While many straight men would lose their shit if another guy flirted with them, Seth took it as a compliment while gently declining the offers. His cock only got hard for women, as long as they didn’t get too attached and start using the M-word. He preferred to play the field, and the thought of a long-term commitment with a ring and legal document made him nauseous.
He grabbed three round, battery-operated emergency flares and confirmed they were fully charged before jogging toward the sharp bend. With limited visibility ahead, it was a common spot for accidents—usually involving deer or other wildlife. Still, it wasn’t the best place to break down. Drivers had a habit of speeding through that stretch.
After turning on the LED flares and setting them down in easy-to-see spots on the side of the road along the bend, he returned to his truck. He'd been in Wexler picking up supplies the Red River Ranch needed sooner than they could be shipped. It wasn't unusual. Hazard Falls had the basics, but for anything else, someone usually drew the short straw and made the twenty-minute drive to Wexler instead of continuing to Garden City.
Grabbing two cold bottles of his favorite root beer from the center console, he carried them back to the attractive woman, who leaned against the front quarter panel of her dilapidated truck, watching him. He held out the unopened bottle to her, keeping the one he’d already drunk from for himself. “Here. I thought you might be thirsty.”
She hesitated a moment before taking it from him. “Thank you.” When the cap’s seal cracked open, she seemed to relax a little, as if maybe she’d thought he might’ve given her a spiked drink or something. “And thank you for putting up the flares. I keep forgetting to pick some up.”
“They have some in the auto supply store. You can grab them when you get the coolant.”
After taking a sip of the soda, then replacing the cap, she glanced over her shoulder at the engine. “Speaking of which. The radiator should be cool enough for the water.”
When she opened the rear cab door and pulled out a gallon of water, he quickly reached over and took it from her. “Here, let me do that for you.”
With the plastic jug in one hand, he set his soda bottle down in the truck’s bed on top of one of five large gray tote boxes. Several bungee cords prevented them from sliding around while the truck was in motion. He wondered if she was moving somewhere, but aside from the totes and an old suitcase he spotted in the back seat, there wasn’t much else.
“I can do it. You don’t have to,” she said.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather help than stand here and watch you do it while I twiddle my thumbs.”
While he had an eye for the ladies and dated many of them short-term, his mother raised him to be a gentleman during the eight short years she was in his life. Those lessons had stayed with him ever since, despite his miserable upbringing after she was gone. Meanwhile, Paige loved teasing him that his man-whore days would end when the right woman came along. He loved her like the sister he'd never had, but he was certain hell would freeze over before he settled down with one woman.
Using the bandana he kept in his back pocket, he twisted off the radiator cap and set it aside. He poured the water into the radiator, then took another gallon from the mystery woman and emptied that one too. When he was done, she collected the plastic jugs and tossed them into the back seat.
“There,” he said while replacing the cap and shutting the hood. “That should get you into Hazard with no further problems. I can follow you, though, just in case.”
After wiping his hands on the bandana, he held one out to her, flashing a dimpled grin.
“By the way, I’m Seth Parker.”
Again, she hesitated before shaking his hand. “Shylo Kellerman.”
She suddenly released him as if he’d burned her, then stepped back several feet, her gaze not meeting his as she grabbed the door handle. “I... uh... I have to get going. Thanks for the help.”
“You’re very welcome.” He lunged forward to swing the door open wider for her to get in. “Are you from around here? I mean, I know you’re not from Hazard because it’s not a big town, and I would’ve remembered you if we’d crossed paths.”
She climbed into the driver’s seat and tugged on the door. He shut it since the window was down, and he could still talk to her. Shaking her head, she started the engine. “No, I’m not from around here. Just passing through.”
“Well, we’ve got a nice little town with a few bed and breakfasts. Maybe I could convince you to stick around and let me buy you dinner.”
Before she could answer him, a Chevy Tahoe with an overhead light bar pulled up beside them, and Officer Lane Myers of the Hazard Falls Police Department lowered the passenger-side window. “Hey, Seth. Everything okay?”
He stepped closer to the SUV. “Yeah, Lane. Her truck overheated, but all’s good now.”
“Thanks again. Bye!”
At Shylo’s voice, Seth spun around to see the pickup truck moving forward and pulling back out onto the road. Waving her hand out the window, she sped up. Stunned that he’d lost his opportunity to get a date with her, he glared at Lane. “Great timing, asshole.”
The lawman had the audacity to laugh in Seth’s face. “Glad I could be of service. Couldn’t let you corrupt another innocent woman.”
“Asshole,” he repeated to his friend as he crossed his arms and leaned against the window frame.
“Who was she? I didn’t recognize the truck.”
“Shylo something. Said she was passing through.” When a thought popped into his head, he glanced in the direction she’d gone, then groaned and slapped the inside of the door. “Damn it! She took my root beer. It was in the bed.”
Lane laughed harder at that. “Well, at least something of yours was in her bed!”
