard. It was so large, I'd seen the branches hanging over the fence from the other side. "Harlow!" he shouted, running to the trunk and looking up into the branches above. "Stay there. Don't move. I'll get the ladder, and…"
I walked up behind him, peering up as well. There, nestled among the branches, was a tiny bunny with fur made of every shade of brown. Its miniscule ears stuck straight up on either side of its head. The animal couldn't have been very old at all and looked down at us with black, unblinking eyes.
"Your pet?" I asked.
Arthur gave me a double take, and I couldn't tell if he was more shocked by my sudden presence beside him or the bunny stuck in the tree.
"I've heard that they aren't great climbers but can climb. He should make his way back down."
"She's a she," Arthur replied. What I could see of his face had lost a considerable amount of color.
If this was freaking him out so much, I didn't see why I should let it continue. I reached for the tree. The bunny squeaked as Arthur snagged my arm. His fingers felt hot and pressed firmly into my skin.
"What are you doing?"
"Going to get your pet. You want her right?"
He pulled me back, letting me know that while his voice and mannerisms seemed timid, he was strong. "I'll do it," he said uncertainly. "She'll just hide from you."
I stepped back. I wasn't going to fight this, I'd just wanted to help Arthur relax a little, and he'd seemed unable to do that with his pet in the tree.
He took a deep breath and started to climb. I could see immediately that, like bunnies, he also wasn't much of a climber. He reached for a branch, and when I saw he meant for it to hold his weight, I stepped forward, opening my mouth in warning.
The branch snapped before I got a sound out. Arthur fell back. I caught him but wasn't prepared for the sudden change in weight, and my left leg gave out from under me, causing us both to tumble to the ground. Thankfully, I was able to turn my upper half to absorb the bulk of the force, but Arthur scrambled like I had my arms around him to kidnap him. He ripped his body from my embrace so quickly it knocked his sunglasses of his face.
At least now I'd be able to see—
The same eyes that had been haunting me for weeks.
"Golden Bone," I hissed, my hand going to my waist. I didn't know if I was reaching for a weapon or my radio, but neither was attached to my belt. One blink later and I was back to that night from my nightmares, frozen cold, hunched over Malcolm Amari's dining room table, paralyzed from the drug Golden Bone had slipped us. "You—you're dead." I still sounded like a tire quickly losing air.
Arthur pulled his hat off, revealing a head of golden locks, the exact shade of Golden Bone's but not near as long. "I'm not him. Though I can tell by your reaction he's hurt you too. His name isn't Golden Bone either. It's Artemis. He was my brother. My twin brother."
"Twin?" I echoed.
Arthur's face twisted into a scowl. "Give or take a hundred pounds." He gave a short, humorless laugh.
All that told me was that Arthur had seen Golden Bone before his demise. And not many people alive could say that. "Did you know about what he was doing?" I asked sharply. Even if he didn't take part, knowledge of his brother's crimes should put him in prison for a long time.
"Of course I did," he snapped, but he sounded more tired than angry. "I always found out, after. Always after. Do you think I would've let him get away with anything if I'd known before?"
I was going to reply that I didn't know him so I didn't know what he was capable of when I noticed a brown shape soaring through the air.
Arthur also noticed a split second after me. He shouted, "Harlow!" and reached for the runaway bunny.
Using my good leg, I hopped up, managing to pluck the tiny creature from it's trajectory before it slammed into the ground.
Arthur shouted again, like I'd done the wrong thing.
I turned to tell him I was just worried about the thing breaking its leg when I felt it move and wriggle in my hands. I looked down, watching the bunny morph from a furry baby animal to a child that couldn't be older than two. She continued to shift, back and forth from bunny to child. I recognized the response. It wasn't all that uncommon in shifters during periods of heightened stress. Particularly immature or juvenile shifters. What was odd, however, was that this shifter was nowhere near puberty, which was the generally accepted age when shifters were first able to transform into their animal counterparts. Some were able to a little earlier, but earlier by months, not by eight years.
Arthur snatched the child from me, cradling her to his chest. She relaxed immediately. Her shifts grew less frequent until she gave a tiny sigh and settled into her human form.
I stared at the odd pair. One the twin brother of a devious hitman and the other a child with abilities that shouldn't be possible. "What the hell is going on here?"
