Rocky Mountain Heat by Vivian Arend Page B

back for a minute, closed her eyes and rubbed at the tight muscles in her shoulders. The past few days had rushed by in a blur. Marion’s warning that the workload for a family of eight, nine with Jaxi added, was hellish had been a complete understatement.
    Jaxi loved every minute of it.
    They were halfway home, sitting in what she thought was a companionable silence, before she turned to Blake. “Thanks for the lift. I hope I didn’t pull you away from something.”
    He shook his head. “Had to drop off a delivery at the post office.” His lips clamped shut and Jaxi frowned. What bee did he have up his butt? Must have been a rush order or something.
    “Jesse and Joel told me earlier you boys are playing pool tomorrow night.” She stretched her shoulders and neck slowly, working out the kinks.
    He kept his gaze on the road. “Yeah.”
    “Pass on a message to Leo for me? Cari’s feeling neglected, and he’d better not cancel his Saturday night plans or she’s going to give him hell. In fact, he might want to make sure it’s an extra special evening to smooth things for a bit.”
    Blake grunted but otherwise didn’t respond.
    Jaxi frowned at him, his reaction baffling. “What? What’s that look for?”
    “Listen to you, handing out romance advice. Leo and Cari are old enough to take care of themselves. They don’t need little girls telling them how to live.”
    Her jaw fell open, and she bit back the swear words she wanted to hurl. What the hell was he talking about? “I’m not a little girl, Blake. I’m twenty-one, and Cari and Leo are good friends of mine. I hate to see them screw up their relationship because they’ve forgotten to talk to each other.”
    “I still say it sounds ridiculous to hear you giving out advice on relationships and romancing. Leave them be.” He took a corner too sharp and she collided hard with the side door.
    “Slow down, Blake. What’s gotten into you?” Jaxi had never seen him this way. He was pissed about something, and damn if she knew what it was. “I’m sorry if I messed with your schedule asking for a ride.”
    He glared at her for a second before his gaze darted away. “I said it was no trouble.” He stared forward at the road. “You look beat.”
    She snorted. Good to know he found her attractive. “Thanks for the compliment.”
    “That’s not what I meant,” Blake protested. “You’re burning the candle at both ends. Between helping Ma keep house and all the things you do in the community, you’re working too hard. The phone’s been ringing off the wall for you the last couple hours. A whole bunch of ladies called with information for the upcoming fall picnic, you got three calls from a guy named Royce, and the Taylors wanted to know if you could babysit for them tomorrow night.”
    Crap, no wonder he was upset. He’d spent the morning acting as her answering service. “Sorry, Blake. I told people to call my cell phone but the battery died. I guess since everyone knows I’m staying with you they decided to try the house. I’ll tell them to stop.”
    “Who’s Royce?”
    She blinked in confusion for a moment. “Oh, a guy from college. He’s trying to convince me to sign up for another class.”
    Why was he asking about Royce? Especially in that gravelly voice that made shivers scurry up her spine.
    “The twins are already registered and ready to start. Can you still get into classes at this point?” Blake kept his gaze straight ahead on the road, but his hands hung on to the wheel a trifle tightly, his knuckles white.
    Curiouser and curiouser.
    The moment had come to be blunt. It was hardly right for her to fault Cari and Leo for not communicating when she was guilty of the same thing with Blake.
    “I’m not interested in taking any more classes. I figure I need to move on to the next stage of my life. Meet new goals, fulfill new desires.” Okay, it wasn’t a totally blunt declaration of wanting to jump him, but it was a start. Especially