Riding Bearback (BBW Shifter Cowboy Romance) (Bear Ranchers Book 1) Read online

  She resisted the urge to raise her eyebrow and gesture to her outfit and tool bag. Instead, she smiled and said, “No, I’m the new mechanic.”

  The man’s eyes widened and he looked at his desk for what she assumed was her paperwork. “You’re A.J.?” he said, not looking up at her.

  “Yes, April Justine. I go by A.J.”

  It hadn’t been an accident that she had put her nickname down on the application, or that she had her brother pick it up and drop it off. She had been in the game long enough and she always took into consideration some of her father’s words of advice: “Cars are a boys’ game, and sometimes you need to convince everyone you’re less of a girl. It doesn’t make being a girl bad, it is just the way it is right now. Hopefully it’ll change.”

  Her father loved cars. And when it became very clear that her older brother was more interested in April’s Barbie dolls than cars, April quickly became the child who came to the car shows and helped with her dad’s projects once she was old enough. At first it was just an annoying thing that her dad made her do, but it quickly became her obsession.

  April loved cars and she loved being a girl who worked on cars. If it was up to her, she would have a full face of makeup on to repair engines. She had been a cheerleader in high school, and joined a sorority in college. And she was one of the only girls in her engineering classes. Barriers or not, she wasn’t about to let something as silly as looking good in a dress stop her from what she loved to do.

  “Oh, I thought the young man who dropped off the application…”

  “He’s my brother. Now do you mind pointing me in the direction of Brett? He left a message for me, saying that I’d be reporting to him for a bit.” April crossed her arms and tried to look as menacing as possible. The man looked at her one more time before picking up the phone on the desk and dialing a couple of numbers.

  “Brett? Hey, it’s John at the desk. Your new employee is here…Yeah, A.J….right well you may want to come up here…okay. Okay. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. He looked rather disgruntled.

  “He says head back to the garage. He’s working on the ‘60s Ford Mustang.” April nodded and began to turn around. “Do you need to see a picture of what one of those looks like?”

  “Naw, I’m good. I’ve restored a ’64 and a ’68 before, so I have a pretty good idea what they look like.” April exited the tiny office and headed back to the garage. She drew a number of looks but she ignored them. It was her first day of her dream job, damn it, she wasn’t going to let anyone bring her down.

  She entered the garage and looked at the row of cars. It was clear that the shop was into both regular repairs and restorations. That suited her fine. She spotted the Ford Mustang and headed in that direction, she stopped right in front of it. It was hoisted up slightly and she could see a man’s work boots sticking out from under the car. Based on the boots alone, this guy was enormous.

  She cleared her throat and he slid out from under the car. She was right, he was enormous. He must have been over six feet, and he was bulky as well. His well-muscled arms were on display, and one arm was completely covered in tattoos. His dark blonde hair was cropped close and stubble darkened his jaw. He pushed himself up off the ground and looked at her.

  “Can I help you darlin’? Which car is yours?” She took a step closer, and tripped on a large wrench that someone had left on the floor. A small noise of shock left her as she fell right into him. He caught her before she hit the floor. Cradled in his arms, she realized just how imposing of a man he really was.

  He looked at her, eyebrows raised. She blushed as she realized that he was still waiting for the answer to his question. “Uh, none of them. I’m the new mechanic.” She pushed herself up and took a step back from him. She squared her shoulders, and tried to regain the ground she had just lost. She just met her boss and already she was sure he thought she was a silly little girl.

  He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Really? You’re A.J.?”

  “Yep. April Justine. A.J. is fine though.”

  He looked her up and down. It wasn’t sexual, but there was heat behind it. “Great. There are a few oil changes that need to get done today. I can show you where those are.”

  She nodded. “Sounds good.” She wasn’t going to argue the point that she could do more. She was happy to wait and let him figure that out himself.

  “I’m Brett. I run this shop. You’ll report to me, and I’ll give you your assignments.”

  She smiled. “Great, sounds good.” She wanted to roll her eyes.

  He brought her to one side of the garage and pointed to a line of cars that were parked by the fence. “This is your area, and those are the cars that need to be dealt with. Just give everything a once over and if anything looks like it needs a tune up just let one of the guys know so they can handle it.”

  “Okay,” she drew the word out, not quite sure why she wasn’t allowed to fix something small.

  “Just oil changes for now. Maybe we’ll move you up to tire rotation if you do well with this.” Brett patted her back and walked away. April looked at the long line of cars. She was going to be the best darn oil changer that this shop had ever seen.

