Page 71 of Rocky Mountain Desire
A little family bonding time was always a good thing.
The day flew past, the temperature rising high enough to make him peel down to a T-shirt outside the barns. Matt got stuck fixing a couple pens before he could get away, finally turning his truck toward the field. He dug out his phone and tried calling Hope, but there was no answer. He left a message on her machine and rounded the corner to see a virtual fleet of Coleman vehicles parked randomly over the field, a few running boards already covered with thick mud.
He pulled to the side and hopped out, figuring he’d check the situation before committing to the chaos. Cheers and roars of laughter rose over the ridge. He topped the crest, and his stomach fell.
“What the hell?”
His brother turned to wave. “Hey, finally. Great timing.”
Matt pointed forward. “What the fuck is that?”
Jesse followed his finger. “You going blind? Hope and Joel are getting ready to cross.”
Matt was tempted to drop his head into his hands and weep. “She’s mud bogging in that bucket of rust?”
Jesse snorted. “Well, you got to admit, it’s not likely she’s going to damage much on the thing.”
This was crazy. Matt stormed to the edge of the field that must have already seen a number of trips from the big trucks they drove. The day was warm enough the snow was melting, the ground was soft, and together with the weight of the vehicles, there were ridges and puddles appearing everywhere between one side of the field and the other.
He waved and the trucks stopped revving their engines. Joel stuck his head out and cheered. “Whooo.You gonna see her fall this time. No mercy from me.”
Hope lifted one hand and deliberately dropped all but one strategic finger. Jesse laughed over Matt’s shoulder. “You never told us Hope was a demon on wheels.”
Matt’s brain was in a fog. “What the hell you talking about?”
Hope spotted him and waved. “Hey, Joel. Give me a second.”
Joel gestured her forward and hopped up on the front of his truck to wait. Matt glanced around the field as he moved toward Hope. There were at least twenty people on the hillside all watching with interest.
“Hey! Good you finally got here.” Hope stepped right up and snagged him in for a kiss. She was warm and slightly earthy, with mud all over her boots. Matt still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he was willing to be distracted for a minute as he enjoyed the taste of her lips against his.
There was a bump into his shoulder. “Enough already. It’s time for driving.”
Matt leaned back and glared at Jesse. “Jealous?”
“Hell, yeah.” Jesse looked Hope up and down far too intimately for Matt’s liking. “If she can do everything as well as she can drive…”
The temptation to bury his younger brother in the mud grew rapidly. “Fuck off.”
Hope laughed. “Don’t worry, Jesse, I’ll be glad to shame your ass after I finish dealing with Joel.”
She grabbed Matt and tugged him toward her truck. “You want to ride shotgun?”
“You’re actually driving this thing?” Matt walked with her, all sorts of disastrous scenarios playing through his brain.
“Of course. It’s like the Sherman tank of the truck world. It’s been fine.”
“I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
Hope stopped beside the driver side door and looked him over. “Jesse called and issued an invite. The shop closed today at two, so I came out right after. I left you a message. But you want to think about why you’re using that tone of voice?”
Fuck.“What tone?”
She crossed her arms. “The one that says you’re pissed off I’m here, and you think I’m a little-bitty crazy thing and need to be protected, kind of all balled up into one ultra-bossy he-man package.”
Matt dug deep, and fast, for an excuse. “Yeah, well. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Hope nodded. “I hear that. But it’s fine. I do know what I’m doing.”