Hurt Me Not by Davidson King
CHAPTER ONE
Easton Kooper
“Dad, I know you’re like a million years old, but—”
“I’m thirty-six, Tru, thirty-six. Your estimation is way off. I worry about what they’re teaching you in school.”
“Whatever, Dad. As I was saying. Can we listen to music that was created after the turn of the century?”
I looked in the rearview mirror, where my ten-year-old son, Milo, was playing one of his games, his eyes fixed on his tablet. The smirk on his face and the little glances he made at me was all I needed to know he was listening.
“I’m sorry, Tru, I can’t hear you…speak into my good ear.” I cupped my right ear, and she snorted…Milo giggled.
“Lame.” Tru’s eye rolls were legendary, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
At thirteen years old she was the spitting image of her mother, except she had green eyes. Milo and Tru both got those from me. But other than that, she was all her mom. She was tough as nails, stubborn, and brilliant like her too.
Milo was more like me. Same brown hair, identical smile, and loved more of a hands-on approach to life. Unless it was an update on one of his games.
Laura Kooper, my wife and the world’s best mother, died three years ago, throwing all our lives into a tailspin. The four of us became the three of us, and in one fell swoop I was drowning.
Fighting fires was what I knew. I was a good dad, but I hadn’t realized how many pies Laura had put her fingers in until she was gone and I was raising my children alone.
The first year had been a mess of tears, anger, and chaos. Slowly but surely, we’d found our way—a new way, but not a day went by that I didn’t miss Laura so much it hurt just to breathe.
“Oh thank God, school!” Tru unbuckled her belt, and I chuckled.
“I never thought I’d hear you utter those words. So what you’re saying is, all I need to do to get you not to give me a hard time about going to school is to throw on some amazing music?”
“It’s not amazing.” She opened the door, but I grabbed her arm.
“You’re amazing, Tru-bug.”
Another eye roll but I wrangled a grin too. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you too.”
Once she was racing off, I looked at Milo. “Almost win the level?”
“Yeah!”
“Well, you’re the next drop-off. You have ten minutes.”
“The pressure!” he shouted, and I hit the gas.
At thirty-six I was one of the youngest lieutenants this firehouse had ever had. I’d worked my ass off to get here and loved every part of it. I’d operated both engine and ladder, but I was currently in charge of Ladder Truck 121.
Before Laura’s death, my shifts were twenty-four hours on followed by forty-eight hours off. It had meshed with Laura’s schedule. After she passed, I was able to change to ten-to-twelve-hour shifts for three or sometimes four days. I had my weekends, but holidays were tricky.
Fool’s Pass Fire Department, where we lived, was the main hub but a little less than half of the house fell into Red Root territory, so we often found ourselves helping in both places. It got busy some days, but that was fine. I had a lot of time with my kids this way.
A slap on my shoulder pulled me out of writing my report about a house fire on Gretchen Avenue where we’d rescued a fifty-three-year-old woman and her four cats.
“Why are Trish and I doing the book drive this weekend, East?” Jim Hastings was my closest friend on the job, but he also worked for me.
“Well, Jim.” I spun in my chair and smiled at the burly man who was more jolly than scary. “I specifically remember you and Trish saying to me around Christmas, ‘Please, if you let me and Trish out of being Santa and Mrs. Claus this year, we will be at your mercy.’ ”
“Well, shit.” Jim sighed and leaned against the wall in my office.
“I’m sure the two of you will have fun.” I waggled my brows and returned my attention to my report.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Without looking up, I answered. “It means I’m tired of you flirting with her horribly and getting nowhere. This way, you and she will be at that book drive all Saturday afternoon. Maybe you get to know her a little.”
“And here I thought dating within the same house was wrong.”
I shrugged. “I have no issue with it as long as it doesn’t interfere with your job, and Captain feels the same way.”
He was silent for a beat too long, so I peered over my shoulder. He was glaring at me.
“You think she’ll never go out with me, so you feel safe saying that.”
I burst out laughing, tossed my pen onto the papers, and faced him again. “Prove me wrong, Hastings.”
He opened his mouth to say something when my cell phone went off. A quick peek showed the pediatrician’s office.
“I gotta take this.”
“Later.”
“Hello?” I answered.
“Mr. Kooper?”
