He shuddered as he remembered her hand creeping up his leg. He’d pulled the car over, and told her, in no uncertain terms, that if she touched him again without permission then he would put her out on her ass. She’d done a complete about-face, calling him all sorts of names and accusing him of sleeping with her daughter. Years of honing his control had stopped him from losing his temper and doing something he’d no doubt regret later, but by the time he’d gotten home he’d been sporting a nasty headache and the need for a blistering hot shower.
Yeah, that woman was a viper. He wondered why Aspen put up with her. She certainly hadn’t had a nice word to say about her daughter. He didn’t like that she lived with such poison or that it was around her sons.
He never intended to have children. Jesus, his own father had been a philandering asshole. His mom had done her best, but being a single parent to him and his sister hadn’t been easy.
No, his life wasn’t exactly conducive to children. Yet another reason for him to stay away from the little waitress. He didn’t want a family. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, let alone with an untrained sub.
Immoral. Perverted.
He pushed the voice from his head.
Maybe there was someone he could introduce her to. A Dom with time and patience and the means to help her. He smiled. Someone who wouldn’t mind a sub with a dirty mouth. Well, any Dom worth his salt who didn’t like her colorful language would soon sort that out. As well as deal with her hideous mother. And see that Aspen started taking better care of herself.
He’d called Matt early this morning and had the car towed to the garage for him to take a look at it. Saxon thought it should head straight to the junk heap, but he knew Aspen wouldn’t feel the same.
See, he wasn’t a complete dictator. Of course, if she were his, then she wouldn’t have any choice about what she drove. Or where she lived.
He’d been accused of being a control freak. He preferred to look at it as protecting what belonged to him.
He walked into the immaculate kitchen. Every surface gleamed. It was empty except for the tall, broad man standing in front of the stove, muttering to himself as he stirred a big pot. The scent of garlic and tomatoes made Saxon’s stomach rumble.
“Renard,” he said quietly, not wishing to startle the ex-marine.
Still, the other man spun around, his wooden spoon held up in a defensive position. Sauce dripped from it to the floor.
“What? Oh, it’s you. Don’t you know not to sneak up on an old man? Jesus.”
Saxon barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Renard was only five years older than him. Hardly an old man. His short, dark hair had the beginnings of gray at the temples, he hadn’t shaved in a few days so there was even more gray hair on his face. Lines crinkled around his eyes as he glared at Saxon. “What do you want?”
Saxon crossed his arms over his chest, giving the other man a serious look. “You do remember I own this place and I’m your boss, right?”
Renard grunted and turned back to his sauce. This time Saxon did roll his eyes.
“Remind me why I put up with you again?”
“Because I’m a fucking genius when it comes to food.”
“And you’re an absolute asshole when it comes to dealing with people.”
“You’re talking about that spineless pastry chef.” Renard turned back to glare at him. “He was lazy. And messy. And he wouldn’t stop talking.”
Saxon let out a deep breath. Patience.
“You cannot keep scaring off the people I hire just because you don’t like the way they do things.”
“This is my kitchen.”
“No,” he replied in a low voice. “It’s mine.”
“Fine. I’ll leave.”
“You won’t,” Saxon told him firmly.
“How are you going to stop me?”
Saxon didn’t bother pointing out he had nowhere to go. That would just get the other man’s back up or make him think he’d offered this job out of sympathy or charity. Why was it that everyone had gotten so sensitive about him trying to help them?
Things would go much smoother if people just did as he told them to. He was usually right, after all.
“You took the job and you’re going to see it through. You have complete autonomy over the menu. You have more responsibility and benefits than you’d have in any other job.”
The other man just snorted. But he didn’t make a move to leave. He knew Saxon spoke the truth. Besides, it wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go. Or that anyone else would take him on. He’d been fired from his last five jobs. He didn’t exactly have a good track record.
“But you have got to learn how to get on with other staff.”
“Don’t see why we need a dessert menu.”
“Some people actually like something sweet after a meal,” he pointed out in a reasonable voice. He couldn’t believe he was arguing the merits of eating dessert. He didn’t have time for this. “You’re going to have to learn how to work with someone else in your kitchen. And there will be wait staff as well. If you can’t, then this restaurant is going nowhere.”
“Fine. Bring me someone who isn’t a complete pain in the ass, with at least a modicum of talent, and the understanding that, in here, I’m in charge, and I won’t scare them off.”
“Don’t ask for much, do you?” Saxon asked dryly.
But Renard had already turned back to his sauce, and Saxon knew he might as well be talking to himself. With a shake of his head, wondering how he’d gotten himself into this situation, he turned and left.
Time to get some actual work done—without being distracted by a temperamental chef and a raven-haired sprite.
Some bastard had stolen her car.
Aspen stared with disbelief at the spot where her car had been parked. Who the hell would steal her piece of crap car? Unbelievable. How had they even gotten it started? And what was she going to do now? It wasn’t like it had been insured. She didn’t have the money for that and it hadn’t even been worth anything. Other than to her.
