Where There's Smoke Read online

  Sarah giggled. “Okay, sir. I see you have everything in hand. I’ll see you in two hours.”

  “Take three or four. I’m pretty sure we’ll be asleep by then.”

  “Well, Macy likes to stay up late sometimes. She doesn’t always cooperate.”

  “It’s fine, now go have some fun.”

  Sarah nodded at me and finally turned to leave. I locked the door and sprinted back to Macy who was playing with the small toy over her head and kicking her legs.

  “Look at you, little angel. Are you having fun? Are you?” I leaned over the bassinet and gently lifted her into my arms. I kissed her head and cradled her against my chest, then stepped over to her play mat to watch her roll again.

  Unlike this morning, I dressed in sweat pants and t-shirt so I had no qualms with getting on the floor. This was only the beginning of a lot of things I'd have to get over to be a good father/uncle.

  The minute I put her down, Macy kicked her legs as if she was swimming and tried to raise up her head. She struggled, but after a minute or so, she finally got it up long enough to see me and smiled.

  “Aw, look at my beautiful baby. Look at you.” I pulled out my phone so I could record more of her progress for everyone to see. Not only that, I’d planned to put together a file of all her milestones so we could look at it later. Perhaps her mother might finally get her act together after seeing Macy grow up.

  I pushed the button to record and within about a minute the phone rang a simple tone. I rolled my eyes, wondering who it could be. Either my sister Myrna or Karl since I had no actual ring for either one.

  I noticed it was Myrna, calling either from rehab or one of her pimp’s houses.

  “Hello?”

  “Myles, it’s me. I … need your help.”

  I shook my head, cursing myself for even picking up. She always needed something and most of the time it involved money.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t have anyone else to turn to, bro. I don’t even have money to get back home.”

  Despite the playful newborn rolling to her hearts content, anger rose in my gut. “Why can’t one of your pimps give it to you?”

  “I …” She coughed in the background. “I don’t have a pimp. I’m trying to get my life together.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard that one before. Actually, three or four times out of the last ten years.”

  “No, no, Myles, I really mean it this time. I’m trying to get straight so I can take my baby back. Can you send me a few hundred?”

  “I can’t leave, Myrna because Macy is with me. How would I get it to you?”

  “Can’t you send it to me over the computer?”

  “You don’t have a bank account.”

  “My friend, Sal does. She’s been helping me get clean, but she ain’t got enough cash to give me so, I’m calling you. I didn’t want to, believe me. I wanna try doing things on my own but−”

  “Let me talk to Sal.”

  “She ain’t here, Myles.”

  “Well how the he …” I took a deep breath and counted to ten. I didn’t want to scare my beloved niece by yelling at her good for nothing parent.

  “How the heck am I supposed to send her any money without knowing the correct information?”

  Macy continued to roll and play. I was missing all the fun thanks to Myrna.

  “I’m waiting.”

  I didn’t get an immediate answer. Instead she cried. Then someone yelled in the background about getting off the phone.

  “I’m trying to talk to my brother, Don! Give me some peace. He’s loaded. He’ll be able to give me the dollars so you can leave me and Sal the hell alone!” Myrna screamed at the other person.

  “Get the fuck off that phone, bitch!”

  Hearing that, I grimaced and pressed the disconnect button. Until that point, I almost believed, yet again, that she was trying to get herself clean.

  Although I didn’t believe in God, I said a silent prayer that she’d be okay and not end up getting herself killed. The last thing my mother needed was to hear that her daughter lost her life, dealing with the wrong people.

  After that episode, I wouldn’t be answering any more calls from my sister tonight. I couldn’t do anything anyway since I had no one to watch Macy. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be trouncing to the other side of town and put my own life in danger. Macy needed me. Sarah and I were the only real “parents” she had.

  The following day, I decided to give Santiago a call. I wanted to make plans to drive down there so I thought it best to make sure he’d be home.

