Free Rocky Mountain Desire: Six Pack Ranch, Book 3 by Vivian Arend

to a stop and stared at the ground. She forced a smile, the edges feeling twisted. “Well, seems I know how to jump to conclusions almost as well as I drive.”
    He made his way through to where his coat hung and shrugged it on. “Easy enough mistake.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “No problem.” He stopped at the door then turned to face her. “We really are two whacked-out fools, aren’t we?”
    There were too many ways to interpret that comment, especially accompanied by his serious expression. She sighed. “Can we blame it on holiday stress? That’s what everyone seems to do these days.”
    He stared her down. “Hope, you were right the other day. When you said Helen deserted us both.”
    Deserted all right. “She’s not my favourite person in the world, but I try to not dwell on it.”
    Matt nodded slowly. He didn’t say anything else, just slipped out the door into the cold December day.
    Hope walked to the front display window and watched him cross the street to the hardware store. She had no idea what was going on in his head, but she was dangerously close to making a terrible mistake. A mistake like letting him know that she thought of him more often than a friend should.
    And after all the pain Helen had caused, dragging him though another dramatic situation was the last thing she wanted.
    She leaned her forehead against the cool glass, the heated air from her lungs fogging the window and slowly blocking her vision. Time for a change of mindset, starting now.
    After all these years of pretending, dancing on stage and putting on a show, she should be able to do this. When she’d danced she’d made it seem as if she’d wanted every single man she looked in the eye more passionately than her next breath. This was another sort of illusion. Categorize him as hands-off—or even better, just a casual acquaintance. Make sure everything she said and did shouted that loud and clear.
    Plus, Rocky Mountain House was a small town, but not that small. After Matt had done a few repairs to shed his guilt over her ruined things, she should be able to avoid him. They’d been out of touch for years at one point. With a little effort on her part, she could make that a reality again.
    Letting Matt move on with his life was more than important, it was vital. Because it would be a sign she’d actually moved on with her own. Getting past the hurt of Helen’s desertion? Financially she got enough reminders of that every damn month, but even there she was determined to win her way back.
    But being caught up in longing for a man she could never have was slowly killing her. She had to give up these silly unanswerable fantasies if she ever wanted to find a way to be truly happy.
    And fortunately, distraction had already given her permission to call. Hope stepped to the phone and dialed before she could change her mind.

Chapter Six
     
    The cold air vanished in a blast of heat as Matt entered the bar, his cousin and brother following right behind. Gabe directed him to the side while Travis shrugged his way up to the bar and ordered three beers.
    “You picked a hell of a night to go out,” Gabe complained. He eyeballed the dance floor before brightening as he slapped Matt between the shoulders. “But then, since I see more than one group of females without company, I’ll be magnanimous and forgive you.”
    “It’s December in Alberta. It’s going to be cold. Get over it.”
    “Hey, I’m not the one looking at lambing season starting within the month.”
    “Don’t remind me.” Matt took off his gloves and stuffed them in his coat pocket.
    His brother sauntered up. “The only thing good about lambing is that we’ve got enough barn space they don’t have to drop them outdoors. It’s filthy and exhausting work, but at least it’s moderately warm.”
    Travis set down two long-necked bottles, hanging on to the third for himself, and turned to get a better view of the room.
    “I’ll drink to that.” Matt snapped up one