Jaxson (The Grumpy Men of Higher Ridge #1)

Chapter One

“Fuck off,” Jaxson Riggs said, as he exited Elizabeth Carly’s house. He was angry—no, scrap that, he was pissed off—that the forty-year-old mother of three had tried to seduce him. Not only that, she had even implied if he didn’t fuck her, she was going to tell the whole town he had raped her.

He was not a man to be threatened, and he refused to help the Carlys in any fucking way. They always tried to get out of paying, and Elizabeth was a horndog who fucked anything that walked. He had no idea why her husband put up with it.

The whole family was a shit show, but they had messed with the wrong man.

He was not afraid of idle threats, and it probably helped that he had such a blunt and honest opinion on everyone and everything, so no one was going to believe her.

However, rather than sit on his ass, he climbed into his truck and went straight to Old Man Daniels, who was also the sheriff in their small, piece-of-shit town, Higher Ridge.

Storming inside, he saw no receptionist at the front desk, but he knew where he was going, and he found Daniels on his cell phone, scrolling. The moment he entered, Daniels jumped.

“What the ever ... damn it, Jaxson, don’t you knock?”

“Where’s Lucy?” he asked, referring to the young receptionist that had taken over from Edna.

“It’s her day off,” Daniels said.

“You think that is wise?”

“Why, because of a crime spree running through Higher Ridge?” Daniels rolled his eyes. “I’ve been sheriff for thirty years, and trust me, other than potential alien invasions, I think I would be out of a job.”

“Elizabeth Carly has just threatened to accuse me of rape for not fucking her,” he said.

Daniels groaned. “Again?”

“Again?” Jaxson asked, a little confused.

“I had Rusty, the rancher, in here just the other week, telling me the exact same thing.”

“Did she follow through with it?” Jaxson asked.

“Nope, I think it is her way of attempting to blackmail you to have sex with her.” Daniels shrugged. “Duly noted.”

Jaxson sighed. “You know what she’s doing is wrong, right?”

Daniels nodded. “I’m aware of it, and the moment she tries to accuse anyone, I will deal with it. This badge is not part of a costume, you know. I take my job very seriously. There is only so much I can do.”

“What-fucking-ever.”

He hated this piece-of-shit town and had attempted to leave it many times.

In fact, he did leave it, only this town was nothing compared to the outside world.

He had dreams of making it as a big tattoo artist. Had his hopes set on making it large, only those had fizzled and gone to shit in less than six months.

City life was horrible. He hated to admit it, but he rather liked living in a town where everyone knew everyone, and in their own way had each other’s backs.

He’d come home, and his father had paid him to go to college, where he qualified to become an electrician, then a plumber, followed by the guy they called when they needed any odd job done.

He was damn good at what he did, even if he had a bad reputation.

Jaxson never minced words. He was grumpy as fuck, not that it stopped him from getting laid.

He loved to fuck. And there were plenty of single women in Higher Ridge who liked to ride his cock.

He had one rule, though—he never played with married women.

He actually believed in the sanctity of marriage, and that was because his own parents were still very much in love.

He knew it always amazed people that Mark and Susan Riggs had given birth to a very mean, grumpy son.

At least, he was with everyone else, but he adored his parents.

They were good parents, and when he was a teenager, he hadn’t been easy.

His father had kept him in line. There had been one point when he’d been determined to run away.

He didn’t like playing by the rules, and he certainly didn’t think they applied to him.

His father had found him at the Higher Ridge border, right at the sign, with a single bag packed.

“Is that it, son? You can’t handle a few rules designed to keep you safe? You think the whole world is going to put up with you breaking the rules? Go ahead, make a go of it, but remember, whatever you do out there, I can’t help you. In here, you’ve got a chance.”

The rule he’d been pissed off about was the 10:00 PM curfew. He didn’t want to be ruled by his father’s time. He wanted his own.

For a good hour or two, he sat at that border and waited, only to get up, turn around, and meet his father at the front door. He would find out a few months later that his own father had done the same to his father. It was expected.

He loved his dad, and when he had a scare nearly five years ago and came close to losing him, Jaxson knew his place was at Higher Ridge.

Jaxson stormed out of the sheriff’s building and went back to his truck.

He had a full afternoon of appointments.

There was never a dull moment in Higher Ridge, and as he looked across the parking lot, he watched as Tillie Short climbed out of her car.

Her blonde hair was curled, but she had pulled it up into a single clip at the back of her head.

By her side was the small Jack Russell she had saved a few years ago.

The dog’s name was Belle, and Tillie adored her.

He couldn’t look away. Out of all of the people in Higher Ridge, Tillie was like a breath of fresh air. He watched as she padded her way toward the fabric shop, and knowing her, she would be in that place for hours.

He couldn’t look away. She was absolutely stunning and one of the nicest women he had ever met. Six years younger than him, and no man had married her yet. He never heard any nasty rumors. In fact, no one knew anything of her romantic interests.

Tillie was all alone in the world as her parents had died a few years ago, one after the other, of heart failure, and he knew it had completely destroyed her. That was where Belle had come in, and of course the rest was history.

She was a well-loved member of Higher Ridge.

The town absolutely adored her, and she had become somewhat of a social media star.

She’d built her own sewing channel from scratch after she was fired from the doctor’s office.

He did hear that several patients had gone into the doctor’s office, and she’d not been able to handle it.

One had a broken ankle, and that had caused her to pass out.

Another was a kid who impaled himself on something, which resulted in her throwing up.

She was a great woman, but when it came to blood and injury, she didn’t have the stomach.

This was when her parents were still alive, and did everything they could to convince her she had to invest in herself.

Not that Jaxson would ever tell anyone, but she was amazing.

