From Doctor...to Daddy / When the Cowboy Said ''I Do'': From Doctor...to Daddy
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Eventually Dillon’s hold lessened, his kiss slowed, his tongue stopped exploring and she was aware of all the changes. Yes, they both wanted this moment—but where did he think it was going to go? Where did she?
She dropped her hands from around his neck and backed away.
His voice seemed quite steady and he looked much less affected by the kiss than she was. “I shouldn’t have done that here. Are you okay?”
His office was private. The scenery outside the long windows gave the illusion of being someplace other than in a lodge. But they were in the infirmary suite and could be interrupted at any time.
Erika’s thoughts wafted through her mind. She was trembling so badly, she felt as if she wanted to fall to the floor in a puddle. But she couldn’t let Dillon see how much he tilted her world.
After clearing her throat, she straightened her shoulders and met his gaze. “I’m fine.”
The simmering heat in his eyes shook her all over again. He ran his hand through his hair and went to his desk, using it as a barrier between them. “You have an outside appointment this afternoon, don’t you?”
With effort, she pulled herself together and replied, “With Mayor Brookhurst. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes. I have to sort through my notes first.”
With an obvious effort to move the conversation away from the two of them, he remarked, “I suppose he’ll be Master of Ceremonies for Frontier Days?”
“Yes. I want to go over his schedule. Bo Clifton and Arthur Swinton will be giving campaign speeches on Saturday afternoon of that weekend and probably glad-handing everyone they can. I’m hoping Mayor Brookhurst will look on the whole thing as one big retirement party.”
Although they were discussing Frontier Days, Dillon was still standing there watching her. “What?” she asked.
“You’re really beautiful when you let your guard down.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that until Dillon went on. “You’re beautiful all the time. But when you’re enthusiastic, your eyes light up, and your smile is something to see. I’m glad Zane’s concert will make you so happy.”
She wanted to find out more about how this had all come about and exactly why he had asked his friend for this favor. “Did you have to twist his arm?”
“No,” Dillon answered with a reminiscent smile. “I asked if he was free. He checked his schedule. I told him I’d be here this month and suggested we’d have time to reconnect. He seemed to like that idea.”
“I’m hoping he’ll enjoy himself here.”
“This will be good for you in other ways, too. The prestige of having him and his band staying here could bring in even more guests. Grant will be thrilled. I guess your biggest job now will be to publicize it as quickly as possible.”
If she kept looking at Dillon, kept thinking about his lips on hers, she’d end up in his arms again. So she concentrated on details. “There are so many things to think about—writing press releases, putting info on the resort Web site, taking out more ads across the area. I also need to know what Zane might need to be comfortable here. What does he like? What should I put in his room? Where can I get all of his CDs so we have enough to sell?”
“His manager won’t mind you asking him those questions. He’s a good guy.”
“But you probably know his likes and dislikes, favorite candy bars. Unless he’s into healthy snacks. If so, I need to know that,” she said, still in awe that the country singer was actually going to perform in Thunder Canyon.
Dillon shrugged. “He’s just a man, Erika, like any other. But if you need specifics, he likes corn chips and the hottest salsa you can find.”
“Still—this is so big for Thunder Canyon.”
“I’m getting a good idea of how big it is for you.”
“Will you introduce us?” she asked impulsively.
“Sure. If I’m around when Zane comes in, I’ll do that for you. You’ll like him, Erika. He really is a regular guy.”
“And you’re a terrific … friend for doing this.”
“I didn’t do it just for you. Thunder Canyon can use a real economic pump. Maybe if other country stars see that Zane performed here, they’ll follow.”
“Thank you for any part you played in convincing Zane to come here. I promise, his experience is going to be a spectacular one. I’ll make sure everything is exactly the way he wants it. We’ll treat him as the celebrity he is.”
“I think Zane will just want to have a beer and a rack of ribs from D.J.’s and act like a normal person. But that won’t be possible if we get crowds. You’ll have a chance to meet him outside the hoopla, then you can cross off one of your dreams come true.”
