Change a tire. I’ve seen this done before. How hard can it be?
I hit the button to release my trunk and sat my suitcase on the ground beside the bumper. I pulled back the carpet to reveal the secret compartment underneath it with my jack and my spare tire—which was nothing more than a donut. It wasn’t going to get me home, but it would get to me to Granite Falls, which was all I cared about at the moment. I went through the painful process of removing the jack without breaking a nail and then started messing with the screw holding the donut in place. I started trying to twist it and found it was stuck. I gave it several turns, but all I managed to do was tear a bit of skin off my finger. My frustration grew and I grabbed the tire iron, trying to finagle it as a lever. Another attempt was made and then I felt the nail on my index finger snap. It broke at the tip of my finger in a jagged pattern, causing me to recoil and shake my finger. As I gritted my teeth to give it another try, I heard a roaring motor behind me. I turned to see a motorcycle approaching and as it got closer, it seemed to be slowing down.
Well, I’m either going to get murdered or helped—let’s hope it’s the latter.
The large black motorcycle came to a stop several yards behind my car. The engine roared for a moment and then went quiet as the rider hit the kickstand with his boot. I turned to face the motorcycle as the rider stepped off and started removing his helmet. The helmet came off to reveal shoulder length blond hair and a thick beard of matching color. He put his helmet on his motorcycle and started walking towards me, holding his hand against his forehead to keep the sun out of his eyes. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, a black leather vest, and a pair of blue jeans that sat on top of black motorcycle boots. The first thing I noticed were the tattoos which ran up both arms creating a full sleeve—the second thing I noticed was the insanely large biceps that the ink was decorating.
“What’s the problem?” His tone had a bit of a southern edge to it and sort of reminded me of the way my father would drag out some of his words.
“The tire went flat.” I grimaced and pointed. “I’m trying to change it.”
“Your hand is bleeding.” He pointed and I lifted my hand, noticing that the spot where the nail had broken was splattered in crimson.
“Well, like I said. I’m trying.” I sighed and shook my head.
“Move out of the way, I’ll take care of it.” He walked to my car and removed the screw holding the donut with one quick twist of his hand.
I need muscles.
“I’m Axe, by the way.” He leaned back from my trunk with the donut in one hand and the jack in the other.
“I’m Samantha. Thank you so much.” My face turned to an expression of pure gratitude as he walked towards my blown-out tire. “Are you from Granite Falls?”
“Born and raised.” He nodded as he knelt and started examining the tire. “Where are you from? If you were from Granite Falls, I’d already know you—small town.”
“I grew up in Atlanta. My father is from Granite Falls though—and my grandmother.” I leaned against the car and he started jacking up the car.
“Who’s your father?” He finished jacking up the car and pushed the tire iron onto one of the lug nuts. With a quick push, it was spinning free from the bolt.
“Randy Grant.” I doubted Axe would know him. My father left town when he was sixteen and Axe appeared to be around my age.
“Grant...” He nodded. “Must be Mrs. Grant’s son. I saw the obituary in the paper last week.”
“Did you know my grandmother?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Not really. I saw her around town a few times, but that is about it. I just got back into town recently myself.” He finished the second lug nut and moved to the third.
“I’m here to tend to her estate. My father is too sick to do it himself.” I watched his muscles flex as he continued removing lug nuts.
“So you’re not sticking around?” Axe looked up at me and his deep blue eyes sparkled in the sun.
“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m just here to deal with her estate.”
“We should get a drink while you’re here.” He looked back to the tire and started shuffling it off of the bolts.
Is he asking me out a date?
“I don’t know.” I let out a sigh. “I’m just here for a couple of days.”
“Then maybe we should get a couple of drinks.” He looked up at me and smiled.
What do I have to lose? This guy is hotter than the pavement I’m standing on.
“Okay, sure.” I shrugged.
Axe got the donut on the car and started replacing the lug nuts. He gave each of them a twist that made his muscles flex before he started lowering the jack. Axe wasn’t the type of guy I would normally go out with—not that I really had a type. I thought I was in love once when I was in college and met a guy online. After spending a year on a long-distance text-only relationship, I found out the supposed man of my dreams was nothing more than a guy I had previously turned down for a date trying to catfish me. After that, my trust in men got a little shattered. There were a few dates, but nothing that ended with romance. I was probably the only virgin in my graduation class. I had lived with my father since graduation, completely dateless and working a dead-end job in an office where everyone was much older than me. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a drink.
“Okay, I think you’re all set.” Axe stood up and wiped sweat off of his brow.
As Axe put my jack and tire iron in my trunk along with my tattered tire, I heard a car approaching from the opposite direction. I looked over my shoulder to see the familiar outline of a Ford Crown Victoria with red and blue lights on the top. Axe slammed the trunk shut and watched as the police car approached. It was probably a good sign that he didn’t immediately run to his motorcycle and speed away—if he was a bad boy, he wasn’t on the wrong side of the law—or he was just brazen as hell. The car came to a stop and I saw the words Granite City Sheriff’s Department painted on the side. The door opened and a man stepped out. He looked like a typical television sheriff—but a hunky version with a brown shirt, brown pants, and a badge on his chest. He was well built, with large hulking muscles underneath his shirt. He slammed the door and walked over to us, looking at my donut, and then to Axe.
