Damn woman already had him tied to a ball and chain.

“You got something more to say?” Blake asked. Quietly. Dangerously.

Travis kicked a seed sack. His eyes flashed. “You’ve been so damn righteous the past few years it’s made me sick. Everyone knew Jaxi was setting her heart on you and yet you ignored her for some damn stupid reason, pretending she wasn’t the one you wanted—”

“I thought she was still in love with you,” Blake roared. “I thought she was trying to hook up with me because you’d broken up with her and I was the next best thing.”

Travis’s jaw dropped, his eyes black with anger. “You stupid son of a bitch.”

Jesse moved between the two of them, wary and watching.

Travis shook his head and spat to the side. “You deserve every bit of pain you’ve experienced. Both of you. You know, if it didn’t hurt so damn bad, that would be the funniest thing I’d heard in years. Jaxi pretending to be in love with you because she was still in love with me? Lord, listen to you. Damn.” Travis wiped at his eyes, his voice shaking as he spoke. “She couldn’t have done that, you ass, because the reason she went out with me in the first place was because she couldn’t have you. Every time she kissed me, every time she touched me, she was closing her eyes and pretending she was with you.”

“Stop. That’s enough.” Jaxi’s voice cut through the chaos.

Three heads whipped in her direction. She’d changed into blue jeans and a T-shirt, and she looked sad and broken.

She stepped toward Travis and stared at him for a long time. “I’m sorry. That’s not how it started. All the old-timers in town told me I was too young for Blake. That I should find someone closer to my age, so I tried. I thought that maybe if I was with you it would be enough. But it wasn’t.”

“I wasn’t enough for you,” Travis choked out.

Jaxi nodded slowly. “It was wrong, and I’m sorry I caused this wall to build between you and Blake. I should have known better. I should have just told you.”

“You did tell me, remember?” Travis spat the words. “You called out his name while I was touching you.”

Jaxi’s head snapped up, and her whole demeanor changed, her quiet expression hardening. She marched forward three steps to face Travis, pulled back her fist and decked him on the chin. Travis reeled backward but kept his feet.

Her response was a bare whisper in the open air of the barn. “Don’t you push me too far, Travis Coleman. You want to air dirty laundry in front of your brothers after all these years, then it’s all going to come out. Every last sordid detail. Be careful, or your secret life won’t be so secret anymore.”

Blake shifted position, getting between his brother and his woman. He didn’t know if he should assume control or let them work this through.

She continued talking to Travis, the tone of her voice all the more frightening by its softness. “You’re such a self-centered bastard. You twist the truth so far you forget where it started, and you’ve begun to believe the lies you’ve told. Face it—I wasn’t enough for you either.”

Travis glanced up nervously. Blake’s head pounded. Something was royally screwed here, beyond anything he’d imagined. “Jaxi? What the hell is going on?”

She tucked herself under his arm, burrowing her face into his chest for a moment before lifting her gaze to meet his. “It’s okay. It’s old business between Travis and me, and it’s water under the bridge. No need for you to worry.”

“Jaxi.” Travis’s voice shook as he spoke. “I didn’t want to give you up. It wasn’t you.”

She turned in Blake’s arms, keeping herself wrapped tight in him. Standing in the midst of the three brothers she had clearly chosen his protection, his comfort. Blake hugged her, his heart ready to burst. Travis had been a substitute for him, instead of the other way around. All this time he’d been worrying and picking at a wound that hadn’t even existed. He drew her closer.

“Travis, let it go.” Jaxi breathed out a long sigh. “We’ve both said enough, and it was never my intention to hurt you again. Let’s just agree to let it go.”

Jesse snickered from the corner where he leaned on the wall, watching the whole insane situation unfold. “Jaxi, you are one hell of a woman. You got three grown men tied up in knots ’cause we’ve all been head over heels for you at one time or another.”

She threw him a dirty look. “You’re not helping, Jesse.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Yeah, well, the truth sucks.” Travis plopped down on a bale.

“So, what do we do now?” Jaxi asked. “I can’t stick around and force your family apart.”

“What?” Protests rose from all the brothers.

