by Katy Paige
Erik wasn’t sure what he expected, but one thing was abundantly clear: the Triple Peak was a full-fledged, exclusive, five-star, triple diamond resort. This had been Katrin’s family’s bed & breakfast? Whew.
He turned to her and found her smiling at him expectantly. “You like it?”
“It’s…grand,” said Erik. “Not what I expected.”
“They did a lot to it. The developers. I mean, my grandparents owned the lodge and ran it as a B&B, but it was much smaller. Just a big porch with plenty of sunshine, shared bathrooms, and a great room with a fireplace for guests. And there was always the barn where they kept the horses for visitors, and a few other outbuildings. But, the rest? The pool and tennis courts and helipad, for heaven’s sake, well, that was all added later after it’d been purchased.”
“So you remember coming here as a kid?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. My mom and Sam’s mom didn’t want to run it as a B&B after my grandparents passed on, so it became a private family lodge while I was growing up. I have great memories of Christmas and New Year’s here with the Kelleys. But, the upkeep was real expensive. They sold it later.”
“What’s Paradise?”
“Ahhhh.” She nodded, her voice warming. “Paradise is the only part of the ranch still partially owned by my family. It’s a three-bedroom cottage way up near the barn, half a mile from the lodge. It was actually the site of the original house on the property where my mom grew up until they added a family wing onto the main lodge. My mormor used to say ‘Triple Peak’s as close to paradise as we’ll ever get in this life.’ So, when my mom and her sister sold the land, they stipulated two things: one, that the little cottage be renovated, renamed ‘Paradise’ and be available for use by the Kelleys or the Svensons as long as we give a week’s notice and the cottage is unoccupied, and two, that the Triple Peak offers a full-blown Scandinavian Midsummer celebration every June. It was a no-brainer for the hospitality group. They basically got the land and location for a song, plus they sell out for Midsummer every year. But, they did right by it. It’s beautiful, don’t you think?”
“It’s sure impressive. Reminds me of the ski resort down in Big Sky.”
“I know it well! We skied there often growing up. It’s a couple of hours from Great Falls.”
Erik nodded at her, and it occurred to him that he’d have a girlfriend this year when ski season started. He could imagine her in a pretty parka, blonde hair flying behind as the wind rushed through it. They’d kiss on the lift heading up the mountain and have spiked cider in the lodge later, her blue eyes sparkling by the fire, and he’d—
“Erik. You ready?” She had her hand on the passenger’s door handle.
He shook his head, took a deep breath and sighed. “Want to just go to your apartment instead? Come back tomorrow?”
“They’re going to start the bonfire soon. Come on. It’ll warm up your cold feet.”
“I don’t have cold feet. Not where you’re concerned anyway. Just wish I could have you to myself.”
She smiled shyly then looked down. The expression on her face hinted that something wasn’t sitting right with her.
“What’s up? Kat?”
She didn’t look up, but he saw the color spreading through her cheeks. “Erik…I, um…you know I haven’t…”
He put his fingertips under her chin and tilted it up so she faced him. He searched her eyes, worried. “What is it? Tell me, sweetheart.”
“I was only with, um, with Wade. In my whole life. And it’s been a while since...” Her voice was a whisper and the last part came out in a rush. Even though he had tilted her face up, she kept her eyes down.
His eyes widened. She’s talking about sex. Careful here, Erik.
“Oh! Oh. Okay. That’s, that’s fine.”
She still looked down, biting her bottom lip. It made him want to kiss her.
“Kat. Look at me. Please.” She looked up and the uncertainty in her eyes prompted a gentle, reassuring smile from him. “No expectations. I mean it. We can sit on your couch and watch a movie until you fall asleep with your head on my shoulder. Hey, I can even sleep on the couch if that’s more comfortable for you. I don’t expect anything. I just want to be with you. The rest is gravy.”
“Gravy,” she whispered, but he could hear the smile in her voice. She looked up and her eyes seized his. She brought her hands to his face. “Where’d you come from, Erik Lindstrom?”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Her tongue darted past his lips into his mouth right away, jolting him like a shock, and he met her search passionately, claiming her, playing, teasing.
