Midsummer Sweetheart (16 page)

He knelt there beside her, in penitence or worship, motionless but for the soft kneading movements of their lips against each other, the amplified rustle of the hairs on his neck competing with the sound of his heart beat racing in his ears.

She pulled back from him and he opened his eyes. The bright sun streaming in through his window made a halo for her blonde head but blinded him from reading her eyes. He squinted through the light, shielding his eyes with his hand until she came into focus

She smiled at him, hesitantly at first, then teasingly, all traces of tears and anger long gone. “Now I’m ready for that boat ride.”

***

As they headed to the boat, neither of them noticed the man in the back of the Flathead Lake parking lot watching them through his windshield in shock and disbelief, fury turning his face red and making his bloodshot eyes water with indignation and betrayal.

Goddamn whore. She would pay for this.

CHAPTER 9

They stood side by side, leaning on the railing of the Qwataqnuk Wind, looking out toward Wild Horse Island up ahead. The captain announced that they’d circle the island once for viewing then the vessel would dock for ten minutes so that any passengers interested and willing could spend three hours on the island before the boat returned at 3 p.m. to take the passengers back to the landing at Polson.

According to Erik, who—Katrin was impressed to observe—had done some thorough research on their destination, there were still wild horses that lived on the island out in the middle of Flathead Lake. Not only horses, but big horned sheep, mule deer and various species of birds and wildflowers. He had delivered this information to her in a clear, authoritative voice as they stood side-by-side in the packed cabin, and gradually a small crowd of people had gathered around them, asking Erik questions and for advice on how to best spend the afternoon.

Katrin stood beside him, watching with a shy smile, enjoying the charade of being his girlfriend in the eyes of these strangers as he answered questions patiently, always insisting that he hadn’t visited the park yet, and didn’t know it personally, but would suggest…

A much older couple shared with Erik and Katrin that they were on their honeymoon and the white-haired lady winked at Erik, eyes twinkling. “You’re an attractive, young couple. I know we’re
on
the same boat, but are we
in
the same boat?”

Katrin bit her lip as she glanced up at Erik, trying not to giggle.

“Are you asking if we’re on our honeymoon?” Erik asked frowning.

“Well,” she said, smiling at Katrin with kind eyes. “You could hardly do better than this lovely young thing.”

Erik looked at Katrin thoughtfully, and it surprised her that he didn’t immediately recoil, screaming,
Her? No! No way! Her and me? Yuck! NO PICKET FENCES!
and jump off the boat to escape her company, swimming madly for the nearest patch of land.

She tried desperately not to smile at him, but her cheeks hurt from the effort, since laughter for the sheer awkwardness of the situation was bubbling up inside of her. She knew her dimples were pronounced and deep as she held his eyes playfully, and she raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to respond.

“No, ma’am,” he replied, winking at Katrin. “I made her an
offer
just today, and she turned me down flat.”

“Oh!” The older woman gasped. “She didn’t!”

“She did,” he said, looking very pitiful. “
And
she got mad at me. Yelled at me and told me to take her home.”

“Well! I never! And you, such a nice, young man.” The woman took a step to stand beside Erik, crossing her arms and looking at Katrin disapprovingly.

Katrin’s jaw dropped with merry audacity and she regarded Erik with wide, amused eyes.
Two can play at this game, Minste.

“But, ma’am,” she started, adopting a pained expression, palms open in supplication. She gestured for the woman to step forward, then pointed at her ring finger and spoke in hushed, concerned tones. “There’s no ring on this finger and he wants my…my virtue. He wants to have the milk for free. Can you imagine?”

The woman moved away from Erik to put her arm around Katrin’s shoulders, pulling her close, giving Erik a stern dressing-down with her eyes, while Katrin beamed at him. “Well! Well, young man? What’ll it be? I think you’d best buy this cow!”

Erik’s eyes flew open, he chortled and his shoulders shook with merriment as Katrin’s head whipped to the side, frowning at her unlikely, ineloquent defender with a look of shock. When she looked at Erik, though, her face morphed quickly from offense to humor, and her shoulders started shaking too, as she covered her mouth with her hand. Erik finally got a hold of himself, gently nodding his head at the nutty old woman.

