by Vivian Arend
“Holy shit.” He scrambled for the handholds on the tube, spreading his legs to counter-balance their bodies. Hope lifted her head and shrieked with enthusiasm. Snow flew up on either side of them, a fine icy spray that coated everything before instantly melting to run in rivulets down his face and under his collar.
He laughed, the sound escaping in staccato bursts as they rocketed over a series of small bumps. “We’re all going to dieeee…”
It seemed forever before they spun in a slow circle, coming to a stop. They were both still laughing uncontrollably. Matt relaxed his hips, and they sank into the hollow in the middle of the tube, Hope collapsing with him. They were cradled together, but it was the bright smile on her face and the enthusiasm in her eyes that beckoned louder than the sexual chemistry between them.
Hope kissed his cheek then scrambled out of reach, slapping snow off her shoulders and knees. “That was awesome!”
“Next time I get to use you as a landing pad.”
She grinned. “You told me to smack you.”
“I did.” Matt grabbed the tube with one hand and reached for her with the other. “May I suggest we go for the spinning demon my brothers invented?”
“Sounds scary.”
“Only if you’ve had too many eggnogs first.”
They took the tow again and again, laughing and sliding until they were exhausted.
Not even the thought she was going to drive home in the devil’s junk heap could darken his good mood.
11
“Four more companies have signed up already, so you guys need to look at the calendar and make some decisions about when you want to start your preparations.” Hope taped the last corner of the poster in the shop’s front window, advertising that Thompson and Sons were official participants in the spring Quilt Raffle contest.
Clay wiped his hands on a cloth and spun the desk calendar around, pushing it to the front of the counter. “Take a peek. Any time that’s empty we can book for the first session.”
Hope leaned over and checked the weeknights hopefully. She wanted to keep her weekends as free as possible to spend time with Matt when the shop wasn’t open. “I can’t believe your dad got on board so fast with doing the challenge.”
Clay laughed. “We forgot to take into consideration that him and Captain Fraser at the fire hall have had a long-term feud going for years. All Len and me had to do was mention the captain was taking part, and Dad folded like a bad card hand.”
She tapped the upcoming Wednesday evening. “I’m free here. What do you think?”
Suddenly, there were two rock-like bands of muscle on either side of her, Clay’s big body a heated cage at her back as he stepped behind her and leaned in. “I think we can do that.”
He reached forward for the pencil, his entire front pressing against her and Hope froze with uncertainty. Was it deliberate? “Clay…?”
“Hmm?” He wrote lazily, circling and adding her name to the seven o’clock time slot.
He didn’t change position and she sighed. Damn. No action for the longest time and now she had two guys interested in her? Life was totally unfair.
“Back off, Clay. I told you I was seeing someone else.” She wiggled free, snatching up the rest of the posters like a shield. “I’m not going to date you both at the same time.”
“Matt. Yeah, I remember you said that.” He looked her over, taking his time and not holding back from showing his interest. “I think you should reconsider. I’m a much better choice than him.”
He turned that killer smile on, and Hope had to respond with a grin of her own. “And oh-so-modest?”
“As always.” Clay eased away and shrugged. “Seems I’ve been waiting for you to be available for long enough to show I’m serious. But if you think he’s going to make you happy, it’s your life.”
“Damn right, it is.”
He stopped her, his hand gentle on her upper arm. “But if you change your mind and decide he’s too much like baggage, let me know. I’ll be watching.”
Great. She didn’t want another guardian. Hope pulled away from his grasp. “I think you guys should both get over yourselves. I’m not a needy puppy or something.”
He returned to his spot on the other side of the counter. Those tight muscles may have walked him away, taking his bulk farther into a safety zone, but his too-perceptive gaze stayed put, staring right through her. “You’re needy. You just won’t admit it.”
Hope batted her lashes and flashed him the finger at the same time. She joined him in laughing as she pushed the front door open and headed back onto the street. How she had gotten stuck in the middle of a male ego-fest, she wasn’t sure. That sort of battle was fought over other women, not her. Sure she’d dated, but never had more than one guy hanging around at a time.
The temperature was well below freezing, but she enjoyed the short walk back to her shop. Even though it was Monday and the store was closed, she had a few things planned to keep her busy. From all the stats she’d learned during her college classes and her days of working part-time, she expected a lull in sales for most of the month. January was perfect for other moneymaking tasks.
She was in the middle of cutting out a jacket to sell on consignment when the phone rang.
“You’re not hanging out at the shop on your day off, are you?” Jaxi Coleman scolded her over the line and Hope snickered.
“No. Of course not. I’ve been waiting anxiously for you to call. Because just like the past couple times you phoned, I have absolutely nothing on my agenda until you tell me what I’m going to do for the next four hours of my life.”
In the background, little girls giggled and talked baby talk, and Hope smiled in spite of knowing the Jaxi-steamroller was about to flatten her.
“Am I really that bossy?” Jaxi asked.
Hope laughed. “You know you are, but that’s fine. What’s up?”
“I want adult company. The guys are all working and it’s too cold to haul the babes outside, and I’ve already baked enough cookies my hips won’t fit through the door if I eat them by myself.”
