Hearth & Home 2: On Solid Ground
a contemporary romance by Mychael Black
Torquere Press
Robbie and Seth are pretty busy, getting ready for the arrival of a new
baby, and of the mother, Kristy, who was Robbie's brother's girlfriend.
They're fixing up the house and having fun with it, loving their life
enough to make it a more permanent arrangement.
Trouble shows up in
the form of Robbie's brother Russ, who wants to see Kristy, and doesn't
want to take no for an answer. Violence explodes in their happy home,
and Robbie and Seth are left to deal with the aftermath, trying to get
their lives back on track. Can they face what happens together and beat
all of the odds?
: :
Excerpt:
The second he pulled up, Seth just knew something wasn’t
right. For starters, Robbie’s truck was in the driveway with the
hood up and Robbie himself was nowhere in sight. Seth didn’t get
the truck turned off before Kristy came barreling out the front door.
Bemused, he watched as she sort of half-ran, half-waddled around to the
passenger’s side door. Seth opened his mouth to ask what was up,
but it only took one look at Kristy’s face to stop him cold.
“What’s wrong?”
Kristy’s cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes, normally
bright and happy, were puffy and red. “Huntsville
Hospital,” she panted as she managed to buckle up.
“Oh, fuck... you’re not-”
“No! No, it’s Robbie.” Kristy sorta twisted a little
and Seth’s blood ran cold. “Russ came by. They argued, Russ
wouldn’t leave. Robbie blocked him from coming into the house and
Russ shot him in-”
Seth didn’t hear anything beyond those last few words. He backed
up the truck and took off down their street, shoving the pickup through
the gears, heart thundering, knuckles white as his grip on the steering
wheel tightened.
“I tried to call your cell, but just got the voice mail.”
Seth gritted his teeth. Time to find a better carrier.
“Wasn’t getting a damn signal,” he ground out.
“Time to find a better provider.”
Kristy put her hand on his shoulder. “He’ll be okay. Robbie’s tough -- always has been.”
He nodded. “I know.”
They hit Memorial Parkway before he really knew it, which wasn’t
so good considering he was the one driving. He kept the speedometer at
sixty and tried to keep down the urge to weave through the traffic. For
a Thursday at nearly five, it was getting a bit busy. Fridays were the
worst, though. He wondered if Robbie found a good shop for lease, then
realized he was only trying to keep his mind off the fact that his
lover had been shot.