When he spoke his voice was soft, almost dream-like, and he held Katrin’s eyes with his. “Big risk, ma’am. She might break my heart.”

Katrin cleared her throat, stepping toward Erik with a small, gentle smile. She wouldn’t pass up this chance to reassure him. “No, Erik. I’d never do that to you.”

The older woman clapped and stepped aside, pushing Katrin toward Erik, winking at him jauntily. “There, you see? Nothing to fear! Seal it with a kiss!”

Katrin looked up at Erik, at his handsome face several inches above hers. He smiled at her, tilting his head to the side subtly in question.
Whaddaya think? Give her a little show?
Katrin smiled and gave him a small shrug.
Sure, why not?

It was the first time he had ever kissed her, instead of the other way around. Erik put his hands on her hips, and pulled her closer to him, gently crushing her breasts against his chest, feeling the tips hardening into points under the thin t-shirt that had driven him crazy all morning. She closed her eyes as he bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. He captured her top lip, tugging at it gently with his for a second before releasing it. It was so sweet, and she so badly wanted more, it took her a moment to realize it was over and to open her eyes. When she did, he was smiling down at her, tenderly, maybe still a little amused too.

Amidst a light applause from the older couple, he took her hand without a word, and led her out onto the windy outdoor boat deck where they were mostly alone. He stopped at the railing, letting her hand go.

They stood side by side as the island got closer and closer.

What was that? What was happening here?
And was it bad that she liked it so much? Katrin sighed in frustration.

“Awkward?” he asked, looking ahead at the island.

She shook her head, lowering her sunglasses. “Nope.”

“Why the sigh then?”

“Sweet.” And she sighed again.

“Hmm.” He murmured, and she felt his eyes on her. “Can I ask you something?”

She shrugged and turned her body toward him, leaning one elbow on the railing. “Sure.”

“You and, um, Dr. Martin. Martinez. José.”

“Mmm.”

Erik took a deep breath and turned away from her, staring back out at the island. “I know he likes you. That first day when I dropped you off. I mean, it was obvious. And you’ve been working with him for a few weeks, and you look better and better every time I see you. Happier. And, um, I’m just wondering if…”

Interesting, Picket Fences. Only one reason a man asks about another man.
No way she was making this easier on him either. She stayed silent, waiting for him to ask his question, but shifted her body away, to rest her elbow back on the railing, cradling her cheek on the palm furthest from him, and moving one foot up to rest in the mesh that extended from the railing to the floor.

He scoffed. “It’s none of my business.”

“That’s true.”

He faced her in a whip-fast movement, eyes searing. “Well, are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Are you—has he touched you?”

“Many times.” She paused. “We work together.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

She turned and faced him, starting to feel annoyed. He wasn’t able to offer her, or any other woman, for that matter, any sort of respectable commitment, but he wanted to know if she was sleeping with someone else? It wasn’t fair. Not to mention, she felt a little insulted—again— that he actually thought she’d be kissing
him
if she was also kissing José.

“Then why don’t you just say what you mean, Erik the Blond?”

He was massaging the railing with his hands and she watched him, wondering again what in the world had happened that made it so difficult for him to open up, to be open to falling in love with someone, open to happiness.

“Forget it.”

“Oooo-kay
.
” She looked away from him, toward the heavily wooded island up ahead.

“Are you seeing him?” Erik’s voice was low, intense with emotion and focused in its pursuit for an answer.

Katrin considered how to respond.
Take your time
, she thought, and opened up a window to her thoughts. On one hand, she liked that the very thought that José made Erik jealous, but the honest truth was that aside from some pretty tame flirting, there was nothing to be jealous of. José’s eyes didn’t linger on Katrin. Aside from work, he didn’t seek her out for anything but friendly conversation. When his eyes lingered, they lingered on Gabrielle, and when he spoke to Gabrielle, it was in more taut, intense tones than he ever used with Katrin, regardless of the subject matter. Still…did Erik deserve reassurance?

