by Shannyn Leah
Olivia’s wide eyes turned in the direction of Ava. “Mommy!” She tossed the sponge in the direction of the bucket, missing completely, but not noticing it flop onto the wet cement as she barreled toward her mother.
Ava bent down for a wet hug, cringing as the liquid made dark imprints on her navy clothes. “Were you good for Grandpa?”
Olivia pulled away. “Yes. Can Grandpa come with us to the beach?”
“Grandpa’s an old man. He’d wrinkle into a prune sitting around the beach.” Behind her daughter, Ava watched as Rowdy Colyn picked up the wayward sponge and tossed it into the bucket. He hardly fit the description of an “old man.” His hair may have peppered silver over the years, but as fire chief he maintained a daily regimen of exercise for a fit and healthy body.
“I wanted to go work on Charlie.” Olivia pouted her lower lip which was more adorable than she knew and Ava attempted to keep a serious face. “But Grandpa said you were coming to get me, so we decided to wash the trucks instead.” She tilted her head and gave her mother one of her cutest toothy smiles. “Can I work on Charlie after the beach? Please? Just for a little while?”
The vintage black Impala, AKA “Charlie”, sat in one of the bays next door in the Colyn shop. It had been Rowdy’s car in his teenage years. From the moment Olivia could walk and talk, the two of them had spent oodles of hours working to restore it.
Ava kissed her daughter’s button nose before looking at Rowdy. “I could stop by after we grab a bite to eat. Do you want to stay after six?”
Rowdy shrugged. “Either we work on Charlie or go home and talk about working on Charlie. Might as well get the work done.”
She looked back at her daughter. “You better thank Grandpa with a seriously massive bear hug.” She set Olivia on her feet and the girl darted across the distance between her and Rowdy for a hug. Rowdy launched her into the air, spinning her around.
Old man, right.
“I’m going to change. Can you watch her a few more minutes?”
Rowdy nodded and Ava walked toward the day room, smiling at the conversation behind her.
“She can finish washing the truck, the whole side, before she goes.”
“Grandpa, that would take too long.”
“Oh, Ava!”
She turned to catch Rowdy jogging up to her. “Yes?”
“When you drop Olivia off at the shop, can you check Dax’s shoulder? Maybe ice it with that cold or heat gel stuff or an ice pack if it’s still swollen. He really buggered it up when the truck flipped two weeks back. The ambulance managed to get him to the hospital that day, not sure how, but he needs a follow up and he cancelled this week.”
Ava quietly eyed the man before her, wondering if she’d mistakenly heard him. Why would she check his son’s shoulder? She wasn’t a professional doctor or nurse and she certainly wasn’t on close enough terms with Dax to ask him to flash his bare shoulder without it getting awkward quick. The man exuded a ruggedly aloof persona and she doubted her opinion mattered much to him.
“Are you joking?” she asked.
“Is my son’s damaged shoulder funny to you?”
Ava frowned at him. “You know you’re the fire chief, right? You can instruct him to give you the follow up papers from the doctor or threaten to suspend his volunteering until you receive it.”
“We both know how stubborn Dax is. He’d take the latter. Just do me a favor and check his shoulder and report back to me.” Rowdy turned and walked away.
“Rowdy—”
“Grab a few supplies at the drug store on the strip and I’ll reimburse you.”
So that was settled.
Taking a deep breath, Ava pushed through the door. She couldn’t say no to Rowdy after everything he’d done for her the last seven years, taking her in when she’d been pregnant and had nowhere to go.
But darn it, this? It was clear which parent Dax got his stubbornness from.
~End of Sneak Peek~
To continue reading, pick up the first Bad Boys of Willow Valley book.
DAX, Bad Boys of Willow Valley, Book #1
Contemporary romance author Shannyn Leah loves olives, lip gloss and reading (and writing) romance novels. Her love of words started at an early age and soon grew until, during her teenage years, she’d started writing her own novels. When her mom pushed to finally publish some of the stories, she quickly amassed two complete romance series (By The Lake and Caliendo Resort series) and, in 2016, released her first Fantasy Romance entitled The Gatekeepers (Part One of the Winters Rising series).
When she’s not writing contemporary romance books into the early hours of the morning, Shannyn can be found antiquing with her two favorite people, her momma and sister, in their picturesque London, Ontario hometown.
Shannyn would love to get to know her readers as you get to know her (just don’t send her any carrots!)
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Did you love Stone? Then you should read Dax by Shannyn Leah!
Dax Colyn is one of the bad boys of Willow Valley. A fearless volunteer firefighter and hard working, sexy mechanic, he makes all the woman swoon and he likes it that way. He keeps people at a distance since his mother died. He doesn't want to let anyone in, much less a woman he knows he could fall in love with.Ava Anderson keeps people away, too. Haunted by her tortured past and constantly fearful of the future, it's only her daughter Olivia and Dax's dad Rowdy that she's let in. But when tragedy strikes, it pushes Dax and Ava together, forcing them both to let go of their fears. They soon learn how hard it is to keep pretending and how easy it is to let others in. Especially when those people are family."Dax" is the first in the "Bad Boys of Willow Valley" series from author Shannyn Leah.
Read more at Shannyn Leah’s site.