by Vivian Arend
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Then why do you keep trying to convince me to go further than I want?”
“Because I… Oh hell, are you going to help me here or what?”
The door slammed and Jaxi’s strong voice rang out. “Talk to the hand, Travis, talk to the hand.”
* * *
Blake had waited in the shadows until Travis, cussing a fair bit, hauled his ass back to the house. While he’d been proud of Jaxi for sticking to her guns, that episode had probably been another step in the beginning of the end for the two of them.
He looked at her again, lying in his lap so innocently. He was such a bastard. Even while he wanted to break his brother’s head for trying to seduce her, he had to stop himself from stroking her cheek to see if her skin was as soft as it looked.
She moaned, and her limbs jerked, arms flailing. She struck the dash with one hand, the wheel with the other.
“Whoa, take it easy.” He laid a restraining touch on her shoulder.
“Travis?”
“No, Slick, it’s Blake. Remember?”
Jaxi rolled over to stare at him. Her eyes were glazed, and she seemed to focus on something beyond him. Only a second later her face flushed and flared to anger.
“Damn it, Travis, I told you I wouldn’t give you head while you drive. Pull over right now.”
Holy shit! What the hell had his brother been doing with this girl? “I’m not Travis… You’ve got to listen, hon—”
“Pull the truck over now, you son of a bitch.” She forced herself to a sitting position, body weaving from side to side. “I swear you’re going to be the death of me. Stop this truck now or I’ll tell him.”
Tell who? Tell what?
She yelled louder, smacking her fists against his arm. The blows weren’t hard enough to cause much pain but with her off-kilter balance and the rough road, she kept knocking herself around. Blake grabbed her with one hand, pinning her arms in place as he steered the truck and trailer off to the side as quickly as possible.
“You’ve got to relax. I’m not Travis, I’m Blake. Ah, damn it, Slick, you are one sick little girl.”
“Yeah, well, you’re pretty sick yourself. You want to break up with me but you want one final farewell, is that it? Fine by me.”
A jolt of panic struck. She must have heard Travis back at the fairgrounds. Now what should he do? Try to calm her or let Travis drown in the hole he’d dug for himself?
She threw her leg across him as if she were jumping a calf in the roping contest.
“This is it. You hear me? As of tomorrow we’re not a couple anymore and you can go fuck whoever you want without me around as a decoy. I’ve had enough of the pretending.” While she spoke, she slipped loose the buckle on his belt in one smooth motion.
Blake jerked. He scrambled for her hands, trying to catch her, trying to stop her as she dragged at his zipper.
It only took a moment before he held her wrists immobile, her strong body protesting his control as she cussed and writhed in his lap. Her hot breath fell across his cheek as she leaned against him. Suddenly, all her tension slipped away and she melted in his arms. One breast nudged his chest as she tilted her body to the side. Their hands remained trapped between their torsos, and yet she attempted to snuggle closer. Her violent shouts gave way to little moans. Her tongue slipped along his sweating neck, a satisfied noise escaping.
She may have lost her stiffness, but he’d found every single bit of it. His shoulders tensed, his abdomen muscles went taut, but it was his damn cock that betrayed him the most. Against his will, his erection rose to meet her. Harder than granite in less than five seconds—from the moment her hands brushed the front of his groin.
He wasn’t getting excited because it was Jaxi. Simply because there was a female touching him. That’s what he tried to tell himself. No, it was strictly an automatic male reaction. It wasn’t because this was Jaxi and Blake had dreamed of this for longer than he wanted to admit.
He wasn’t the kind of asshole to sit and let his brother’s feverish, soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend fondle him at the side of the road. He wasn’t such a jerk he’d actually try to justify keeping her nestled tight to him for a couple more seconds because it was the best thing he’d ever felt in his life, her hands pressed innocently against the ridge of his now fully engorged cock.
