“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 Three
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.
“No, I don’t think so.” I shook my head back and forth.
“So, are you going to introduce us or keep her all to yourself?” The door to the office opened and the other two men stepped outside.
“We’re just talking about her car. Ms.—sorry I didn’t catch your name.” Steve turned towards me as the two men approached.
“I’m Samantha—Samantha Grant.” I extended my hand to the first one, who was well dressed compared to the other two.
“I’m Joe Danvers.” He took my hand with one of his and wrapped the other around it as he shook. “I’m the mayor of Granite Falls.”
“The mayor?” I blinked in surprise. “Very nice to meet you.”
“I’m sorry about your grandmother.” He kept his hands-on mine as he talked. “If you need any help with any of the arrangements, please come see me at City Hall.”
“I’m Major.” The other guy extended his hand. “I work here with Steve and do whatever else needs to be done around town. Are you planning on selling Mrs. Grant’s place?”
“I don’t know. I was just going to check on things, handle the arrangements, and then leave it for my father to figure out once he gets better.” I removed my hand from the mayor’s grasp and shook Major’s hand which was so big it practically engulfed mine. “Everyone here is so friendly.”
“Yeah, it’s a small town.” Mayor Danvers nodded his head. “We don’t get that many visitors, but we try to roll out whatever hospitality we can.”
“I hear Axe has already rolled out his version of hospitality.” Major chuckled. “Be careful with that one.”
“For sure.” Mayor Danvers looked to Major and nodded in agreement.
“Come on guys, he isn’t that bad.” Steve let out a sigh and shook his head.
After leaving the repair shop, I headed to my grandmother’s house. It was a little off the beaten path, but it seemed like everything in Granite Falls was like that. I pulled into the driveway and saw cats scurrying in all directions. I hoped they were just outside cats because I definitely couldn’t spend a night in a house that was infested with them. I pushed the key my father had given me into the front door and the smell of cat piss hit my nostrils like a torrent of fire. There were cats everywhere. I put my shirt over my nose and took a quick look around, but there was no way I could stay there long. My eyes were already burning when I got back outside and locked the door. None of the cats looked like they were starving and the door in the garage had a cat door, so I walked back towards my car. As I got closer, I saw the door to the house next door open and an elderly woman walked out.
“If you’re looking for Mrs. Grant, I’m afraid she passed away recently.” The older woman pulled a coat close to her shoulders and started walking down the steps.
“Yes ma’am.” I nodded and stepped out into the grass, putting a hand over my eyes to block out the sun. “I’m her granddaughter. I just came by to tend to a few things. My father will come by when he’s feeling better.”
“Randy? You’re Randy’s daughter? Mrs. Annie talked about you all the time. She was so proud of you!” The older woman’s face lit up when she realized who I was.
“She was?” I felt my face twist a bit in surprise. “I didn’t see her much.”
“That’s okay, darling. Family is family. When you live around here, you’re used to people leaving and never coming back—like your father.” She nodded. “I’ve been feeding the cats, but we’re going to have to find a new home for them soon. How many do you want?”
“I…” I shook my head back and forth quickly. “I’m allergic.”
“That’s a shame. She loved those things. I can’t say I’m partial to them myself, but I’ve tried to keep them from starving.” She let out a sigh. “Do you think your father will take any of them?”
“He’s not in any condition to take care of them either…” I looked around and saw that some of the cats had started to move back the garage.
“Well don’t you worry about it, darling. I’ll get it taken care of.” She smiled again. “Are you staying long, would you li
Since she is offering to take care of all these cats, I guess it would be rude to say no.
“Sure…” I nodded and started walking across the lawn towards her house.
“I’m Fannie Smith.” She waved me towards her house as she started walking back up the steps.
“Samantha Grant.” I got to the edge of her steps.
“You’re not married?” She looked back over her shoulder and held the door.
“No ma’am.” I shook my head back and forth.
“I should introduce you to my youngest son. You’re very pretty and he’s not married either.” She grinned as I walked through the door.
