Sapphire Falls: Going My Way? (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

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  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Erin Nicholas. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Sapphire Falls remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Erin Nicholas, or their affiliates or licensors.

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  Going

  MY WAY

  - A SAPPHIRE FALLS KINDLE WORLD NOVELLA -

  SAMANTHA CHASE

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  One

  Open road.

  Windows down.

  Some good country music practically blowing out the car stereo.

  Life was good.

  Dylan Maxwell smiled as he drove along the highway. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he had taken some time off. For more than three years he’d put his own vacation dreams on hold while he built up his business – Sapphire Falls Auto Care. Every day – sometimes ten to twelve hours a day – he spent working on cars and doing his best to earn the trust of the residents of his home town.

  And it had finally paid off.

  Business was booming – to the point where he’d been able to hire three mechanics to work beside him – and it felt great. Rewarding. Word of his work ethic, honesty, and respect for his customers helped word spread like wildfire to surrounding towns and now he was finally free to breathe a little and relax.

  Because damn if he wasn’t exhausted.

  That’s why this weekend had been so important – four days of pure relaxation. His grandparents’ farm in Omaha had been the perfect solution for him, a little R&R while spending time with two of his favorite people. Dylan knew he was guilty of not visiting enough and could still hear the excitement in his grandmother’s voice when he told her of his plans. And the smile on her face when he arrived told him it was all worth it.

  Clouds were starting to move in and it seemed to be getting dark awful quickly, he thought to himself. Nebraska wasn’t known for any massive amounts of rain this time of year so he wasn’t worried, but it still put a little damper on his mood. The sunshine had felt perfect – along with the open windows – but it looked like it wouldn’t be long before the sky was ready to open.

  Not the best way to end a relaxing weekend.

  With a muttered curse, he rolled up the windows on his Ford F250. Dylan couldn’t help but rub his hand reverently over the dash of the new truck. It was something he had always wanted, something new of his own that he didn’t have to work on. That’s not to say he didn’t love his job and his career – he did! But after having his head bent over an engine all week long, it was nice to know he wouldn’t have to do it on his own vehicle.

  Growing up, Dylan had envisioned himself owning his own shop and driving some sort of classic muscle car that he’d completely restored on his own. What he didn’t realize back then was how much it cost to do something like that and the time and effort you would have to put in to do it right.

  So instead of the restoring, he’d decided to put that time and money into making his business something he could be proud of.

  “And we’ve come full circle,” he murmured as he saw a flash of lightning off in the distance. He still had another hour of driving ahead of him before he was back in Sapphire Falls and he let out a weary sigh at the thought of driving the rest of the way in a storm.

  He couldn’t control the weather, so he forced all negative thoughts aside as he exited off the interstate and merged onto the small highway that would take him the rest of the way.

  ****

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Chloe Holland’s voice was a near screech as her car started to sputter and smoke began to billow out from under the hood. “Seriously? Now?” With no GPS and no way of knowing exactly where she was, panic quickly set in.

  Carefully, she pulled the car over to the side of the road and cursed her own stupidity. And yes, calling it stupidity was putting it mildly. Maybe deciding to pack up your entire life on the spur of the moment – while your cheating, low-life boyfriend tried to explain the naked woman bent over the dining room table – wasn’t the best decision she could have made.

  Well, that and forgetting her phone charger and refusing to pick one up at any of the gas stations and convenience stores because she thought she had great battery life.

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  “Okay, obviously you can sit here and berate yourself all the livelong day because this car isn’t going any farther and this two-lane highway is fairly deserted. Awesome.”

  She sat on the side of the road for all of five minutes before deciding to get out and pop the hood. Not that it was going to do any good – she had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for.

  Or at.

  “Someone’s bound to come along eventually…”

  And just then the first drop of rain landed on her nose.

  Slowly Chloe lifted her head, raised her eyes toward the sky, and cursed and screamed until her voice was raw. “Why? Why me? Why now?” she cried out. “Haven’t I been through enough? Wasn’t it bad enough that Kevin cheated on me? Do I really deserve this?”

  The logical part of her brain reminded her that she wasn’t going to get a divine answer on this one, but it was a great way to release some of her pent-up anger and frustration.

  “I work so hard and give everything I am to everyone and this is what I get in return?” she screamed heavenward. “How about throwing a little bad luck Kevin’s way, huh? Or maybe the whore he was screwing on Nana’s table!”

  A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and hit close enough that Chloe screeched in terror. She raised her hands up in surrender as the rain began to come down in earnest. Her heart beat madly even as she felt all of the fight drain out of her. Her chin dropped to her chest as she sighed. “Fine. No need to come at me with your wrath…”

  She was so lost in her own misery that she failed to notice the approaching headlights. Slamming the car hood down, she left her hands on the hood and felt her tears mixing with the rain. What was the point in holding it all in? There was no one here to witness her breakdown and she was probably going to have to spend the night in her car to wait out the storm.

