No Limit

Chapter 1:

“Check your damn tire,” I muttered under my breath. I watched the woman beside me at the pump, filling her tank without a care in the world. Her tire was running a little flat, and it worried me. I was a police officer, and it was part of my job to watch out for the citizens of my community. However, this was just a low tire. But low or flat, I couldn’t stop staring at it. This woman didn’t even notice that she had a potentially dangerous situation on her hands.

The click sounded on my pump, letting me know my tank was full. I turned away from the woman’s vehicle and pulled out the nozzle from my tank and replaced it on the pump. I was just turning back to lock the cap in place when I heard her car start up. 

“Damnit!” I hissed under my breath, quickly locking the cap and shutting the gas door. Before I could spin around and tell her about the low pressure in her tire, she was gone. I quickly jumped in my car and started the engine, pulling out behind her on the road. 

It was ridiculous, really. I shouldn’t be following her home, but her tire pressure was really low and that could lead to a flat tire on the side of the road in the middle of the night. It was a dangerous position for any person to be in, but even worse for a woman. Most women couldn’t change a tire to save their lives, at least that was my experience. 

I taught Penny early on how to change a tire. I didn’t want her to have to do it, but the fact was, I may not always be around to come to her rescue. And Nathan…I’m sure he could change a tire, but he wouldn’t want to get his suit dirty. Maybe that was a harsh assessment of the man that married my best friend. He was a really good guy, and had saved her life when they got in an accident a few years back, though I couldn’t see it at the time.

The woman turned down the next street into the new housing development that went up just a year ago. I checked the time on my watch and sighed. I needed to get back home. I had to work tonight, and there was no time to follow a woman around because she had a low tire. But I couldn’t just walk away either. At this rate, it would take me a good twenty minutes to get to Demotte where I lived. 

My plan was to catch her as she was parking her car, but she drove into her garage, immediately shutting the door before I could pull over and catch her. I parked on the street in front of her house and went to the front door, but after knocking twice with no answer, I had to give up and go home. 

Walking back to my car, I thought about writing her a note or something, but would she even see it? I pulled out my phone and dialed Jack’s number. At least he could warn the woman.

“This is Jack,” he answered in his usual tone.

“It’s Tyler Sharpe.”

“Hey, what can I do for you?”

“I was in town at the gas station and I saw a woman with a low tire. I tried to catch her, but she pulled away before I could say anything.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“So, I followed her home to tell her, but she parked in the garage. Then I tried knocking, but she never answered.”

“I see.”

“So, can you take care of it?”

“Take care of what, exactly?”

I hit the road heading out of town and sped up. I didn’t have long to make my shift. “Go talk to her and tell her that her tire is running out of air. I have the address.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, you want me to go to this woman’s house to tell her the air in her tire is low?”

“Yeah,” I said, wondering why he was having such a hard time with this.

“Tyler, you do realize that we may be a small town, but this isn’t something we normally do.”

“It’s a courtesy call.”

It was silent for a moment. “Do you like this woman?”

“How can I like her? I just saw her at the gas station.”

“Right, but you followed her home. That’s just bordering on stalker-like tendencies.”

“I wasn’t stalking her,” I argued. “She could get a flat in the middle of the night. And you know that’s dangerous.”

“Do you know if she’s married?”

“No, why would I know that?”

“I don’t know, but if I show up at her house and tell her that a man followed her home to tell her she had low pressure in her tire, her husband may not be all that happy to hear about it.”

Frustrated, I decided I’d had enough. “You know what? I was just trying to be nice. Don’t tell her. It’s fine.”

“Just send me the damn address,” he grumbled.

“Was that really so hard?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, it was.”

“Whatever. I have to run home and change for my shift, and then I’ll send you the address.”

“Great,” he said less than enthusiastically.

I rolled my eyes and hung up. Less than ten minutes later, I pulled into my driveway…well, Nathan’s driveway, and rushed up the steps to get ready for my shift. Lucas was inside waiting for me, shaking his head as I ran past him.

“You’re late!”

“And you’re an asshole!” I shouted in return, rushing to get dressed for my shift, which was more complicated than it sounded. I had to have my gear on and ready to go when I left. After getting dressed, I slipped into the bathroom to slick back my hair, then made my way down the hall.

“Took you long enough. Where the hell were you?”

“I was getting gas, and then I saw this woman with a low tire. I didn’t get a chance to tell her and then I had to follow her home.”

“Whoa, you followed her home because of a low tire?”

“Why is everyone busting my balls about this?” I said incredulously. “I didn’t want her to get stranded.”

He looked at me thoughtfully. “Was she hot?”

“I have no idea! I barely saw her.”

“What did she look like?”

“Did you not just hear me?” I asked, grabbing my jacket. I pulled it on and headed for the front door with Lucas right on my heels. “I didn’t see her.”

“Then how do you know it was a her?”

“Because I saw long, blonde hair.”

“Hmm,” he said, getting into the driver’s side of the car. “It could have been a man with long hair.”

“Doubtful.”

“I suppose a man can’t have long hair.”

“Not any self-respecting man.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a lie, that’s why. Men with long hair lived hundreds of years ago. They fought in battles with swords and shit.”

“So…if I go off to war, can I grow my hair out?”

I shot him a glare. “No.”

“But you just said—”

“I know what I said, and you don’t qualify.”

“Give me one good reason why I don’t qualify to have long hair,” he argued.

“Because A, you don’t fight with a sword. B, you have thinning hair. It wouldn’t be a good look for you.”

“I don’t have thinning hair!”

“Look at the top of your head. You should just shave your head and be done with it.”

He slid one hand through his hair, frowning the whole time. “You know, you shouldn’t point out other people’s hair problems. It’s not nice. Just because we don’t all have a sexy head of hair like you doesn’t mean we’re less than.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Maybe I could grow out my beard to counter the effects of losing my hair.”

“Wouldn’t your beard be thinning too?”

He shook his head. “I still get a nice, thick beard.”

“So, you would have a lot of hair on your face and no hair on your head.” I nodded. “That sounds about right.”

“Fuck you, man. I can’t help my genetics.”

“Hey, I’m not saying you can’t get the ladies still. Lots of women love a bald man.”

He snorted. “Yeah? Tell me one bald man that women go crazy for.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Dwayne Johnson.”

Lucas seemed surprised by that. “I’m not quite as muscular as him, but I could probably pull that off.”

“You’re plenty muscular,” I said, feeling bad for picking on him about his hair. “And hey, maybe you’re right. You could grow out your beard and it could balance the loss.”

“So, you think I should shave it?”

“It wouldn’t be the worst look in the world. Better to shave it than to have one of those comb overs.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I don’t want that.” He parked behind the station and we both got out. “But if I end up looking like a jackass, I’m shaving your head in your sleep.”