“So you need me to come and finish them? Won’t make a spot of difference on me, you know.”
“Oh, pshaw. You’re gorgeous. Don’t go begging for compliments or I’ll be all over you, even though I’m exhausted from keeping up with Blake.”
Hope paused, images of trying to keep up with Matt racing through her brain faster than she could process and enjoy.
“Hope? You still there, honey?”
She shook herself. “Sorry, distracted.”
Jaxi snorted. “Once you get undistracted, can you come and play? Stay for supper, help me wipe baby bottoms. Bring over whatever you’re working on and I can help you.”
“Like you need more hobbies.”
“Seriously, I’m thinking about doing some more sewing. These cold days it would be a nice task to keep me busy.”
Hope hauled her things together, tossing in a prepackaged baby quilt kit she had done up as a sample. If Jaxi was serious about wanting to try something—and knowing Jaxi and her endless energy, she probably was—it would be a great chance to discover if her kit would help newbies to quilting.
The drive to the ranch was no warmer than in the days of using Herbie, but the massive truck’s tires gripped the road better, and she certainly sat high enough to have plenty of warning as she approached intersections.
She pulled into the yard at Jaxi and Blake’s, the second of the original Coleman homesteads. The older buildings of the ranch were well maintained, barns on the nearby section tidy and everything in their place. Hope appreciated the work the family put in even as she ached a little.
There was so much pride and love visible among the Colemans—with her own messed-up family and the lack of trust, it hurt to acknowledge what she’d never had.
Now, stepping more fully into their midst? Where she’d longed to be when her own family had exploded into chaos? She’d have given anything back then for the C
oleman clan’s protection when the screaming and throwing and accusations had begun.
A horrible thought hit, and Hope actually stopped in the parking space and clutched the wheel hard. Was she with Matt to be with the Colemans? To experience the whole warmth of family because she’d missed it in her past?
Then his smile flashed to mind, the sexy lift of his eyes as he met her gaze, and she relaxed. There might be a part inside that wanted things associated with the man, but she was pretty sure the man himself was the first and most attractive draw.
Jaxi held the door open for her, a baby balanced on her hip. “I wondered if you’d gone to sleep out there.”
Hope put her bags on the table and got rid of her warm clothing. “Just thinking.”
“Good thoughts? And do you want a coffee?”
“I would kiss you for a coffee.”
Jaxi pursed her lips and blew before heading to the counter to deal one-handed with their drinks. Hope rubbed her palms together to make sure her hands weren’t too cold then reached into the playpen for the little girl staring up at her with wide eyes.
“You going to get fussy if I try to hold you?”
Jaxi laughed. “Becca will let you love on her all you want. It’s this one who’s being mama’s girl. Ain’t ’cha, Rae?”
Hope sat at the table and arranged the toddler in her lap. Rebecca played happily with the lace Hope had added to the collar of her V-necked T-shirt.
Jaxi passed over a cup then organized herself across the table. “Now, spill. What made you sit out in the car in the cold like that?”
Hope stared across the room at the pretty blonde. They’d been friends off and on over the years, more off for the past couple simply because of distance with Hope being away for school. Even though she was three years younger, Jaxi had been around the community since the start. She knew all the history of all the locals, including Hope’s. “Remember my folks? Every time they started to fight, I cut out and hid. Helen had Matt to hang out with to get away from the shouting, but I didn’t have anywhere to go.”
“Wow, you are going back in time. What’s making you think about the bad old days? You hear from Helen again or something?”
“Not since Christmas Day, but…” Bah. She didn’t want to do this, and yet if anyone would understand, it should be Jaxi. “What if I’m with Matt for the wrong reasons?”
Her friend’s grin flashed brightly and chased away some of the gloom threatening the shining goodness of the day. “Oh, you. Let’s see—he turns you on big-time, he takes caring for people to the extreme, he’s got an awesome sister-in-law—those all sound like great reasons to admire the guy.”
Hope stuck out her tongue briefly at Jaxi’s list before shooting back. “He used to see my sister, he takes care of everyone, and you’re already my friend. Not good enough.”
“Not good enough? What is this? I missed there was a checklist of things you had to have approved before you could get involved with a guy.”
Hope sipped her coffee then slid the cup farther onto the table out of the reach of little fingers. “I like your family, Jaxi. I’ll admit it. The Colemans, with their great big take everyone under their wing attitude makes something inside me ache at times. What if I’m just wanting that family thing, and going through Matt to get it?”
Jaxi’s teasing smile faded, but her eyes lit up. “Okay, I do understand this one, more than you think because I had to figure it out as well. You know I wanted Blake for years before I got him to…”
“Cave?” Hope got a huge grin in response to that one.
“Yeah, eventually all his protests collapsed like a rotten barn. Hope, my folks are nothing close to the disaster yours were, but still not the type of people that I longed to be with. Did I marry Blake to become a part of a family that’s huge and crazy and totally into being there for each other? Yes.”
Hope choked for a second. She totally hadn’t expected that answer. “Yes?”
