Page 59 of Rocky Mountain Desire
There was no response, and she walked away, hoping that would be the last of the troubles. It was unlikely, but hey, her biggest coping strategy up to now had been to concentrate on the positive.
Yeah, the blue jay of happiness was sitting on her shoulder. A little battered and bruised, with a few loose feathers maybe, but still singing. Hope hugged Jaxi one last time and escaped downstairs into the warmth of the shop, where quilts for families and homemade signs with heartfelt statements likeLove Lives Heresurrounded her.
The irony made her smile and ache at the same time.
Matt hauled out his cell phone and answered on the second ring. “Everything okay?”
Jaxi snorted. “Hello to you too. Yes, Helen is out and the locks on the shop and the apartment have already been switched—Hope called the locksmiths the minute their shop opened.”
“I talked to her a few minutes ago and she mentioned that. I’m asking if you had any troubles with Helen.”
“Ha.” The volume of expression in the short word made Matt laugh in spite of his concerns. Jaxi cleared her throat. “No, Helen didn’t really try, although the comments about ‘you teenage Coleman bitch’ would have been funnier if I could have planted my boot on her ass when she headed out the door.”
“You didn’t.”
“Nope, I was amazingly reserved. Only showed my teeth for a second. The woman eventually figured out it was time to shut up. About five minutes later than she should have, but it’s not as if I’m going to melt from a few cuss words being tossed my direction.”
“Damn. I should have—”
Jaxi cut him off. “No, you were right to call me. Hope got the shop open in time, and it could have been far worse if you had been the one there. Hell, who knows? She might have even done something stupid like accuse you of attacking her or…something insane.”
“How’s Hope really doing? She called me, but she sounded so tense—I’m not sure what’s going on with her.”
Jaxi hummed. “I saw her before I left. She’s upset, but okay. There were customers in the shop so we couldn’t talk. But, Matt…”
He pulled in next to the barn. The day loomed long and monotonous ahead of him with everything that had to be done when what he really wanted was to head over to the shop to see for himself Hope was okay. “What kind of advice you hesitating over giving me now, Dr. Phil?”
“Do I really have that reputation?”
“From what I hear, you’re cuter than him, but you know damn well you boss us all around, especially since you and Blake got married. So spill.”
“Fine. It’s possible this entire storm can smooth over in no time flat. I mean I wasn’t happy about being insulted, but it’s only words. They only have power if I let them. If Helen has moved back, so what? She knows now that Hope isn’t going to cave instantly in to her demands. If Helen gets a place to stay, finds a job…she’s just another person in town. Unless we give her the power to upset us. Right?”
Which was pretty much what Matt had concluded the previous night. “If all she does is live in town and act like anyone else who’s sort of known to the family, then yeah. You’re right. But if she tries anything to hurt Hope, then she’s out of line.”
“Agreed. But can we hope for the best? The woman isn’t stupid. I know she hurt you bad, and part of me hates her guts for that, but it’s time to move on.”
Matt stared out at the snow. The ice and cold that had wrapped around him for so long after Helen had left—he’d been free of it for just a little while.
Because of Hope’s warmth.
“Not what I expected to hear from you, Jaxi. I thought for sure you’d be heating pitch to tar and feather Helen before running her out of town.”
“The thought crossed my mind, believe me. Maybe I’ve gone soft after having the babies, but there are more important things to do than waste time on revenge. Happy things like kissing toes and cuddling and—”
Matt laughed out loud. “My images of those things and yours aren’t the same, I’m thinking.”
She blew a raspberry. “Dirty Coleman mind. So, anyway. I’m saying let’s see what Helen does before declaring war. If she behaves, we can spend our time on the things that matter.”
“Hope is one of those things.”
“Right. I think she’ll call you if she needs anything. Could be she’s a bit embarrassed. Since you’re going over tonight that should be soon enough to reassure her she’s got people who care about her, even if she feels awkward. Hope’s one of the most stubborn people I know when it comes to accepting help.”
Matt groaned in frustration. “Yeah, I gotta get back to work if I’m going to get done on time. Thanks, Jaxi. For everything.”
The sound of a kiss being blown hit his ear, then she hung up.
He headed into the barn and the dirty work of the day a whole lot more relaxed than he thought possible. But his plans for the night? He revamped what he’d had on the agenda. After the shock of her sister’s arrival, Hope needed a different kind of care than to be ordered around like some sort of sex slave.