About then he realized he didn’t quite know how to deal with the situation once he did stop her. What if he spoke? Having her suddenly clue in he wasn’t Travis like she imagined—what kind of shock would that be? She’d be so damn embarrassed.
“So cold.” Another shiver rocked her and he instinctively cradled her. “Warm me up.”
He didn’t need to be any warmer. He was going to burn in hell forever for this. Her lips touched his neck again, and he attempted to twist out of reach. Impossible. They were trapped between the back of the bench and the steering wheel. With a little more room to manoeuvre, he could open the door and get them both out. Hopefully the cooler air outside the cab would bring her back to her senses. He reached around her to disengage the wheel lock. Jaxi wiggled, moving over him with a killing touch, slipping her palms against his chest as her hips settled tight over his groin and the erection he shouldn’t have.
He was a bastard. The split second he paused, savouring the sensations rippling through his body, turned his self-loathing to high. He forced himself to continue to swing the wheel away. Finally with enough room, Blake leaned forward and reached for the door release.
He was yanked to a stop as Jaxi buried her hands in his hair and bit his neck, slowly undulating her heated crotch over his aching cock. Blake wrapped his right arm around her and pinned her in place, ignoring the way his balls throbbed with need.
How this innocent trip home had digressed from uncomfortable to totally fucked up he had no idea. Forget going to hell, he was already there, being tormented by Satan himself as the old boy directed the little fever-induced drama happening on the side of the 761 Secondary Highway.
A quick glance to be sure no cars were in the immediate area was all he spared before shoving his foot hard at the door as he yanked the release handle. The frame swung open in a rush, recoiling to hang in the line of traffic.
A cooling breeze struck his sweated brow the same moment Jaxi sucked his skin. Blake bit back a groan and twisted them both, his legs absorbing the impact as he cradled her close and escaped the confining quarters of the cab.
She tucked her heated forehead into the crook of his neck, right where she’d been sucking on him only a second before. Another shiver took her, and he turned his back to the wind to provide protection.
“So thirsty.” Jaxi lifted her face, and he examined her flushed cheeks. She licked her lips, her eyes half-closed with heavy lids. Her head lolled back slightly, and he raced to deposit her on the bench seat and find her a drink. Her hands shook as she tilted the water bottle, and he reached to help her before she sloshed the contents all over.
When she crawled away from him to the passenger side of the truck, wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and settled her cheek on the seat, he was tempted to dump the remaining liquid in the plastic bottle over his head to cool his own raging fever.
Blake leaned on the side door and adjusted his dick, willing the damn thing to admit defeat and retreat. That hadn’t been too bad. Behind him, Jaxi moaned and his cock jerked. No, not too bad at all if he was a masochist. His only hope lay in her feverish confusion to last long enough she thought he was Travis. As long as she didn’t talk to Travis in the next while about trying to ride him like a pony on the trip home.
Oh hell, he might as well face it. He was dead.
Blake crawled into the cab, wincing a little at the tight confinement of his jeans. Jaxi wiggled closer, resting her head back on his thigh, the tangled strands of her loose blonde hair covering his crotch. He brushed the wisps away carefully in the hopes she wouldn’t wake from her stupor.
“Oh, Slick, what a mess.”
>
He glanced up and adjusted the rearview mirror that had gotten bumped during their tangled encounter. A bright red mark on his neck caught his eye, and he groaned in frustration. Like he was going to be able to explain that one easily. He shook his head and aimed the truck for home. In his lap, Jaxi’s feverish cheek burned a hole into his thigh while his unanswerable lust burned a hole in his conscience.
1
Rocky Mountain House, three years later
“I’m fine, boys, stop your fussing.” Marion Coleman shook her good hand at the twins as they hovered nearby. “I didn’t need the wheelchair. It’s a silly hospital policy.” She shot to her feet, batting Jesse and Joel away.
