Chapter Eight
“You’re not going to tell me to fuck off?” Carl asked.
Jaxson looked up from his notepad where he was writing down the parts he was going to need to complete the job at Carl Worthington’s house. “Do you want me to tell you to fuck off?”
Carl was a pain in the ass. An old man that came from a time when bartering for a lower price was the normal way to go.
Most of the time, he attempted to manipulate his way out of paying the bill.
It got so bad that Jaxson never allowed the old man to pay at the end.
He made him pay a deposit, then during any work and finally right at the end was the final bill, and Jaxson never left the house unless the money was there.
He spent a whole year getting the payment once, and it was the last time he did it.
There had been a time Carl had attempted to offer spare car parts, which Jaxson didn’t need.
“Look, I think you should give me a customer discount.”
“No.”
“I’m old, you should reduce it down by at least ten percent.”
“On what grounds?” Jaxson asked.
“I’m old.”
“Carl, you’re a pain in the ass, and you think you have the skills to be an electrician and a plumber.
You tinker with my work, because you think you can make it better, and because you’re older than me, you’re in some way better at everything and know it all.
Instead, what you do is damage my work and cause more work to repair what you have done.
You don’t just mess with the work I’ve done, you go and look for something else to mess up, just so you can say you did something better than I did.
You don’t deserve a discount. I should be ripping you off, instead, I’m the best-priced fucking electrician in town, and I’m damn good at my job as well.
Stop whining and fucking pay the deposit,” Jaxson said.
Carl wrinkled his lip, but he pulled out his wallet. “I don’t know what she sees in you. That Tillie Short could do a better job of finding herself a husband.”
Jaxson took the money, pulled off the receipt, and handed it to him. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Try to keep your hands to yourself, otherwise the bill will go up and up.”
He partly believed Carl did this on purpose, just to have someone come and visit him at his old mechanic yard.
His son had taken over from the main garage in town and had built it up.
Unfortunately, Carl Senior never got fully qualified to do any of the jobs on the cars.
Now, he handled the scrap end of the business, where people took their old cars.
From what he knew, Carl wasn’t even allowed to take the cars apart anymore.
Again, it was just a rumor, but Carl was a good guy.
It had taken him some time to realize the only way to get any respect from Carl was to talk bluntly to him.
Carl actually preferred it and respected you more for doing so.
Climbing into his truck, he turned over the ignition and gave him a wave before pulling out and starting the short journey back to town. There were still a couple of stops he had to make before the lunch date he had with his woman.
They were not going to keep their relationship private. He refused to sneak around with Tillie, and he wouldn’t have anyone saying shit behind their backs about her. They were not teenagers banned from seeing each other.
He had no choice but to go to the school, as it was the annual check. The Headmaster Dean liked to keep his school perfectly safe, and for some reason, he liked to get it checked between the main terms.
Jaxson didn’t think he was going to hit any trouble, seeing as he was the one that completed the rewiring job less than two years ago. Unless someone had been touching the school, everything should be more than fine.
He got through the main job at the school within a couple of hours, and he checked the time to see that he could stop by Kate’s Fabric Shop and be ready in time for lunch.
Tillie had a busy filming morning, and even though he didn’t want to leave her, he also didn’t want her followers assuming the worst of him. Besides, he still intended to watch her content. A lot went into her sewing videos.
Arriving at the fabric shop, he saw there were several vehicles in the main parking lot.
Kate was busy as he arrived, but he knew where she needed him to go, and immediately went into the shop extension where she’d organized a place for sewing meet-ups. He was aware of these, as Tillie had helped on several occasions by sewing up and filming the experience.
There were quite a few sewers in Higher Ridge, as well as across the state.
He knew the beautiful weather was going to attract more people.
He checked over each socket, did his usual safety checks, and then wrote out the necessary forms to state everything was safe.
He also did this with the sewing machines.
Usually, he was not a fan of doing things like this, but seeing as he was the only electrician around, and he happened to like Kate, as well as Tillie, he made sure to get it done.
“I’m so sorry. It has been a very busy morning,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
He turned to look at Kate and nodded. “Yeah, everything is sound. You’re all good.”
