Fever's Edge 4

  Laying It Bear

  [Siren Publishing: The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection: Erotic Romance, Contemporary, Alternative, Paranormal, Shape-shifters, MM, HEA]

  After nearly dying, Sherman flees Maple Grove to start a whole new life in Fever’s Edge. He wants to put his past behind him, and applies for a job at the local diner. Little does he know how drastically his life is about to change when he spots a table filled with sexy firemen. One in particular catches his eye. Fire Chief Dalton Knowles. The guy is right up Sherman’s alley—big, muscular, and built like a bear. He just doesn't know that Dalton has his own set of problems that will put Sherman in a life-threatening situation.

  Years ago Dalton worked for the Ultionem, chasing down rogue nonhumans. Now he’s settled into a simple life. But he can’t escape his past, and when a vampire hell-bent on revenge comes after Dalton, the stakes grow higher. Dalton is infected with a slow-acting poison that is killing him, but he risks everything to save his mate from the deranged vampire.

  Length: 30,000 words

  LAYING IT BEAR

  Fever's Edge 4

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Laying It Bear

  Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-343-7

  First Publication: January 2021

  Cover design by Jess Buffett

  All art and logo copyright © 2021 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at legal@sirenbookstrand.com

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  LAYING IT BEAR

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  LAYING IT BEAR

  Fever's Edge 4

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2021

  Chapter One

  “I didn’t mean to spend so much time at my mom’s. Things have just been hectic,” Sherman said as he walked out the front door. “She lives here by herself, and she isn’t getting any younger.”

  “I just miss you,” Payton said over the phone. “I thought you were dead, and when I find out you’re not, you take off, barely giving me any time to spend with you. Do you want me and Miller to come there and help out?”

  Sherman stood by his decade-old sedan. A lot of the blue had faded into a weird pale color that made the car look sickly. There was a large crack along the windshield, and whenever Sherman took a turn around a corner, it always sounded as though the tires would fall off at any second. The heat had also gone out, which made driving a freezing experience since it was the dead of winter.

  But Betsy was all Sherman had. He hadn’t inherited money like Payton had, so he didn’t have the luxury of purchasing a new car. In fact, Sherman didn’t have the luxury of not worrying how his bills would be paid.

  What he hadn’t told his cousin was that he’d been fired from his job when he’d missed so many days. That hadn’t been Sherman’s fault. He’d been kidnapped, tied to a chair in an abandoned building, and nearly blown up.

  He still had nightmares about that.

  Now he was out looking for a job in Fever’s Edge. Sherman loved Maple Grove, but the memories of nearly dying there had left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “Nah, you don’t have to drive here. It’s cold as shit out and the roads still haven’t been cleared from the last storm.” That wasn’t entirely true. The main roads had been salted, but Sherman had to stop his cousin from coming to town. “Look, Payton. I just need to clear my head. You know, take some time to myself.”

  “I don’t like it,” Payton said then sighed. “Okay, I’ll give you your space, but if you keep blowing me off, I will hunt you down.”

  Sherman smiled. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you. Love you.” He quickly hung up before his cousin heard the despair in his voice.

  One thing Sherman hadn’t been lying about was his mom. She was getting up there in age, having him late in life, and he worried about her health. She’d had a cough for days that seemed to be getting worse, but whenever he tried to talk her into going to the doctor, she waved away his concern saying that she’d been sick before and all she needed was rest and chicken soup.

  His father hadn’t made the situation any better. For as far back as Sherman could remember, his parents had made an Olympic sport out of arguing. It was as if they’d gotten off on it. When Sherman was in his teens, they’d divorced, but they still talked to each other.

  More like argued with each other.

  His dad had called yesterday and, when he’d heard her coughing, had asked Sherman how long she’d been sick. It wasn’t that they didn’t care about each other. They just couldn’t be in the same room for five minutes without disagreeing on something, and then the fireworks began.

  When Sherman told his dad how long, his father had driven over there to convince her to go to the doctor. An hour-long argument had ensued. Normally Sherman’s dad was in the same room with his ex-wife only for Christmas, so his father showing up meant his mom’s cough was worse than she was letting on.

  Sherman grabbed the can if deicer and sprayed his windshield. Then he got into his freezing car and worked the wipers, hoping to get as much frost off as possible so he could drive to town. He’d heard Bent Spoon was hiring, and Sherman needed the job.

  His parents hadn’t lived in Fever’s Edge that long, so Sherman wasn’t familiar with the people or businesses. He’d heard about the job opening when he’d been at the gas station. The clerk had been talking to some young guy, telling him about it, and Sherman knew he had to apply.

