Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter

Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2016) R. Cooper

Honestly, I’m not even sure what it is about this story, but it keeps catching at my mind.

Part of it is how awful the women in the town are.

Scott nodded, so weirdly nervous that his voice trembled. “It makes them want to read more. Maybe even books like that one, someday.” He gestured to the table. “I’ll wait for the movie, though.”

“Can you watch it while working out?” Renée snapped at him, but with her attention on her phone. She might have been talking to Ross, or the rest of the knitters, for all Scott knew.

Cole was so serious. “Don’t firefighters have to attend classes? Go to college?”

“Oh.” Scott reached up to rub the back of his neck and play with his hat. “Textbooks are different. I need to know that stuff. That’s nothing.”

And Cole is delightful.

“I’m more interested in someone’s excitement over something they have just discovered, than someone’s smug, pompous insistence that there is a right and a wrong way to learn to love something.”

But the others are good–especially Scott’s sister.

“You dumbface.” Angie snorted like a furious but soft-hearted bull. “Are you telling me you think he could do better? Did he tell you that?” Scott shook his head before steam came out of her ears. She was still pretty pissed though. “Holy shit, I am going to fucking murder your exes.”

“They’re not really exes,” Scott pointed out, because she couldn’t blame them for not acting like boyfriends when they hadn’t been boyfriends.

“Yes, I know. Hence this problem.”

It’s not belabored, but the reason why Scott’s sister is a single mother is important–both to the story and as a reminder to those of us not in the military, of the toll of war.

He wondered if Cole knew that Bobby’s dad wasn’t with them because of his mental health issues from his service in Afghanistan, and that’s why he’d recommended that particular series.

Also, the guys at the firehouse are ridiculous.

“Anyway,” Scott added, quietly, “you seemed like you had other stuff going on.”

Someone behind the door whispered, “Oh, snap.” Scott had a feeling it was Tiny. He briefly wondered if he was wrong, if the entire firehouse had gossiped about him and Cole, but had deliberately kept it to themselves. That seemed like a lot to ask of anyone, especially gossipy straight men.

But mostly I just adore Scott.

He picked up Becks to give nervous, overprotective Bobby a break from watching over her all the time, before taking Bobby’s hand for the walk home.
…
But Scott didn’t get any more time to think about it, because Becks wanted a snack, and Bobby had seen a lizard by the baseball field today, and both of those things deserved his full attention.

Rating: 8.5/10

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