Heat Rising [Brac Village 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (2 page)

Spencer was surprised that Leigh and Parker still had jobs. But as ornery as Priest could get, he had a big heart. “I’ll see you this evening,” Spencer said when he reached the brick building that had smoke billowing on the left side of the structure where the grill was located.

Even though Spencer didn’t hang out here after work, he did nibble during the day. He couldn’t help it. The food was amazing. The scent of cooked meat filled the air along with garlic and other spices as Spencer neared the door. The aroma made his mouth water every time he smelled it.

He walked in to the sound of people murmuring, silverware clinking on plates, and the news anchor on the television that was situated on the back wall of the restaurant. There was one thing he could say about Priest, it wasn’t a fancy restaurant, but the man believed in using real dishes and cutlery.

Leigh and Parker complained constantly to Priest about getting a dishwasher. The protests fell on deaf ears. Priest said he wasn’t hiring anyone else until the two stopped acting like they were coming here to hang out instead of working.

Spencer stayed out of that debate.

He had enough problems balancing the books. Priest had hired him as a bookkeeper even though Spencer’s skills were mediocre. The man believed in giving everyone a chance. But the longer he worked here, the better he became. He was thankful that Priest gave him a shot at this job.

Although new businesses were opening up, the jobs filled up before the paint on the walls dried.

“I put the mail on my desk,” Priest called out to Spencer from the door leading out to the grill. “There’s a bunch of bills that need to be taken care of.”

“Got it,” Spencer replied.

“Hey, Recker,” Priest called out.

Spencer turned to see his best friend standing right behind him. He hadn’t even heard the guy walk through the door. “I thought you had errands to run?”

Again with the boyish grin. “That doesn’t mean I can’t have some lunch.”

The man was hopeless. Spencer began to walk away, heading toward the office when Leigh called out, “Hey, Recker, what color is my shirt?”

Spencer spun around and raced back toward his best friend, knowing what was about to happen. Just that fast Recker’s face had contorted into rage. His entire life Recker had been picked on for his eyesight. Recker and his brother had been orphaned at a young age, every foster family pointing out his disability. They had always made it seem like Recker was a freak of nature. His best friend had told him once that before he grew into his muscles, the kids of whichever foster family he was with used to beat him up for his colorblindness, taunting him, teasing him.

One teenager went as far as acting like Recker’s friend just so he could have the man dress like a rainbow, mismatching everything just to get a laugh…at Recker’s expense.

So yeah, being colorblind was a very sore spot for the rhino. There was only one person who teased him and got away with it—the resident cheetah, Paine.

That was only because the small group Spencer belonged to was close.

“Oh, snap.” He threw his back into his best friend’s chest when Recker went after Leigh. Spencer dug his heels into the floor, trying to stop the rhino from killing the stupid human.

But it wasn’t working. Spencer was sliding across the floor as Recker advanced toward Leigh. It was like a fly trying to slow down a locomotive. When they reached the counter, Spencer threw his feet up and braced them on the edge.

“What’s going on?” Priest shouted as he came through the side door, his eyes going straight to Spencer and Recker.

“Oh, nothing. Leigh is just being a jerk!” Spencer snapped as his legs began to hurt from holding Recker at bay. He knew that if he didn’t calm his best friend down soon, Spencer was going to fold like a pretzel.

“Get outside before Recker kills you,” Priest bellowed at Leigh and then turned to Spencer. “What did he do now?”

“The usual. He was picking on Recker about his colorblindness.” Spencer could see the customers all gazing his way. He was not trying to give them a show. Priest was going to kill him for this. One woman looked as if she wanted to bolt from the place, but the rest of the gawkers just looked amused as they watched the scene unfold.

When Spencer’s legs nearly collapsed from the pressure, he did the only thing that worked when Recker got this unfocused and murderous. He dropped his legs, spun around, and rapped his knuckles against the guy’s forehead. “Earth to Recker.”

Recker blinked his light-blue eyes a few times, glancing from the side door down to Spencer…and then glanced back at the side door…and then down at Spencer.

“Don’t even think about going after him. I want you to go have a seat at a table and I’ll bring you some lunch.” Spencer pointed toward the dining area, unmoving until his best friend turned and headed toward the tables.

Spencer was going to kill Leigh. He wasn’t sure if the guy was dimwitted or suicidal. The man knew that Recker had a short fuse.

“Spencer—”

“It wasn’t Recker’s fault,” Spencer said to his boss. He moved closer to the man, leaning in so only Priest could hear him. “He’s a short-tempered rhino. Leigh did that on purpose.”

Priest exhaled a tiresome breath on a long sigh. “I’ll have a talk with Leigh about his stupidity. Get your friend something to eat and get back to work.”

“Thanks.” Spencer grabbed a plate and piled it high with all the things he knew Recker liked to eat—which was pretty much everything. Next he grabbed a large plastic cup and filled it with ice water before taking Recker his lunch. He set the plate and drink down on the table and then took a seat across from his best friend. “You can’t let what people say bother you.”

“I don’t like mean-spirited people.” Recker picked up a rib bone and annihilated it.

“Leigh isn’t mean-spirited. He’s just an idiot with the IQ of a bedbug. You have to learn to ignore him, Recker. What have we talked about?”

Recker dropped the bone on his plate and went for another one, his fingers thick with barbeque sauce. Spencer slapped his friend’s arm. The man was as stubborn as the day was long. This was why they were best friends and
only
best friends. If fate had mated them, Spencer would probably be in jail right now. With Recker’s short temper, Spencer knew that he would be in plenty of fights to defend the rhino—if they had been mates.

He lived in a house with nothing but predatory men. The testosterone level on most days choked the hell out of him.

Spencer prayed like hell that whoever his mate was, that he wasn’t some big, beefy, testosterone-filled lug head. He had enough of that to last him a lifetime.