  Two evenings after April was hired, Brett closed down the shop, signed off on everyone’s sheets, got on his motorcycle and headed to Jeanette’s newly refurbished bar. After the fire, Brian had gotten the guys together to fix up the place. The damage had been extensive, but the insurance paid out quickly and they were able to fix things up. The new version looked pretty similar to the original, but there were a couple of changes. A few new pool tables, a brand new television for the nights when there was a game on. Jeanette had even updated the kitchen, and sometimes let Brian’s girl cook up some specials. But most nights it was just the usual burgers and fries fare. Brett was always thrilled when Carrie made specials though. He couldn’t help but be a little jealous of Brian. Carrie was a good girl, sweet and kind but stood up for herself when she needed to. And she was a damn good cook.

  Sometimes he loved his bachelor life: he could stay at the shop as long as he wanted and no one complained about all the old cars he fixed up. He could hang out at the bar almost every night with his friends. But when he looked at how happy Brian and Carrie were, he thought about how nice it would be to come home to someone who missed you and a home cooked meal. God knew he was useless in the kitchen.

  He walked into the bar and took a seat at the table that usually was filled with his friends. It was empty. He waved Carrie down. “El! Where is everyone?”

  She leaned against the table. “I actually don’t know. I assume they’ll be here soon. Brian is on call though, so he won’t be in tonight.”

  “Then can I grab a beer to start?”

  “Of course. The usual?”

  “You know me so well, sweetheart.” He winked at her and she blushed deeply. Brett flirted with everyone and Carrie was no different. He would never touch his friend’s girl, but he couldn’t help teasing her when Brian wasn’t around. She blushed so easily. She scurried off towards the bar and he leaned back, settling into his seat.

  He glanced at the television. A football game that he didn’t care about was on. Carrie dropped his beer off and he took a long drink. He took a moment to look around the bar and examine the people, something he did so rarely. In the corner of the bar, sat a woman. She had long blonde hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she was wearing a plain white shirt and frayed blue jeans. He watched her for another moment. It didn’t seem like she was with anyone and his friends still weren’t at the bar. He stood up, leaving his beer on the table, and sauntered up to the corner of the bar.

  “I haven’t seen you around here before. Can I get you a drink?” The girl turned in her seat, and he realized two things. One, she clearly didn’t want to be bothered because she was reading a book in a bar. Two, she was his new employee and that made her double off limits.

  She blinked at him, probably just as confused as he
was. “Uh, sorry April. I didn’t realize…you just look really different out of uniform.”

  And she did look different. She was wearing a little bit of makeup. The soft pink color of her lips was highlighted by a shiny gloss. Her hair looked soft when it was out of the tight bun she kept it in while at work. He hadn’t even considered that she might be attractive, mostly he was just impressed by the fact that she wasn’t complaining about the oil changes he was making her do.

  “Hi Brett.” Even her voice sounded different away from the shop. “I didn’t realize that you came to this bar. Although I suppose I should have assumed you did. It’s a biker bar and you drive a Switchback.” He was impressed that she knew what type of bike he drove, but he wasn’t surprised.

  He was pretty sure that her dad did some biking in his youth, so it figured that she would know a thing or two.

  They looked at each other for a moment, neither quite sure how to handle it. “Do you want to sit down?” she asked, finally.

  “Sure.” He slid into the barstool next to her.

  “Do you come here often?” she asked jokingly.

  He chuckled. “Actually yeah. My MC and I are here pretty often. Although they all apparently had plans tonight that they didn’t tell me about.”

  “I’ve never been on a motorcycle before,” she said thoughtfully. “You think I would have, since I grew up around them and cars but I just never did.”

  “You’re seriously missing out. It’s amazing.” He paused for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to ask. “Do you want to go for a ride now?”

  She blinked at him, surprised by his question. “Yeah, sure.” She dropped a few bills onto the bar top and stood up.

  She followed Brett out of the bar and into the parking lot. He got on his bike and she climbed on behind him. Her body pressed against his back made him feel like he was on fire. She was pretty and she liked cars. She was practically the perfect girl, and she was pressed up against him, getting ready for her first ever ride. And he couldn’t make a move because she was his brand new employee. It figured.

  “Hold on tight,” he said as he turned on the motorcycle. He could feel breath hitch as he pressed the gas. He loved the sound of surprise that she made as they leapt forward. He drove a few laps around the parking lot, and felt her relax with each round. By the fourth time around her grip around his waist was no longer a vice.

  “This is amazing,” she yelled. He grinned. They pulled into a parking space and stopped the bike. He turned so he could look at her clearly. “I think I may have to get a bike of my own,” she said excitedly.

