Smoke and Spots

Chapter 1 Valle Vista, CO Late spring “Are we there yet?” Grady Ashcroft glanced across the cab at the speaker, a tow-headed ten-year-old. He still struggled with the fact he now had a son. Even though Jamie was really his nephew, his sister’s sudden death had left him the boy’s guardian. With a father who had never even wanted the child, Jamie had fallen to Grady by default, but he could not regret the fast decision he’d made to accept the role. Although he’d never thought of himself as father material, Grady knew he had to rise to the occasion. Part of that rising was a move from Kansas City to Colorado, leaving behind a job as a senior member of the city fire department to take the post of fire chief for the tiny village of Valle Vista and the surrounding rural area, one of only a few paid posts on the mostly volunteer department. “About another hour,” he said. “I know it’s boring, but we’ll be there before supper time.” Jamie gave an eloquent sigh. He knew better now than to whine, “If I was still with Mom…” The first few weeks he’d lived with Grady, the phrase had become an almost constant complaint. Finally, Grady had lost patience enough to remind the boy that his Mom was irrevocably gone, in spite of their desires. And that, without Grady, Jamie would be either in an orphanage, a foster home, or possibly with the paternal grandparents who wanted him little more than his father had. The words were cruel but necessary. Reality was. There was no way to escape cold, hard facts. Of course, after his lecture, Grady had gathered the weeping child into a hug and reassured him as best he could. “You’re with me because I want you, because I love you. Your mom was my baby sister, very special to me and you are, too. We’ll miss her forever, but now it’s just the two of us, and we’ll be together until doomsday. You don’t have to call me Dad, but you can if you want to. I promise I’ll be here for you, with you, until you don’t need me anymore and even after that.” Jamie seemed to have gotten it then. No more whining. Maybe a sense of security began to develop. He might be silent and sullen at times, but that was to be expected. So much had changed so fast for both of them. Grady had been on the verge of forming a partnership with a co-worker who’d started as a casual friend and soon become much more, although, when Ed learned Grady was going to be taking in a child, he’d hightailed it out of Grady’s life. Maybe Grady had been lucky to learn what the other man was made of before things went too far, but it still hurt. Chances of finding someone else who’d fit into his world now seemed slimmer than ever. A lot of people found the idea of hooking up with a firefighter exciting, until the down side emerged: odd hours, long shifts and the constant danger and risk. The possibility of being killed or maimed by hungry flames, collapsing buildings, and other hazards threw a long shadow. Very few wanted to stick around once they realized those realities. Throw in a child and it seemed to be a really scary scenario. He could not blame Jamie, though. The poor kid was the victim of a tangle of tragedy culminating in the death of his single mother in an accident caused by a drunk driver. And that had come after abandonment by a deadbeat dad, who’d never contributed a dollar or a hug to his son. Sometimes, life dealt people lousy hands and just kept doing it. The big Dodge whined as he downshifted and started the descent into the valley nestled between two long ridges extending from the Rockies. The setting sun gilded the higher peaks, still mantled with snow, peaks that rose to the sky above the highway and the valley. The scene was beautiful. Even tired and uncertain of the wisdom of his choices, Grady could see and appreciate the amazing panorama. With luck and determination, he’d make a home here for himself and Jamie. Somehow, he’d overcome the dirty baggage left by his predecessor, who had been summarily fired for a variety of bad deeds, or so he’d been told. And maybe…No, he wouldn’t think of that at all. Coming out as gay in a small and probably conservative place like Valle Vista would be tantamount to throwing the rest of his plans into the septic tank. The risk would be too great. He resigned himself to a celibate life as a single dad for long years to come.