  There was no rush to get back in the car.

  She was already soaked.

  Slowly her body folded over the hood of the car as she broke down and cried.

  ****

  Dylan had heard of people seeing mirages. But that sort of thing only happened after you’d been wandering in the dessert for days without food and water, right?

  Nebraska was dry but certainly not desert-like and he’d been eating and drinking consistently since he’d gotten on the road earlier. So…realistically, there was no good reason he was seeing what appeared to be a woman draped over the hood of a classic Mustang convertible.

  The hood was closed but why in the world would a woman choose to lay on top of the car in the middle of a storm?

  “Someday my curiosity is going to get me in trouble,” he murmured as he did a quick U-turn and pulled over to the side – so the nose of the truck was facing the nose of the Mustang.

  For a moment he was struck speechless.

  Yes, it was definitely a woman draped over the car and, from the view he had, she had a specta
cular ass.

  “Maybe this is a mirage.”

  Slowly, he opened the truck door and stood on the running board. She may have an incredible ass, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t crazy or something. “Um…excuse me?” he called out.

  She didn’t move.

  Panic washed over him at the thought of her being in that position because she was hurt. Jumping down, he ran over to her. “Ma’am? Are you all right?” he asked, his voice a little shaky.

  As if coming out of a daze, her head turned toward his and the greenest eyes he had ever seen stared back at him. Her hair was plastered to her head and her makeup was a little runny and Dylan had to wonder if his conclusion of her being hurt wasn’t accurate. “Ma’am?” he asked again, softer this time.

  She straightened and all the blood in Dylan’s head rushed south. Her white t-shirt was practically transparent and she was beyond curvy. She pushed her hair away from her face and frowned at him.

  “Could you quit calling me that?” she snapped.

  Confusion hit him first. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. Can you quit calling me ma’am? I’m not that old, for crying out loud.”

  A bark of laughter came out before he could stop it. The look of indignation on her face kept him laughing a little bit longer before he forced himself to stop.

  One perfectly shaped brow arched at him. “Are you done?” she asked.

  Dylan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed like that but you kind of caught me off guard.” When she crossed her arms over her chest and simply stared at him, he knew she clearly wasn’t quick to forgive. “So…um…what’s the problem with the car?”

  Shrugging, she looked over her shoulder at it. “No idea. It sort of sputtered a bit and then I noticed the smoke so I pulled over.”

  Probably overheated, he thought and then noticed her shiver. “Listen, why don’t you go wait in my truck where it’s dry and I’ll take a quick look under the hood.”

  Now she eyed him warily. “Thanks but…I’ll stay out here.”

  “Why?” he asked, confused. “Why stand out here any longer than you have to? Do you have an umbrella in your car?”

  “If I did, don’t you think I’d be using it now?” Her tone was weary and she slowly wiped some of the rain off of her face and attempted to comb her hair back.

  He could have argued with her – or simply wished her luck as he drove away – but he was raised with better manners than that. “Okay, why don’t you pop the hood and let me take a look?”

  “Do you know anything about cars?”

  He grinned and reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, then one of his business cards. Handing it to her, he said, “Dylan Maxwell. I own my own garage back in Sapphire Falls.”

  “Chloe Holland.” She looked it over and then handed it back to him with a nod before she spun on her heel and reached into the car to pop the hood as he’d asked.

  Dylan didn’t waste any time. Securing the hood, he looked around and noticed the engine was not in the greatest shape. At a first glance he saw the hoses were cracked and worn; there was some corrosion on the battery and in general, it was just dirty. A car like this should be babied and it was clear no one had truly loved this car the way it deserved.

  “So?” she asked, coming back to stand beside him. “What do you see?”

  He opened the radiator cap, looked down and then took a whiff of the engine. Without a word, he stepped back and closed the hood.

  “Do I just need to let it cool down before driving it again?” she asked hopefully.

  “Afraid not. Without proper lighting and getting it up on a lift, I wouldn’t recommend you driving it at all.”

  She groaned and leaned against the car and cursed. “Great,” she murmured. “Any idea where the nearest town is?”

  “So you’re not from around here?”

  Chloe shook her head.

  “Where were you heading?”

  “West,” was her only response.

  “Ah,” he said with a nod. “I’ve heard of it.”

  He couldn’t help but grin when he noticed her lips twitching with the urge to do the same.

  “Look…Dylan,” she began, “I appreciate you stopping and all, but for all I know you could be some sort of serial killer or something. Do you really think I’m going to tell you where I’m going?”

  Dylan had to hand it to her, she certainly had a knack for speaking her mind. “Fair enough. But in my defense, do you really think a serial killer would stop and offer to look at your car?”

