Rocky Mountain Desire: Six Pack Ranch, Book 3

by Arend, Vivian

  “This is a business meeting.” Len retreated to the front counter, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his work coverall. “Why didn’t you ask our garage to be a part of your spring fundraiser?”

  Hope stared in confusion, distracted as Clay worked his way to her side, watching his six-foot-three frame pass between the rows of quilting supplies a little like seeing a bull manoeuvre through a china shop. “Fundraiser? Oh, the quilt raffle? I just got started on setting up the challenge. It doesn’t officially begin until after the New Year. How did you hear about it?”

  “Mason from the fire hall was bragging the other night that he and the volunteer firefighters are going to win.”

  Hope laughed. “Good for him. I’m looking forward to seeing what quilt design they finish.”

  Len jerked upright. “They have to sew a quilt?”

  “Still want me to ask you to join in?” She laughed out loud at the chagrin on his face. “Come on now, it’s for a good cause. Only rule is the quilt you put up for auction has to be made by all the members of the sponsoring group, not their girlfriends or mothers.”

  Clay swore. “You’re serious?”

  “Dead serious. Proceeds go to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Club. The shop teacher at the school is training the Big Sisters’ participants so they can offer car tune-ups during the fair.”

  “We can’t sew.”

  Hope took her time looking them up and down. “Then I guess the firefighters will get bragging rights for the year. Because if they make the only quilt to be raffled off at the spring fair…”

  Len and Clay were making the most hilarious faces at each other. Her smile was real as she turned to examine the pile of supplies and start sorting them. A few things were completely fine—she put them to the side for reshelving as soon as the guys went back to the garage.

  Her happiness faded as she picked up a plastic bag filled with wet yarn and grimaced. Here started the troubles. Maybe she could recover it enough to put the yarn up for a discount. Or use it herself for a sample item.

  Clay dragged her back from her labours with a tug on her sleeve. “You plan on giving lessons? If we sign up for the challenge?”

  “Sewing lessons? Of course, that’s part of the fun. And I’ve arranged for loaner sewing machines from the high school for anyone who needs one. I can come to your place or you can come here.” She eyeballed the tiny workspace at the back and pictured the five oversized guys from the car shop all fitting in there. “Maybe I’ll make it a rule I come out to the challenger’s place. That will help keep the designs a secret as well.”

  “Secret designs. Now it sounds like a spy show and not sewing. This could be fun.”

  Hope glanced at Len. “He’s getting you into trouble.”

  Len grinned back. “Does it all the time. I’m used to it.”

  “Go on, blame me. But hell, if the fire crew can do it, so can we.” Clay nodded. “I have to double-check with the rest of the guys, but I’m pretty sure they’ll agree.”

  “Really?” She’d only begun setting up the challenge, but having two solidly male teams involved was exactly what she needed to get interest going. “Sponsoring teams pay for materials at cost, we’ll have the quilts displayed during the fair, then all the proceeds from the raffle go to the club.”

  Clay glanced around the shop. “I figure you can find us a manly enough design, right?”

  “Sure. Moose and rifles? Beer cans and barbecues?”

  Len laughed. “We’ll talk about it more after New Year’s. I’m heading back to the shop. You coming, Clay?”

  “In a minute.”

  Hope waved Len off and stared at Clay as he shifted to the side of the display unit, grinning down at her. There was a flicker of interest—he was a handsome fellow. Having Matt Coleman under her roof might have revved her up, but Clay was sexy enough on his own to get a rise out of her without even trying. “You need something?”

  “Yeah, an answer to when I get to see you again. When I asked you out in August, you said you were swamped with fall preparations, what with getting classes going. And then you were hard at it in October getting ready for the holiday rush. Now you’re going to tell me that after Christmas you’ll be busy with something else like this fundraiser?”

  Hope took a deep breath and pulled a fabric bolt from the pile on the floor, refolding it to give her something to do with her hands. “Well, it is hectic running the shop.”