  “C’mon Santiago. What are you doing?” It was Friday, so he could be at work or worse, at home with his soon to be ex-boyfriend. Santiago could be alone or outside doing chores. He’d always loved working on plants.

  “Hello?” Santiago finally answered, sounding as if he was out of breath.

  Although I didn’t like the tone, I had to admit, hearing his breaths hampered got my dick’s attention.

  “Hi, Santiago. How’s your Friday going?”

  “Good, Myles. Is there something you need? I’m kinda busy.”

  “Oh? Doing what?” I had no right to ask him such things, but I was curious.

  “I’m doing some work around the house. I only answered to make sure everything’s okay with mom, Macy, and Myrna.”

  “Mom’s good. Macy’s rolling. Myrna is the same. Listen, I −,”

  Santiago cut me off. “Good, okay, I gotta go now. Give Momma and Macy a kiss for me. Bye.”

  With that, he hung up. I eyed the phone like a door that had been slammed in my face. I placed the handset on my desk and crossed my arms. I didn’t know how to handle being rejected again.

  One side of me said to call back while the other said leave him alone and just show up on his doorstep. I didn’t like surprises all that much. Perhaps the only way to get Santiago to notice would be to appear with Macy, ready to convince him we were meant to be.

  I’d been planning on being polite and sharing my intentions. Either way, I wanted Santiago to see Macy. With how much Santiago cared about me and our precious baby, he’d be ready to take us back in a heartbeat.

  Chapter Eight

  Santiago

  I hated to hang up on Myles so abruptly, but I wouldn’t let him keep me on the phone. When I’d answered, Jonas had been chasing me from our bedroom to the kitchen in the buff. I’d debated even answering, but like I’d told him, I wanted to make sure everything was okay. I would’ve hated to ignore it and something be wrong with anyone in his family.

  “Santiago?”

  Jonas’s voice jerked me from my thoughts. I turned to see my sexy man wearing nothing by a wicked smile. We had just finished making love again, this time with Jonas topping me with my arms tied to the bedpost. Though Jonas told me we didn’t have to do it, I insisted, needing to move on with my life and feed our kink.

  Within a minute or so, his body was on mine again, pressing our lips together in a passionate embrace. Where he got all the stamina to get fucked, fuck me, then chase me around the house was anyone’s guess. I supposed that Army training taught him to never tire or trick his mind into rarely showing his exhaustion.

  Jonas grabbed me by the hips and lifted me into his arms.

  Quickly, I snatched my cell phone, wondering if I should’ve turned the ringer off so we wouldn’t be disturbed again.

  Once Jonas carried me back to our bedroom, he put me down. We stood in front of the bed eyeing one another.

  “You hungry, babe?”

  “A little.” I traced a single finger from his moist brow down to his lips. I pecked them then forced him backwards onto the mattress.

  “Are you ready for round three already?”

  “No, definitely not. I wanna be on top of you again.” I knelt on the bed and crawled up his body until our bodies were level. “I wanna be naked and sticky for the majority of the day. We could take a shower, but I actually like being covered in your spunk.”

 
“Nothing better than messy sex.” Jonas’s blue eyes regarded mine and he quickly covered my lips with his again.

  “Maybe we could feed both our hungers with a plate of fruit and yogurt to snack on,” Jonas said between lip locks.

  “All right, I’m good with that. Natural energy is always good when you’re trying to best your own record in the sex marathon.”

  “Haha, yeah. By the way, who was that on the phone?”

  I took a deep breath. I didn’t look away from him because I wanted to keep eye contact. “It was Myles. He was just saying hi. I told him I was busy.”

  Jonas’s smile thinned when he heard my ex-boyfriend’s name.

  “Okay. Everything good on his end?”

  “Yes. That’s the only reason I answered the phone.”

  Jonas frowned and shook his head.

  “Why is he calling so much if it isn’t important? I mean, why doesn’t he respect that you have a man?”

  I bit my lip then I dropped my gaze from his. Jonas had every right to ask and to keep our honesty pack intact, I had to answer him. “Myles still loves me.”

