Arson & Ache (Surrender to Them 8)

“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 h

is 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?”