  “It’s demanding working on cars and pulling people out of trouble. I still make time for fun. ”

  Oh boy. Fun. She could go for some of that. Hope stopped her fidgeting and leaned forward on the table, glancing over his tall frame. Good looking, a decent dancer—she’d enjoyed his company in the past. “I have been busy.”

  Clay shrugged. “That’s why I haven’t been bothering you more. You ended up with a shop to run on your own. Just figured that you could use a little time away from being completely grown-up. Come and play for a while.”

  She was tempted. Not only would she enjoy some adult company, it might be what she needed to knock Matt Coleman permanently out of her system.

  Guilt at making Clay almost a rebound date, when he didn’t deserve that, held her back. But only a little.

  “Okay.” His face brightened and she held up a hand. “But not right away.”

  “Hope…”

  “I’m not putting you off, really. Just give me a few days to finish dealing with the extra orders from the ladies who need help finishing projects in a rush for Christmas. I could end up with—” Clay crossed his arms and she stopped, partly because of his expression, partly because she was distracted by the sheer size of his biceps in that position. “Maybe instead of the quilts I should organize a beefcake calendar or something. Good God, you’re making me drool.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Way to change the topic. I’m holding you to calling me when you have time.”

  “I will.” Hope let her appreciation show. “Honest, I will.”

  Clay stepped into her personal space. Close enough she had to look up at him. Close enough she wasn’t sure if the heat she felt was from his body or hers.

  He tilted her chin with a finger. “And Hope? If you don’t call before we start working on the quilts, I’m going to think you’re just after me for my sewing skills.”

  Hope laughed. “I’ll call.”

  Someone entered the shop and Clay made a quick getaway. Hope switched her focus, but there was a different feel to her day. A pile of questionable supplies she needed to deal with, a car she needed to arrange repairs for.

  But…more happiness coming her way in the future? Maybe it was time to work harder for the things she could have.

  Time to put aside the things she couldn’t have.

  Things like Matt.

  Matt flew around the corner and pulled up sharp to avoid crashing into his sister-in-law.

  “Damn it, Jaxi. What the hell are you doing?”

  The tall blonde gave him a dirty look. “What? I’m not allowed in the barns anymore?”

  He snorted. “As if I’d try to boss you around like that. No, I meant right now. It’s damn cold outside.”

  “Oh, you noticed?”

  Her sarcasm was so blatant warning bells went off. Jaxi had been a part of the Coleman family officially for just over a year, but she’d been around forever. He grinned and mock bowed. “Did I screw up? Because life is much more manageable if you simply tell me what I’ve done wrong.”

  Jaxi grinned. “Sorry, although, you’re right, if everyone would do what I want all the time, the world would be far more fabulous.”

  She skipped past him and grabbed a rake. Figured. She couldn’t just talk. Had to work at the same time. Matt followed her example and headed into the next stall with his own rake.

  “Heard you had a little run-in with Hope the other day.”

  Gossip around small towns never slowed down. “Rescued her, more like it. The woman shouldn’t be allowed on the roa
d with that death trap of a vehicle. Herbie should be crushed and buried.”

  Jaxi’s snort of amusement carried over the top of the stall. “Herbie?”

  “Her car.”

  “Is it even running anymore?”

  “Doubt it. I got the shop to haul it out of the ditch for her, but I haven’t heard anything after that.”

  A solid thump hit the wall between them. Matt paused then peeked cautiously around the corner. “Jaxi? You having problems controlling that rake?”

  She slammed the head to the ground hard enough for puffs of dust to rise up. Then she leaned forward and glared at him. “The rake ain’t hitting anything I don’t intend it to.”

  Not an auspicious announcement. Not with her glaring as if he’d just tracked mud through her entire house. “You’re pissed at me, that’s clear, but hell if I know what I’ve done.”

  “Okay. So, you rescue a woman from a storm, then get her car hauled home.”