  Damn it. He should have used the bathroom before he left. Now his bladder was full. He found a place to park, jumped out, and ran into Bent Spoon.

  “Sit anywhere you like,” the guy standing by a table called out.

  Sherman looked around, damn near doing the pee dance before he saw the sign for the restrooms. He dashed that way and was sighing in relief in a matter of minutes.

  When he exited, Sherman looked around. The diner was quaint, and…wow. Sherman looked at a table filled with buff men. One in particular caught his eye. Dark hair, low-trimmed beard, and muscles on top of muscles. And the stranger was smiling, showing off a set of pearly whites.

  God how Sherman loved bears. Not the actual animal but men who were built like a brick shithouse. And the guy he was eyeballing fit that bill to a T.

  Sherman noticed that everyone at the table had on dark blue shirts with FEFD. Firemen? Sherman was not going to think about firemen porn with that hottie as the lead star. Nope. He was kicking that thought right out of his head.

  Sherman slipped into the booth behind them, his back to Hottie’s back. He should have sat across the room so he could drool over the guy.

  Stay focused. Sherman hadn’t come to town to find a hookup. He was here for a job, and instead of talking to someone in charge, he was drooling over the guy behind him. Fuck, he needed to get laid. His brain was short-circuiting.

  “Are you kidding?” one of the guys at the table behind Sherman said. “He called the fire department to get his pet raccoon out of a tree? Man, see this is why I shouldn’t take a day off. I always miss the excitement.”

  “Nothing exciting about it,” the hottie said, and Sherman was in love with his deep, masculine voice. “I still don’t understand anyone who wants a raccoon as a pet, but we got him down, and Elijah was so thankful he baked us some cookies.”

  “And you greedy bastards ate them all,” the first guy groused.

  Hottie’s laugh had Sherman’s cock twitching.

  “What can I get you?”

  Sherman blinked several times. He hadn’t seen the waiter approach his table. He’d been too busy stalking his man of interest.

  “Um, is the manager or owner around?”

  The waiter—a short, skinny guy with pretty green eyes and blond hair that fell in waves around his handsome face—pursed his lips. “Are you asking about the opening we have?”

  “Yes.” Sherman picked up the me
nu on his table just to have something in his hands. He wasn’t sure he wanted to start over in a new town, but his mom needed him, and Sherman also needed time away from the town where he’d nearly died.

  Still, starting over was never easy in a place you knew nothing about.

  “I’ll get you an application,” the waiter said. “Although you could have filled one out online.”

  Why hadn’t Sherman thought of that? Everything was digital these days, but he hadn’t thought a small-town diner would be that progressive.

  “Yeah, I guess I could have done that, but I also heard how wonderful the food is here and I had to try it for myself.” He was so full of shit. His mom had cooked breakfast, even though Sherman had insisted he could cook for himself, so he was still full.

  “We’re open twenty-four hours, but we’re famous for our breakfast food.” The waiter smiled. “Can I bring you something to drink?”

  “Coffee.” Sherman returned the smile, wishing he’d heard the rest of the conversation behind him. He wanted to know more about a pet raccoon and to hear Hottie’s voice.

  “I’ll be right back.” The waiter walked away, but now the table behind him had fallen silent.

  Blowing out a breath to steel his nerves, Sherman chanced a glance behind him and saw the table had cleared out. Everyone was gone except Hottie.

  Sherman quickly turned back around when he noticed that Hottie had switched seats and was staring right back at Sherman with those gorgeous brown eyes of his.

  How embarrassing.

  “Here you go.” The waiter set his coffee on the table, along with a paper application. He even gave Sherman a pen to fill it out. “Let me know whenever you’re ready to order.”

  “Thanks.” Sherman offered the guy a smile. “What’s your name?”

  “Felix Summers.” He stuck out his hand, and Sherman shook it.

  “I’m Sherman Gaines, in case you wanted to know.” Now Sherman felt awkward, as if he was forcing introductions.

  “Well, I have other tables to tend to, Sherman. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks.” Sherman felt Hottie’s eyes on his back like a laser beam. He started to turn around again, but his phone rang.

  Sherman groaned when he saw it was his ex-boyfriend calling him. God, why couldn’t George fall off the face of the earth? Sherman had treated him like a king, and George had treated Sherman like crap, even going so far as to cheat on him more than once.

  He silenced the ringing and went to work filling out the application, but the entire time he felt Hottie watching him.

  Felix returned and asked if Sherman wanted anything to eat. Sherman didn’t want to take up a booth for a simple cup of coffee, so he ordered a tuna sandwich.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Sherman snapped his head up and gaped at Hottie, who was now sitting across from him. “Um…I don’t…you could…uh, sure.”