Blake offered his help, and she smiled, the edges of her mouth remaining tight and the lines at the corner of her eyes deep. She might make light of the situation but it was clear her arm hurt. A lot. She tucked her fingers around his elbow and dragged him across the hospital parking lot, her rapid pace unhampered by the heavy cast covering her right arm from wrist to shoulder.
They stopped beside one of the huge crew-cab ranch trucks, the twins scrambling into the backseat. Marion stared in disgust at the hand pull she couldn’t reach.
“Why did you boys all have to grow to over six feet? None of you own a nice little Jetta or Mustang for me to be able to slide into. Just these monster trucks. I have to use a ladder to reach the seat.”
“You fed us too well.” Blake worked at remaining gentle as he lifted her to the bench, careful not to jar her arm. He’d closed the door and stepped around to the driver’s side before he realized it was impossible for her to buckle her seat belt with the cast in the way. He slid behind the wheel and reached to help her. “Let me get it, Ma. You’re going to find things a bit awkward for a spell.”
“I hate this.” Marion stared past him out the window, a touch of fury in her eyes.
“Maybe you should have waited for help picking the apples,” Joel piped up from the backseat.
“She did ask, you jerk, remember?” Jesse said. “First we had to finish the back field before the weekend, then Dad asked us to—”
“This is no one’s fault. You boys are all busy, with the hay ready to be cut and the animals to care for. I wanted to get the apples before you had time to help me and, well, I’ve never fallen out of a tree before in my life. Been climbing that one for years.” His mom wiggled around in her seat to shake a finger at her youngest sons. “It was an accident. I don’t blame either of you, so don’t you think you did something wrong. But now I’m going to need some help. Not only do I have a bushel of apples to deal with, there’s the garden that needs to be put up, laundry for the family and the cookin’ and…” She returned her gaze to the window. “I’ve caused a mess, boys, and that’s the plain truth.”
Blake touched her hand softly. His ma was a hard-working woman and not just at the ranch. She’d toiled beside his father for over thirty years, doing everything inside the house, plus caring for and raising six boys, gardening and dealing with the livestock. In addition to her chores at home, she’d always been there for the community, for newcomers and new babies, and whenever a person needed a helping hand.
Having a broken arm was going to bother her a lot—the pain of it mending, and the annoyance of everything she’d be unable to do for a while. Sitting and watching others work was not her style.
“Well, I guess it’s time the neighbours get a chance to show a little lovin’ your way and come to give you a hand.” Blake hoped she’d actually allow people to step forward.
“Blake Coleman, I’ve never done anything in my life in the hopes to be repaid.”
He backpedaled. “That’s not what I meant. We know you do things because you want to help others, Ma, but you’ve got to accept the friends who come to chip in. I’ll do what I can—we all will. Even though we’re temporarily back under your roof doesn’t mean you have to feed us and tend to our needs. It’s not as if we haven’t all cared for ourselves before. We’re big boys. In fact, you need to let us know what we have to take over for you.”
Marion shook her head. “You say you want to help, but when are you going to manage that right now? The fall is the busiest time of year between the animals, the fields and the furniture orders. You can’t add my chores to your list. Everyone else in town is just as busy.”
She lifted the cast in the air tentatively. “I’ll figure out how to work around this. I’ll get by.”
Blake looked in the rearview mirror and exchanged worried glances with his brothers. Something had to happen. He didn’t know who was available, but sooner than later, his ma was right. They were going to need help.
Blake’s truck rumbled up the long drive toward the Colemans’ ranch house, past the cars in the parking area, right to the head of the circular driveway. News had always traveled fast in small towns, even before the invention of the cell phone. Jaxi turned from the kitchen window she’d been staring out, grabbed her tray of food and headed quietly into the main living area.
The neighbours and community folk who’d stopped in shifted from the living room onto the front porch to watch Mike Coleman approach like a bull headed for his mate. He’d been in Calgary fetching supplies when Marion had fallen. By the time the boys contacted him, there was no time to get to the hospital. Marion was already in a cast and being brought home.
