Title: Rekindled Flame
Author: Andrew Grey
Series: (Set in the Bronco Boys Universe) (Book 1 in Spin
Off)
Genre: M/M
Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Press
Release Date: June 13 2016
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
Morgan has worked hard to build a home for himself after a
nomadic childhood. When Morgan is called
to a fire, he finds the family out front, but their tenant still inside. He rescues Richard Smalley, who turns out to
be an old friend he hasn't seen in years and the one person he regretted
leaving behind.
Richard has had a hard life.
He served in the military where he lost the use of his legs and has been
struggling to make his way since coming home. Now that he no longer has a place
to live, Morgan takes him in, but when someone attempts to set fire to Morgan’s
house, they both become suspicious and wonder what's going on.
Years ago Morgan was gutted when Richard moved away, so he’s
happy to pick things up where they left off, but now that Richard seems to be
the target of an arsonist, he may not be the safest person to be around.
“How on earth did Morgan find me again after all these
years?” Richie asked himself as he tried to get his head around the fact that
he’d lost everything, it had been Morgan who’d rescued him from the burning
building, even though he didn’t remember, and now Morgan had taken him in. What
was even more remarkable was that Morgan looked every bit the part of a
firefighter rescuer. He was nothing like the thin, wiry boy he’d known when
they were kids. There were moments when his smile or the way he bit his upper
lip when he was thinking hearkened back to the boy he knew, but mostly this was
someone he didn’t recognize.
Morgan was tall, broad, and strong. He did have the same
intense eyes and jet black hair. It wasn’t as though he doubted Morgan was who
he claimed, but Richie didn’t recognize this person. That is, until he took
that trip down memory lane. Once they grew quiet and the fatigue caught up with
him once again, he dozed off.
Richard hated sleeping. It was when the memories he’d spent
four years trying to run away from caught up with him. During the day he could
keep them away—life kept them at bay. Someone had called sleep a minideath or
something. Well, for him it was true. Death and destruction haunted and plagued
his dreams. He knew them well. Richard had met them up close and personal, and
they’d left their scars on both his body and mind.
This time on Morgan’s sofa was different. When he dozed off,
they stayed away. He had no doubt they’d return, but for now, this afternoon,
he was on a huge beach in a bathing suit. His was green, and Morgan’s was red.
His friend carried water in a container so big he rocked back and forth with
each step. It had a spout on it, and Morgan set it at the top of the incline.
Then the two of them dug a small hole and began digging a raceway for the water
to follow back to the lake. All around them were people talking and kids
laughing. “Are you ready?” Morgan asked, scurrying up to where Richard was
putting the finishing touches on the raceway.
“Almost,” Richard said, hurrying excitedly to finish the
bend in the raceway. He handed Morgan a large rock. “Use that as a dam right
there. If we got the angle right, it could act like a waterfall on the downward
side. That will be cool.”
Morgan dug where he indicated and placed the rock. When
Richard finished, he helped, and when everything was ready, Richard turned on
the water. It filled the initial pool and then spilled out, running slowly down
the raceway, around the various bends and up to the rock dam. It filled the
lake behind and then reached the top and spilled over, continuing down. Richard
turned to Morgan, who was grinning, and watched as he raced toward him.
Suddenly Morgan clutched his chest, smile fading, fingers covered in blood. He
gasped and fell to his knees before collapsing onto the ground. Richard stood
helpless as the raceway flowed red down to the lake.
He woke with a gasp, sitting up, looking at the grown-up
Morgan as he tried to inhale. It was a dream, another reminder of how messed up
and freaky his mind worked now. Thankfully Morgan smiled at him and turned back
to the television. “You have to be hungry.”
“I guess I am.” He willed the residual images from his mind.
“I hate that I can’t remember anything without my thoughts getting all twisted
up.”
“Let me guess. You start out down a normal path and suddenly
you’re back on the battlefield or it turns gruesome,” Morgan said, and Richard
wondered how he knew. “I’ve taken classes. First thing, because we have to deal
with losing people under traumatic, stressful situations, and there are times
when we deal with someone who’s in a fire but thinks they’re back on the
battlefield. Stress can do some wild things to people, so we have to be trained
for anything.”
“I was starting to think you were reading my mind.” He
stopped short of telling Morgan about his dream. It usually didn’t go over too
well when he told someone he’d dreamed their death.
Morgan Ayers – The lead character in A Rekindled Flame by
Andrew Grey. In the book he is
introduced as a firefighter on a call.
But it’s during that call that he rescues Richard, his first childhood
love, from his fire engulfed home.
Childhood – His childhood was happy enough with friends,
including Richard. As time passed
Richard Ayers became more important in Richard’s life and friendship blossomed
into love. However due to his father’s
work, Morgan moved away leaving Richard behind.
Adult Life – Morgan’s driving ambition was to help people
and for some excitement in his life.
Both those things drew him into the fire department. He’s used to seeing lives devastated by grief
and loss. But it’s when he’s called to a
home with an attached apartment that his life takes a turn. The fire is growing and the tenant is
missing.
Character Arc - Richard races inside
and finds Richard in a wheelchair. But
it isn’t until he’s out of the house that he recognizes is childhood friend.
The man he’s never forgotten.
Morgan is both elated and devastated. Richard is a veteran, a brave one, who served
his country well at the price of his legs.
He’s suffering from PTSD and is trying hard to rebuild his life. But the system isn’t working in Richard’s
favor and with him homeless, Morgan brings Richard home with him. And Morgan finds that the feelings from all
those years ago quickly come back to the surface. But both he and Richard are different men and
they have been through a great deal in their years apart. And someone is after Richard.
The fire was not an accident and Richard is seen as the
possible target of the arsonist and when additional fires are set, it isn’t
clear if the arsonist is targeting military families. But with an arsonist on the loose and Richard
a possible suspect. Combines with the
fact that Richard is so very scarred both on the outside and inside. It’s possible that Morgan would be safer if
Richard weren’t around.
Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and
leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when
writing) He considers himself blessed
with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive
and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle,
Pennsylvania.
Facebook
Group All the Way with Andrew Grey
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