  “Yeah, but when will you tell him to respect that I’m your boyfriend? I mean, I’m thinking you like this little competition between us or something.”

  Am I a heathen?

  The truth was I did. I loved being desired by two very strong men. Jonas was a beast. A former Army captain, a wrestler, and a firefighter. Myles was smart, successful, and strong in his own right. They both had everything any man or woman could want and here they were, fighting for my attention. I had to admit, part of me enjoyed that someone wanted me so badly that they wouldn’t accept defeat.

  “Santi, answer me? Is it true?”

  I said nothing in response, because it wasn’t right to voice how I really felt. Instead I cleared my throat and waved it off. “There isn’t a competition, all right? Now, where were we?”

  “You took a little too long to answer, babe.” Jonas shook his head.

  “I was a little winded and I wanted to get my thoughts together.”

  “Uh huh. Look, I know you still care for him…”

  “I’ve already told you, his family is my family, okay? Now, can we set a date for dinner? I really want to see Macy. If it’ll make you feel better, I won’t call him. You can do it instead.”

  “What?” Jonas laughed. “I don’t wanna talk to him.”

  “Why not? He’s a good guy and I think if you set the day of when he visits, the fact of us being together would resonate with him.”

  “It will regardless, because if he comes down here starting shit, he’ll be in for a fight. That’s for sure.”

  “All right, understood. In the meantime, let’s forget he even called and get back to what we were doing. Besides, I have something to give you.”

  “Oh?” Jonas appeared surprised.

  I grasped his hand tightly in mine. “Yes. Come with me.”

  * * * *

  Jonas

  Admittedly, I thought Santiago liked this competition, but I’d push away those thoughts for now. Even if that was true, there was little I could do about it except hurry up and marry him.

  After we’d gotten out of bed, Santiago led me by the hand to the center of our bedroom. Something about his expression told me this was serious. I wondered what he had in mind.

  “So, I have to ask. Do you love me?”

  “Of course I do,” I said without hesitation.

  He walked to the antique armoire I’d never seen him open. I’d always been curious what was in it, but I figured it to be too personal.

  “But, you don’t trust that I love you back.”

  I released a deep breath and dropped my head. “It’s not that I don’t believe you or the fact that you love me. I know your feelings for Myles still exist. You guys were together a long time.”

  “Regardless of what I feel for him, I love you, Jonas. And I want to prove to you just how much.” Santiago turned his back on me and opened one of the drawers. When he shifted back around he had a black box in his hands.

  Appearing misty eyed, Santiago ambled over and urged me to sit back on the bed. Once he joined me, he opened the box which contained a necklace with a small pendant attached. His eyes bored into mine so deeply, almost as if he could see right into my soul. “It was my grandmother’s. She told me when I found the man of my dreams I need to give it to him and when I did, it’s meant to be forever. I’ve wanted to do it for weeks, then months, but no better time like the present. Jonas Sandbauck, I want to be your lover and your forever. Will you be mine?”

  Damn.

  Santiago’s words made my heart ache, and the tears welled up in my eyes. Was that a proposal? Like the one I was planning to do in Galena? It sure fucking sounded like it and all I could do was cry like baby in front of him.

  When I tried replying, all the emotions had a choke hold on my voice. I swallowed hard, forcing the lump down my throat.

  I took it, eyeing the stone and chain. “Damn, Santi, it’s beautiful. Do you mean this? Are we forever?”

  “We are, as long as you want us to be.” Santiago said.

  For some reason this sounded like something bigger than a proposal. Giving me something that belonged to his beloved grandparent. Something he’d cherished for a long time and was passing it on to me as a symbol of his undying love.

  With this necklace, Santiago was surrendering himself to me.

  What a sweet fucking surrender.

  And all I had to do was open my mouth and accept. Say a fucking word.

  “Yes, I accept. I will be your man, Santiago Mendoza. I want you to be my forever and I will be yours.”

