Midsummer Sweetheart (15 page)

He grinned at her. “I’m just in training right now, but eventually I’ll be training other law enforcement officers in Drug Recognition. Teaching them how to give field sobriety tests, that sort of thing. Once I get some expertise, I’ll be able to testify on various substances and behaviors.”

No wonder he’d been genuinely interested to learn more about Wade. It wasn’t just that he’d felt sorry for her, and made her feel relieved. “So you’ll be a teacher, after all.”

“Of a sort, I guess. Also an officer.”

“Do you carry a firearm?”

“I’m licensed to carry. And I did this week when I joined some uniformed officers on a drug bust. But, not in the lab or the classroom, of course.”

It fascinated her that he’d taken a more academic approach to his law enforcement career. Impressed her too, though she suddenly wondered if he was in any danger. It made her heart clench to think of Erik in danger. She didn’t want to think about it.

“Are you liking it? I mean, you changed your whole life for this job, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I did. I mean, after high school, I joined my father leading tours. Nils and Lars were already doing tours too, so it made sense. And then I bartended in the evenings and picked up extra hours when my father didn’t need help. It just wasn’t enough, you know?”

“It sounds like a lot actually. Two jobs.”

“No, I mean, it was enough work, yes. But, it wasn’t what I wanted. I like Gardiner, you know? I was born there, and my folks lived there their whole lives and all. It was just…the park, and my family. I wanted more than that for me. I felt stuck.”

“How do you mean
stuck
?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t consider having a life outside of Gardiner. I allowed myself to believe that the world was there in that little town.” His voice was regretful. “It was my sister who—I don’t know, she decided to leave. And she struggled to figure out what to do. She fell in love with Sam over a long weekend when they stood proxy for Ing and your brother—well, you know the story better than me, probably.”

Katrin nodded. “Possibly the
most
romantic story ever told. Jenny and Sam meet standing proxy for Ing and Kris, and end up falling in love at Christmastime? Hallmark should make it into a movie.”

He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, but you should have seen her after Sam left. It was bad—
really
bad. She was a mess. I think she was scared to leave Gardiner. You know, to leave me, and my father and the boys. I told you how bad it was when our Mamma passed on, and it scared her and she got stuck, and maybe she couldn’t leave.”

“And you think the same happened to you?” Katrin shifted her body, crossing her legs toward him. She noticed that he had slipped into colloquial Swedish in calling his mother Mamma, and it warmed Katrin’s heart to hear the sweet childish nickname.

“I guess so.” He was clearly more comfortable talking about Jenny. “So, Sam came and she eventually left with him. It was like the glass box holding her shattered into pieces, and she could leave.”

“And so could you.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You changed the course of your whole life. That’s courageous, Erik.”

“That’s me. Courageous Erik.”

“Sounds like a Viking King. Erik the Brave.”

“You’re thinking of Erik the Red. I’d be Erik the Blond. Doesn’t sound quite as fierce, does it?”

She smiled up at him, loving how good-natured and unguarded he seemed. “So leading tours in little Gardiner wasn’t enough. You watched your sister get married and move away. And the Viking King decided to do the same?”

“Well, sort of. But, with me it was just the
move away
part.” He gave her a look.

“Of course. That’s what I meant.”

“Enough about me. How about you?”

“How about me?

“Well…I know that you’re a nurse. I know you say it’s for practical reasons. But, how’d it come about?”

“Well, I mean, I went to high school and my grades were pretty good, but I got…um,
sidetracked
by Wade that last year or so. I could’ve probably gone to school in Chicago near my aunt and uncle if I hadn’t lost my focus, but…my grades fell senior year and I mean, Great Falls U isn’t a
bad
school. It was close to home, and most importantly, it was close to Wade who was going there too. But, they don’t have, like, a million choices of major, as you know. And of course I had visited Ing and Kristian there all the time when I was younger and they were there for a couple of years. And Ing was in the nursing school. She sort of encouraged me to go for it. She called a couple of her old teachers and they kept an eye on me.