“Excellent. I know you’re not a fan of this work, but I do appreciate you fitting me in.”
Jaxson nodded. Where he usually ignored appreciation, he tried to be considerate to Kate, seeing as she was one of the few friends Tillie spent time with.
“Is there anything else you’d like me to check while I’m here?” he asked.
“No, thank you. That’s everything. I’ve got a sewing meet-up on Sunday. Tillie has agreed to come, and there are several other people wanting to be in attendance as well. It should be good.”
That scrapped plans he had for Sunday then. He hoped to invite her to his parents’ for dinner. He would not come between her business, though.
“Fine.”
Kate was one of the few women who didn’t flirt with him, or hope for anything extra.
“I’ll be gone then. See you soon,” he said.
Kate saw him out of the shop, and she gave him a wave, not lingering too long.
She was a lovely woman, and unfortunately inherited a shop that started out in debt.
When she first took it over, he knew she was floundering, and rather than take payment, he’d offered to do the work for free.
Kate had paid him in cups of coffee and sandwiches.
Climbing into his truck once again, he pulled out of the fabric shop, drove into town, and of course, with how lovely the weather was, there was absolutely nowhere to park.
He had no choice but to head back to the fabric shop, and he quickly popped his head in to ask Kate if it was all right for him to park his truck.
Kate was busy with a customer but nodded her head and gave him a wave.
After that, he quickly jogged into town, finding Tillie outside the main diner, a drink of water in front of her, and looking down at the menu.
“I did text you to let you know parking was a nightmare,” she said, wincing. “Belle and I walked.”
“Belle actually walked.”
As for Belle, she was sitting across Tillie’s lap, and at her name being mentioned, lifted her head. The look on her face was priceless, like she had been dealt the worst punishment in the world.
He stroked her head, and Belle snuggled against his hand, only to drop her head back onto Tillie’s lap.
“Where did you park?” she asked.
“Kate’s place. I had some work to do there before I came, but I did circle a couple of times.”
Tillie chuckled. “I know and I waved.” She held her hand up. “Didn’t you see the crazy person waving at you?”
He chuckled. “No, I didn’t.”
“It’s all right, you were focused on parking. Have you had a good morning?” she asked.
“It’s been busy. Carl’s been messing with my work once again, so it’s now going to cost more. I swear he does it on purpose just so I can go there and abuse him.”
Tillie laughed. “Abuse him?”
“He’s a pain in the ass, and if I don’t call him on it, he goes into a right grump.”
“That is just so adorable.” She pressed her hands together. “I don’t know why, but I really adore that.” And she laughed. “I think you’re right. I like Carl. He is moody, but he means well.”
“How was your morning?” he asked.
“Busy, actually. I did get quite a lot filmed this morning, however, it is so hot in my sewing room.”
“Do you have an AC in there?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Perhaps it’s time to install one, or something that will help with the heat?”
“You know, I’ve not changed that room since my dad completed it,” she said. “He was always worried it was going to be too cold. He never worried so much about the heating.”
“If you don’t want me to mess with it...”
“No, it’s fine. Of course it’s fine. Would you mind taking a look at it?”
“No problem.” He reached across the table and held her hand, rubbing across her knuckles as he saw the sadness in her eyes.
****
Several days later, Tillie was in the coffee shop, waiting for her order.
She glanced down at her cell phone and saw a couple of texts had come through from Jaxson.
Over the past couple of days, he had slept over every night.
This morning, before he left, he made love to her, making her orgasm, scream his name, and not hold back.
Whenever Jaxson touched her, he set her on fire with a need that surprised her.
“I heard he’s screwing Kate now. You know from Kate’s Fabric Shop,” one woman said.
“Please, Jaxson Riggs gets around every woman in town. Those that claim to have taken him are sadly mistaken. I wouldn’t be surprised. Jaxson gives it to everyone,” another said.
She didn’t like that Kate had been mentioned. Tillie knew what they were referring to, and it wasn’t the first time she heard the rumor about Jaxson and Kate.
Before she could say anything, her order was up, and she thanked the cashier and left the coffee shop. It was another hot day, and she lowered Belle to the floor so she could walk.