Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Heat

Blake pulled in next to the barn, his truck coated in dust. The west fields were bone dry, and he’d been driving all morning on bumpy back lanes. He stopped to take a swig of cold coffee from his thermos, distracted by a blonde head bobbing to the right of him as Jaxi walked the path to the chicken coop, her hands full of boards and tools.

Intrigued, he slipped from the truck and followed her, his eyes mesmerized by the sight of faded jeans cupping her trim ass as it swayed from side to side. She dropped her armload outside the wire surrounding the coop structure and snuck into the yard with an experienced air, shooing the chickens before her into the enclosure. Once she rounded them up, she closed the door firmly and spun to fetch her tools.

A flush crept over her skin as she spotted him standing beside the fence watching her. Then she grinned, and he reacted involuntarily to how her smile lit up his heart.

His whole body ached.

“What you doing?” He had to get a handle on himself. This is what he’d been trying to avoid, being alone with her. The setting was far from intimate and should be safe, but the edge of uncertainty was there.

Any situation with Jaxi was potential trouble as far as he was concerned.

She pointed to a section of the fencing that had worked loose, a hole dug partway under the wire. “Someone’s trying to make a break for it, either in or out, and I don’t want to wander the ranch looking for eggs.” She propped open the gate and reached for the boards at his feet.

“You don’t need to do that. One of us will fix it. Ma never told us there was a problem or we’d have done it already.”

She leaned on the gate, her bright eyes sparkling at him. “I know you can fix the hole, but so can I. The sunshine is nice, and getting into the yard for some fresh air feels good.” She waved the hammer at him briefly. “You go ahead and get your work done. I’ve got this under control.”

Blake shifted back on his heels, a grin sneaking onto his face as he watched her haul the boards beside her and kneel to tackle the stiff chicken wire. She did know what she was doing—pulling the staples while holding the wire in place, twisting the hammer with enough leverage the wire popped into line rather than rolling away from her. The sun shone off her skin, a dusky tan showing on the muscles of her arms as she worked.

Jaxi glanced over her shoulder as she leaned back on the hammer, loosening an exceptionally tough staple. “You done with work for the day or what, Blake Coleman? Or have you never seen a fence fixed before so you want to learn some tips from me?”

She winked.

Minx. “Well, I haven’t seen you fix a fence in a long time, Slick. Maybe you do it differently nowadays.”

The hammer jerked and slipped from her grasp, her body falling back to land hard on her ass in the middle of the hen-scratched dirt. Blake stepped forward quickly to help her, and she chuckled, brushing the dirt from her jeans as she smiled sheepishly. “Maybe I do.”

He checked to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Seeing nothing but amusement in her eyes, he joined in the game. Nodding seriously, he teased, “I’m sure the last time I fixed a fence I didn’t end up on my backside, but I suppose this method is more modern and sophisticated.” He tugged the hammer she’d retrieved from her fingers and scooted around to remove the final staples, handing them one at a time for her to hang on to.

It was as if they’d gone back to the days when Jaxi would follow him around the farm all summer long, talking her head off about everything and anything. They worked together, putting the new boards into place and pounding in a stake to hold the chicken wire tight to the ground. All the while, Jaxi shared stories about taking care of the doctor’s little ones, and her work at a local greenhouse the past spring. She even rambled about a book she’d just read that taught how to build a fishpond.

“That’s interesting, but we don’t need to stock a pond around here. It’s a short ride to the river and part of the fun of fishing is heading out to somewhere unsoiled and untouched by human hands to sit for a while.” Blake tugged on her ponytail gently like he used to when she was a kid. It had been good to work with her for a few minutes doing an everyday task. Something about it eased the tension within him, and for the first time in a long time, he simply enjoyed her company as he had for many years before his unspoken sexual longings had come between them.

Jaxi snorted. “You don’t need to stock a pond, but the Mitchells are considering it. I promised to head out there next Saturday for a bit and see if I can help them get things ready. You want to come along?”

Blake nodded slowly. “I think I should be able to. Ask me later and we’ll see what’s on the schedule.”

Her grin lit the whole area and Blake’s heart gave a leap. All his calmness left abruptly. He squatted to gather the tools together, and their hands bumped as Jaxi grabbed for the hammer and clasped his wrist instead. Heads close, bodies near enough her scent filled his head and his body tightened with need. This was no little tagalong girl at his side, no matter how much he wanted her to be. No matter how much safer it would be.

Jaxi stared at him, and her pink tongue snuck over her bottom lip to moisten the smooth swell. Blake bit back the urge to lay his mouth on hers and lick over the wetness, tasting her skin and her sweet flavor. He needed to retreat, needed to stand and flee from temptation and the heavenly smell of her warm breath on his skin before he did something they would both regret. But heaven help him if he could budge.

She released her fingers slowly, drawing back with a butterfly softness that stroked up his arm and zipped back down in a direct line to his cock. Jaxi stood quickly, her hip bumping him hard, and Blake fell backward in the dirt. He stared into her laughing eyes.

“Why, Blake. You do know how to fix fences the modern way after all.” Jaxi’s skin remained flushed but her smile was innocent as she gathered the scrap lumber and loose staples. “Can you let the chickens out before you leave, and return the tools? I’ve got to get dinner on the table.”

She waved briefly at him before she headed back to the house, whistling. Blake chuckled as he sat and watched her go. Wasn’t her fault his body slipped into overdrive every time she got near. He needed to tamp down those feelings that should never have surfaced in the first place. Maybe this would work, like in the old days, and he would look out for her, as a big brother should.

He spotted the time and swore, scrambling to his feet to finish his work in a rush before dinner.

Jaxi eased the heavily laden cart around the corner of the grocery aisle, finally headed for the checkout. A brief glance at her watch warned she had an hour—hour and a half at the most—before Marion got home for a rest.

An hour to get things put away so Marion would rest instead of attempting to help. She chuckled to herself. Mrs. C was a lousy patient, probably because she had rarely had a chance to slow down while chasing after the boys and taking charge of things. Jaxi stacked the cart contents on the conveyer belt as rapidly as possible and smiled at her friend Cari, who manned the till.

“Jaxi, you having a party or something? You’ve got enough food here to feed an army. Oh, hang on, you’re at the Coleman place, aren’t you?” Cari rang through the items, her mouth and hands in a contest to see which could move faster. “Course I figured you’d help, what with being neighbours and all.”

Cari winked at her but Jaxi shook her head.

“Don’t push it, girlfriend. Just get me through double quick so I’m back before Marion gets home and decides to scrub walls or rearrange furniture. It’s been a week since she got the cast on, and she’s attempting to take on her full workload again.”