Mike yanked open the truck door, lifted his wife carefully and carried her to the foot of the stairs, ignoring her loud complaints at his behavior.
“I’ll carry you whenever I want, woman. Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” He placed her feet on the ground and held her as close as the awkward cast allowed. One long tender kiss on her forehead followed before he turned her to face the concerned onlookers. “Well, she’s still in one piece, folks. I guess she learned to bounce pretty good.”
As a few of her friends surrounded Marion to talk, Mike guiding her up the steps, Jaxi slipped away from her perch just inside the door to pour more coffee. She placed a couple of plates piled with cookies and squares on the long family table for people to serve themselves, then snuck back into the kitchen. Mike followed her, a sigh of what sounded suspiciously like relief escaping his lips.
“You’re an angel. Thanks for helping on such short notice.”
Jaxi grinned. “Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Leaner brought the baking. There are four casseroles in the fridge, and another six in the freezer. If you freeze anything else that arrives—”
“Whoa, girl,” Mike interrupted. “I want to talk to you. I chatted with the doctor when he called, and he told me Marion’s going to need some assistance for a couple weeks. Around the house and personal like. I’ll do what I can, but you’ve got the training and he recommended you. You have the time to come and help us? It won’t require a lot of nursing.”
“I’m not a nurse, Mr. Coleman. I do have a first aid certificate.”
“And a bit more.”
Jaxi nodded. The strange assortment of classes she’d completed at the local college and through correspondence courses over the past couple of years didn’t give her a degree. Still, her training had covered many areas. Personal care she could do.
“It’s short notice, but Dr. Yale thought you were free.”
Jaxi washed her hands in the sink and bent to get a new hand towel from the bottom drawer. “He should know. I’ve been acting as a nanny for him and Katie, but she’s decided to stay home and care for the kids herself. My last day was Friday.”
Mike clapped her on the shoulder. “Will you do it? We’ll figure out some sort of pay rate for the nursing and such.”
She turned to face him, smiling to soften the words. “Please don’t talk about paying me. You and Mrs. C have always been there for me, and I’d love to return the favour.”
“The thing is, you won’t be able to do anything else to earn money. She’s going to need you here twenty-four/seven at first. And now that I think of it, there’s the garden that needs to be dealt with. I don’t want to swindle
you. We’ll pay. I insist.”
Jaxi grabbed another tray from under the sink for the empty plates and cups. “Let’s discuss the details later. You go and visit with your neighbours—you know they won’t make a lengthy stay. I’m happy to come and help for as long as you need me.”
He gave her hand a quick squeeze, then returned to the living room.
Jaxi wandered the main floor, cleaning up and making more coffee. She figured out which of the casseroles to pop in the oven for supper, peeking in the fridge to see what else to feed the horde of hungry men who would descend on the house in a few hours.
Marion’s accident had come at an awkward time, with more bodies than usual living under the Coleman roof. Jaxi had wondered when she’d heard Mike had rented out the second family home to a needy newcomer to the community a few weeks ago. The three oldest—Blake, Daniel and Matt—had been living in the nearby house for years. While the twins would return to college dorms in a few weeks, the rest of them, including her ex-boyfriend Travis, worked the Coleman spread with their father. Having all six boys crowded back into their childhood home made for a bizarre flashback—and a lot more work than Marion would be able to keep up with one-handed.
Jaxi finished her tidying and moved to peel the mess of potatoes she’d found soaking in the pantry sink. If she was honest, at least with herself, offering to ease the load for Mrs. Coleman was only part of the reason she’d come over today. The other? It was finally time to make her play. She wanted Blake, and she was ready to do anything to get him to see her as more than the little girl next door.
Others in her high school seemed overly eager to move to Calgary or Edmonton immediately after graduation, desperate to get away from the small town. The ones who returned to visit joked about the lack of culture, the lack of atmosphere, and the lack of everything in Rocky Mountain House. She thought many times it wasn’t the location that was screwed up, but their attitudes.