He was not into crafts or sewing, or anything like that, yet he had sat back and watched all of her videos over the last ten years.

He looked forward to them. In fact, one would be released tonight, as she had a regular schedule of twice a week, and sometimes they even got a third if she was able.

He pulled out of his thoughts as his cell phone started to buzz. He picked it up, seeing an alert for an appointment he needed to get to in the next fifteen minutes. Even though he could sit in the sheriff’s parking lot and wait for Tillie to come out, he had responsibilities.

Reluctantly, he turned his truck over, put it in gear, and left his spot, wanting nothing more than to stay and watch Tillie.

****

Tillie Short never went out, let alone on a Friday night, but for some reason, she decided to enjoy the warm June evening. Belle was at her feet as they sat outside the only bar in town, The Old Miller, owned by Tom Miller, and had been for generations.

The bar was busy, and she could hear the music filtering outside. She had a glass of orange juice with just a wedge of lime. She always liked this drink, and she never drank any alcohol. Her and alcohol never mixed well. She figured it was just another quirk of her funny stomach.

It had been a productive day as she filmed going to her local fabric shop.

It did wonders for Kate’s online business.

A few years ago, Kate had confided in her that if business didn’t turn around soon, she would have to close.

It had seemed sewing and crafts were a dying business.

Tillie asked if she could film a shopping trip, advised that Kate consider moving her business online, and the rest is history.

They had also become very good friends. Kate was given the fabric shop from her mother, and it had been in the “red” when she got it.

It was why her mother gave her the shop in the first place.

Tillie was more than happy to help. Since she was a little girl, crafting, knitting, and sewing brought her the most joy.

She figured it was one of the many reasons she didn’t get on well with her peers.

She liked a lot of different things. By the time she was a teenager, rather than shop, she’d look through a patterns catalog, choose what she liked, and spend the entire summer creating herself a new wardrobe.

If her parents had been able to afford it, she would have loved to go to fashion school, or something to do with design.

As it happened, they were not able to afford it, and she refused to take out loans.

Instead, she finished school and actually started her own channel on social media, which gradually grew.

Her parents were so supportive, even turning the garage into her filming space.

This was where she lived now—in her parents’ old home.

After they passed, everything had been given to her, and her parents had each left her a video, ordering her to make it her own space.

She could no longer live in their memories, but it was a place to make it hers.

She missed them every day, especially when she was having doubts.

Her mother always had this way of making things seem trivial, and she constantly had never-ending faith in her.

Tillie took another drink of her orange with the dash of lime, and she noticed Belle’s head had perked up.

She looked around and watched as none other than Jaxson Ridge approached. “Hello, stranger,” she said.

He was the grumpy electrician, plumber, and odd-job man. If there was a job needed, he was the man to call. Although, most people complained about his gruff manner. She knew he was the best man for every job.

“Hello, I did not expect to see you here, so I had to come and check with my own two eyes.”

This made her laugh. “Is it such a shock to see a woman socializing?” she asked.

“Not at all, but you, well, that is shocking, isn’t it?”

She laughed, and Belle walked over to Jaxson, gave him a sniff, and seemed to be happy with him. “Don’t mind her.”

“She’s all good. I speak dog.”

This made her laugh.

Belle nudged her hand, and she patted her lap, to which her dog jumped up, gave her face a nudge, and then settled onto her lap. She looked across the table where she was sitting as Jaxson took a seat.

She knew he was the town bad boy. The rebel. Everyone complained about him, but she honestly didn’t see it. Whenever they talked, he was always the sweetest man she had ever met.

“Do you mind?” he asked.

“Not at all. I’m surprised you’re all alone. I thought you were dating someone.”

He let out a groan. “Everyone seems to think I am dating someone, or something like that.”

She couldn’t help but giggle. “And you don’t like that?”

“Would you, if the rumors followed you everywhere?”

“I figured you would be completely used to it by now,” she said. “You’re the type of man that gossip follows.”

“And you’re a woman I don’t see around here very often. Is everything okay?”

She nodded and continued to stroke her dog’s back. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I mean, you’ve got to be, don’t you?” She shrugged.

Silence met her answer. She let out a sigh and didn’t want to look up at him. In that moment, she felt this huge wave of emotion that completely flooded her. She felt like she had been kicked in the gut.

Jaxson reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers. “It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to talk.”

She didn’t even realize she had been crying. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

She let out a chuckle, but it was very much a forced sound. “I didn’t even realize how ... emotional I was feeling. I’m ... it’s my parents’ anniversary.”

“Of their death?” Jaxson asked.

“No, no, they died in March. June is the anniversary of their marriage, and every single year, without fail, they would come here, where they claimed to finally see each other for the first time.” She sighed.

“I ... uh, it’s nothing. I was just a little taken aback as it was over thirty-five years ago. ”

“You’re twenty-nine,” he said.

She laughed. “I know. I know. They actually grew up together. Hung around at high school, then they kind of drifted apart for like a year. When they were both nineteen, they came to this bar to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

It brought them together, and five years later, I was born.

In the five years between them meeting and me being born, they got married, bought a house, all of that. ” She shrugged.

Jaxson lifted up his beer bottle. “To Mr. and Mrs. Short, wishing you both a happy anniversary.”

“Thank you,” Tillie said, lifted her glass of orange juice with a dash of lime, and took a drink.

He didn’t have to do that, but it was nice that he did.

“You’re not quite so rough around the edges, are you?” she asked.

He chuckled. “I’m being nice.”

“I appreciate it.”

Belle lifted her head and placed it on the table, looking across at Jaxson.

“She must like you,” she said. “She’s not usually a friendly dog.”

He reached across and stroked Belle’s head. Her dog didn’t grumble, just looked over at him, and she found it absolutely the cutest thing in the world.