  After he helped me put it on, Santiago smiled at me and jumped into my arms, kissing me with fervor and passion. I allowed him to drive me backwards because not only was this a pivotal moment in our relationship, it was a time we needed to celebrate, again and again.

  When Santiago landed on top of me, he crawled the length of my body until we were at exact eye level. I ran my arms around his waist, holding him there while he dragged his fingers over my face, tracing the tears.

  “I love you, Jonas.” He pressed his mouth on top of mine and I reveled in his embrace, reciprocating it with everything I had.

  “I love you too, Santiago.” I kissed him again and sucked his tongue inside of my mouth. “And I will be your forever.”

  Chapter Nine

  Santiago

  With only the whir of the fan as our soundtrack, I rested my head on his chest, stroking his arm. Being close to six o’clock, it was still hot as hell outside, but I’d convinced Jonas to only run the fan because sweaty sex was indeed the things dreams were made of.

  “Santi, I swear, I don’t wanna move from this spot. I wish we could spend the whole weekend in bed.”

  “Me too, but work calls. We’ll have our chance again soon. And then in Galena.”

  “Yep. On Sunday, I’m working eleven to eight. Hopefully, there’s no fires or I might work overtime.”

  “I’m gonna pray there aren’t any, but remember, I won’t be here, anyway. Pamela and I are going to that antique show. Since it’s about a half hour away, we’re leaving early so I can be there before nine to get a good parking spot.”

  Jonas grinned. His twinkling blue eyes regarded me. “Look at you, bargain hunter, huh? Just don’t come home with bunches of things, okay? I swear we don’t have the room for any more of your treasures.”

  “No, we don’t, but if I find something I like, don’t be surprised. Like I said, I’m looking for chairs, nothing more. I like to see what other people have.”

  “Yeah.” Jonas dragged a hand over my cheek. “Someday I hope to join you on some of these antique excursions. I’m actually thinking about working with my dad, then staying with the department as a volunteer fireman. I’d have to put up with the insults. Might potentially be a lot more than what I’m making now.”

  “I’d love for you to make your own schedule. Whatever
you decide, Jonas. I’m one hundred percent behind you.”

  Jonas grinned. “Thanks, babe. It means a lot. You don’t realize how happy you’ve made me with this necklace.” He tugged at the small stone, an amethyst on a silver chain around his neck. Jonas kissed it, then me. “I have to be honest with you. I wanted to propose to you in Galena.”

  I only nodded at that and returned the warm smile. “Well, why don’t we set a date when we get there?” I crawled the length of his body and curled my arms around his neck. “All I wanna do is profess to everyone how much I love you and want you in my life.”

  “Me too, babe. We could do that on the street corner for free.”

  “With all the homophobes and Bible thumpers watching,” I replied.

  “And give em the finger when we kiss.”

  “Yes, yes, that would be awesome!” I got excited thinking about it. However, even through all the anticipation, something in my heart kept me from being happy. A small tug at my heart strings reminded me of another person who I’d miss when I made the promise to be in a monogamous relationship.

  Myles.

  I still loved and cared for him. Marrying Jonas would most likely shut the door on any other possibilities of being in Macy’s life full time. I’d have to get over that quickly, because I knew I’d made the right decision.

  * * * *

  Myles

  “Myles, it’s your turn to go out now. You need it after staying up with Macy last night,” Sarah remarked when I stepped into Macy’s room.

  I shrugged. “Nope. I am heading out tomorrow night with Garrett. He’s taking me to some function where the local financial guru slash all around windbag is speaking. Should be fun.”

  Sarah chuckled. “Myles, Myles, Myles, you are hilarious. Well, you can get some rest. I have little Macy all taken care of.” She kissed the baby’s head.

  I crossed both arms over my chest to watch how good Sarah was to my niece. Sarah was an attractive woman and would make someone happy to be her husband. Why she wanted to stay around me, the old bitter, black queer, I didn’t know.