A Grumpy Mate on Snow Ridge (Snow Ridge Shifters #3)

Chapter 1

Jules

The grinding noise her Honda made as Jules pulled into their local garage sounded expensive.

No, not just expensive.

Catastrophically, here's my mortgage-money expensive.

"Please," she whispered to the dashboard as she gave it a light pat. "Just be something simple. A belt. A filter. Something that won't have me living in an igloo in a snow bank."

Fred, her dashboard succulent that she'd somehow managed to keep alive since the summer, judged her silently from his sunflower pot.

Snow Ridge's only garage sat at the town's edge, backed by pines so thick they blocked out the late afternoon sun.

For such a small mountain town, the garage was surprisingly modern, with digital diagnostic equipment visible through the bay doors, lifts that looked brand new, and lots and lots of noisy tools that probably cost more than her car.

Not that she knew much about tools.

Or cars, for that matter.

Jules parked, grabbed her purse, and carefully lifted Fred from his spot. No way was she leaving him in a cold car overnight. As long as she had someplace warm to go at night, so did he.

The bay doors stood open to the November cold, classic rock drifting from somewhere deep in the interior of open hoods and hydraulic lifts. Not wasting any time, Jules headed for the office to see if they could fit her in, her breath clouding in the frigid air.

And that's when she saw him.

Lex Chapman stood beside a lifted truck, one tattooed arm braced against the hood as he leaned in to examine something. His dark work shirt stretched across muscular shoulders that belonged on a linebacker, not a mechanic, and the sight of them made funny little things happen to her insides.

She'd only spoken to him once before when he was ringing her up for an oil change around this same time last year.

However, while she was standing at the counter with her credit card in hand, she'd gotten a text from Margo—the town gossip—telling her that her best friend Faye was engaged.

She'd been so shocked that Margo knew about the news before she did that she'd read it out loud.

So that's also how Lex had found out his friend Adam was engaged to her friend Faye. Except they weren't really engaged. Only fake engaged. But that ended up being the best thing that ever happened to them, because now they were together and Jules wouldn't be surprised at all if real wedding bells—

Lex turned his head, their eyes met, and her thoughts screeched to a halt in a way that sounded a lot like that sound her car was making.

The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and she realized his eyes were amber.

Not brown, not hazel, but true amber, like whiskey held up to firelight.

Something she hadn't really noticed last time because she'd been too shocked by Faye's fake engagement.

They locked onto hers with an intensity that made her completely forget why she was standing in a garage freezing her ass off holding a succulent.

As those eyes traveled over her face, then dropped down her body before wandering back to lock onto hers, simmering heat pooled low in her belly, warming her up from the inside out.

Which was insane. She hardly even knew this man.

Would even swear that he'd done his best to avoid her since the last time she came in here.

And she was wearing her long winter coat that hid anything he might want to ogle. There was no reason for him to look at her that way because there was nothing to see.

"Help you?"

His voice rolled through her, all gravel and smoke with something wild underneath that raised goosebumps on her arms.

"Car," she choked out, then immediately wanted to die. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "My car. It's making a noise."

One dark eyebrow lifted slightly. He straightened—God, he was tall—and walked toward her with long strides that easily ate up the distance between them, wiping the grease from his hands on a cloth. Jules clutched Fred's pot tighter, needing something to do with her hands.

"What kind of noise?" He stopped just outside of polite distance, but close enough that she caught his scent—motor oil and something else, something like pine forests and snow—and that heat in her belly tightened.

Another tattoo ringed his entire neck, and a heavy silver chain peeked out from between the open buttons of his shirt.

His gaze dropped to Fred, and something flickered across his face. Amusement, maybe.

"Um. Like, grinding? It started this morning.

" She forced herself to maintain eye contact even though looking at him made her feel drunk.

"It's the green Honda outside. I know it's late, and I would've waited until tomorrow to bring it in, but I'm working all week at the shop.

Retail," she added unnecessarily. "I work in retail.

At The Salt Licking Goat. We sell clothes and some other things. "

He held out his hand. "Keys."

