Page 31 of Rocky Mountain Desire
Chapter Nine
He didn’t want to go home. The temptation to hit the bottle and wipe away the confusion by fading into oblivion was too high. The previous year when Helen had left he’d spent a couple solid weeks drinking himself into a stupor every night before his brothers had intervened and talked him out of that stupidity.
The cheerful chaos of his parents—definitely not what he needed right now either. Not with the simmering undertones of sexual need still buzzing through him.
What the hell had she kissed him for? Matt drove the mostly deserted main street of town, shifting through everything he’d seen and felt that day.
He headed down the road toward one of the residential subdivisions, just on the off-chance. Lights glowed through the windows of Daniel and Beth’s house, and Matt hesitated only for a minute before turning into the driveway and parking in the back beside the garage.
He’d never been in this position before, so it was time to do what he knew was right. Go to family.
Daniel met him at the door before he even knocked. There was music playing quietly in the background, but other than that it was a far more hushed house than he usually was welcomed into.
“You duct tape the boys to their beds?”
Beth’s bright smile poked around the corner. “We left them behind at Gramma and Grampa’s.”
Shit. Now he was interrupting his brother’s private time with his wife. “Sorry. I’ll go—”
Daniel’s hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him farther into the house. “No running away. Come on, we didn’t get much chance to talk during dinner. Have a visit for a bit. The boys are gone for a couple nights.”
This was about the most awkward thing, made worse when he spotted two drinks on the coffee table, firelight shining from the fireplace. “Daniel, it’s fine. Just let me call you later.”
Daniel blocked him. “Stay.”
Beth paused in the door. “You want a drink? And if you want to talk with Daniel alone—I don’t mind, really.”
“Great, now I’m not only interrupting your privacy, I’m kicking you out of the room.”
“She’s not going to complain if she gets to soak in the tub for an hour without anyone banging on the door.” Daniel’s slow perusal of his wife shot another round of daggers into Matt. Either he needed to talk this through or get the hell out of the room and suffer alone.
By the time Matt had grabbed a drink and settled on the couch, Beth had vanished, accompanied by a content smile and a full wine glass.
“She really doesn’t mind, you know.” Daniel lifted the footrest of the recliner and eased himself back more comfortably. “Time of peace and quiet without the boys isn’t that hard to come by with our folks chomping at the bit to pull grandparent duty, especially during the holidays.”
Matt nodded, then suddenly found himself tongue-tied. He snorted. “So after all that, I’m not sure what I want to say.”
Daniel stared at the fire for a minute. “You were quiet during dinner.”
“Yeah.”
“Lot on your plate these days?”
“Right, with these temperatures? You know there’s more navel-gazing going on than anything else until lambing fully kicks in.” Matt paused. “I went and saw Hope this afternoon.”
Surprise flashed onto his brother’s face. “Really? Why?”
“That’s…hell if I know.” Matt collapsed on the couch, staring at the ceiling. “Am I some kind of masochist? The one woman in town I should avoid at all costs and I end up on her doorstep.”
“Now you’ve got me confused. You spent the afternoon with her, but you’re not sure why? What did you do over there?”
Matt opened his mouth then laughed. “We made a quilt top, or at least set up the fixings of one.”
“A quilt…” Daniel smiled at him, the type of smile that edged over into something that looked suspiciously like amusement. “Can I ask a specific question, since you don’t seem to want to confess you came over for any reason other than to shoot the breeze? Why is Hope the one woman in town you should avoid?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Matt shook his head. “Hope Meridan? Helen’s sister?”
“I know the connection. But the woman you spent the afternoon with was Hope, not Helen.”
