A Grumpy Mate On Snow Ridge (EBOOK)

A burst pipe, a
blizzard, and meddling best friends—they never stood a chance.

Jules Morrison’s house just flooded, and her best friend’s brilliant idea is to dump her at a
mountain cabin in the middle of the worst storm in decades. Alone. With Lex Chapman—the brooding mechanic who looks at her like she’s either his greatest temptation…

 Or his worst mistake.

 Lex has been fighting his pull toward Jules for a year. She’s too bright, too warm, too human for someone like him. But now she’s
stranded in his isolated cabin, and his wolf is done pretending he doesn’t want her.

Jules thinks he’s just the grumpy guy from the garage. She has no idea what he really is—or that she’s already his.

 The storm will pass. But once a wolf
chooses his mate…some lines can never
be uncrossed.

Faye Sterling wasn’t looking for a fiancé, fake or otherwise. But she wasn’t going to reject Adam’s help, either—even though he’s grumpy, growly, and unreasonably sexy. If pretending to be with him keeps her creepiest fan away, she’s game. Besides, Adam’s growing on her a little. Ok, a lot.

So, why does she feel like he’s keeping dark, dangerous secrets from her?

Chapter One

Jules

Monday, November 15th

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."

She waited half a beat for him to say more. He didn't. "Must be nice for him, having you and Riko here to help with... whatever it is you guys do. Besides fix cars, I mean." She glanced at him sideways. "Faye's been really cagey about the whole thing. Says Adam's life is complicated."

That amber gaze flicked to her for just a second.

"It can be."

"Very mysterious." She fidgeted with her purse strap. "Though I guess that's par for the course with you guys. Nobody really knows much about any of you, except Riko because he actually grew up here. And even he doesn't say much about where he's been since we graduated. Linda at Prather's—you know, the grocery store?—has about fifteen different theories."

"I'm sure she does."

"My favorite is that you're all in witness protection. Very dramatic." She knew she was rambling and tried to rein it in. "Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous. Always have. Drove my teachers crazy growing up."

"Turn here?" he asked.

"Yeah, the blue house at the end." She watched the familiar homes pass by, trying not to wince at how much worse her place looked compared to the well-maintained homes around it. "It doesn't look like much, I know. I've been trying to keep my parent's old place from falling apart completely. A new roof last year ate my savings, but at least it doesn't leak anymore. Much."

He pulled into her driveway, his headlights illuminating peeling paint and a porch that definitely listed to the left. The small home that had been charming in her childhood now looked tired, defeated by too many winters and not enough money for repairs.

"This place has been in the family since the fifties," she added, defensive without meaning to be. "Mom always said these old houses have good bones. They just need some TLC." 

And about fifty thousand dollars I don't have.

He turned off the engine but didn't comment on the state of her home. And somehow that made her feel even worse.

Jules reached for the door handle, then stopped. "Riko seems happy. It's good to see someone from our graduating class found his way back home. Most people who leave Snow Ridge don't come back."

"You never left here?"

The way he said it made her look at him. She frowned. "Where would I go? This is home. My parent's are buried here. My mom's family founded half the businesses on Main Street. I've got roots so deep in this mountain, I'd probably wither up and die anywhere else."

Something shifted in his expression as he listened to her. She couldn't quite read it, but it made her pulse race nonetheless.

"Besides," she added, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere, "someone has to keep Linda from gossiping everyone to death. And make sure old Mr. Murphy doesn't forget to eat when he gets lost in his wood carvings. And who else would put up with Mrs. Brown's conspiracy theories about the mayor?"

"You take care of everyone."

It wasn't a question, more of an observation. But the way he said it—like he'd been watching her or something—made heat creep up her neck.

"It's a small town. We look out for each other." She grabbed Fred from the dashboard. "Speaking of which, tell Adam I've got those shirts he likes on hold at the shop. Faye mentioned he needed some."

She climbed out, then turned back. "And for what it's worth, I think Riko's right. You're not as scary as everyone says."

His eyes snapped to hers. "People say I'm scary?"

"'Intimidating' was the word Linda used. But she thinks anyone who doesn't attend her book club is suspicious, so..." She smiled. "You've been here, what, a year or two now? And this is the longest conversation we've had. Can't blame people for making up stories about the mysterious new guy who keeps to himself."

That mouth twitch again. Stronger this time. "Not that mysterious."

Jules gave a nervous laugh. "Right. Three gorgeous men show up out of nowhere, work at the garage yet barely talk to anyone, and spend their free time doing God knows what in the mountains? That's practically the definition of mysterious."

Something shifted in his expression. It was hot. And hungry. And it made her stomach flutter.

"Careful, Jules." Her name on his lips was both a warning and a promise. "Curiosity can be dangerous."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. But some mysteries are better left alone."

The intensity in his amber eyes made her shiver. "Now you're really being mysterious."

"Get inside. Storm's getting worse."

Before she could respond, he put the truck in reverse and backed out with the passenger door open, leaning over to pull it closed as he drove back the way he'd came.

Leaving Jules standing in her driveway with her heart racing and her skin feeling too tight and too hot despite the falling snow.

She was still standing there when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was from an unknown number.

Parts will be here tomorrow at 9 am. Car will be done by noon. Snow should be over by then. Don't be late.

Then, a second later:

Wear something warm. Garage gets cold.

Jules stared at the messages. He was worried about her being cold? 

Because she couldn't think of how to respond to that, she typed back:

Fred says thank you for noticing him.

Three dots appeared immediately. Then disappeared. Then appeared again.

Fred?

My succulent. The purple one in the sunflower pot.

A longer pause. Then: 

Tell Fred he needs more sun. East-facing window would be better.

Jules laughed out loud, standing in her driveway as snow gathered in her hair. Lex Chapman, the scary tattooed man who barely spoke in complete sentences, was giving her succulent care advice.

I'll let him know. See you tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

She started to put her phone away, then saw the three dots appear one more time.

Lock your doors tonight. Storm's going to be bad.

Something about the way he phrased it made her shiver. Not from cold, but from the feeling that he wasn't just talking about the weather. Maybe she was losing her mind, but she would've sworn there was something protective in that warning, something that went beyond casual concern.

Inside her cottage, Jules went straight to the kitchen, setting Fred on the counter while she checked the mousetraps under the sink. Empty, thank God. The kitchen faucet dripped steadily—another thing she couldn't afford to fix properly—so she positioned her water-catching bowl underneath it. Why waste all that water by just letting it go down the sink when she could use it to hard boil some eggs or something?

The furnace kicked on with its usual wheeze and clank. She'd nursed it through last winter with YouTube videos and prayers, but this year it sounded worse. Another expense she couldn't handle. Not with the electric bill already stretching her budget and her hours at the shop cut back until after the holidays.

Maybe she could pick up some extra work helping Faye at the coffee shop or something.

Pushing those worries out of her mind for another time, she moved to the window that faced the road, watching the swirling snow as it began to fall. Her skin still tingled where he'd touched her. And her body still hummed in a way she didn't understand.

Jules pressed her fingers to the glass as the snow erased his tire tracks. Whatever secrets Lex was keeping, she had the strangest feeling she was about to find out.

A little thrill ran through her at the thought. This was the most excitement she'd had in years.

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.