  Matt waited. She wasn’t making this easy. “And…yeah. That’s about it.”

  “Shit, Matt. What is wrong with you?”

  “Not sure, obviously. I’ll wait for you to tell me.”

  Her face lit with laughter for a second before she must have remembered she was upset with him and planted her hands on her hips.

  “No, you tell me. If I’d gone off the road, is that all you’d have done? Hauled my ass home then got my car dragged to the shop the next day? Bull. You would have at least called later to find out if I was okay. Heck, you probably would have gotten the car out for me yourself, maybe helped gather some of the stuff that might have gotten ruined from being dumped in the snow.”

  Hope’s stuff. He’d forgotten about that. He’d been working so hard at forgetting all the other things about her, like how soft her skin felt against him, that he’d forced her out of his thoughts every time she’d popped up.

  Which was disturbingly often.

  Guilt hit for a moment before he jerked to a stop. “Wait—but that’s you. You’re family.”

  “Matt Coleman, you’re not actually going to tell me your mama would be happy to know that you left someone like Hope to fend for herself, power still off when you left her apartment—”

  “Whoa, right there. How the hell you know all this? Did Hope complain to you?”

  “Course not. That girl complain? She’s got bigger balls than any of you Coleman boys, and she’d never think of bitching about losing money or being ignored by someone who said they were going to be her friend.”

  “Okay, now I know you talked to her.”

  He hadn’t said a word about staying the night at Hope’s because it was nobody’s damn business. Nor had he shared their talk about being friends.

  And he certainly hadn’t mentioned crawling into the tub with her, and if Jaxi knew about that part, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

  Jaxi marched in closer. “I heard the first bit from the repair shop—Mr. Thompson called the house looking for you since you’d put in the order for the tow. He was mixed up. Thought it was your car and wanted to know what to do with Herbie since, as you said, they think it’s a sorry hunk of junk worthy of not much more than hauling to the dump. So I took a trip to town to talk to Hope, and found her using a hairdryer to try and salvage the stuff that had gotten wet. She’s not mad at you, by the way. Said you were right to leave it.”

  “But you’re mad at me.”

  “Damn right, I am. She’s got no one, Matt. She’s not going to complain, so I’m going to do it for her. That night going off the road probably shut down most of her profits for the holiday season.”

  And she’d already said she’d been trying to get a few extra sales because of the bad weather. Matt dragged a hand through his hair.

  “Well, I’m sorry, but I’m still not sure what else I can do. Yeah, I should have followed up faster afterward, but—”

  “You were too busy being a chickenshit.” Jaxi gave him a fuck you look, then went back to raking. Her shoulders moved easily under her coat as he watched her work for a minute.

  “You know, you might be married to my brother and all, but I can still turn you over my knee and spank some sense into you.”

  Just like he’d anticipated, that got a rise out of her. Jaxi carefully leaned her rake against the wall then turned to smile sweetly at him. “You and what army?”

  Matt held up his hands pleadingly. “Come on, give me a break. Explain.”

  Jaxi rolled her eyes. “Fine. Hope scares you to death, doesn’t she?”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Not bullshit. I’ve seen you, Matt. You go five miles out of your way to avoid the girl. Either you’re trying to avoid her to stop from jumping her bones, or she’s like the devil incarnate and you think associating with her will make her sister pop out of the woodwork to kick you to hell and back.”

  Fuck. That one hurt. He might have even bent over a little to protect his gut from the impact. “Is there nothing sacred with you, Jaxi?”

  “What? That I care enough about you to not let you hide? Helen hurt you badly. If I could have I would have scalped her, but she’s gone. You need to stop seeing her everywhere. Including associating Helen with her sister.”

  “I’m not.”

  Jaxi raised a brow. Deliberate-like, almost taunting him to protest again.

  Was he? Was he really running that hard?

  Jaxi went back to work, as if to let him think it through. Yeah, Helen had kicked him brutally. And he didn’t know what he’d do if he ever saw her again.

