Robert "Bear" Barrington had no problem keeping his sexuality a secret.  That was until new firefighter Dane Garrison arrived and joined his Search and Rescue Team, his softball team and also to his firehouse.  Bear knew from the first look Dane would be dangerous for him and that was before he knew Dane was gay.

Dane lived in the closet as well, but not as far as Bear.  Finding out that Bear was not only gay, but was also attracted to him, Dane was not going to let a chance to be together slip away without a fight.

Tie 'Em Up, Hold 'Em Down had some great moments, but I felt there was too much going on for one story.  Caroline Valdez pretty much drummed it in that Bear would die before revealing he loved men, even to himself.  There were too many typical plot twists and contrived situations that you would find in several homosexual themed stories, but crammed all into this one story.  I'm usually one who craves more, but in this case I would say less is more.