“Speaking.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Kooper. This is Dr. Perry, Jennifer, calling from Fool’s Pass Pediatrics.”
“Hi, Dr. Perry, is everything okay? I didn’t receive a call from the school saying either of my kids were hurt.” Dr. Jennifer Perry was a friend of Laura’s and while we didn’t talk a lot anymore, she was good to the kids.
“Oh, heavens no, I’m sorry. I was calling about some blood test results that came back for Milo.”
He’d had his yearly physical two days ago and because he’d turned ten, they’d wanted to do a complete blood workup on him.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
“Well, Easton, I was a little concerned by some of the counts for his platelets and white blood cells. Have you noticed or has Milo mentioned unexplained bruising, a rash that looks like small reddish pinpricks known as petechiae, or anything else abnormal?”
“No, nothing.”
“I’m hoping this is a lab error but in case it’s not, it’s best you take Milo to the emergency room. If it’s an error he will be sent home; if it’s not, he’ll be where he needs to be.”
“Jennifer.” I swallowed as my pulse thundered in my ears and sweat began to bead on my forehead.
“Yes, Easton?”
“What were the counts? How bad is it?”
“I really don’t want to—”
“I’m asking you to tell me.”
“Very well.” She sighed, but I didn’t believe it was out of frustration with me. I knew from being a first responder that you never wanted to say anything unless you were sure you were one hundred percent correct.
“Milo’s a ten-year-old boy, and for a healthy child of his age we’d see a platelet count between three hundred thousand and four hundred and eighty thousand. His count came back at twelve hundred.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Normal white blood cell counts are between five thousand and ten thousand. Milo’s are at six hundred.”
“Shit.”
“Easton. I know your brain is spiraling, and you’re scared. But like I said, let’s not put the cart before the horse. Errors happen. Can you get him to the emergency room?”
“Yeah, I’ll get him there.”
“I will be there, but I’ll call ahead and let them know that you’re on your way. Breathe, East. You’re worried; Milo will be confused and terrified.”
She was right. I knew she was.
“I’ll see you in a bit, Doctor.”
All I could think as I drove to get Milo from the library where he went after school was that I couldn’t lose my son. If the universe took another piece of my soul, I didn’t think I’d survive it.
“Please, don’t take my boy,” I whispered to whoever and whatever was out there, and hit the gas.
Checking it Twice by VL Locey
Chapter One
“Are we there yet?”
I felt my left eye twitch. My co-pilot and best friend sniggered softly from the passenger seat. I gave Watley a look that could wither a forest. He snickered even harder while fiddling with the Bluetooth hookup in our rented van.
“No, Zachary, we are not there yet. We just left home an hour ago.”
My son huffed. Zach was not the most patient of children. He obviously got that trait from his mother since I was someone who could sit on something for so long it would petrify under my ass. Like one of those fossilized dinosaur eggs we’d seen at the American Museum of Natural History two summers ago when Zach and I had visited New York City. Yep, no chicken or dino could sit on something longer than Sutter Thompson.
“How long does it take to get to Colorado?” Adam, Watley’s son, asked.
I waved a hand at my buddy and associate coach of the Red Pines Pumas, a squirt summer league ice hockey team from scenic Red Pines, New Mexico, a mere thirty minutes from Albuquerque. The same small town that housed Red Pines University, where Watley and I worked. Me as the athletic director and Wat as the conditioning coach for all the teams plus cheerleaders on our tiny campus. The five players nominated for awards were with us. Zach a winger, Adam a D-man, Tigh Williams a forward with startingly red hair, Seth Mankowski who played right wing, and Matt Vigliano a center. We would have had six with us, but Millicent Davies, our goalie, had to fly south to spend the holidays with her grandparents in Florida. It crushed her she was going to miss the trip with her friends, but knowing she was going to Universal Theme Park kind of weighed things out. We have her short acceptance speech should she win Outstanding Goalie.
“About six hours give or take,” Wat replied just as The Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” blared to life, effectively silencing the top 40 pop station that we’d been forced to endure for the past sixty minutes. My head instantly started bopping. “Sweet dreams are made of cheese, who am I to dis a brie,” Wat began crooning. All five boys in the back groaned. Whether at Wat’s silly pun or the song itself, who knew? Probably the song. I snorted at the moans from all the ten year olds.