  “I’m Dalton.” He reached across the table, extending his beefy hand. Sherman shook it, and instant goose bumps surfaced all over.

  “I’m Sherman.”

  Why on earth would Dalton want to sit with him? He wasn’t the usual type of guy Sherman attracted. George was heavier than Sherman, with curly hair that reached his shoulders, and had a love for anime and all things Star Wars.

  A true nerd.

  Before George, there had been Cornell. A wannabe bad-boy, but not a hot one. He was tall and lanky with a nasally voice, but he’d treated Sherman like a prince when they’d first hooked up. In Sherman’s opinion, looks faded, but personality lasted a lifetime. He would have still been dating the guy, but Cornell had a penchant for trouble and tried to pull Sherman down that dark path with him.

  Sherman had still talked to Cornell after they’d broken up, but last he’d heard, Cornell was doing hard time for trying to rob a bank. Sherman had dodged a bullet by dumping the guy.

  And now Dalton sat across from him. What flaw did he possess? There had to be one because Sherman only attracted men with deep-seated issues for some reason.

  “So, you work at the fire department?” Sherman was never any good around nice-looking guys, and his brain kept taking a dump. He had no clue what to talk about.

  “I’m the chief.” Dalton smiled. “I see you’re trying to get a job here. I could put in a good word for you.”

  Sherman eyed him warily. “Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”

  Sherman tried to see the good in everyone. He honestly did, but after being kidnapped and nearly blown up, and then finding out shifters existed, he’d become a lot more cautious.

  “You’re new to town, and I just wanted to help you,” Dalton said. “I wanted to make you feel welcome and feel a part of Fever’s Edge.”

  “So you’re the goodwill ambassador of this town?” Sherman pursed his lips but stopped himself from telling Dalton he didn’t need any help. If he was going to stay, he needed a job, and if this guy could help out, why not? It would be one less headache he had to deal with.

  “You could call me that.” Dalton folded his arms on the table, making his muscles flex.

  For a moment Sherman forgot what they were talking about. His gaze zeroed in on Dalton’s bulging biceps, broad chest, and killer smile.

  “Here you go.” Felix set Sherman’s plate down in front of him. Not only was there a tuna sandwich but a boatload of fries. Sherman had already eaten breakfast, but it smelled good, and who was he to let food go to waste? “Do you need anything else?”

  “A soda, please.” Sherman bit into one of the fries and groaned. Salty and delicious. “Coke if you have it.”

  “Coming right up.” Felix walked away.

  “I should have ordered that.” Dalton nodded toward Sherman’s plate. “It smells amazing.”

  So did Dalton. Dark spices and earthy. “We could share this.”

  He hadn’t the first clue why Dalton was sitting with him, but just like the food, who was Sherman to let a good-looking man go to waste? “I normally don’t like sharing my food, but since you’re going to put in a good word for me, you can have some of my fries.”

  Dalton chuckled. “Thank you for being so generous. How can I repay you?”

  “Repay me?” Sherman frowned. “I’m repaying you.”

  Dalton stole another fry. “You know how to bribe someone. Let me go talk to Kennedy. I’ll be right back.” He got up, and Sherman had to crane his neck back. “Don’t eat my portion of the fries.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Sherman tore his gaze away from the handsome man and went back to filling out his application. By the time Dalton returned, the only thing left on the plate was about a dozen golden fries.

  Thankfully Dalton had a small plate of them with him. “The job is yours.”

  Sherman gaped at him. “Are you serious?”

  “I wouldn’t joke about something like that.” Dalton set the plate down and pushed half the fries onto Sherman’s plate. “You start at six tomorrow morning.” He tapped the application. “But you have to finish filling this out so Kennedy can have it on file.”

  Sherman wasn’t sure what Dalton’s flaw was, but he was grateful for the help. “In that case, dinner is on me.”

  Crap. There he went again, trying to impress the man of his interest. He needed to pump the brakes. Dalton was just a nice guy who’d taken pity on him. “I mean…I didn’t mean to assume you were available or that you even wanted to—”

  “It’s a date.” Dalton stood. “I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you at Cresting Moon around seven. Oh, and let me get your phone number just in case something comes up.”

  Sherman guessed that being a fireman, the hours were unpredictable. They exchanged phone numbers and Sherman felt as if he’d hit the lottery.

  The guy walked out before Sherman could say another word. Talk about confidence. Sherman wasn’t sure what he’d just gotten himself into, but he smiled as he finished off the rest of the fries.

  * * * *

  Sherman’s head was in the clouds by the time he left the diner. He had a date with a hot fireman. Talk about every gay man’s naughty dream.