  The joy on her face was so pure that he wanted to kiss her. She looked stunning in the soft light from the street lamps. Her hair was slightly tousled from the wind. He leaned forward slightly, and then drew back. He couldn’t kiss her. He couldn’t get involved with her. She was his employee. And things in the garage would be rough enough for her as it was, since she was the only girl. He didn’t want to add the embarrassment of being involved with the boss to the list of reasons her peers weren’t excited about her presence.

  “I should head out,” he said after a moment of silence. “Early morning at the garage.”

  She slipped off the bike gracefully. “Thanks for the ride. It was fun.”

  He nodded. “See you tomorrow,” he said stiffly.

  He watched as she walked to her car, a gorgeous refurbished vehicle, and couldn’t help feeling annoyed at himself for not making a move.

  April finished her last oil change of the day and wiped her hands on her pants. She picked up her papers and dropped them at the office along with the keys for the car. Ever since her ride on Brett’s bike she had been avoiding the bar. She enjoyed it a bit too much.

  But after the day she had, she needed a drink. She was officially the “scut” girl. It was thankless and annoying but she was determined to pay her dues. But after another day of ‘some common unfinished task’ she needed a drink. And she didn’t want to drink alone.

  So she found herself at the biker bar. She saw Brett with his friends out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t pay them any attention. Brett had been weird after he gave her the ride on his bike, and she didn’t want to do anything that would make her work environment uncomfortable.

  She ordered a girly drink and sipped it slowly. She leaned against the wall, she had picked the bar stool right against the edge of the bar, closest to the wall, and watched the crowd. It was a relatively busy night, and music was playing non-stop. A few people had started to dance but nothing particularly formal started. It was the sort of relaxed fun that one could have in a small local bar.

  Three-quarters of the way through her drink, a man from Brett’s table approached the bar. He looked at her, and then headed her way. She wondered if Brett had sent him to ask her to join them, but she quickly dismissed the idea. If Brett wanted her to join him, he would have asked her himself. He certainly wasn’t shy.

  “Hey,” the man said. He was tall and bulky like Brett, but his muscles looked built in a gym rather than through manual labor. He was attractive, but a little to clean cut for her. In fact, he was the only clean cut guy in the lot. He was wearing slacks and a button down shirt that was rolled to the elbows. His arms were covered in tattoos, but they ended right above his wrists. With his sleeves rolled down he probably just looked like an average banker or lawyer. His hair was cut short, and it was a light blonde, whereas Brett’s hair looked a little shaggy.

  “Hey,” she replied, looking him over.

  “I’m Tyler.”

  “April.”

  He had a smooth voice, nothing like Brett’s. Brett always sounded like he had just swallowed gravel. “Can I get you a drink?” April nodded. Even if he wasn’t exactly her type, he was still really cute, and she hadn’t been hit on in a very long time. It was nice to feel wanted. “Do you want another one of those?” Tyler gestured to her watered down drink.

  “Yeah, that’d be great. It’s a mango margarita.”

  “I have to say, that sounds delicious,” he said after he ordered for her.

  “It’s a lot better than a beer, I’ll give it that much.”

  Tyler looked down at the beer in his large hand. “Beer is an acquired taste.”

  “I suppose so,” April said. “It just always seems so heavy to me. It’s like drinking a slice of bread.”

  He laughed. He had dimples that made him look boyish. “You’re right. It is kind of like drinking bread.”

  She smiled and sipped her own drink. She peaked over at his group, and she saw that Brett was staring right at them.

  The next day at work was probably the worst April had ever had. Every time she tried to lend a hand Brett would appear out of nowhere and make her do idiotic tasks. She had to try to scrub an oil stain out of the concrete, she was put on sign in duty and could only drive the cars into the garage. She wasn’t even allowed to do a damn oil change.

  Every time Brett spoke to her, his tone was clipped and he wouldn’t look at her face. She had a funny feeling that his new attitude had something to do with her talking to Tyler the night before.

  She needed to do something productive, so after everyone left she picked up her tools and headed over to one of the cars that the garage was working on refurbishing. It was a 600-Grosser, one of the worst cars ever when it came to trying to handle repairs. It was just a mess. She thought it was hilarious that people would buy classic cars to repair and then not repair them on their own but she could forgive anyone who decided to get a Grosser. They were impossible cars to deal with. She drove a classic car that she had put back together lovingly. It was one of the last projects that she had worked on with her father before he died.

  She loved everything about taking the shell of a car and putting it back together, painting it and buffing it until it shown. She sat and began to work, tuning out everything that was going on around her. She was part of the way through working on the engine when someone cleared their thr
oat behind her.