“This guy bothering you?” He turned his attention to me and his steel colored eyes almost seemed to be staring straight into my soul.
“N...No.” I shook my head back and forth. “He was helping me change my tire. I had a blowout on my way to Granite Falls.”
“I was just leaving.” Axe nodded and turned to me. “Seven o’clock tonight at The Water Barn. It’s the only bar in town.”
“Okay.” I smiled as he walked towards his motorcycle.
“Figures.” The sheriff sighed and watched as Axe started up the engine on his bike. “Pretty girl headed to Granite Falls and Axe gets a date with her before she even makes it to town.”
“Does that happen often?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.
“No.” The sheriff shook his head. “There aren’t many eligible girls in Granite Falls. I’m Sheriff James—you can call me Jesse.”
“Jesse?” I stifled a laugh. “Jesse James?”
“That joke is older than you are.” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Sorry.” I looked down at the ground and sighed.
“You’re going to need to get your tire fixed. You won’t go far on that donut. My brother Steve owns a repair shop in town. He’ll take care of you.” He put his hands on his hips. “What business do you have in Granite Falls anyway?”
“I’m here to tend to my grandmother’s estate—Gertrude Grant.” I figured he would know her, if anyone did.
“She was a sweet old lady—she made some killer pies.” He nodded and smiled. “Randy wasn’t able to come himself?”
“You know my father?” I tilted my head inquisitively.
“Not really. He took off a long time ago. I knew your grandmother though. I
hope you like cats.” He turned and started back towards his car. “See you around.”
Cats? I’m deathly allergic to cats.
I got back in my car once Jesse was gone. The donut seemed to hold up well once I started moving, but I knew I couldn’t get very far on it. Luckily, Granite Falls wasn’t too far away. I rolled into the tiny town that had only one stoplight in the middle of town. From that location, I could see the repair shop Jesse mentioned and The Water Barn. There wasn’t much else to see except for a grocery store and a gas station. I could see the courthouse further downtown and while I wanted to head straight to my grandmother’s lawyer, I really wanted to make sure I could leave once everything was done. I pulled my car into the parking lot of Steve’s Auto Body, assuming it was Jesse’s brother’s place based on the name and the fact it was the only repair shop I could see. There wasn’t much going on at the repair shop. There was a car lifted off the ground in one of the repair bays and some parts scattered along the ground. The slim line of grass on the edge of the shop had a couple of broken down cars that looked beyond repair. A couple of cars were parked in the parking area, but I didn’t see anyone actually working.
“Hello?” I called out as I stepped out my car and slammed the door.
Chapter 2: Steve
“Axe already got a date with her, huh?” My brother’s voice echoed in the phone and I could tell he was annoyed. “Okay, I’ll be on the lookout for her car.”
I couldn’t really tell if my brother Jesse was trying to stake a claim on the beautiful girl he described or set me up with her. He was vague, like always, when talking about women. I took a break from watching television and walked out to the front of my garage. We hadn’t seen a serious client in weeks outside of general maintenance, so if there was a customer coming, I was more interested in her money than her looks. My brother didn’t like Axe, so there was a chance he just didn’t want him to find a shred of happiness, but I really didn’t mind our resident bad boy. He was harmless for the most part, but he usually ended up in trouble because he found dishonest ways to make a living. He hadn’t been out of prison long enough for me to get my motorcycle out of storage and go for a ride like we used to do before he got locked up. The fact he had managed to already secure a date in Granite Falls was pretty damn impressive. I lit a cigarette and took a drag as I watched the only road into Granite Falls. A car approached, but it wasn’t the newer model gray sedan my brother described, it was a beater that belonged to Major Baldwin. He turned into the parking lot and got out as soon as he was parked.
“Any work today?” He rolled his eyes, knowing there wasn’t likely to be anything available, but he always stopped by.
“We might get something.” I shrugged. “Jesse said he ran into a girl on the edge of town with a flat tire that's headed our way on a donut.”
“A girl? If she doesn’t have a name, she must not be a local.” He slammed his door and walked towards the garage.
“She’s Mrs. Grant’s granddaughter, here to deal with her estate.” I relayed the information given to my brother. “According to Jesse, she’s quite a looker.”
“I don’t care how pretty she is, but if she can cook a pie like Mrs. Grant, I might have to roll the dice with her.” He leaned against the garage and fanned away some of the smoke from my cigarette that drifted his way.
“Jesse said Axe already beat everyone to the punch.” I took another drag from my cigarette and blew smoke away from him.
“How the fuck did that happen?” Major put his hands on his hips.
“Axe changed her tire—you know pretty much anything is foreplay with that guy.” I laughed and shook my head.