“I wouldn’t have actually thought I had the stomach for it, but I did. I like the caring aspect. I love being there at a birth, especially, or helping a child feel better. Hold the hand of an old person who’s frightened. It’s sad sometimes, but it’s more good than bad, actually. I just…I like helping people. I think that’s why I stick with it.”

“You know, you were great last Sunday.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, his face inscrutable under his sunglasses. “Really amazing.”

“Thanks.”

“The nursing part was good too.”

She realized what he was saying and swatted him lightly on the arm.

It’s a good opening, Katrin. It’s time to nip this in the bud and you may not get another chance.

“You know, I’m glad you brought that up, Erik.” She swallowed nervously. “Because I—um, don’t get me wrong, I totally enjoyed um, what
happened
between us. But, I don’t think—I mean, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”

Erik didn’t respond. He stared at the road, stone-faced, which inadvertently betrayed some sort of emotion about what she was saying.

“I guess what I want to say is this; I think it’s better for us to be friends. I really do. I…I don’t think it should’ve happened,” she finished quietly. She folded her hands on her lap, her heart beating fast and heat flushing her cheeks.

“I’m glad it did,” he said in a soft, controlled voice.

Katrin winced at this admission, suddenly hating herself for spoiling their sunny day by slapping him back into the friend-zone when he’d been so playful with her. She bit her lip, wishing she felt more resolute in her decision.

Erik pulled into a parking lot marked with a large green sign that read “Flat Head Lake & Wild Horse Island Ferry Parking,” and parked the car. He took off his sunglasses, facing her.

“I think it should happen again.”

Her mouth opened at the boldness of his words before her brows creased in confusion. “But, Erik, you don’t
want
—”

“Kat,” he interrupted purposefully, “I’m going to make it really clear
what I want
, okay?”

His eyes were cool and serious, focused on hers like Arctic lasers, holding her captive and still. The air between them sizzled with heat and longing. She nodded slowly, mesmerized by him.

“I want you. Your mouth. Your body. Your fingernails down my back. Your eyes rolled back in your head. Your voice calling out my name. In my bed. In your bed. In the shower. On your kitchen counter. Under the trees. Wherever you want.” He paused, nostrils flaring, his breathing audible yet controlled. The intensity of his voice, velvet and low, made her throat go dry. “That’s what I want.”

She couldn’t speak. She could barely think. Her eyes had widened, and her mouth was slightly open in “Oh” and she was fairly sure she hadn’t actually taken or released a breath since he started speaking. Her chest couldn’t possibly contain the relentless pounding of her heart much longer. If she could have looked away, she would have, but it wasn’t possible.

“So, think it over. Maybe it’s even what we
both
need.”

Her head was still spinning, and every nerve ending in her body was screaming for her to grab him, slam her lips into his, run her hands through his hair, rip off her shirt and tear off his so that she could finally feel the heat of his skin against hers.

Katrin blinked at him but couldn’t seem to make her mouth work. She took a shaky breath and nodded at him once, at last able to break his gaze. Staring at her folded hands, she finally exhaled, then took a deep breath, still unable to form a coherent thought.
Your mouth. Your body. Your fingernails…

She closed her eyes and shook her head gently to clear it, then looked back up at Erik.

“Glad we got that settled,” he said softly, opening his door.

***

Erik swung his body out of the car, shutting the door behind him. For all of his well-laid plans, his impromptu speech had shocked the hell out of him just as much as he had shocked her. Two weeks’ worth of pent-up lust wasn’t about to be ignored, and the words came from a starving place deep inside.

He was shaken from the intensity of his longing for her, and for how it had all tumbled out of his mouth in such a passionate, direct offer, which outlined nothing of his original “Rebound” plan.
Well, it’s out there now. Nothing you can do to take it back.

He ran his hands through his hair, and walked behind the car to open her door for her. Katrin shifted her body so her legs dangled out of the car and then looked up at him, eyes still wide.

“Was that for real?” she asked.

“Did it
seem
real?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it did.”

“So, I guess you can assume it was real.”