  “Actually, yes,” she said firmly. “Win over my trust, offer to help and then BAM! Next thing you know, I’m tomorrow’s headline.”

  His eyes went a little wide. “Wow. You’ve got it all worked out.”

  She shrugged.

  “Okay then. I guess this is where I wish you luck and…get on my way.” He turned back toward his truck and made it all of three feet before she called out to him. Turning back to her, he waited.

  “Okay, so maybe you’re not a serial killer. But I’m stuck here and you’re telling me I can’t drive the car. My cell phone’s dead and I don’t have a charger and…shit. I’m pretty much screwed here.”

  It would have been rude to agree but it was on the tip of his tongue to do just that. “My shop is kind of far from here, but I can call one of my guys and have someone come and get you. I know it’s a little out of your way, but it’s the best I can do.”

  Chloe chuckled. “Beggars can’t be choosers, right?”

  “Let me grab my phone,” he said and then stopped. “Or…could we please go sit in the truck? Maybe you don’t mind standing out in the rain, but right now I feel like it’s going to take hours before I feel dry again and I’ve still got an hour’s drive ahead of me.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Dylan walked over and climbed into the truck. It took a full minute for him to shift around until he was comfortable and cursed at how his wet clothes were going to mess with the leather interior. Knowing there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, he flipped on the seat warmers and reached for his phone to call the shop.

  “Sapphire Falls Auto Care. Will speaking. How can I help you?”

  “Hey, Will. It’s Dylan.”

  “Hey, boss. Don’t tell me you’re calling to check on us again? I just talked to you an hour ago!”

  Dylan laughed and when he noticed Chloe slowly walking toward the truck, he found himself holding his breath. She silently climbed in beside him and he jacked up the heat to help her warm up.

  “Listen, I just got off the I-80 and came upon a broken-down car. Could be the head gasket. Classic Mustang – sixty-five or sixty-six,” he guessed and then looked over at Chloe.

  “Sixty-six,” she confirmed.

  “Sixty-six,” he repeated to Will. “I need you to send a tow truck out here to come and get it.”

  “I’d love to, Dylan, but there was a multi-car pileup just this side of Lincoln and both our trucks are on site there. It’s been pretty chaotic. I’ll send someone as soon as I can but you’re looking at four to five hours before I’m thinking they’ll even start heading your way.”

  A curse escaped Dylan’s lips before he could stop it and he noticed Chloe’s defeated posture. “Keep me posted, Will. Call me as soon as you have a truck free and we’ll take it from there.”

  “Can do.”

  Dylan hung up and sighed, combing his own wet hair away from his face. He turned to Chloe. “I don’t have a truck available right now, but…”

  “I heard,” she said wearily.

  “Why don’t we go and grab something to eat and meet my truck back here when it’s available?”

  “I don’t want to leave the car here,” she said with a hint of desperation. “A car like that?” She shook her head. “Uh-uh. Thanks but…I’ll stay here with it. Send your truck over when he’s free.”

  “Chloe, I’m not going to leave you here.”

  “
Can’t we just use Google on your phone or something and call someplace?”

  Dylan seriously felt a headache coming on. Sure he could just call some random mechanic they found online, but the thought of someone else messing around with that Mustang just didn’t sit right with him. It was the kind of car he’d always wanted to work on and seeing the state of disrepair it was in just made him want to do it all the more.

  And the thought of saying goodbye to Chloe already wasn’t something he was willing to deal with right now either.

  He looked at his watch and sighed. It was getting late, the sky was getting darker and the rain seriously wasn’t letting up. His options were limited but…

  “I’ll hitch it to the truck,” he said quickly.

  Chloe’s eyes went wide. “What?”

  He nodded. “I have chains in the back and the truck can handle the weight. We’ll tow it to my shop so you’ll know it’s safe and then tomorrow I’ll get it up on a lift and tell you exactly what’s wrong. What do you say?”

  “I say I guess I’m going to Sapphire Falls.”

  Two

  Talk about awkward…

  Chloe sat in silence as they drove through the storm. Beside her, Dylan was soaked to the skin. And yet she’d never seen a sexier man. He was beyond tall – easily six feet. Although being only five-four herself, everyone was tall. With jet black hair and whiskey-colored eyes, he was damn near drool worthy. And if he looked this good soaking wet, she could only imagine how he’d look when he was dry.

  Yum.

  By the time he had gotten her car hitched to the pickup, you could barely see your hand in front of your face. She kind of felt bad about that. Hell, she’d even offered to help him, but he was more concerned with her getting out of the rain.

  Clearly the man had some manners.

  They had only been on the road for about fifteen minutes when she heard him mutter a curse.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “I’m not feeling good about this,” Dylan answered. “My visibility is crap and I can feel the car swaying back there. According to my navigator app, there’s a town coming up. I think we need to pull over and wait out the storm.”