Families are messy - 24

Casey was relieved that Marcia didn’t insist on staying at his house overnight to keep him safe. He wasn’t comfortable with that idea, both on the ‘I’m male, I don’t need a female protector’ level and due to the fact that despite his every instinct telling him not to trust her on any emotional level he still found her to be the most interesting woman he’d ever met. If he was going to admit it, he knew that he had fallen for her. And if she’d stayed the night he might have said or done something he would regret later when everything was over and done with.

He did promise her he’d lock the house securely and make certain the alarm system was armed, even though that was false security since all of his family knew the code, just as he knew theirs. That had been Bing’s idea as a safety precaution in case of emergencies and it had started long before Casey and Kathy had parted. 

When he told Marcia he could see her debating the wisdom of his even staying at the house but he put his foot down, insisting that he would be very careful, and would lock his bedroom door, “and even put a chair under the door handle.”

“So help me if I get a call saying you’re dead I’m going to kill you,” she’d growled before finally leaving to the sound of his laughter at her comment.

He actually managed to sleep well, much to his surprise. He decided the fact that he’d allowed Duke to keep him company in the bedroom had something to do with that. Bloodhounds might not make great watchdogs but Casey had put a blanket down for the dog right against the door. If nothing else he knew the dog would react by baying if someone woke him in the process of trying to force the door open.

The only drawback to having Duke in the room with him was that the dog took advantage of it to wake him way too early for his walk. Grumbling mightily under his breath Casey had hit the bathroom and then dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt before meeting the dog at the front door. After attaching Duke’s leash to his collar the two of them went out to be greeted by the threat of rain in the air. They made it as far as the park before the threat became reality so they raced to huddle under the awning of a small mom-and-pop grocery store half a block away, where they remained until the torrent tapered off to a light sprinkle.

Once they arrived back at the house Casey headed upstairs to shower and get changed for work. As he stood under the hot water, trying to get rid of the bone-deep chill, Casey heard Duke suddenly start to bay and seconds later the smoke detector was blaring. Jumping out of the shower he grabbed his robe off the back of the bathroom door, pulling it on as he raced into his bedroom. The smell of smoke greeted him as he grabbed his cell from the dresser and stepped into the hallway, dialing 911 as he did.

There were flames at the bottom of the stairs and through the thickening smoke he saw Duke pacing agitatedly back and forth in the living room looking for a way to get up to him. He shouted for Duke to “Go”, pointing to the kitchen. The dog kept howling but followed his orders. As soon as he was certain the dog was out of immediate danger he told the dispatcher to send the fire department. The moment he knew they would he sped into his bedroom to grab his keys and then down the hall to the far end, throwing open the window. Climbing onto the sill he looked down, judged his chances of landing without breaking anything major, and then jumped, pushing off hard enough to land on the grass rather than the concrete of the driveway.

Staggering to his feet, letting out a sharp cry of pain when his ankle threatened to give way under him, he hobbled slowly to the back door leading to the kitchen. Unlocking it, not caring that the alarm system began blaring as loudly as the smoke alarm, he called to Duke. The dog was at his side in seconds and the two of them moved slowly to the back yard. 

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Phoenix Rising
Book One of the Phoenix Rising Series

Available today, April 14th

https://spsilverpublishing.com/

Blurb:

Hex Phoenix, entrepreneur and businessman, arrives in New Orleans to conduct business. assisted by his long-time lover, Urbain Fortier. Life would be easy except for one small problem, someone wants to kidnap Hex. Why? Not because of who he is, but because of what he is, the mythical Phoenix. 

After escaping his enemies, resurrecting as Conleth Feu d'Oiseaux,  and reuniting with Urbain, he is now being hunted by the RIRA. The beautiful Giuliana is also searching for Conleth for reasons of her own. With danger and jealousy surrounding him, Conleth finds once again that being the Phoenix is not an easy life.