“Answer me, Recker.”

His best friend reminded Spencer of a pouting child. He wouldn’t look at Spencer as he grabbed his cup of ice water. Spencer waited patiently. Sometimes Recker had to mull things over in his head before he opened his mouth.

“Do not let what people say bother me.” Recker looked so forlorn that Spencer got up and gave his friend a hug.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll give Leigh a ticket-worthy smackdown.” Spencer patted Recker on the shoulder. His friend gave a low chuckle. “What? You don’t think I can?” They both knew he couldn’t, but it eased the tension.

Spencer was glad to see the smile back on Recker’s face. “I’m good. Just keep that irritating human away for me.”

That was kind of hard to do when Recker was sitting in The Pit, a place where Leigh worked. But he didn’t point that fact out.

“All right, I have to get back to work. Enjoy lunch and stay out of trouble.” Spencer headed toward the counter when he spotted Leigh peeking into the dining area from the side door. If the man started in on Recker again, Spencer wasn’t going to stop his best friend this time. They would both be sitting in jail because Spencer would help Recker beat the bonehead up.

Stopping behind the counter, Spencer made a small plate of food to take into the office with him. He had spent his lunch hour with Johnny. The tea had been great, but now he was starving.

He felt like Recker at the moment, wanting to eat everything in front of him. But instead of making a pig of himself, Spencer grabbed some fish and a small cup of coleslaw. He wasn’t that big of a meat eater. He enjoyed it once in a blue moon, but not all the time. His eating habits swayed more toward natural foods and soy products.

“Can I get a rib dinner?”

Spencer’s hand froze midair as he heard a deep, melodic voice behind him. He was afraid to turn around as his breath became caught in his lungs. Who in the hell owned that wickedly sexy voice? Spencer’s hand began to tremble so he set the plate down before he dropped it.

“Dine in or carry out?” Parker asked in his usual
I’d rather be doing something else
tone.

“I’ll take it to go,” the stranger answered, his voice a siren call that held the promise of hot passion and sensual, sexual exploration. Spencer blinked, wondering where in the heck that thought had come from.

Swallowing hard, he peeked over his shoulder and felt his heart jump into his throat. The man standing behind the counter was big, beefy, and deliciously handsome. It only took a millisecond for Spencer to realize he was staring at his mate.

He was freaking huge!

God, no!

Spencer had had enough of testosterone-filled men. Why would fate do this to him? But as he stood there frozen to the spot, Spencer couldn’t help but want the guy. His body proved that point when his cock grew thick as his heart hammered in his chest and he began to sweat profusely.

He needed to escape.

Before he could make his legs work properly, smoky-grey eyes locked on to him. Two deeply embedded dimples appeared on either side of the man’s mouth.

Spencer whimpered.

The guy was well over six feet tall, closer to six and a half. His red T-shirt stretched across the expanse of his chest and arms, making Spencer’s mouth turn dry. His eyes flickered over the emblem on his mate’s shirt and saw the Brac Village Firehouse logo.

He felt his knees grow weak as he leaned into the back counter, trying to prevent himself from buckling to the floor. His mate was walking around the counter, coming after Spencer!

“Hey,” his mate said in a low tone that told Spencer the guy was happy to meet him.

Spencer’s throat closed up on him, making it impossible to respond. The closer the man advanced toward him, the further away Spencer leaned. He felt excited and panicked at the same time. The combined emotions made Spencer feel like he was about to throw up.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Recker.

Spencer was frozen to the spot as he watched his best friend walk with angry strides from the dining room area. “Recker, no!” Spencer threw out his hands up in a way that told Recker that he didn’t need to come any closer. Like that was going to stop the rhino.

This was a disaster!

Priest came from the back of the kitchen, throwing himself at Recker. It was like watching two continents collide. Recker was a shifter. Priest was human. His best friend should’ve bowled his boss over. But his boss managed to keep Recker at bay—although Spencer really wasn’t sure how Priest had accomplished that feat.

“Get away from him,” Recker said in a low and lethal growl as he began to push Priest away from him.

To Spencer’s amazement, his mate pivoted away from him and gave his own warning growl. The voice was on the other end of the scale from what Spencer had heard just a few moments before. It was no longer melodic. The tone held the promise of death. “Mine!”

Fire Chief Bear Callahan wasn’t sure who this man was, but if the guy came anywhere near his mate, Bear was going to rip his head off. A tendon ticked in his jaw as he considered the stranger a potential risk. It had never dawned on him that when he found his mate the guy would be in a relationship. His beast wanted to eviscerate the bastard.

Bear didn’t share…period.

“Stop it!” his mate shouted as he straightened. Bear’s eyes flickered over the guy’s face, drinking in his cinnamon-brown eyes, short, spiky honey-blond hair, and his beautiful pouting lips. Bear was enthralled. The top of his mate’s head barely reached Bear’s pecs and his body was compact and slim.

He was perfect.

“What’s going on, Spencer?” the guy who had been coming after Bear with a mean scowl on his face asked. The scowl had been replaced by a look of confusion. He was staring directly at Bear’s mate, which gave him a name to put with the gorgeous face now. The short guy’s name was Spencer.

Spencer threw his hands into the air animatedly as his head bobbed slightly around. “The world has gone mad, that’s what. It seems everyone has lost their minds today.”

Bear stuck his hand out to the human and tipped his head in greeting. “Fire Chief Bear Callahan.”

He thought his hand would go unaccepted, but then, the human gave Bear’s hand one strong pump. There was uncertainty in the move, the guy’s gesture more of a reflex than understanding what was going on. “Priest Mosley, proprietor.”

“That still doesn’t tell me why you went after my best friend,” the shifter snapped at Bear.