Exhaustion weighed her down as she stared at the empty space. Yesterday had been her day off, so she’d been forced to leave her car here, hoping that when she managed to get herself into town it would somehow be magically fixed. This morning she’d set out on foot early, grateful when an older couple had pulled over and picked her up. Now she had about an hour before her shift started, so she’d come out to see what could be done about her car. She needed it for work. She couldn’t keep hitching rides or walking. And she couldn’t afford to rent a place closer to town.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” She ran her hand over her face.
“Hey, Aspen, everything okay?”
She looked over, spotting Laken Jones standing a few feet away. Concern filled the other woman’s pretty face. Aspen didn’t know her well, but she’d always been nice to her when she was in the diner. And her husband, Duncan, was a great tipper.
“Sure, everything’s fine,” she said automatically. She wasn’t used to sharing her problems with anyone.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but you don’t look like everything is okay.”
In the face of Laken’s concern, it was very hard to keep her worries to herself. “I left my car here.”
Laken looked momentarily confused as she stared at the empty parking spot. Then her face cleared. “Someone stole your car?”
She nodded. “Only I don’t know how. It had broken down, which is why I left it here. Why would anyone take it? It’s not worth anything.”
Laken sighed. “Who knows? Maybe it was teenagers playing around. Come with me into the shop and have a cup of tea, and I’ll call Duncan.”
She’d taken a step back before she realized it, shaking her head. “Oh, no, I need to go to work.”
“I’m sure Peggy will understand if you’re a little late under these circumstances. And we need to call the police. If nothing else, you’ll want the police report for insurance purposes.”
Sure, that would make sense—if she had insurance.
She licked her lips.
“If you really need to go, I can tell Duncan to come to the diner.”
She shook her head. “No, don’t do that.” The last thing she needed was him turning up there. As nice as Peggy was, she surely wouldn’t appreciate Aspen bringing any trouble to the diner. And that’s what she brought with her wherever she went—trouble.
“I’ll call him later, during my break. Thanks for the kind offer though.” She waved her hand, turning away before Laken could say anything more. The best thing she could do right now was earn some more money for a new car.
Sure, and at the rate she was going she should be able to buy one in about five year’s time.
For fucks sake. Would she ever catch a break?
An hour later, she stood staring at her car in disbelief. She actually rubbed her eyes, certain she had to be hallucinating.
“I’m not seeing things, am I? It’s really there, right?”
“Well, unless we’re both seeing things, then it is really there.” Duncan Jones agreed. The deputy sheriff was a big man. He’d been a linebacker for the New York Giants and he was still built tough and strong. He was intimidating even without the uniform. She felt like a midget next to him. She couldn’t help but compare him to Saxon. Saxon wasn’t built big like Duncan; his frame was smaller, but she was pretty certain that beneath his clothes was a body to die for.
Despite the fact he’d never been anything but nice to her, Duncan made her feel nervous. And now she also felt stupid. Because Laken had called him to report her car as stolen and when Aspen had gone out to show him where it had been taken from, there it was. Pretty as you please.
“Could the thief have returned it?” Why though? Mind you she couldn’t really understand why they would bother taking the heap of junk in the first place.
“Maybe,” he said a little doubtfully. “Perhaps you better check and make sure nothing was taken.”
“I just don’t understand. It wouldn’t start last night. How did they even drive it away? Plus, they didn’t have the keys.”
“Was it locked?”
“Um, no.”
He gave her a stern look. “You left it unlocked?”
“I just wasn’t thinking . . .” Great now she felt even more stupid. “You can check with Laken, it really wasn’t here this morning.”
“I didn’t mean to imply I didn’t believe you,” he replied calmly.
Now she felt stupid and rude.
“Sorry,” she muttered. “I just feel a bit embarrassed that you were called out for nothing.”
“Well, not nothing. I get to stop into the diner and grab a piece of cherry pie to share with my wife.” When he spoke of Laken his whole face lit up. It was really kind of sweet. “But I would like to know who took your car and returned it. I’ll do some asking around.”
She shook her head, the gesture almost automatic. Having a cop sniffing around her business wouldn’t lead to anything good. “Please don’t. It’s fine. I’m just glad to have it back.”
Well, maybe glad was a bit of a stretch.
“I’d be interested to know if it runs now.” He raised an eyebrow and reached out an imperious hand for her keys. She sighed and reached into her handbag, which she’d grabbed in case she needed her license, and handed him the key. He squeezed his large frame into the driver’s seat and turned the key.
It started on the first try. In fact, the engine practically purred. Normally, it took a few attempts to get it to start and then it usually made a whining noise, almost like it was protesting having to start up. But it had never sounded like this. Not even when she’d first bought it.
He turned it off. “You all right, Aspen?”
She rubbed a hand over her face. “Yeah, it just sounds really good.”
“It does. Almost like someone might have fixed it. You don’t happen to keep a spare key in here, do you?”
