Axel

by Kim Fox

  “Don’t go crazy,” she said with a laugh. “I just have a backpack.”

  “Next stop, the suitcase store,” he said, tossing a plastic rattle onto the pile of stuff.

  Hadley just watched as he continued to fill the cart, making sure that anything he put in was baby friendly. He would be a good dad.

  She could picture him taking care of their child, and taking care of her. There was no harm in indulging in the fantasy a little bit. Is there?

  But either way, it was too late. Hadley already had an image in her mind of them laughing together as they tried to change a diaper for the first time. She was picturing how hot he would look holding her baby in his big protective arms.

  That’s just a fantasy. She had to remind herself of that. Reality wasn’t like that. Reality was her parent’s loveless marriage, and she definitely didn’t want that.

  After Axel paid the huge bill, the two of them walked back to the truck. Axel insisted on carrying everything and Hadley just watched with a smile on her face as he spoiled her, loading the bags into the truck all by himself.

  “Are you sure that Jax and Zane will be okay with me staying at the firehouse?” Hadley asked for the fifth time once they were back on the road.

  “Of course,” he said with a smile. “They’re going to love you. Except maybe for Jax. He doesn’t like anybody.”

  “Sounds great,” she said, laughing nervously. She really didn’t want to be a bother to his friends.

  “He’s not so bad once you get used to him,” Axel said with a shrug. “Just don’t talk about kids around him.”

  “Why?” she asked, looking at him funny, but he didn’t answer. He was distracted as he pulled onto the street. A few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the firehouse.

  Butterflies made their way into Hadley’s stomach and were flapping around as they stepped out of the truck. She hadn’t officially met Axel’s friends and she wasn’t sure how she would be received—the girl from out of town who got pregnant with their friend’s baby and was keeping it from him.

  “That’s Jax,” Axel said, pointing to a firefighter that Hadley remembered from the auction. How could she forget him? He was unforgettable with the way he stood on stage, glaring at the women who came to bid on dates. He didn’t get one single bid.

  “And that’s Zane,” Axel added, pointing to a hot firefighter with brown hair and a short cropped beard. He looked a little nicer than Jax did.

  Hadley got nervous as the two of them walked over. “I thought you were leaving,” Zane said.

  Jax rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re staying to marry this clown,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s bad enough that you slept with him.”

  “Uhm,” Hadley said, feeling her cheeks getting insanely hot. She couldn’t even deny that she had put out on the first date. The baby bump pushing out of her stomach had taken away any chance at that.

  “Guys, this is Hadley,” Axel said, proudly presenting her. “She’s the mother of my child.”

  Both of them smiled and congratulated her on the pregnancy.

  “All of the flights going out today were canceled,” Axel said as he watched Zane closely. “The planes were covered in ice.”

  Zane’s mouth dropped open.

  “Must be one of those freak ice storms,” Axel said with a raise of his chin.

  “Must be,” Zane muttered as he rubbed his bearded jaw.

  Hadley watched them closely and couldn’t help but think that there was something going on under the surface. Did they know something about the ice that they weren’t telling her?

  “I’m going to go check the news,” Zane said, hurrying inside.

  “Are you staying here?” Jax asked her.

  Hadley swallowed hard. “Uhm…”

  “Yes, she is,” Axel quickly stated. “She’ll stay in my room and I’ll sleep in Gunner’s.”

  “Is that okay with you?” Hadley asked in a sheepish voice.

  Jax just shrugged his broad shoulders. “As long as you leave by the time the baby is born,” he said as he turned back inside.

  Axel just smiled. “I told you he was a bit of an asshole. But don’t worry, you’ll get used to him.”

  Hadley followed Axel into the firehouse and he had her laughing as he gave her a tour. “This is the fire-pole,” he said, slapping the pole. “It also doubles as the stripper pole that Jax practices on.”

  “I hope I don’t see that while I’m here,” she said, laughing as they walked past it. Although she wouldn’t mind seeing Axel grinding on it.

  He showed her to his room, which was simple but nice and cozy. The bed was comfy and the blankets smelled like him. Axel left her alone to set up as he moved some of his stuff into the room beside her.

  “It’s so cute here,” she whispered to herself as she looked out the window at the little muffin store beside the firehouse. The spectacular Abrasoka mountains were visible in the background with a snow cap even though it was in the middle of summer.

  It was the perfect place to raise a family, but her time here was almost at an end. It wasn’t healthy to indulge in the fantasy of staying here and marrying Axel, and it was best to stop before it got out of hand.

  She sighed as she imagined Axel lifting up a little boy and putting him behind the large wheel of the fire truck.

  Maybe I can indulge just a little bit longer.

  Chapter 7

  Axel

  “Wow,” Jax said, shaking his head. “That was pretty stupid. Even for you.”

  Axel frowned as he stared at the lion shifter.

  “She shouldn’t be staying here,” Zane said, taking a deep breath. “Valerius can return at any moment. Do you really want a pregnant woman walking around during that?”

  Axel didn’t, and maybe Jax was right that it was a stupid idea, but Axel didn’t know what else to do. He had been given a bit more time with Hadley and he was desperate to take advantage of it.