“Finally, some good music,” I shouted, then tapped the volume button on the steering wheel.
“Ear buds stat!” Zach bellowed to his teammates. Within seconds, the bored whining disappeared as the boys jammed to their own tunes or queued up a movie to watch on their tablets and/or phones.
“Works every time,” Watley whispered with a wink. That wink always did something to me. As did his smile, his laugh, his walk, his way of standing, his curly brown hair that was now shot through with silver, his ass, his eyes, and about a million other things. I’d loved this man for over thirty years and had never uttered a word about the attraction. Yep. There sat Sutter on the lone fossilized egg from his sad, closeted past. I doubted it would ever hatch. “Remember when we were young?”
“Vaguely,” I remarked, lifting my takeout cup of coffee from the console as the song slid from Annie Lennox to A-Ha. God I loved this song. It brought back such memories.
Wat chortled. “I recall that time we were making the trip to Southern California to play in the Western semifinals. We were so bored we played punch buggy to pass the time.”
“Oh yeah, I used to play that with Donna all the time when we’d go to Boston to visit our grandparents. She still hits like Muhammad Ali.” My older sister had the boniest knuckles. “We’d also play ‘I Spy’ and ‘I’m going on a picnic’ a lot. That was before kids had their faces in phones twenty-four-seven.” I glanced in the back at my son, who had his face in his phone. No shocker there.
“Yeah, they don’t have to use their imaginations like we did back in the day.” Watley sighed then straightened out his left leg. His trick knee popped like a starter’s gun. “Ouch. Mother fudger.”
“Only five more hours to go, Gramps,” I teased and got a secretive middle finger.
That made me smile. Not that I had much to tease my friend about. My back would be a knotted mess by the time we arrived in Chester Lake, Colorado later today. Thankfully, we’d miss a lot of the holiday traffic by leaving on the twentieth, so we should make good time. We’d get to spend a few days at the lovely Retreat Inn, hopefully win some awards, play with the boys in the snow, then head home for Christmas. Fifty-two and road trips didn’t play well most of the time. My sciatica liked to flare up at the worst times and being in a vehicle for hours was killer. I did the cheek-to-cheek wobble every few miles. A rest stop would be needed at the next hour marker for back kink alleviation and old man bladder relief. And to let the boys run off some of that glorious energy I wished someone would bottle up for the old guys like me and Watley.
Although, to be honest, I felt Wat had aged much better than I had. Perhaps that was just me being a nitpick. I tended to niggle at my faults endlessly, nipping at my imperfections like one does a hangnail. But Watley really had moved into his fifties with incredible grace and good looks. His divorce from Paul, his long-time husband, five years ago, hit him hard. I could relate to the devastation of a marriage falling apart at the seams brought. I’d gone through it myself when Zach was a baby, only I’d added coming out to the maelstrom of chaos. Talk about a one-two punch to the testes. If I would have had the guts, I would have come out in college as Wat had and lived my life proudly as a gay man. But my Catholic upbringing kept me in the closet for years, afraid to be who I was born to be, fearful of losing the love of my family and colleagues.
It was only after I gazed into the deep blue eyes of my baby son that I knew I had to stop living the lie. This long sought after child would rely on me to be honest with him. About everything. How could I lead a boy through life if I was being dishonest with the child as well as the whole world? I couldn’t. And so I’d told Kimberly I was gay two months after Zach was born. Looking back in retrospect, it probably was not the best time to do so, but if not then when? When Zach graduated from high school? College? At his wedding? At the birth of his children? When I was on my deathbed?
“You need me to take over?” Wat’s warm, deep voice broke through the fog of days long gone. I stared at him blankly for a second, then got my sight back on the road. “Toto’s “Africa” is playing and you’re not singing aloud.”
“Didn’t realize you missed my golden vocals.”
“No one can sing about wild dogs and Kilimanjaro like you, Sutter.”
“Wiseass.”
I broke loose, singing at the top of my lungs, my gaze flicking to Watley as I belted out the lines. We’d been close for more than half our lives. He’d moved after his divorce to take the job that I’d begged the dean to interview him for. Now his son and mine were close friends and teammates, and I had my best friend in my life on the daily. Wat laughed aloud as the boys begged us to quiet down. I sang even louder just to get another smile from the man on my right. I’d do just about anything to make Watley and my son happy. Shame I couldn’t say that about myself.
