by Erin Wright
“You want that cup of coffee now?” Jaxson asked huskily. “I’m sure you could use a warm-up.”
“No,” she said, some part of her still sane. Still rational. Shaking her head and backing away from his hand, she pulled on Hamlet’s leash. “Bakery hours are awful early. I need to get to bed.”
Which was a lie; she didn’t work on the weekends. Holli, a high school student, picked up all of those hours. But she needed something to protect herself, even if it was a small white lie.
She spun around, half walking, half jogging away from Jaxson. Away from temptation. Away from the pain that lay in choosing to be with someone.
Chapter 10
Jaxson
Jaxson stared at the list in front of him. Hydrants with low pressure, or no pressure, or too much pressure that blew out fire hoses and caused damage…they all made the list. In comparison, the list of fully functioning hydrants around the city was…depressingly small.
Of course, it was all hearsay, based on what Levi told him. Fire hydrants couldn’t exactly be tested in the dead of winter. Shooting streams of water out into the street so he could turn everything into an ice skating rink didn’t seem like a great way to ingratiate himself with the locals.
And if there was one thing he needed help on, it was definitely befriending the locals. Moose, Dylan, and a few of the others were friendly enough, and after spending two days driving around town with Levi playing tour guide/hydrant inspector, Jaxson felt fairly confident that at least Levi was firmly on his side.
But the rest of the firefighters and townspeople…Jaxson just wasn’t sure what to think about them, or what they thought about him. Probably nothing positive.
With a groan, he stood up. He was sick of going in circles in his head. He was a doer, not a thinker. If he didn’t do something soon, he’d go stir-crazy.
With a half-formed idea swirling around in his mind, he headed for the door, credit card in hand. It was time to go shopping.
* * *
He dropped the bags into the passenger seat and walked around to the driver’s side, sliding in and consulting the map in front of him. Hmmmm…Since he was parked in front of the hardware store, that meant that the closest hydrant was just up the block.
Directly in front of the Muffin Man Bakery.
He ground his teeth in frustration. Dammit! He’d been doing a fine job of avoiding Sugar and the Muffin Man since she’d practically taken off running last week. It was hard not to take it personally when a girl was so intent on getting away, she ran like the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels.
It wasn’t exactly good for a man’s ego, that was for certain.
Well, he might as well start there first and get it over with. With any luck, she would stay inside and he’d stay outside and they could pretend the other one didn’t exist. It was either that or march inside and demand to find out what the hell was going on in that head of hers.
He wasn’t entirely sure that was a grand idea. He was real tempted to use some choice words as part of that questioning, and even he knew that wouldn’t help.
He pulled his SUV forward a block and then began the preparations, laying out tarps to protect the ground and grabbing a few loose bricks piled against the storefront to hold the tarps down in the winter wind. It was miserable work, but he knew that if he didn’t make sure to protect the sidewalk and benches, there’d be hell to pay for it, and rightly so. No one wanted black streaks of spray paint all over everything.
As Jaxson worked, he heard the bell above the bakery door tinkle, and then a whoosh of warm, wonderful smelling air washed over him. He stiffened even as he breathed in deep. That smell was the smell of heaven on earth…
And Sugar was the devil here to tempt him.
He turned, a smile shoved into place, when he saw it was Gage standing there, two cups of coffee in his hands.
“Thought you might want a little somethin’ to warm you up,” Gage said, holding one of the cups out.
Jaxson felt his shoulders relax as he sent Gage a real smile. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.” He cupped his hands around the to-go cup, sipping at the warmth and letting it run through him. Oh, that felt good.
“What’s up with the black spray paint?” Gage asked, jerking his head towards the pile stacked around the hydrant.
“This hydrant doesn’t work,” Jaxson said ruefully. “Honestly, half the hydrants in town don’t work right. Too much pressure, not enough pressure, no pressure at all…It’s the Goldilocks story of hydrants, except the ones that are just right are few and far between.”
Gage cocked an eyebrow at him. “You trying to say that if my bakery caught fire, you wouldn’t be able to use this here hydrant to put it out?”
“Yup, I’m saying exactly that. So do your best not to burn down your bakery before spring hits.”
“Damn, there goes my plans for next week,” Gage said dryly.
They both chuckled quietly as they stared at the worthless hydrant in front of them.
“I have to say, that makes me a bit twitchy,” Gage finally said, taking another sip of his coffee. “You say most of the hydrants in town are dead?”
“About half have some sort of problem. Now, this is all based on hearsay, but it was Levi telling me, so I don’t have any reason not to believe him. I can’t test them myself till spring comes. Opening up a fire hydrant and spraying down Main Street, turning it into one big ice skating rink…Well, I think that sounds like more fun than it really would be. Especially when people came after me with pitchforks.”
“Sounds like you already know Sawyer,” Gage said with a small laugh. “Truth be told, I’m still learning my way around it. My grandparents started this bakery; it was the Dyer’s Bakery before I took over. I was the only one in the family who wanted it. I graduated high school two days before my dad retired from the Marines. He moved our family back here to Long Valley while I took off for culinary school. I’d only visited Sawyer during the summer and holidays until my grandparents retired and sold the bakery to me. Suddenly, I was living here full-time and dealing with all of the bullshit that comes from living in a town where everyone knows your name, and your business. I will say this about Sawyerites – if they don’t like you, they don’t pretend otherwise. They’ll tell you that you’re an awful son of a bitch to your face.”