  Maybe Valerius had already left. Maybe they were worrying for nothing.

  Or maybe he had put the woman he wanted to be with and their unborn child in mortal danger.

  “How are you going to explain the winter wonderland if she wakes up from her nap and there’s ice everywhere?” Jax asked with a smirk.

  “I won’t have to explain,” Axel said with a shrug. “I’ll probably be frozen in a huge block of ice like you guys were.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Zane said with a shiver.

  “That was horrible,” Jax said with a cringe. “I’ve had blue balls before, but not literally.”

  Axel looked up at the window to his bedroom where Hadley was taking a nap. She said the pregnancy was making her more tired than normal and she had needed a nap. It had only been twenty minutes and he was already missing her, hoping that she would wake up soon.

  And it wasn’t just him that was missing her. His inner polar bear had been agitated for the past ten minutes, pacing around restlessly with the desire to see her.

  He knew he should have brought her to the inn where she would have a little bit of distance from Valerius if he were to return, but Axel and his protective polar bear wanted to keep her close beside them where they could keep her safe. Or at least try to.

  “Do you think Valerius is going to come back?” Axel asked, hoping that Zane would say no.

  “He better not,” Jax said with a frown. “I’m not spending another night chopping ice.”

  The three of them had spent close to four hours the night before using axes to break up the ice that Valerius had graciously left behind. They broke it all into baseball-sized chunks that they melted over the fire. It wasn’t something that any of them wanted to do again.

  “Not sure,” Zane answered, rubbing his beard. “Hopefully, he froze the airport right before leaving town, but who knows? He could be around the corner right now.”

  All three of the firehouse shifters turned their heads and stared at the empty street corner, expecting the ice dragon to app
ear. Luckily, he didn’t.

  “Why would he freeze the airport?” Jax asked, looking confused.

  Zane shook his head. “Not sure. He was probably trying to keep Draven from fleeing out of town. Draven’s not a mated dragon so Valerius was probably expecting him to take an airplane out of here. It would have been faster that way.”

  Axel still wasn’t sure why the dragon shifter had done that, but he was glad that he did. It meant he would be able to spend at least one more day with his sleeping beauty.

  “Do you think the security cameras at the airport caught him?” Jax asked, looking worried.

  “Let’s hope not,” Zane said, rubbing his chin. “That wouldn’t be good for the town.”

  “That wouldn’t be good for anyone,” Axel muttered. He didn’t even want to think about what kind of scrutiny that would bring down on their peaceful little shifter town. “We should check.”

  The three of them made their way to the computer that was now sitting on the floor.

  “Good thing you broke our only desk,” Jax said, shaking his head as he sat down on the floor.

  “Next time don’t get your dumb ass frozen,” Axel shot back, “and I won’t have to.”

  Zane just ignored them as he turned on the computer and googled Montana airport. A bunch of news articles popped up but none of them mentioned a crazy blue dragon.

  “Summer ice storm in Montana is confusing local meteorologists,” Zane read, looking more relieved by the second.

  “Click the video,” Jax said, pointing at a clip from the evening news. It looked like it was the security footage from the airport.

  “Travelers at Green International Airport were not so chill after they were left stranded as dozens of flights were canceled by a freak ice storm that left planes frozen and the runways covered in ice,” the male news anchor with the plastic-looking hair said. “The summer ice storm has left officials skating for an explanation.”

  “Enough with the puns,” the female anchor beside him muttered as she shook her head in annoyance.

  The male anchor shot her a quick frown before continuing. “CTZC News has obtained the security footage of the wintery scene, and I’m snow glad they did because it was definitely not an ice day at the airport.”

  Axel watched with held breath as the video started. It was a black and white camera pointed on the sleeping airplanes. Axel gasped as a soft shadow shot across the runway, but before anyone could tell what it was, the camera started shaking, filling the screen with a white blur as the off-screen dragon covered the airport with ice. A few seconds later the camera steadied and the airport looked like winter in July.

  The video cut back to the newsroom where the woman was looking into the camera with a serious look on her face. “Climate change? Terrorist attack? Officials are still stumped at this stage, but are taking the situation very seriously.”

  “Let’s just hope that this was an ice-olated event,” the male anchor said, looking pretty proud of himself as he chuckled, “otherwise it would be plane awful.”

  The woman beside him was staring at him with a blank expression on her unamused face as the video shut off.

  “That was a little too close for comfort,” Zane said after a long exhale. “If that camera would have caught Valerius…” He shuddered, not wanting to finish the thought.

  “Well they didn’t,” Axel said, trying to look on the bright side. Can we just try not to focus on dragons and ice sculptures? I want to show Hadley a good time tonight. I really want her to like me.”

  Zane nodded. “Maybe some good can come out of this. We’ll be on our best behavior. Right, Jax?”

  Jax begrudgingly nodded. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman, but it’s going to cost you.”

  “What?” Axel asked skeptically.

  “You have to promise never to ask me to babysit your little squirt.”

  Axel laughed. “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” he said, smiling in relief. “I don’t want you anywhere close to my kid.”