Jules blinked at him dumbly for a second, then fumbled in her purse one-handed, trying not to drop Fred, finally pressing the keys into Lex's palm.

His fingers brushed hers as he took them from her and once again, she forgot how to breathe.

It was barely a touch, just the edge of skin against skin, but sparks shot up her arm all the same.

Her eyes caught his and she would've sworn his pupils dilated. Just for a second. Just enough for her to notice before he broke the contact, his jaw clenched tight.

"Wait here." He turned and strode out to her car, leaving Jules to collapse against the doorframe as she tried to remember where she was and what she was doing there.

What the hell was that?

She watched him slide into her driver's seat, his large frame making her Honda look like a toy.

The engine started, made its awful grinding noise, and cut off.

He popped the hood, got out, and bent over the engine, and Jules absolutely did not stare at his ass in those perfectly fitting jeans he was wearing.

"Don't let him scare you."

Jules jumped three feet off the ground, very nearly dropping Fred. Riko had appeared beside her, wiping his hands on a rag. He had the same dark hair as Lex, but with teasing eyes and an easier smile.

"You okay?" His grin widened as he took in her flustered expression. "I heard your car was making a weird noise at the coffee shop this morning."

"How did you—"

"Small town. Everyone knows everything." He tilted his head, studying her with eyes that held entirely too much amusement.

Lex reappeared in the doorway, filling it completely. His gaze flicked to Riko, and Jules looked back and forth between them as they had some kind of silent conversation. At the end of it, Riko grinned and stepped back a few paces.

Weird.

"Serpentine belt and alternator," Lex said to Jules, his voice careful and controlled. "I'll order the parts, but it might be a few days. You should probably just leave your car here till then."

"Oh." Disappointment sat heavy in her stomach, which was stupid.

It wasn't like she wanted to hang around a freezing garage making an idiot of herself in front of the hottest man in town while he fixed her car.

But how the hell was she going to pay for a new alternator?

Or get to work? "Okay. Um. That's fine. I can call someone—"

"I'll drive you home."

Riko made a sound that might have been a surprised cough. Lex's jaw clenched harder.

"That's not necessary," Jules said quickly. "I can call a friend. I don't want to be a bother—"

"Storm's coming." He nodded toward the mountains where some ominous clouds were gathering. "The roads will ice over before they could get here."

She wasn't sure if that was true. Like Riko had said, this was a very small town, and she could think of at least seven people who could be there to give her a lift within five minutes.

But before she could argue, Lex grabbed a set of keys from a hook and headed for a black truck parked outside. He didn't look back.

Jules looked at Riko, who made a shooing motion at her. "Better hurry. You're gonna miss your ride."

With a tight smile of thanks, she hurried after Lex, still carrying Fred, and hauled herself up into the passenger seat. Why did the guys here all drive trucks designed for giants?

She set Fred carefully on the dash, adjusting his pot so he wouldn't slide, then clicked her seatbelt just as Lex put the truck in gear.

The cab smelled like him. That pine-and-snow scent that made her want to bury her face in his neck and inhale. Which was completely normal. Totally sane. Not at all like she was losing her mind over a guy who looked like he had a stack of bodies in his basement.

"Thank you," she said. "For the ride. And for fixing my car.

" She still didn't know how she was going to pay for it, but she'd have to figure out something.

Calling friends to shuttle her around town would get really old, really fast. A few days was fine.

For months and months until she could find something used as dependable as her Honda? No thank you.

He made a sound that might have been acknowledgment, but wouldn't look at her. Instead, his eyes flicked to Fred, then back to the road. "Nice plant."

They drove in silence for exactly thirty seconds before her nerves got the better of her.

"I haven't seen you around much lately. Or Adam, either.

Usually I see him at the coffee shop in the morning when I'm heading in for my shift.

I like a little cinnamon in my coffee. Is that weird?

So, how's he doing? Faye mentioned he's been really busy but I don't know with what living around here.

She's my best friend. So that's why I'm asking.

It's not like I'm interested in Adam or anything.

I'm just wondering. Because she's my friend. My best friend."

His mouth twitched. Just barely. Just enough to suggest he might actually be capable of smiling.

"He's good."