“Thank you…” My face flushed a bit in embarrassment from the compliment.
Mrs. Smith’s house was fairly quaint. The most important detail was the lack of cats. I drew a breath of clean air and let out a sigh of relief that her house was nothing like my grandmother’s infested den. She pointed to the living room and hobbled towards the kitchen. I walked into the rather small room and looked at the photographs on the wall. There were pictures of her in her youth with a rather nice looking man wearing a military uniform. There were several pictures of them with children of various ages. A few pictures later, she was holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket surrounded by the other children who were much older. I assumed that was the son she offered to set me up with since there were no baby pictures after that. His life unfolded in front of me in a series of pictures, and he appeared to be quite attractive. The most recent one was of him with his arm around her. He was well built with an athletic body covered in tattoos. He didn’t appear to have as many as Axe, but he was definitely decorated.
“That’s Blue.” She chuckled as she walked into the room. “He’s a looker, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s a handsome young man.” I walked to a chair and took a seat as she poured the tea. “His name is Blue?”
“His name is John, but he didn’t like being called John Smith, so Blue ended up being his nickname.” She shrugged. “We just went with it.”
“Interesting…” I raised an eyebrow.
“He’s a bartender at The Water Barn. If you decide you need something stronger than tea, you should pay him a visit.” She took her tea and sipped it.
“I’m going there later, actually.” I nodded but I kept the fact I was going there for a date to myself.
“Good. Tell him he needs to come see me and if he isn’t in church on Sunday, I’m going to skin him alive!” She took on a serious tone and then laughed.
“I’ll pass on the message.” My smile was hidden behind the cup of tea as I took my first sip. “Wow, this is really good!”
I spent an hour with Mrs. Smith, hearing all about her life in Granite Falls and her children. Blue was the only one that stayed in the small town but she seemed a little sad that the rest of her children had moved away and had families while Blue was left behind. He seemed like a good guy, even if he did look like a bit of a bad boy in his pictures. After she finished talking about her family, she turned the conversation to mine. She told me a few things about my grandmother I didn’t know, and raved about her pies. She didn’t know my father much and said he was a bit of a loner. I kept an eye on my watch and when it got close to six, I realized I needed to go if I was going to meet Axe at the bar. I was a bit unsure about going out with a guy I had just met, but I felt like I did owe him at least one drink for changing my tire. I definitely didn’t have to sleep with him—not that I would have any idea what I was doing if I did. I said goodbye to Mrs. Smith and promised again I would say hello to Blue when I was at the bar.
Chapter Four
Axe
I don’t know why the fuck I came back to Granite Falls after my third stint in prison. Every time I returned, it was more of the same. The locals didn’t really like my business ventures unless they were customers. The sheriff and I had a long history of disagreeing on how to make money. I didn’t see anything wrong with selling weed to the locals, especially if they wanted to buy it—hell it was legal one state over. The town seemed to have a grip on me that I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t like I had a family to keep me there and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to find love in the shit hole of a small town. If Samantha showed up for the date, she was going to be the first girl I had even shared a drink with since I got out of the big house. I hoped it might lead to more than a drink. I definitely needed to get my dick wet and Samantha was beautiful as fuck. She was easily the hottest girl I had seen in Granite Falls. I walked into The Water Barn and looked around. There was no sign of her, but it was early, so I walked to the bar and took a seat on a stool.
“How’s it going, Axe?” The bartender, Blue, walked over and leaned against the edge of the bar.
“Same old shit.” I let out a sigh. “How have you been?”
“About the same.” He smiled. “You want a beer or something stronger?”
“Let me get a shot of Jack and a beer. I’m waiting for someone.” I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and tossed some money on the counter.
“Coming right up.” Blue tapped the bar and walked towards the rack of liquor.