  Jax grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Axel was waiting in the hall when Hadley suddenly opened the door after her nap.

  “Crap,” he gasped, quickly looking at the wall, pretending he was inspecting it.

  “Axel?” she asked, rubbing her eyes when she saw him awkwardly standing there. “Were you waiting out here for me to get up?”

  “No,” he said, laughing a little too hard to be believed. “I was just checking the drywall for… leaks.”

  “Leaks?” she asked, eying him skeptically.

  “Yup,” he said, running his hand over the wall. “You can never be too careful of water damage.”

  She smiled. “I think checking for leaks on a sunny summer day is being a bit too careful.”

  Damn. Busted.

  Hadley was the first to speak after the awkward moment. “So, what do you guys do for fun around here?” she asked. “You know, besides creepily hanging outside of rooms where innocent women are sleeping inside?”

  Axel tried but he couldn’t stop his cheeks from heating up. “Colwood is the best,” he said, laying it on thick. “There are a million fun things to do here. You can live here your whole life and never get bored.”

  He hoped she was taking the hint, although it was hardly subtle. The only way that he could be more obvious that he wanted her to stay was if he held a big flashing neon sign over his head that said STAY!

  “Fun things like what?” she asked as she tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

  Both Axel and his bear let out a groan at the sight.

  “Uhm…” Axel said, glancing up at the ceiling. “Oh, there’s the pub…”

  “Pregnant,” she answered with a laugh. “Did you forget already?”

  Axel shook his head as his cheeks turned red. He was blowing it all over again.

  “We can go hiking in the forest, or climb the mountain,” he said, desperately thinking of ideas that would appeal to her. “There’s kayaking down the river or rock climbing. We can go horseback riding too if you’d like.”

  A muscle in her jaw tightened as she leaned against the wall and studied his face. “How much do you know about pregnant women?” she asked as her eyebrow raised.

  Axel gulped. Not enough.

  “Right,” he said, feeling stupid. “No physical stuff. Sorry… I’m just a bit nervous.”

  Her face softened as she watched him. “Yeah,” she said under her breath. “So am I.”

  Hadley had made it clear that she wanted to keep things platonic between them, but as hard as Axel tried, he just couldn’t let go of the thought of them together.

  “What would you like to do?” Axel asked. He had run out of bad ideas.

  “Well,” she said as she rubbed her stomach, “one thing you should know about pregnant women is that we’re always ravenously hungry.”

  “We have more in common then you think,” Axel added with a smile.

  “Good,” Hadley said with a laugh. “Then let’s get something to eat. I would kill for a big juicy steak right now.”

  “Yup,” Axel said, nodding his head as his mouth started watering. “We’re going to get along just fine.”

  The two of them walked down the stairs and headed outside where the evening sun was slowly making its way behind the mountains.

  “Fire up the barbecue,” Axel said to Zane as Hadley walked to the pickup truck. “Steaks on me tonight!”

  Jax was sitting in a fold-out chair, looking shocked as Axel walked past him. “You’ve never treated us before,” he said, lowering his can of beer as he stared.

  “It’s a special occasion,” he answered, flashing a smile at the pretty blonde who was waiting by the passenger side of the truck.

  It was the most special of special occasions. Against all odds, fate had delivered Hadley for another night, giving him a second chance at making her his.

  Zane smiled as he jumped out of his chair. “I’ll make my famous potatoes,” he
said, rushing into the firehouse.

  “I’ll make the rub,” Jax said, running in after him.

  Axel laughed as the two shifters disappeared into the firehouse. Nothing got them excited like steak night.

  Hadley tilted her head to the side as he walked straight up to her instead of going to the driver’s side. “Let’s take the other truck,” he said.

  She looked around with a look of confusion on her face. “What other truck?”

  Axel grinned as he pointed to the big red fire truck parked beside the building. “That other truck.”

  Her beautiful face lit up with a smile.

  “Have you ever ridden in a fire truck before?” he asked, feeling his heart swell at the look of excitement in her eyes.

  She just shook her head as she stared at it. “No, but I’ve always wanted to.”

  Axel grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys. “Good. You’re driving.”

  “I’m what?” she asked, turning to him with a look of shock as he dropped the keys into her hand.

  He just grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the driver’s side. “It’s easy,” he said as he opened the door for her. “It’s just like driving a car. A huge car that can kick some serious ass in a water fight.”

  She looked a little nervous, but the excitement was quickly taking over her nerves as she sat behind the big wheel, gripping it with both hands.

  “My father would be so jealous if he could see me now,” she said, grinning as she buckled herself in. “He loves fireman.”

  Let’s hope the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

  Axel helped her start the massive engine and showed her the basic controls. Technically what they were doing wasn’t exactly legal, but it would be worth spending a lifetime in jail just to see Hadley with that smile on her face for another few minutes.

  The engine roared to life as she turned the key and Axel laughed as she let out a little squeal of delight.

  “We should get going,” Axel said as he glanced back at the door and saw Jax and Zane rushing out with confused looks on their faces. “Sooner rather than later.”