One of her dreams come true. Did the other have to do with Dillon? She was so tempted by the idea. But she knew dreams faded away like smoke at the tip of a candle. She had to keep Emilia and her job first and foremost in her mind.
And if she and Dillon were drawn together again?
Silence stretched between them and Dillon looked sober for a moment. “I want to say this again. I know I shouldn’t have kissed you here. I don’t want to embarrass you or compromise you. But something seems to happen when we get within ten feet of each other.”
He seemed as surprised by that as she was. She could pull back, wrap herself up in her professionalism, lift her chin and walk out without another word. But where would that get her? Dillon had said Zane was a real guy. Dillon was a real guy. He said what he meant. He did what he said. She wanted to be real, too.
“I learned in the past that an attraction can lead to pain I never want to experience again. Emilia deserves a family, not moments of happiness here and there. So I have to make a wise decision. Being attracted to you confuses me, I can’t deny it. But right now I don’t know what to do with it, either.”
“So for now you want to pretend we’re boss and employee and nothing else is going on.”
“Yes,” she admitted, relieved that he understood.
After all, she was a representative of Thunder Canyon Resort. She could not let desire for Dillon fog her better judgment.
And she couldn’t fall into a month-long affair that would surely leave her with a broken heart. She couldn’t.
“I have to go,” she murmured as she broke eye contact and stepped toward the door.
“Good luck with the mayor,” Dillon said, his voice wrapping around her as his arms had a few minutes before. She nodded and hurried out of his office, not knowing what to do about the tall, broad-shouldered Texan who had done her a huge favor.
Erika was walking through the main lobby of the resort when Erin Castro called to her from the front desk. Erin was still a mystery to many people in Thunder Canyon. She’d moved to town in July and found a job waitressing at the Hitching Post. Her long blond hair and very blue eyes, along with a figure straight out of Victoria’s Secret, attracted men to her, especially when she’d been a waitress. But now she’d been hired at Thunder Canyon Resort on a temporary basis—to fill in where she was needed—and she wore more subdued makeup, often tying back her hair. Erika thought now Erin seemed to want to blend in with the crowd.
But she was still too pretty to just blend in. When Erika stopped at the desk, Erin asked, “How would you like to have lunch next week? We could get away from here and go to the Tottering Teapot.”
“That would be nice.” The bistro in town was a woman’s haven.
Erika had made friends with Erin because she seemed so much less judgmental than other employees at the resort. Her other “lunch” friend, Holly Pritchett, was out of town for a few weeks. A relaxed lunch with Erin would help them to get to know each other better.
“The buzz around here is that you’re doing a good job at putting together Frontier Days,” she commented as if she was happy for Erika.
“Just wait until everyone knows,” Erika said with a mysterious smile.
“Knows what? You act like you have a secret you can’t wait to spill.”
“It won’t be a secret for long.” She crooked her finger at Erin and they leaned close to each other. “Zane Gunther’s going to be our entertainment.”
Erin almost let out a whoop but stopped herself. “You’re not kidding, are you?”
“Nope.”
“I thought you looked excited about something. How long do I have to keep it to myself?”
“I’ll be writing press releases tonight and sending them out to anyone I think can help publicize this. So by tomorrow evening, the news should be out.”
“You look so happy I thought you’d have something good to tell me.”
A guest, a woman who looked to be in her fifties, came in the front lobby door and wheeled her suitcase to the desk. Erin turned to her immediately.
Erika said in a low voice, “Call me to set up a lunch date.”
As Erika left the lodge and headed for the parking lot, she wondered if the news about Zane Gunther had put the smile on her face … or if it had actually been the result of her kiss with Dillon.
The kiss with Dillon was winning—and that conclusion scared her.
Chapter Five
Later that afternoon, Erika returned to the infirmary as Dillon was seeing one of the guests to the door.
“Just keep that ankle taped for two days, Mrs. Bixby,” he advised a gray-haired woman in her sixties. “Make another appointment to see me when you know your schedule. And use that cane.”
The older woman smiled up at Dillon. “Maybe I can get one of those fancy canes with the flowers all over it. Or one with a nice wooden handle.” She looked down at the utilitarian cane Dillon had apparently given her.