Jaxson grimaced, remembering over the past couple of weeks. It was true that James and Robert hadn’t exactly tried to hide their disdain for him. Didn’t really make it easier to like ‘em, though.
He shivered so hard from the frigid air whistling down the street, he scalded his bare hand with the piping hot coffee. “Shit!” he exclaimed, trying to suck the hot liquid off the back of his hand.
“Come on in. Might as well clean up in the bathroom and warm up a bit before you start into your painting project.”
Jaxson looked down at the worthless hydrant and then back up at Gage.
It wasn’t a real tough choice.
“Much obliged,” he said.
They hurried into the warmth of the bakery. Prickles of heat shot through him, and Jaxson shivered again. He was gonna need to up his winter gear at this rate. Boise’s winters just weren’t as severe as Long Valley’s. Even his warmest jacket and socks weren’t cutting it.
“Oh, there you are!” Sugar said to Gage. “I’d wondered where—”
Jaxson looked up and their gazes caught. She sputtered to a stop, just staring at him, her chocolate eyes seemingly swallowing up her whole face.
Gage cleared his throat, mumbled something about his mixer needing cleaned, and disappeared into the back. Not exactly subtle, but Jaxson appreciated it all the same. He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation ahead, and he sure as hell didn’t want an audience for it.
Chapter 11
Sugar
Sugar wasn’t quite sure she was breathing right. After three days of jumping every time the bell over the door jingled, here was Jaxson. In the flesh. Staring right at her.
She gulped.
She’d spent since last Friday debating whether she’d been an idiot or a genius for running away. Because that was the only thing she could truthfully call it – she’d quite literally run from Jaxson, and more specifically, the desire in his eyes. She’d been afraid of that desire. Still was. Nothing good could come from it, and yet…
She walked around the counter, telling herself not to but her feet were moving anyway and then she was standing in front of the display case, staring up at Jaxson.
Like most men who were not midgets, he was much taller than her, and she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. For the 4,278th time in her life, she cursed her parents, both of whom were on the short side of the measuring stick. She’d really had no hope of growing to a decent height, but even still, she couldn’t say that she was thrilled that she’d only made it to a paltry 5’3”…and a half, when she was feeling particularly picky.
Which was most days.
She stared up at him. He stared back. Finally, he raised a to-go cup up in the air. “Gage was just tryin’ to help me warm up,” he said. “Mite bit chilly out there.”
“It’s a warm day for January,” Sugar protested. It’d even gotten up past freezing at one point, although the light was fading fast and the thermometer was no doubt going to begin to drop like a stone.
“Standing outside in it, I beg to differ. Some things in this valley are real cold.”
Her breath caught as he towered over her, glaring down. She had the sneaking suspicion that they weren’t talking about coffee or the weather any longer.
He moved closer. Her neck craned up more. “Why did you run away the other night?” he asked. He set his coffee cup down on a nearby table and used his free hands to pull her up against him.
She struggled against him, resisting and fighting to break free.
Okay, fine, that was a lie.
She wanted to resist his pull, but didn’t. She knew she should, but…somehow couldn’t. She snuggled up against him instead, cradled in his arms. “I…I can’t date someone,” she told him breathlessly, every part of her burning that touched him. “Even fire chiefs.”
He cracked a smile at that. “No exceptions even for fire chiefs, eh?” he said so softly, she probably wouldn’t have heard him if his mouth wasn’t inches away from hers.
Which really it shouldn’t be and she was going to stop all this real soon. Any minute now.
Just not this very second.
She shook her head. “No exceptions,” she whispered back.
“Funny, I have the same rule,” he breathed.
“You can’t date fire chiefs?” she said with a breathy laugh.
His eyes darkened with desire. “No room in my life for a girlfriend.”
“Well, at least we’re on the same page,” she murmured, as his mouth swooped down to cover hers. She shivered as he pulled her hungrily towards him, his mouth and tongue working in concert to drive her crazy with desire. Some part of her brain was screaming for her to stop, but it was getting drowned out by the much louder part of her brain that was applauding every moment.
She ran her hands up his arms and across his shoulders as she groaned. She’d stopped being able to breathe years ago, it seemed, and yet, she wasn’t missing the oxygen. She just wanted Jaxson. Nothing existed in the world except them.
He pulled back just a tiny bit, until only a piece of paper could slip between their lips, but not two.
“I’ve been thinking about this problem of ours,” he whispered, as he began to kiss his way across her cheek and over to her ear. He nibbled on her earlobe as he murmured, “I think we ought to be friends. With benefits.” He sucked her earlobe into his mouth and she felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her, setting her body on fire. She moaned.
“Real good friends, with lots of benefits,” he whispered as he began pressing kisses against her jaw, his tongue flicking out and setting her skin ablaze as he kissed his way down her neck.