“No, of course not. Oh, shit.” She opened the passenger door and pulled down the sun visor. A key slipped free. “My mom often puts hers here. I forgot all about it.”
Idiot.
Duncan sighed, no doubt having that same thought. “If it had really been stolen, I doubt your insurance company would have paid out on an unlocked car with a key in it.”
She didn’t bother telling him she didn’t have insurance. Last thing she needed was a fine for driving without any. “I know.”
“I think I might just go pay Matt a call.”
“Why? You think he took my car?”
“Well, seems mighty odd to me that a thief stole your car only to return it running better than it did. And there’s only one man I know around here who could work miracles like that.”
“All right. Thank you.”
“No problem, sweetheart. Now, about that cherry pie?”
Saxon answered his phone without bothering to look at the caller ID. “Hello.”
“Hey, Saxon, Matt here.”
“Matt, how can I help you?”
“Uh, it’s about Aspen’s car? The one you had me tow and work on?”
“Yes? Did you manage to fix it?”
“Yeah, although I don’t know how much more life it’s got in it, truth be told. The tires are pretty bald as well. I’d recommend getting them upgraded asap.”
He frowned. “I’ll talk to her about it.” He knew she was going to be angry with him for his high-handedness already. “How did she react when you called her to ask for a key?”
“Um, well, I didn’t need to do that. Turns out it wasn’t locked, and we found a spare key behind the passenger’s sun visor.”
“What? She’s lucky the damn thing didn’t get stolen.”
“Surprising the amount of people who leave their cars unlocked around here. It’s a safe town, though.”
His ass it was. Plenty of bad stuff had gone down in this safe town.
He’d have words with her about that little habit. It was completely unacceptable. What if someone had climbed into her car and hidden themselves in the backseat until she was driving along that long stretch of empty road—just the thought of it made sweat break out across his brow.
“Anyway, one of my guys went to return the car to her this morning like you told us so she could drive to work, but she wasn’t there. Her mother told him she’d already left.”
What? How had she gotten to work without a car? Had someone picked her up? He ground his teeth together. That better be what happened.
Shit. He should have called her and told her what he was doing. Except he’d figured Matt had already done that and when he didn’t receive any irate phone calls from her telling him what a high-handed prick he was he’d assumed she wasn’t too pissed at him.
“He decided he would go park it back where we picked it up. But the idiot didn’t think to go tell Aspen straight away. Instead, he headed off to get some food. Then I get a visit from Duncan asking me what I know about a car being stolen.” Matt’s normally easygoing voice was heating up, and he winced. He didn’t blame him. Getting accused of stealing a car wasn’t good for business.
“I’ll clear this up.”
“That would be good. Feel bad about worrying that little girl. I assume you still want me to send you the bill?”
“Yes.”
“Because she was insisting that I send it through to her. But that wouldn’t really be right considering she didn’t ask me to work on her car, now would it?”
“No, it wouldn’t. I asked you to do the work and I will pay the bill.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. You’ll get it soon.”
Yes, and probably with an upcharge for his trouble added on. He stood, sighing as the buzzer at the front door of the club sounded. What now? He turned to the camera monitor, not terribly surprised to see who was standing there.
How dare he? Who the hell did he think he was? She stormed along the sidewalk, anger whipping through her.
He had no righ
t to do what he had. No right at all. And she was going to tell him to butt the hell out of her life and leave her alone.
Part of her warned that this maybe wasn’t the best move. This wasn’t keeping her head down and coasting under the radar. This was so far from that it wasn’t even funny.
She certainly wasn’t laughing and, right at that moment, she didn’t give a shit about not drawing attention to herself. She was going to tell that high-handed jerk exactly what she thought of him. Didn’t he know the scare he’d given her when she’d thought someone had taken her car? Not that her car was worth anything, but it was everything to her.
Someone like Joel Saxon seemed to think it was nothing to play around with other people’s emotions. If anything he owned went missing, then no doubt he just went out and bought another one. He screamed wealthy.
He didn’t actually steal your car, though.
But she’d thought it had been stolen. So the end result had been the same.
Well, except for the fact that her car had been returned working better than ever. Her stomach tightened as she remembered Matt telling her the bill had been taken care of. She’d been about to swallow her pride and ask him if she could pay it off over time before she’d discovered that ass had paid for it.
The jerk.
She paused. All right, maybe she was getting a bit carried away. She shook her head. No, she wasn’t going to feel grateful. She was in the right here. Her car. Her business. And she was damn well going to pay him back. Every cent. Somehow.
She started off again. She’d taken an early break and probably wouldn’t have time to eat much. The great thing about working for the diner was the free lunch she got each shift. It was the only time she had a full meal, and she was pretty certain she couldn’t have gotten by without it.
But it was worth going without lunch just to tell Joel Saxon off.
“Well, that clears things up.” Duncan pushed back his hat slightly. “Next time, might be a good idea to tell the owner of the car that you’re, uh, procuring it in order to get it fixed.”
Saxon's Soul (Haven, Texas Book 5) Page 3