Jaxi drew away from Blake slowly, shaking her head as she hugged her arms around her body. “Your family has been rock solid for years. There’s no way I’m willing to come in and screw it up. It was never my intention to mess with anyone’s life. I committed to help Marion, but I’ll make sure I stay away from all of you. I can drive out early every morning and stay—”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jesse stepped forward, a scowl covering his face. “You’re not going anywhere. Is she, Blake?”

She sure as hell wasn’t, but turning into a caveman right now wasn’t what she needed. The hurt in her eyes, the fear hovering around her, broke his heart and he wanted to wrap her up and protect her from any more chaos. Like a bird on the verge of taking flight, he caught her to him gently, cradling her against his torso. “You and me need to talk, Slick, but let’s finish this off once and for all. Jesse, you got a problem with me and Jaxi being together?”

Jesse paused, his tightly coiled body poised before them, his hair and eyes wild. “You really want him, don’t you, Jaxi?”

Her blonde head bobbed, and Jesse breathed long and hard before raising his gaze to meet Blake’s. “No problems. You’re a lucky man, and you’d better treat her right.”

He blew a gentle kiss toward Jaxi, squared his shoulders and left the barn.

Travis still sprawled on the bale. Dark eyes flicked between Jaxi and Blake, and he answered grudgingly. “I’ve got no problems with it either. I’m sorry I was such a fool, both now and years ago.” He stood and shuffled toward the door. “I’m not going to lie and say everything is wonderful and I’m happy for you and all that shit. It hurts, burns like a brand inside me, but maybe a little time will help. I’m jealous as hell.”

He stopped and chewed on his lip for minute before raising storm-filled eyes to meet Jaxi’s. “Thanks for not saying anything. Someday…but not yet.”

“I know, Travis. When you’re ready.” Angel-soft words, tender.

Travis strode away, leaving Blake alone with Jaxi as she shivered in his arms.

Chapter Fifteen

For long minutes Blake held Jaxi close, the familiar scent of the straw and the tack and the earth itself easing away the frustration and tension of the last hour. Whatever secret Jaxi and Travis shared, it was staying that way for now.

He wasn’t sure he was upset about that either. It seemed there was a lot about Jaxi that was still a mystery. He hadn’t realized how much she’d impacted Travis, how involved Jesse had become while Blake stubbornly pushed her away. His father had been the one to point out her training, and only recently had Blake noticed the way the community rallied around her and looked to her for help.

The bigger question was, did he really know the woman he had fallen in love with?

Blake knew he would work the Coleman ranch after his father. Had always known as the eldest son he had the privilege and responsibility to keep the family together and strong, leading them into the future. For the first time the picture looked a lot larger than just deciding what crops to plant in what fields and when to buy and sell stock. The family needed him to set the pace inside the home as well. Something his father had demonstrated by doing what was right even when it was tough.

A deep sense of remorse hit him. It appeared as if he’d fallen short on his calling in more ways than one.

He stroked his hands over Jaxi’s hair, loving the way she fit against his body perfectly. Loving the smell and the feel and the rightness of her in his arms. There was nothing wrong with their bodies’ reaction to each other, but that was another problem, another mistake he had made. He had let his body dictate his reactions since the beginning of this relationship with Jaxi. First in wanting her and refusing to deal with that truth properly, then giving in too quickly.

After approaching the whole situation wrong, now he would have to pay the price to make things right. He needed to step back so they could progress forward together properly.

Damn, he wanted her. But he wanted what was best for her even more.

Blake cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her. Sweetly. When she would have crowded against him and offered more he resisted, holding himself back. It might kill him, but it needed to be done.

“Jaxi, we need a breather. I think what we’ve got happening between us is what we’ve both wanted for a long time, but we need to be sure.” He led her to a bale, then sat across from her to watch her face. Watch the expressions that flitted there for him to see plain as day. The fear written all over her was strong enough to choke off his throat. “Hey. Don’t look like that. I’m not letting you leave the family because you think you’re tearing us apart. We had a misunderstanding as brothers. It’s not the first time, and it’s probably not the last. We’ll get over it and move on.”

Her misery twisted into a small smile. “You guys are good at fighting.”