The Water Barn was bustling with activity, which was unusual for such an early hour. It was usually an older crowd, but I saw a few familiar faces. They were too busy with their drinks or their games of pool to notice me. I knew they would notice Samantha if she showed up. There was no way she was walking into The Water Barn without turning every head in the room. I looked back towards the bar and noticed that Blue had gotten held up with an order at the end of the bar so I waited, tapping my fingers on the bar in anticipation. Blue finally finished with the patron on the opposite end of the bar and walked back to me. He put a shot of Jack in front of me and started pouring my beer. I downed the shot as the beer was ready and immediately chased the shot with a bit of amber lager. Blue was pulled away again and had to deal with another customer before finally coming back to my end of the bar.
“You been riding much since I got locked up? You and Steve hit the highway any?” I sipped my beer again.
“No, I think he put his bike in storage once you went away. I’ve been busy with worth and taking care of Mom.” He poured a shot and discreetly downed it. “How was prison?”
“It sucked…” I grunted and sneered as I laughed quietly. “As usual.”
“How long until you’re back in business?” He leaned against the bar. “It has been dry as shit around here since you’ve been locked up—but hey, more people are buying booze.”
“I don’t know if I want to do that shit again.” I shook my head back and forth. “The sheriff will be on my ass and the mayor even gave me a hard time when I got caught before.”
“I thought he was buying from you.” Blue poured and downed another shot.
“Yeah, not that he would ever admit it.” I sighed angrily. “I don’t know, I might have to do it if I want some money, but I’m going to try and stay legit for a while.”
“That sucks.” Blue shook his head back and forth.
You could have heard a pin drop in the bar when the doors behind me opened. Every voice went silent and even the jukebox seemed to skip a verse in the song it was playing. I knew it was Samantha before I ever turned around. She was the only one who could have gotten that reaction. Blue whistled quietly as I turned around and held my hand up to get her attention. Her face went from one of concern to a smile as she recognized me and started towards me. She was absolutely ravishing and seemed to have recovered from her earlier dance with a flat tire. She walked up and I pushed a stool out with my foot, pulling it close the second she sat down. Her eyes flickered and a smile crossed her face. I could have gotten lose in those eyes for eternity—I could almost see my soul staring back from her emerald colored orbs. Her gaze was so innocent and it was clear she didn’t understand how much of an oddity she was in Granite Falls.
“You made it. What do you want to drink?” I looked to Blue who had his eyes fixed on Samantha.
Keeps your eyes to yourself, buddy.
“You must be Blue.” She turned her attention from me to the bartender. “Your mother says you need to come see her and if you’re not in church on Sunday, she’s going to skin you alive.”
“You know my mother? It looks like you’re drinking for free tonight.” Blue’s lips spread to a smile. “Nice to meet you—”
“Samantha.” She extended her hand and Blue shook it. “Your mother lives next to my grandmother’s place.”
“Oh!” Blue’s eyes seemed to flicker with understanding. “I’m sorry about your grandmother.”
“Thank you.” She nodded with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “I’ll have whatever Axe is drinking.”
“So this is who you were waiting on.” Blue chuckled as he walked over to fix her a beer.
“You’ve been telling people about me?” Samantha turned to me.
“Everyone in town is talking about you.” I turned towards her and lifted my beer to my lips. “Surely you noticed the wind literally being sucked out of the room when you entered.”
“Yeah, I don’t really understand what the hell is going on.” She raised her eyebrows in confusion.
“You clearly don’t know much about Granite Falls.” Blue walked over and put her beer down on the bar.
“I’ll admit that I don’t.” She picked up the beer and took a sip.
Asshole. Now he’s hitting on my fucking date.
“Granite Falls isn’t exactly known for having a balanced population, I guess you could say.” Blue poured a shot and downed it. I could see that his eyes were getting fairly bloodshot.
“Balanced population?” Samantha seemed confused, and I could feel my chance of getting laid shrinking fast.
“Yeah, there aren’t many women here.” Blue chuckled. “Like, almost none…”
“Right…” I realized that I didn’t have much choice but to buy into his story at that point. It was the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a romantic tale. “This town is old—decrepit—most people just leave when they hit eighteen.”
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