“Shit, he’s probably already fucked her by now.” Major let out a sigh of defeat.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” I nodded. “Anyway, outside of getting her a new tire, I don’t think I’ll have anything today.”
“Ah well, I guess I’m just going to go home and drink then.” He rubbed his chin for a moment and nodded.
Another car appeared at the end of the street and I turned to see if it was her, but I saw the mayor’s fancy Cadillac instead. Joe Danvers had been the mayor in Granite Falls for a couple of years. He was barely more than a kid, but he was the only one that ran for office when our last mayor retired after twenty-four years of service. He was a bit arrogant, but most of us liked him when he wasn’t on some holy quest to make Granite Falls better. The locals were already fairly happy with the town as it was, outside of the fact that we had a pretty terrible population demographic when it came to women. For some reason they seemed to flee Granite Falls, not wanting to live in the aging community. Instead of passing by the shop like he normally did, the mayor turned his Cadillac into the parking lot and parked next to Major. Major stopped and watched as the driver side door opened.
“Hey guys.” Mayor Danvers raised his hand and waved to us. “I’m having some trouble—I keep hearing some kind of knocking sound.”
“I guess we have a customer after all.” I snickered and looked over to Major.
“I’ll get it up on the rack.” Major walked towards Mayor Danvers and took his keys.
“What do you think it could be?” Mayor Danvers walked over to me and watched as Major climbed behind the driver’s seat and pulled the car into the garage terminal.
“Could be a number of things.” I shrugged and dropped my cigarette on the ground, pressing a boot to it as soon as it hit the pavement. “Want me to give you a ride over to City Hall?”
“No, I can wait around for a little bit. Things haven’t been that hectic the last couple of days.” He leaned against the wall. “I hear there’s a new girl in town.”
“Yeah.” I nodded and cut my eyes towards him with suspicion. “Interesting that you showed up the one place everyone seems to know she’s headed.”
“I told you.” He cut his eyes at me the same way mine were aimed at him. “I got a problem with my car.”
“He ain’t lying.” Major walked out of the garage shaking his head. “There’s a rod loose. We’ll have to order a part. Good thing you brought it in when you did—you could have sent that thing clean through your motor if you kept driving it.”
“See.” Mayor Danvers smiled, which was an odd reaction for a man who was just told he was about to spend a fortune in repairs.
“Let’s go inside and look it up.” I motioned for him to follow.
“Might as well leave it on the rack. You can’t drive it.” Major started following us as we walked into the shop.
Chapter 3: Samantha
There was no reaction when I arrived at the shop and called out for some form of assistance. I walked towards the glass doors that appeared to lead to some sort of office. When I got close, I could see three guys inside huddled over a computer terminal. They were so engrossed in it that they must not have heard me drive up. I could see two of them pointing and shaking their head as the one pushing the mouse started moving things around on the screen. It looked like they were obsessed with whatever was on the monitor. One of the men appeared to be a bit better dressed than the other two. He had slicked back hair that was almost black in color and a white button-down shirt with a purple tie. The other two were a little more ragged in appearance, and looked to be a little older. I assumed they worked at the shop—one of them was surely Steve, the brother of the sheriff I met on my way into town. I pulled the door open and heard the bells attached to it start to ring as they dangled freely against the glass.
“Hello?” I called out as I stepped into the dimly lit office.
“Oh, hi!” A man with a striking resemblance to Jesse stepped forward and smiled. “Welcome to Steve’s Repair Shop—I’m Steve. My brother said you would be stopping by.”
“Word travels fast.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Come on, let’s have a look at that tire?” Steve walked from around the counter, leaving the other two guys staring at us. After a moment, they turned back to the computer screen.
�
�I don’t know what happened. It just blew out.” I walked behind Steve, who moved a bit faster than me. When we got to the car, I popped the trunk.
“Damn, this thing is destroyed.” He reached in and started running his fingers across the rubber. “I might have something used I could get on here so you have a tire, but your rim really needs to be replaced. I’m not sure I have a fit for that handy. I can check with some junkyards or I can order a new one.”
“How long will that take?” I looked up at him after he slammed the trunk.
“I could put a tire on that rim today, but I wouldn’t trust it to get you far. If I replace the rim it will be a day or two, depending on what I find. Do you want new or used?” He put his hand on the trunk and looked to me for an answer.
“If I have to wait, I guess I’ll just get a new one.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Can I drive it until then?”
“Yeah, it will be fine around town, just don’t go trying to hop on the interstate or push it over fifty-five.” He chuckled slightly.
“I won’t do that.” I shook my head back and forth.
“So you’re Mrs. Grant’s granddaughter?” He leaned against my car and tilted his head.
“Yeah, I came to Granite Falls to handle her estate because my father isn’t feeling well.” I looked down at the ground for a moment and sighed.
“Sorry to hear that. I didn’t know Randy very well, but I remember him from when we were kids. Do you need anything else—besides the tire?” He stepped back and looked at my car as if he was looking for something else that might be wrong.
Seven Roses: Reverse Harem Romance Page 17