Everything I Know by Josh Lanyon
Con was talking to Dr. Li when Wes Callahan arrived.
Con did not know Lizzy’s father well. Every morning and every afternoon they exchanged a few polite words as Callahan dropped off and picked up his daughter. It had been no different that morning. The exception had been on Back to School Night when they had spoken for nearly five minutes. Con had told Lizzy’s dad what a great kid Lizzy was–and he’d meant every word. She was funny, smart, a little precocious, and a total charmer. Lizzy’s dad had told Con how much Elizabeth adored Mr. Connor. Men like Callahan did not use the word “adore,” but that had been the gruff gist of it.
Basically that was Con’s entire experience and understanding of Wes Callahan. A courteous and concerned parent who looked better in his usual jeans and T-shirts than most of the dads did in their suits and ties. That, and Wes Callahan was the biggest VIP of all Sunshine Cottage’s VIPs. Callahan was Sunshine Cottage’s only millionaire dad. In other words, handle with care.
And it was very obvious from Con’s first glimpse of Callahan striding through the sliding glass door of Pediatrics, that kid gloves would be required. Lizzy was an only child, and both her parents doted on her–their natural protectiveness heightened by the fact that Lizzy had been a frail and sickly baby.
Through the glass of the reception area, Con watched Callahan pause at the front desk. Callahan’s face was white, his brown eyes seemed to blaze with emotion. Instead of his usual jeans and T-shirt, he wore a dark suit–a very nice dark suit–which probably explained why he had been unreachable by cell. Some kind of conference, maybe a power meeting with prospective clients.
“Here’s Dad,” Dr. Li said, smiling as Callahan barged through the communicating door that separated the waiting room from the examining rooms.
“Mr. Callahan.” Con took a step forward.
Callahan yelled, “Who the hell do you think you are, dragging my kid around town without my permission?”
Con stopped in his tracks. “I’m sorry?”
“You will be. I’ll make damn sure of that.”
“I was trying to get Lizzy medical attention as quickly as possible. I do have your written permission on fi–“
“If you wanted to help, you’d have done your job and made sure she wasn’t hurt in the first place.” He jabbed his finger at Con’s chest for emphasis. “I’m holding you personally responsible for this, Myers.”
Con was speechless.
“OH-kay.” Dr. Li opened the door to the examining room. “Mr. Callahan, if I could have you step inside here.”
“Daddy! Daddy!” Lizzy squeaked from inside, and relief flooded Callahan’s colorless face.
“Is she okay?” he got out.
“She’s going to be just fine,” Dr. Li said, throwing an apologetic look at Con.
Con couldn’t have responded to save his life. He had anticipated Callahan being upset, worried, alarmed. He hadn’t expected fury. Let alone fury directed at himself. It felt like he was watching this play out from a distance. Not far enough of a distance, unfortunately.
Everyone, from the girl at the front desk, to the toddler and his teenaged mother playing with blocks on the floor of the waiting room, were staring open-mouthed at him.
It wasn’t like that. That’s what he wanted to say. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been watching, hadn’t been paying attention, hadn’t been doing his job. Accidents happened. Sometimes they happened out of arm’s reach. But how did you explain that to someone who didn’t have firsthand experience of supervising over twenty active children on a small playground? Anything he said was going to sound like an excuse. But that was the excuse–or explanation, at least.
“Mr. Callahan,” he finally managed to croak, as Dr. Li ushered Callahan into the examining room.
Callahan rounded on him, his expression so contemptuous that Con broke off.
“I don’t want to hear it. What kind of normal grown man makes a career out of hanging around little kids?” Callahan’s voice was scathing. He turned his back on Con and went into the examining room.
Con did not know Lizzy’s father well. Every morning and every afternoon they exchanged a few polite words as Callahan dropped off and picked up his daughter. It had been no different that morning. The exception had been on Back to School Night when they had spoken for nearly five minutes. Con had told Lizzy’s dad what a great kid Lizzy was–and he’d meant every word. She was funny, smart, a little precocious, and a total charmer. Lizzy’s dad had told Con how much Elizabeth adored Mr. Connor. Men like Callahan did not use the word “adore,” but that had been the gruff gist of it.
