Seven Beasts_Reverse Harem Romance

by Kelli Callahan

  “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 his 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?”

  “That joke is older than you are.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Sorry.” I looked down at the ground and sighed.

  “You’re going to need to get your tire fixed. You won’t go far on that donut. My brother Steve owns a repair shop in town. He’ll take care of you.” He put his hands on his hips. “What business do you have in Granite Falls anyway?”

  “I’m here to tend to my grandmother’s estate—Gertrude Grant.” I figured he would know her, if anyone did.

  “She was a sweet old lady—she made some killer pies.” He nodded and smiled. “Randy wasn’t able to come himself?”

  “You know my father?” I tilted my head inquisitively.

  “Not really. He took off a long time ago. I knew your grandmother though. I hope you like cats.” He turned and started back towards his car. “See you around.”

  Cats? I’m deathly allergic to cats.

  I got back in my car once Jesse was gone. The donut seemed to hold up well once I started moving, but I knew I couldn’t get very far on it. Luckily, Granite Falls wasn’t too far away. I rolled into the tiny town that had only one stoplight in the middle of town. From that location, I could see the repair shop Jesse mentioned and The Water Barn. There wasn’t much else to see except for a grocery store and a gas station. I could see the courthouse further downtown and while I wanted to head straight to my grandmother’s lawyer, I really wanted to make sure I could leave once everything was done. I pulled my car into the parking lot of Steve’s Auto Body, assuming it was Jesse’s brother’s place based on the name and the fact it was the only repair shop I could see. There wasn’t much going on at the repair shop. There was a car lifted off the ground in one of the repair bays and some parts scattered along the ground. The slim line of grass on the edge of the shop had a couple of broken down cars that looked beyond repair. A couple of cars were parked in the parking area, but I didn’t see anyone actually working.

  “Hello?” I called out as I stepped out my car and slammed the door.

  Chapter 2: Steve

  “Axe already got a date with her, huh?” My brother’s voice echoed in the phone and I could tell he was annoyed. “Okay, I’ll be on the lookout for her car.”

  I couldn’t really tell if my brother Jesse was trying to stake a claim on the beautiful girl he described or set me up with her. He was vague, like always, when talking about women. I took a break from watching television and walked out to the front of my garage. We hadn’t seen a serious client in weeks outside of general maintenance, so if there was a customer coming, I was more interested in her money than her looks. My brother didn’t like Axe, so there was a chance he just didn’t want him to find a shred of happiness, but I really didn’t mind our resident bad boy. He was harmless for the most part, but he usually ended up in trouble because he found dishonest ways to make a living. He hadn’t been out of prison long enough for me to get my motorcycle out of storage and go for a ride like we used to do before he got locked up. The fact he had managed to already secure a date in Granite Falls was pretty damn impressive. I lit a cigarette and took a drag as I watched the only road into Granite Falls. A car approached, but it wasn’t the newer model gray sedan my brother described, it was a beater that belonged to Major Baldwin. He turned into the parking lot and got out as soon as he was parked.

  “Any work today?” He rolled his eyes, knowing there wasn’t likely to be anything available, but he always stopped by.

  “We might get something.” I shrugged. “Jesse said he ran into a girl on the edge of town with a flat tire that's headed our way on a donut.”

  “A girl? If she doesn’t have a name, she must not be a local.” He slammed his door and walked towards the garage.

  “She’s Mrs. Grant’s granddaughter, here to deal with her estate.” I relayed the information given to my brother. “According to Jesse, she’s quite a looker.”

  “I don’t care how pretty she is, but if she can cook a pie like Mrs. Grant, I might have to roll the dice with her.” He leaned against the garage and fanned away some of the smoke from my cigarette that drifted his way.

  “Jesse said Axe already beat everyone to the punch.” I took another drag from my cigarette and blew smoke away from him.

  “How the fuck did that happen?” Major put his hands on his hips.

  “Axe changed her tire—you know pretty much anything is foreplay with that guy.” I laughed and shook my head.

  “Shit, he’s probably already fucked her by now.” Major let out a sigh of defeat.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised.” I nodded. “Anyway, outside of getting her a new tire, I don’t think I’ll have anything today.”

  “Ah well, I guess I’m just going to go home and drink then.” He rubbed his chin for a moment and nodded.

  Another car appeared at the end of the street and I turned to see if it was her, but I saw the mayor’s fancy Cadillac instead. Joe Danvers had been the mayor in Granite Falls for a couple of years. He was barely more than a kid, but he was the only one that ran for office when our last mayor retired after twenty-four years of service. He was a bit arrogant, but most of us liked him when he wasn’t on some holy quest to make Granite Falls better. The locals were already fairly happy with the town as it was, outside of the fact that we had a pretty terrible population demographic when it came to women. For some reason they seemed to flee Granite Falls, not wanting to live in the aging community. Instead of passing by the shop like he normally did, the mayor turned his Cadillac into the parking lot and parked next to Major. Major stopped and watched as the driver side door opened.

  “Hey guys.” Mayor Danvers raised his hand and waved to us. “I’m having some trouble—I keep hearing some kind of knocking sound.”

  “I guess we have a customer after all.” I snickered and looked over to Major.

  “I’ll get it up on the rack.” Major walked towards Mayor Danvers and took his keys.

  “What do you think it could be?” Mayor Danvers walked over to me and watched as Major climbed behind the driver’s seat and pulled the car into the garage terminal.

  “Could be a number of things.” I shrugged and dropped my cigarette on the ground, pressing a boot to it as soon as it hit the pavement. “Want me to give you a ride over to City Hall?”

  “No, I can wait around for a little bit. Things haven’t been that hectic the last couple of days.” He leaned against the wall. “I hear there’s a new girl in town.”

  “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.

&nb
sp; “Might as well leave it on the rack. You can’t drive it.” Major started following us as we walked into the shop.

  Chapter 3: 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 like to come inside for a cup of tea?”

  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 comp
liment.

  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.