“You’re right. It’s none of your business, Erik. He’s cute. He’s nice. Neither of us is with someone else.” She watched his face, set like stone, staring straight ahead, his shoulders bunched uncomfortably high. His jaw flexed and his knuckles were white, clutching onto the railing, waiting for her answer. “But, to answer your question…no. I’m not seeing him.”

He exhaled and his shoulders relaxed, but he still didn’t look over at her.

“Not
yet
anyway,” she finished, and his head whipped to the side to look at her again. She met his eyes with raised eyebrows and smirked. “We’ll just have to see what happens,
Minste
.”

***

The knuckle-dragging impulse to grab her and haul her up against his body was overwhelming.
We’ll just have to see what happens. Like hell we will,
Ӓlskling.

An announcement alerted the passengers that the boat was preparing to dock, and Katrin smiled at him brightly, heading for the gangway. He watched her walk away from him. The way her jeans hugged her backside made him groan.

He caught up with her quickly, pulling her backpack off of her back, and swinging it up on top of his own.

“I don’t mind carrying it,” she said.

“Neither do I.”

Katrin shrugged, gesturing to the large billboard-style map in front of them at the end of the dock where a small crowd was forming. “Do you want to figure out where—”

Erik took her hand, leading her away from the others quickly, tapping his head with his index finger. “It’s all up here. Come on.”

He pulled her along a short way until they came to a well-worn path that seemed to bend around the natural curves of Skeeko Bay. “Do you mind going off the trail?”

“No. Not as long as you know where you’re going,” she teased. “Don’t really want to get lost in the woods.”

“Kinda depends on who you’re lost with.” He smiled, lacing his fingers through hers and slowed their pace a little, confident they had put some distance between them and the other folks on the boat. “Haven’t you heard? I’m a really good tour guide.”

“About that,” she asked, falling into step beside him, “wasn’t it hard to leave the family business?”

He shrugged. “I love my Pappa and my brothers. But, you know, I’m the youngest brother, and I think they all sorta thought I’d just follow along, you know? I mean, I love what I learned. I love being out here today, knowing what I’m doing. But I didn’t want to do it forever.”

“I’ve never been to Yellowstone.”

“What?” He stopped walking, turning to her in surprise. “What self-respecting Montana girl hasn’t visited Yeller?”

“This one.” She smiled at him, shrugging good-naturedly.

“Don’t like the parks?” He started walking again.

“I do. I think I just never had a good tour guide.”

“Well, I could remedy that.” He squeezed her hand.
Don’t overthink it. Don’t analyze it. Just for today, just enjoy her.
“Your Dad, though? Kristian? No hunting? No fishing?”

“Kris is seven years older than me. And yeah, he hunted a bit in high school, but he didn’t much want to drag his little sister around the woods with him, and then he enlisted after two years in college. I was only thirteen when he was deployed. And my Dad? Well, he wasn’t much for the parks.”

“Huh. Tell me about your Dad.” The path kept going around the bend of Skeeko Bay, but Erik pulled Katrin off the trail to the East. Another path wound through the woods, up the hill in front of them. At the top, there would be a flat space to picnic and if the maps were right, a great view of the lake and the mountains beyond.

“My Dad. He was sweet. Kind. Gentle. Soft spoken. He wore glasses. Went to church every Sunday morning and took the collection.

“He was a real bookworm. Read a different book every evening, it seemed like. By the fire in winter or on the porch in the summer. Every night. That’s what I like remembering about him the most.” She sighed. “Hated his job, but did it for us.”

“What did he do?” He was surprised to find that he actually cared. He wasn’t trying to flatter her with attention by acting like he cared about her life. He was actually curious to know about her life, her parents, her life before he met her. This was new for him.

“Worked as a supervisor at the power plant in Choteau until my Mom sold her share of the Triple Peak Lodge, and then he retired, but he died the following year. He always wished he’d gone to college, but his father died when he was young, and he had to go to work.” She paused before a larger boulder, leaves and twigs crackling under her feet as he helped her navigate it. Once around, she dropped his hand and he made a face, wanting it back.