Basically that was Con’s entire experience and understanding of Wes Callahan. A courteous and concerned parent who looked better in his usual jeans and T-shirts than most of the dads did in their suits and ties. That, and Wes Callahan was the biggest VIP of all Sunshine Cottage’s VIPs. Callahan was Sunshine Cottage’s only millionaire dad. In other words, handle with care.
And it was very obvious from Con’s first glimpse of Callahan striding through the sliding glass door of Pediatrics, that kid gloves would be required. Lizzy was an only child, and both her parents doted on her–their natural protectiveness heightened by the fact that Lizzy had been a frail and sickly baby.
Through the glass of the reception area, Con watched Callahan pause at the front desk. Callahan’s face was white, his brown eyes seemed to blaze with emotion. Instead of his usual jeans and T-shirt, he wore a dark suit–a very nice dark suit–which probably explained why he had been unreachable by cell. Some kind of conference, maybe a power meeting with prospective clients.
“Here’s Dad,” Dr. Li said, smiling as Callahan barged through the communicating door that separated the waiting room from the examining rooms.
“Mr. Callahan.” Con took a step forward.
Callahan yelled, “Who the hell do you think you are, dragging my kid around town without my permission?”
Con stopped in his tracks. “I’m sorry?”
“You will be. I’ll make damn sure of that.”
“I was trying to get Lizzy medical attention as quickly as possible. I do have your written permission on fi–“
“If you wanted to help, you’d have done your job and made sure she wasn’t hurt in the first place.” He jabbed his finger at Con’s chest for emphasis. “I’m holding you personally responsible for this, Myers.”
Con was speechless.
“OH-kay.” Dr. Li opened the door to the examining room. “Mr. Callahan, if I could have you step inside here.”
“Daddy! Daddy!” Lizzy squeaked from inside, and relief flooded Callahan’s colorless face.
“Is she okay?” he got out.
“She’s going to be just fine,” Dr. Li said, throwing an apologetic look at Con.
Con couldn’t have responded to save his life. He had anticipated Callahan being upset, worried, alarmed. He hadn’t expected fury. Let alone fury directed at himself. It felt like he was watching this play out from a distance. Not far enough of a distance, unfortunately.
Everyone, from the girl at the front desk, to the toddler and his teenaged mother playing with blocks on the floor of the waiting room, were staring open-mouthed at him.
It wasn’t like that. That’s what he wanted to say. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been watching, hadn’t been paying attention, hadn’t been doing his job. Accidents happened. Sometimes they happened out of arm’s reach. But how did you explain that to someone who didn’t have firsthand experience of supervising over twenty active children on a small playground? Anything he said was going to sound like an excuse. But that was the excuse–or explanation, at least.
“Mr. Callahan,” he finally managed to croak, as Dr. Li ushered Callahan into the examining room.
Callahan rounded on him, his expression so contemptuous that Con broke off.
“I don’t want to hear it. What kind of normal grown man makes a career out of hanging around little kids?” Callahan’s voice was scathing. He turned his back on Con and went into the examining room.
RJ ScottWriting love stories with a happy ever after – cowboys, heroes, family, hockey, single dads, bodyguards
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.
She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.
Kiki Burrelli lives in the Pacific Northwest with the bears and raccoons. She dreams of owning a pack of goats that she can cuddle and dress in form-fitting sweaters. Kiki loves writing and reading and is always chasing that next character that will make her insides shiver. Consider getting to know Kiki at her website, on Facebook, or send her an email: kikiburrelli@gmail.com.
Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.
She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.
If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she’d tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you’re afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee.
(Not necessarily in that order.)
She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.
Bestselling author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON has been called "the Agatha Christie of gay mystery."
Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
Josh is married and they live in Southern California.Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
RJ Scott
BOOKBUB / KOBO / SMASHWORDS
EMAIL: rj@rjscott.co.uk
Kiki Burrelli
Davidson King
VL Locey
EMAIL: vicki@vllocey.com
Single by RJ Scott
Hop On by Kiki Burrelli
Hurt Me Not by Davidson King
Checking it Twice by VL Locey
Everything I Know by Josh Lanyon
iTUNES / CHIRP / AUDIOBOOKS
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