Page 42 of Rocky Mountain Desire
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 bigtake everyone under their wingattitude 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.