“I like…friends…” she gasped. “A girl…always needs…friends.”
He pulled away and smiled down at her, his eyes lit up with passion and desire. “I like how you think,” he growled.
Then he was dropping his hands and moving away towards the door. She stumbled and grabbed onto the back of one of the chairs, holding herself up as she watched him walk away.
“Best get back to work,” he said over his shoulder, and then he was disappearing outside, the bell jingling overhead as he left her alone to stare after him.
Chapter 12
Jaxson
“We’ve got to go after Angus,” Jaxson said bluntly, staring at the chief of police, the muscle in his jaw twitching sporadically. “I don’t care if he is the mayor’s son. Smoking before school is one thing. Smoking before school and setting fire to a local historical landmark is quite another.”
The police chief laughed. “Listen, you’re new here, and by all accounts, you aren’t gonna last long anyway.” Jaxson’s spine stiffened so fast, he may’ve given himself whiplash. At the look on Jaxson’s face, the police chief raised his hands in surrender. “Don’t get all pissy with me. I’m just saying things the way they are, and one of those things is, you don’t go ‘round, arresting the mayor’s son. Not if you still want a job next week. I happen to like my job, and screwing it all up to prove a point ain’t gonna happen. That’s a hill I ain’t gonna die on.”
“The thing is, Chief, people are blaming me for that damn fire, that I didn’t put it out and instead watched it burn. You know that the hydrant didn’t work and that’s why I didn’t do anything, but most people aren’t getting the full story. If we charge the kid for smoking, maybe people will stop paying so much attention to what I did and did not do, and more attention to what the mayor’s son did. If something doesn’t change and soon, you’re right, I won’t have a job much longer.”
He felt the panic build inside of him at the thought. It’d only been a couple of weeks since he’d started as fire chief. It was still half a year until the family court judge would hear his case again. He couldn’t get fired. He couldn’t let Kendra win.
He couldn’t give up his boys.
“Well now, I don’t see as how that’s my problem,” the police chief said, rocking back on his heels. “The mayor’s my boss. He’s your boss. I don’t think endearing myself to him by arresting his only son is gonna be my smartest move.”
“I don’t give a damn what you think!” Jaxson shouted, slamming his hand down on the chief’s desk. “You’ve got to do your job – that’s what I think! And arresting underage kids for smoking a cigarette before school and causing massive property damage to a historical landmark in town is most definitely your job.” He was breathing heavily by the time he was done, glaring at the chief, wishing that somehow, looks really could kill.
“Listen, kid,” said the pot-bellied chief, hooking his hands into the loops of his jeans, “you’re already in a heap of trouble in this town. Not only did you stand around and do piss-all to put out the mill fire, you’ve also been painting hydrants around town every color under the sun—”
“Each color means somethin’!” Jaxson burst in. “I’m not just picking random colors ‘cause I think they’re pretty! Black means—”
“All I know,” the chief said, steamrolling right over him, “is that we here don’t like our hydrants painted anything but red. A hydrant is supposed to be red, goddammit. I don’t know how y’all do it in your big city with your fancy rules, but here, a hydrant is fire-engine red. End of story.
“Also,” he stood up a little more and glowered down at Jaxson, “you don’t go around kissin’ other men’s girls.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Jaxson stared at the chief, completely confused. He’d only kissed one girl since he came into town, and that was Sugar. She sure as hell wasn’t somebody else’s “girl.”
“Sugar Stonemyer down at the bakery. Everyone knows that she’s sleeping with Gage. You were kissing her last nig
ht. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gage chose to rearrange a few of your teeth and frankly, I’m not sure if I could arrest him for it. A guy moving in on another guy’s territory…well, it just ain’t right.”
“Sugar? Gage?” Jaxson stared at the chief wide-eyed, his mind spinning. That couldn’t be right. Why would Gage leave them alone to talk if he were dating Sugar? Why wouldn’t he have said anything to him? “Hold on a moment, how do you know I was kissin’ Sugar?” Jaxson blurted out.
“The whole front of that bakery is nothin’ but glass,” the chief said with a shrug. “I think if Sugar sneezes, most of the town knows by noon. That’s how we know they’re datin’. I’ve seen ‘em going at it more than once when I’ve driven by on patrol.”
Jaxson staggered back, staring at the chief. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. He had to go.
He nodded once, then spun on his heel and headed for the door. He had to talk to Sugar. He had to talk to her right now. He felt the anger rolling off him in waves, although truth be told, he wasn’t real sure why, because dammit all, they were just friends with benefits. The “benefits” thus far had only been a kiss in the bakery, but why the hell would she even want that if she and Gage were dating? Was Gage not man enough for her? Was she lookin’ for more? Did Gage know?
His mind spun with questions that had no answers.
The chief may be wrong about a lot of things, but he was right about this. Movin’ in on her, even if it was just as friends with benefits, wasn’t right. Not if she was with Gage.
He slammed his way into his SUV and threw it in reverse, tires spinning on the snow and ice before gaining traction and shooting him backwards into the street.
None of it made any sense, and Jaxson was gonna find out the truth if he had to shake it out of Sugar.
Chapter 13