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 for 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—”
“Oh no.” Hope shook her head vigorously. “No bloody way. It was an accident, and you’re not responsible for anything except pretty much saving my life. I could have frozen to death if you hadn’t come along when you did.”
He wasn’t listening. Instead he was rolling up his sleeves, firm forearms coming into view, the dusting of hair over the muscles making her hyperaware of his every move.
She had it bad when even a glimpse of his arms was enough to get her wet. She crossed her own arms in self-defense and attempted to concentrate.
“What are you doing?” He paced the store, and she followed, dragging her gaze off his ass just in time as he spun around, wide smile beaming down.
“Just checking out the place. You’ve got some neat stuff in here. I mean, I already knew you had quilts, but there’s a lot of different projects.”
“Anytime you want to take up sewing…”
He leaned a hip on the cutting table, and the broad surface slid away from him. Matt stood rapidly as she grabbed for the edge and rebalanced it.
“Shit, sorry about that. I usually stand in the middle and brace it with my knee when I cut.”
He held out a hand. “I can fix that for you.”
Suspicion snuck over her. She turned and examined the bucket he’d had in his hands. The one he’d placed on the floor that she’d ignored while distracted by all the rest of him. It was filled with hammers and screwdrivers and other tools. “Matt, what are you doing here?”
He glanced around, feet shuffling in place like a naughty kid caught in the act. “Just thought I might offer you a hand. You know, brace the table, adjust shelves, anything that you need help with.”
“And you would do this because…?”
“I want to?”
Yeah, right. “Sure. You got up this morning and decided ‘I have nothing better to do today. I should volunteer my services to Hope.’ Is that it?”
Matt shrugged. “Well, I had a coffee first, but then yeah, that was pretty much what happened.”
Hope laughed. “Aren’t you a shitty liar? Don’t worry, you don’t have to feel guilty about anything getting ruined when I went off the road. I got everything back and most of it survived the adventure. It’s good, and frankly? Being saved from that ditch—you were right. It was just stuff and neither of our lives was worth risking. Please, put your guilt aside.”