Jaxi widened her eyes innocently. “Of course I did, but that’s because it’s the family around him that turned him into the man I needed. Everything he had growing up, all the fighting and playing with his brothers, and the hard work and the good times—that’s what made him who he is.”
“So me craving Matt’s company isn’t some weird obsession about wanting what Helen used to have?”
Her friend shrugged. “That I can’t tell you. You got jealousy issues regarding your sister? You have to deal with them. But I think wanting to be with Matt isn’t something you need to scrutinize this much. He’s a great guy. He likes you. You like him. Isn’t that enough?”
Hope looked around, feeling the warmth in the kitchen, taking in the wiggling girls and the contented smile on her friend’s face. “Then I’ll stop analyzing and we can enjoy some of those cookies. And some sewing, if you were serious.”
Jaxi rose and came over to hug her for a second, toddlers’ arms tangling the embrace like some crazy octopus of humanity, and Hope had to smile because it was completely what she’d come to expect in this house. Unconditional love, with sticky fingers and sloppy kisses thrown in as a bonus.
“You’re coming in for supper, right?” Blake poked Matt for a moment and drew his attention from the motor repair he was finishing on the seeder.
“I said I would. You okay with me showering at your place or want me to head home first?”
Blake called over his shoulder as he walked away, ropes in either hand. “Just come in. Get cleaned up in the basement. You know you have stuff in the spare room still.”
“I should get my things out of there soon. You’re going to need the room for your family eventually.”
“No rush. I imagine the girls will be sharing a room for a while. So until the next kid arrives, you’re good.”
Matt jerked upright. “You guys having another one already?”
“Who knows? The twins are already nine months, and just the other day Jaxi pointed out it takes nine months to grow one. She wants to space them out around two years, so if she gets pregnant during the next six months—”
The burst of laughter escaped involuntarily. “You’re as bad as Dad calculating when the heifers need to be bred.”
Blake turned and flashed a grin, calling down the length of the barn as he paced backward. “I want to be in the room when you call Jaxi a heifer. Go on, do it. I dare you.”
“Right. And you promise to come and visit me in the hospital while I’m in traction?”
They finished their jobs and headed toward the house. Even after a full day working, Matt felt relaxed from spending time in Blake’s easy company. His contentment grew as he spotted Hope’s truck in the yard. Although, as happy as he was to see she was there, he still planned to get Blake sometime for that travesty.
They entered the house together, the scents of home wrapping around Matt and hitting him hard.
“Where’s my girls?” Blake roared like a bear and squeals of delight echoed back. He ignored the little ones for a minute as they clamoured for his attention in the playpen. “I see one, two baby bears, but where’s…ah, there’s the mama bear.”
He swept Jaxi into his arms and kissed her soundly. The noises from the babies got louder, but Blake ignored them for another minute before finally releasing a breathless Jaxi who now wore a rather pink-cheeked smile.
“Blake, you gonna do that every day for the rest of our lives?”
He nodded. “Yup. Which is why short stuff one and two can just learn that I greet you first. So, no more complaining, okay?”
Jaxi planted her hands on her hips and grinned at her husband. “Hell, I’m not complaining. Just making sure I know what’s going on.” While Blake stepped away to pick up his happy little girls, she turned her smile Matt’s direction and winked. “Hey, you. Joining us for dinner?”
“Your cooking beats mine any day, and you know it.” He looked around, but other than the telltale sewing machines on the kitchen table, there was no sign of Hope. He glanced back to find
Jaxi’s grin had gotten bigger. “What?”
“She’s either setting the dining room table, since we’ve got a mess in here, or she’s grabbing some potatoes from the cellar.” Jaxi sniffed then wrinkled her nose. “And you might want to go get cleaned up before you try anything funny on her—Blake can get away with more because he’s already signed, sealed and delivered.”
“Am I that rank?”
She lifted one brow. “You need to ask?”
Damn. There went the idea of charging into the dining room and planting one on Hope before anything else.
“Fine. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Matt grabbed a clean set of clothes from the dresser in the spare room, then slipped downstairs and hit the shower. He’d enjoyed seeing Blake’s method of greeting his wife after the day’s labours. Of course, since his daddy still did pretty much the same thing to his ma every time they were apart for any length of time, he wasn’t sure why it had surprised him.
And the fact he wanted to kiss Hope the same way? Hell, he wanted to do more than that. This waiting business was beginning to irk him more than he’d thought possible.
His body stirred as he pictured her sweet smile with that added twist of mischief. His cock hardened, remembering the brushes and contact between the two of them. Imagining what other things he’d like to experience along with the taste of her lips and the flushed heat of her skin.
Washing quickly wasn’t going to work, not today. Not if he didn’t want to be sitting at the table with wood, because even the thought of kissing the woman got him going.
Matt gave in and lathered up before wrapping a hand around his cock. Long hard stokes followed, the soap letting him thrust easier, his other hand cupping his balls briefly as he imagined Hope on her knees in front of him, her hands caressing and working him. As he tried to figure exactly how good her mouth would feel on his dick, warmer than his hand, slick with her saliva, her tongue pressing and lapping all the right parts of his length.
