The Love of Fire

Don’t let the Fire feel your hesitation.

A young girl flirts with the only thing she feels she controls.

An older mentor invites her into his family.

Her own family welcomes the bond.

With enough love, Fire forges an unexpected future.

An excerpt from The Love of Fire:

Digg stood beside a brick box built sort of like a backyard barbecue grill. But this one was wider and longer than any grill I’d ever seen. A lovely aroma filled the air. Thick and furry, a little sulfurous, but not so bad as when we melted pure sulfur in the chemistry lab. More friendly, somehow. Inviting.

At one end of the not-quite-grill, a broad chimney pipe with a giant mousehole cut into the side sucked smoke away from a low, red, beautiful pile of glowing embers. They brightened and dimmed, pulsing like a warm, beating heart full of promise. I felt it pulling at me. Tiny sparks popped away from the coals, like fireflies. Like—

“Hey, Laurita. Snap out of it.”

Digg doubled down on his command by snapping his fingers in front of my eyes. Connie punched my shoulder.

“She’s got it good, doesn’t she Papa?”