“So, essentially, you just told me you want…”

“Seriously, Kat? You want me to say it all again?”

“I want to understand. You aren’t interested in commitment. I get that. But, you
know
I’m not the sort of girl to sleep with someone without one. And, to be clear, I’m not asking for anything. I’ve
never
asked for anything. But, I don’t understand how your plan and my character…”

Erik put his hands on his hips, looking away for a moment. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him, was she?

“Maybe this could be an exception for you. I was sort of thinking that maybe what you need is a Rebound Fling.”

She stared at him, her face shutting closed before him as her eyes narrowed into furious slits. “A…
Rebound Fling
?”

She said it like it was totally and completely repulsive.
Crap
, she did
not
look happy. She was probably assessing the cons of the plan and not giving the pros a chance.

“You know, to help you get over Wade.”

She shifted her legs back into the car, staring straight ahead. Her voice was low and controlled and utterly livid. “Take me home.”

Craaaaaaaaap.

“Kat. No. Wait.” He squatted down beside her, putting his hand on her knee. She twisted her neck, her wide eyes catching his in a scathing look, and he winced, removing his hand carefully. She turned her head back toward the windshield, stone-faced.

Crap. Crap. Crap.
This wasn’t going well at all.

“Take me home now, Erik. Right now. I mean it.”

His heart raced with the full understanding of how grossly he had misjudged the situation. “Kat, just let me explain—”

She interrupted him, but still refused to look at him. “Erik. There is
nothing
to explain. I get it. Your offer is one hundred percent crystal clear to me.” She breathed in, her shoulder bunching around her ears for a moment before she turned to him, her face a picture in fury. “You know what? There
is
something between us. There just is, and we both know it. But, that is
not
how it’s going to play out, in some cheap, tawdry—furthermore, I am
not
some charity case. Some…some pathetic shell of a person who needs you to
screw
her out of the disappointment of her failed engagement, out of her—”

“Katrin—” he started.

“No! You shut your mouth, Erik. You shut it.
A Rebound Fling
? Do you have any idea how insulting that is?”

Her eyes were filled with tears, and she turned away, swiping at them with the back of her hand.

At that precise moment, something happened inside of Erik that had never happened to him before with any other girl: his heart ached. Not figuratively. His heart actually, physically hurt, as he watched her swipe at her eyes. He had hurt her, cheapened her with his garish proposal.
How do I fix this? God, how do I fix this?
His words came out in a rushed muddle.

“Forget that rebound crap. That was bull. Just an excuse. But the rest? Kat, I meant every word I said in the car,” he admitted in a frustrated whisper. “I—I can’t stop thinking about you. I think about you all the time. Being with you, kissing you again. I couldn’t—I couldn’t think of another way to…to…”

“To stop thinking about me?” She turned to him and he could see the rigidity of her angry body soften then. Her voice lost its edge as she searched his eyes, like it was important to her to understand. “Sleeping with me would help you stop thinking about me?”

He shrugged, and then nodded wordlessly. He was still squatting beside the car and he looked down, hanging his head in regret, in anger with himself, in fear for the changes happening right now between them. What had started as a no-strings-attached proposition in his head was now moving into unfamiliar territory, emotional territory, in a very real way. Erik was moving out of his depth, beyond his comfort zone.

“You can’t stop thinking about me,” she murmured and he could hear the pleased wonder in her soft voice.

He swallowed, but nodded, keeping his head down.

She tipped his chin up with her fingertips, but he kept his eyes downcast, worried about what he would see if he looked at her face. He longed to see tenderness, but it would terrify him to realize that the farce of calling themselves family-friends was over. It would terrify him to see that she cared for him as much as he was starting to care for her.

She leaned forward.

“Erik,” she whispered. “Close your eyes.”

He did and felt her fingertips abandon his chin just as her lips touched his, which made him fall forward from a squatting position to his knees. She bent sideways toward him, and he felt her hands encircle the back of his neck, her fingers teasing the bristly hairs on his nape, sending shivers down his back.