Dillon nodded. “I’m sure one of the shops will have them. But I think it might be best if you send your husband for one. You need to stay off of that foot, remember?”
“I remember,” Mrs. Bixby grumbled as she hobbled out of the reception area into the hall.
Turning to Erika, Dillon gave her his full attention. “Was your meeting with the mayor successful?”
Just one look into Dillon’s eyes and Erika knew he was thinking about their last kiss, just as she was.
“The mayor’s easy to get along with,” she answered lightly. “He agreed with everything I want to do.”
Dillon laughed, then sobered as Mr. Lindstrom ambled into the reception area. Erika tensed, not knowing what was coming next.
After looking from Dillon to Erika, Lindstrom addressed her. “Jeff told me the truth a little while ago—about that chocolate bar. About your talk with him. Things I should have said to him. There will, of course, be no lawsuit. I should have explained better what could happen to him if his allergies got out of hand. But even I didn’t want to think about that kind of reaction, let alone put fear into him.”
Erika understood just how Mr. Lindstrom felt, the responsibility that weighed on him as a parent. Every day she had to make decisions about Emilia and she didn’t know if they were right or wrong. “I think Jeff will be more careful himself now,” she replied, knowing how guilty Lindstrom must feel.
“The two of you saved my boy’s life, and I’d like to make up for the grief I caused you.”
“You don’t need to make up for anything, Mr. Lindstrom,” Dillon assured him.
“Nevertheless, I want to. I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but I have a jet at my disposal,” Mr. Lindstrom explained. “I thought maybe tomorrow the two of you would like to fly to Las Vegas for the day.”
When Erika glanced at Dillon, she realized he was remaining silent because this was going to be her choice. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. But then looking into her heart, she knew what she had to do, even though she’d never traveled outside of a hundred miles of Thunder Canyon. “Mr. Lindstrom, thank you so much for the offer. I appreciate it. But with my work schedule weekends are the only real time I get to spend with my little girl. I hope you understand. I’m sure if Dillon would like to get away—”
Dillon cut in. “I appreciate your offer also, but like Erika, I’m going to decline. I’m just settling in here and I think it would be better if I stick around.”
Dave Lindstrom looked from one of them to the other. “I can see why I like the two of you. You both have a solid sense of responsibility. Well, if ever either of you need anything, just let me know.” He offered them both business cards. “All my numbers are on there. If you ever need my assistance in any way, I’ll be glad to help out. Jeff and I will be here until after Frontier Days.
“Well, I won’t keep you any longer.” He shook Dillon’s hand and then Erika’s. “I’ll be seeing both of you around.” With a grin and a wave, he left the infirmary.
“If I had said yes to the trip to Las Vegas, would you have gone?” Erika asked, knowing exactly what a trip like that with Dillon could lead to.
“I would have, if I could have gotten Dr. Babchek to cover.”
Her voice was a little shaky as she asked, “And what would the two of us have done in Las Vegas?”
“We would have gone to a show, toured the city, eaten in one of the spectacular restaurants.” Then he touched the side of her cheek with the back of his hand. “And we would have gotten to know each other a little better.”
His touch made her insides tremble and she hated feeling vulnerable to him. She hated the idea that he could get to her like this.
“And what would you have expected in return?”
Dillon tilted his head and studied her for so long she began to feel very uncomfortable. Finally, he said, “Erika, why do you expect the worst whenever you’re with a man?”
“I don’t expect the worst. I just expect to be let down.”
“Then you haven’t been associating with the right men,” he replied with a lifted brow.
She felt her cheeks burn. Was she wrong to lump him in the same category as Scott?
He checked his watch. “I’m expecting a patient in ten minutes and I need to go over her chart.”
For a moment Erika thought he was angry with her until he said, “For what it’s worth, I admire your devotion to Emilia. Only a good mother would have made the choice you did.”
Then he was walking away from her and she realized how much she wanted to be held in his arms.
