we shouldn’t even consider a kiss.”
“You kissed me,” he teased.
“That was just a thank-you kiss,” she whispered.
“Maybe this could just be a thank-you kiss.”
He really intended the kiss to be short and light and simple. But when his mouth settled on hers, when his heat ignited hers, it became more than a thank-you, more than short, much more than simple.
Her arms twined around his neck and he embraced her tighter. His mouth opened over hers and she responded in kind. She tasted so good, and she responded so passionately that his blood heated. He was more aroused than he’d been in years.
Then in a flashing instant, he felt the change. Her response came to a halt. He knew exactly what was going to happen. When he released his hold on Erika, she pulled out of his arms.
“I never should have done that,” she murmured, her hand over her mouth. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You weren’t thinking, and neither was I.”
She was shaking her head. “I can’t get involved. I have Emilia to think of. I never should have kissed you.”
He could see the panic in her eyes. The desire that had risen up in him when he’d taken her into his arms had rattled him, too. “Erika, it’s okay. It was only a kiss.”
“Only a kiss,” she agreed, looking over his shoulder and a little less panicked. “I hope no one saw us,” she murmured.
That made him frown. He wasn’t ashamed of being with her. They hadn’t done anything wrong.
But before he could put those thoughts into words, Erika stepped farther away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The next moment she was running for her car, hopping inside, starting the engine. As she drove away, Dillon knew that taking advantage of her friendly kiss had been the wrong thing to do.
Chapter Four
All morning Erika had sat at her desk, answering the phone, printing guidelines for the stores downtown who were involved in Frontier Days. Still, she couldn’t erase Dillon’s kiss from her mind, or the feel of his lips on hers. Yet she had to try. She’d put so much time and effort and focus into getting her life back on track. She couldn’t let a handsome doctor who was going to leave in a few weeks ruin everything she was building.
Still, she was curious about him. She wondered why, whenever Dillon was with children, she glimpsed so much sadness in his eyes. Would he ever tell her what that was about? Did she really want him to?
Entering the three-story main lobby of the resort from the corridor that led to the shops and restaurants, she noticed Dave Lindstrom standing by the life-size elk sculpture near the huge central fireplace. He was speaking with another guest. Crossing the vast lobby to reach the check-in desk, she was surprised when Dave’s son Jeff approached her, casting a glance at his dad before he asked, “Can I talk to you? Maybe over there?” He pointed to one of the leather sofas that faced away from his father.
Crossing to the sofa and sitting down, Erika felt a sense of urgency about Jeff. She didn’t know if she should talk to him with the threat of a lawsuit in the air, but his gaze was so beseeching she gave in. She had a few more minutes on her lunch break to spare.
She smiled at him reassuringly. “What would you like to talk about?”
He fidgeted with the hem of his T-shirt. “My dad said the chef who made my lunch got fired. And a lawsuit will cost the resort lots and lots of money and more people will get fired. Is that true?”
Jeff was mature for his age … and bright. The chef had in fact been fired, though she’d sworn she’d been very careful with his salad and his burger that day. Erika hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Why are you worried about this?”
“I watch the news. Dad has the cable channel on a lot. If people lose their jobs, they could lose their houses, too. And their kids won’t have a place to live!”
He was upset and now she suspected why. Jeff was a good kid and what she saw in his eyes was … guilt. “Your dad said you had a salad and that’s what caused your allergic reaction. If the chef wasn’t careful …” She let her voice trail off, giving Jeff an opening to tell her what really happened.
Tears came to Jeff’s eyes as he glanced toward his dad, then back at her.
She said gently, “Your dad loves you. All he cares about is that you’re well again.”
“He tells me over and over again not to eat anything someone else gives me. I have to eat stuff different from everyone else. It’s no fun.”
“I imagine it’s not.”
“I made a friend here. We went fishing together and skipped rocks and just walked.”
“Who’s your friend?”
“His name’s Ken.”
“Did you and Ken share something?” she guessed.
Jeff wiped his palms on his jeans. “He had this candy bar. He said it was just chocolate, no nuts. He gave me half of it and I stuck it in my pocket. That day at lunch when I saw that salad—” He sighed. “I just get so tired of salads. But Dad says they’re good for me. He got a phone call and left the table and I just … I just ate that half of the chocolate bar. It wasn’t supposed to have any nuts in it!”
Erika knew all that chocolate had to do was touch part of a conveyor belt where a nut product had lain. That was all it took for someone with food allergies to have a reaction.
She wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do with the information. She didn’t want to put Jeff and his father at odds in a public place, or interfere in the proceedings if there was a lawsuit. So she simply asked, “It wouldn’t be fair if your father sued the resort, would it?”
Jeff morosely shook his head.
“I do think it would probably be better if you told your dad instead of someone else telling him, though, don’t you?”
“He’s going to be so mad. I told you because …”
“Because you had to tell someone,” she guessed. “What does your dad do when he gets mad?”
“He yells and his face turns a little red. But afterward he usually says he’s sorry. He’ll probably take away my computer privileges.”
“You’re a smart kid. I think you can find something else to do. I also think your dad will be proud of you for telling the truth.”
“You think so?”
She’d seen firsthand the love that Dave Lindstrom felt for his son. She nodded. “I’m sure of it.”
Opening her purse, she took a slip of paper from it. She wrote down her cell-phone number and handed it to Jeff. “If you get into too much trouble and you want somebody to talk to, just