  But Hope—between the scorching-hot attraction he’d felt last summer and his current strange stirrings inside every time she was around—was he avoiding her for the right reasons? And what were the right reasons?

  He didn’t want to be involved with her. Didn’t want to be involved with anyone other than for no-strings sex. And that sure wasn’t something he wanted with Hope.

  Liar.

  Okay, he’d totally go for some no-strings sex with the woman. Touching her skin, grabbing her hips and riding her into oblivion would be fucking great. But that’s all it would be—fucking—because there was no way in hell he was letting anyone near his heart.

  Physical attraction was uncontrollable. Instinctive. But so was self-preservation, and he wasn’t going to willingly edge into pain ever again.

  Jaxi switched to the next stall over, still not saying anything. Matt methodically worked to finish his first. What had she accused him of? Running from Hope? Associating her with her sister?

  Wasn’t unreasonable, but then… He wouldn’t want to be judged by his brothers’ behavior all the time either.

  He slipped out and stepped behind Jaxi, tapping her on the shoulder.

  “Okay, since it seems you think you run my life as well as Blake’s, tell me. If I agree that Hope is not her sister, and that I can be friends with her, then what does my friend need right now?”

  Jaxi poked him in the chest. “Well, you might try asking her that question yourself, but since I know she’s as stubborn as you, I suggest you go over and tell her you’d like to do some repairs around the shop.”

  He bit back a groan. “Like building shit?” She narrowed her eyes and he backpedaled. “Fine, makes sense. She won’t take money for the stuff that got lost, right?”

  Jaxi shook her head.

  “But I can go over and fix things.”

  “Because that’s what friends do. They help each other.”

  “Still want to know why you think we’re friends.”

  Jaxi grinned, all her disapproval wiped clean now that he’d agreed to do her bidding. “Because either you’re friends or you’ve got the hots for her, and I figured you’d be more comfortable with friends for a while.”

  She was far too intuitive. “That offer of tanning your hide still stands, girl.”

  She stuck out her tongue cheekily. “All my spankings are saved for Blake.”

  “Oh God, thanks for that image.” Matt hugged her tight fo
r a minute then shoved her toward the door. “Go bother someone else for a change. Squeeze the babies for me or something.”

  She waved then left him.

  Left him alone with thoughts that were on a whole lot different path than they’d been when she walked in thirty minutes earlier. Family. Wrapped themselves into your lives and refused to let go.

  And that was both a bit of heaven and a slice of hell.

  Chapter Five

  The bell over the shop door rang, and Hope looked up from her organizing, optimism rising. A couple more sales would go a long way to making her quota for the day.

  When she spotted Matt, she wasn’t sure if it was exactly disappointment that rolled through her. He wouldn’t be buying any supplies, she was fairly certain of that.

  The flutter of constant sexual interest she fought whenever he was around made it easy to smile at him. The tough part was making sure she didn’t look hungry at the same time.

  “Mr. Coleman.”

  Matt glanced over his shoulder. Hope laughed before she realized he hadn’t done it to fool around. He was actually blushing when he turned back, his cheeks flushed from more than coming in out of the cold.

  “Sorry, but that’s my father’s name, and I couldn’t figure out how the hell he got into town faster than me when last I saw him…” He faded off then simply grinned. “Hi, how you doing?”

  “Good. You doing your Christmas shopping?” There was a possibility, although she’d probably discount the sale too far to actually make any money if he was buying something for Marion. Guilt and desire were bad companions to private enterprise.

  “Actually, I’m here to apologize. I was thinking about when I rescued you, and I messed up badly. I’ve been feeling terrible about it ever since.”

  What? “You’ve felt guilty for rescuing me?”

  Matt pulled off his gloves and coat, hanging them on the rack beside the quilting table. “Of course not, but the way I rescued you meant some of your supplies got damaged. There was no reason for that—I had a chain and could have hauled you clear easy enough. Now, I’m willing to pay for what—”