“So tell me about Dr. Traub,” Constance Rodriguez said as she sat at Erika’s kitchen table after church on Sunday, watching her granddaughter pull a toy duck around the table. It quacked every once in a while, making Emilia giggle.
This conversation wasn’t going to be an easy one to have, Erika realized as she stood at the stove and flipped an omelet. “What do you want to know?”
“Do you like working for him?”
“One of the reasons I accepted the position was to have weekends off. It was so wonderful to have yesterday and today with Emilia. A seven-day rotating schedule just didn’t seem to give me as much time with her.”
“I agree, having a weekend with her must seem like a wonderful gift. But I didn’t ask if you liked the schedule.”
Erika took her attention from the frying pan and looked at her mother. “I like him.”
“More than like him?”
When she thought about their kisses, she felt her cheeks coloring. “I’ve only been working with him for a short time, Mom.”
“Erika …”
She lowered the heat on the burner, trying to decide what she wanted to say.
“Okay, I more than like him. So don’t say what you’re thinking.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” her mother asked ingenuously.
“I can imagine. I know the mess I’ve made of my life before. I won’t do that again. I know Dillon is leaving in a few weeks. Still—He makes me feel as if I’m his equal. He’s respectful of me and he … he …” She certainly couldn’t tell her mother that Dillon was hot, absolutely smoking hot from his head to his toes. “And he’s kind.”
“That’s not what you were going to say, Erika Rodriguez. I’m not too old to notice a good-looking man. I just don’t want you to like him for the wrong reasons.”
“What would those reasons be?”
Emilia ran around the table, the duck catching on one of the table legs. When she started to fuss, Erika crouched down, pointed to the string and showed her how to unwind her toy until it was free again.
“I understand he comes from money,” her mother said. “He’s a doctor. He’s older than you are. I can see how you would look to a man like that to … take care of you.”
“Mom, how can you say that? For the past three years, all I’ve wanted to do is to live on my own, mother on my own, take care of Emilia on my own.”
“And it’s hard, isn’t it?” Her mother’s eyes searched for the truth.
“Yes, it’s hard. But it’s also satisfying. I’m working to build a future for two. That gives me motivation and a goal. My life isn’t just about me anymore, it’s about the two of us. I don’t like Dillon because of everything you mentioned. I like him because—”
She took a breath and needed a moment to say something her mother could accept. After switching off the burner, she flipped the omelet on to a plate.
“Tell me,” her mother prompted.
“If I tell you, you’ll laugh.”
“Try me.”
“He makes me feel alive. He makes me feel like I’m more than I am.”
Her mom didn’t laugh, but now she looked really worried. “You’ve fallen for him. Erika, I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I don’t want to get hurt again, either, but I haven’t dated in three years, Mom. I haven’t wanted to be with a man for three years. Being near Dillon makes me want things again.” She wasn’t going to go into what those things were, but from the look on her mom’s face, Erika could tell Constance got the gist.
This time as Emilia came around the corner of the table, her sneaker bumped a chair leg and she fell. Both Erika and her mom rushed to her.
“You’re okay,” Constance assured her granddaughter. “Come on, let me help you up.”
As soon as she was standing again, Emilia toddled to her mom and wrapped her arms around her. Caught in the little girl’s embrace, Erika gazed at her mother. “Don’t worry about me, Mom, I’m going to be fine.”
Constance laid one hand on her daughter’s shoulder, and the other on her granddaughter’s hair. “I don’t know if you will be fine. But I trust you to know what’s best for you.”
Erika had been thinking and organizing and planning her future ever since the day she’d found out she was pregnant. She wouldn’t stop now just because Dillon Traub’s kisses turned her insides to mush.
All weekend, Erika had thought about how close she’d been to going to Vegas with Dillon. The idea of it gave her that going-over-the-top-of-the-Ferris-wheel feeling and she wasn’t even sure why, given what a colossal mistake that would have been.
Yet as she locked her purse in her desk drawer Monday morning and switched on the computer, she knew she looked forward to seeing him in spite of every good reason to keep her distance. Because Dillon was as punctual as she was, Erika listened for the sound of his footsteps. She was sipping her cup of coffee when she heard them.
Something was different. His stride was usually quick and smooth with an athlete’s agility. This morning, however, when he appeared beside her desk, she knew something was definitely wrong. There was a scrape on his jaw and his breathing was deliberate and slow.
“What happened to you?” she asked, knowing whatever had, it was none of her business.
A smile broke slowly across his lips. “I scored.”
For a moment, his words didn’t compute. Then she realized he’d been involved in some kind of sport.
“I don’t suppose you were bowling?” she asked with a lifted brow.
He laughed and put a hand across his ribs. Shaking his head, he said, “Touch football.”
“With enemies or friends?”
“Dax, Marlon Cates and a few others.”
He took a deep breath and seemed to wish he hadn’t. In fact, he’d even gone a little pale.
She hurried around the desk and stood very close to him. “Are you sure you’re all right? Maybe you should call Dr. Babcheck and just go up to the suite and rest.”
Now he looked a little angry. Straightening, he dropped his arm to his side as if to prove he was fine. “Just a few bruised ribs. I don’t need to call my backup. I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”
Then as if he didn’t want her asking any more questions or studying him further, he went down the hall to his office, his posture almost in a military stance as if he had to prove something to her.
As Erika answered the phone, fed information to reporters about Zane’s concert, worked on schedules for activities for Frontier Days and made multiple lists for everything she still had to do, she found herself worrying about Dillon and wanting to check on him. Because he was her employer?
Hardly.
Because he’d kissed her?
It wasn’t just that, either.
At lunchtime, she decided she really needed to look in on him. She could do that easily. She’d ask him if there was anything he wanted for lunch, even though he’d told her she didn’t have to do that.
But when she stood before his closed door, knocking didn’t seem easy after all. Gathering her courage, she did it anyway.
He called, “Come in,” with less forcefulness than usual, she thought.
Dillon was seated at his desk, a medical journal open in front of him. She noticed some papers that had apparently floated off the printer and onto the floor. Automatically she went to them to pick them up.
“I can get those,” he told her and stooped to do it. But when he did, she could see his grimace, the pain evident on his face with his quick intake of breath.
“Dillon,” she said gently, crouching down beside him, scooping up the papers that had fallen there. “You shouldn’t be here. In fact, I’m pretty sure you should be at the emergency room. You need to see a doctor.”
“I am a doctor, Erika. Even if I cracked a rib, there’s nothing I can do for it but let it heal.”
He was one stubborn man, but that didn’t surprise her. Males usually were stubborn. She dismissed the fact that she could be, too. “Just what would you tell a patient in your condition?” she challenged him.
“I’d tell a patient to rest,” he grumbled, almost under his breath.
She clasped his forearm and when she did, the connection she felt to him was hot and tingling. “And maybe you’d advise them to take some pain medication?”
“I’m not taking pain medication,” he snapped. “I’ll tough this out today and I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Exasperated with him, she stood. “I could call Ruthann and ask her to come in a little early.”
“Her regular hours are fine. I’m fine.”
“Sure you are, and I’m Miss U.S.A.”
Now he cracked a grin. “You could be.”
“That’s not in my life plan.”
He turned serious now. “Just what is your life plan, other than becoming a resort manager someday?”
“It’s not complicated. I just want to be a good mother to Emilia and help her grow into an independent young woman.”
“But what do you want for yourself?”
“I haven’t had time to think about that.”
“I think you’ve thought about it, but you were so hurt by your last relationship you’ve closed off the possibility of another one.”
At his all-too-perceptive comment, Erika suddenly realized how badly she wanted to avoid this subject. For the past three years, she’d shut down desires and dreams. Dillon confused her and almost made her want to resurrect them again. But that risk was just too great.
Moving around his desk, she automatically picked up his empty coffee cup and tossed it into the waste can. “I’ll be away from my desk for a little while. I’m meeting a friend in town for lunch, then taking care of last-minute ads with downtown businesses.”
After a few silent beats, he said huskily, “You’re evading again.”
Turning on her heel to face him, she said, “I’m just evading for now.”
“All right.”