She ran her hands from his face to his neck, slowly down his chest to rest her palms on top of his thighs, the tips of her fingers catching in the crease of his jeans. Feeling her fingers in his lap made him wild, and he growl-groaned into her mouth. He knew they had to stop and get out of the car before he wasn’t able to calm back down and their waiting families got a good look at the effect Katrin had on him. He broke off the kiss, turning his face away from her, pulling her hands up and kissing each of her knuckles before pushing them away.
“Kat…” He stared at her, out of breath, shaking his head. “Maybe I should stay with my brothers. More kissing like that and I can’t make any promises…”
She looked surprised at first then grinned, a pretty blush flushing her cheeks. “Let’s just play it by ear, huh?”
***
As Katrin had predicted, their families were grouped comfortably around a campfire on the back lawn of the lodge in Adirondack chairs and benches and on blankets, catching up with one another. Erik braced himself for the reactions to their hand-in-hand arrival.
“Katrin!” Lisabet Svenson jumped up right away, hurrying over to the couple, and threw her arms around Katrin, who still held Erik’s hand. She leaned back and looked at her daughter’s fading rash. “You look okay, love. How are you feeling?”
Jenny also stood from her cozy spot on Sam’s lap and ran to her brother, looking pointedly at his hand attached to Katrin before opening her arms for a hug. He dropped Katrin’s hand then and gave Jenny a big bear hug. When he stepped back, he flicked his glance down to her oversized Norwegian sweater, which was a touch too warm for a June evening. She gave him a look that pointedly demanded that he keep quiet about the bump underneath then smiled broadly. “You look good, Minste.”
His father and brothers followed Jenny’s lead and he was soon surrounded by his family. His father nodded slowly, looking Erik up and down with pride. “My son, the policeman. How goes it up there in Kalispell?”
“Good enough, Pappa.” He shook his father’s hand, then Nils and Lars too, who glanced back and forth between him and Katrin. His Pappa headed back to his seat by the fire, and Jenny slid over to say hello to Katrin, leaving her brothers to catch up.
Lars raised his eyebrows at Erik, pulled him closer and whispered, “Lucky you saw her first.”
Erik gave his older brother a warning look. “Don’t try it, Lars. She’s not a ‘park girl’.”
Lars, a notorious tease, winked at Erik. “Someone’s got himself a girlfriend.”
Erik ignored Lars, turning to Nils. “No Maggie?”
“Shut up, Erik.” Nils frowned. Erik tried not to smile. Maggie was a good friend of Jenny’s, and Nils’s longtime love interest about whom Nils had done exactly nothing in the four years he’d been pining over her.
“Still haven’t made your move, eh?”
“What’re you going to do about it, lillebror? School me on making a move? You the big expert now?” His glance flicked to Katrin.
“Nah. Nothing I could teach you, brother. Either you gotta have her, or you don’t. Somehow it just got to that point.”
Nils nodded, looking down. “You staying with us tonight or with, uh—”
“Katrin,” Erik supplied. “None of your business.”
Nils’s ice blue eyes sparkled. “Ohhhh, it’s like that, is it? Payback’s fair, Erik. Y
ou been on my case about Maggie for years.”
“This girl’s different.” Erik gave him a warning look. “She’s special. You two better not do anything to try to wreck this…”
“We have to keep you on your toes, lillebror!”
“Don’t be an asshole, Lars.”
“Going to take a swing at me, Minste?”
Suddenly Kristian appeared beside Erik, his face cool and unreadable, voice low and firm. “If anyone’s taking a swing at Erik, it’ll be me first.”
Erik turned to face Kristian. He tilted his head to Katrin, who was surrounded by her mother, Lisabet, her aunt Margaret, Jenny, and Ingrid, who was holding Anna. “You want to talk?”
“I want to punch your face in. We trusted you.” Kristian leaned toward Erik with narrow eyes. “She’s been through enough, Erik. You made her cry.”
“I did.” Erik held Kristian’s eyes. “But it’s all been worked out.”
Lars and Nils subtly changed their positions during this exchange to flank Erik, keeping their shoulders close.
Nils spoke first. “She’s not crying anymore.”
Lars now. “Looks real happy if you ask me.”
“This is between me and Kristian,” Erik said, stepping forward.
Lars adjusted his position, his shoulder grazing Erik’s, massive hands on his hips. “You’re wrong there, lillebror.”
“You got a problem with Erik, you got a problem with us. Take it…or leave it,” said Nils, stepping forward toward Kristian, flanking Erik.
Sam had been watching this exchange from his chair by the fire, but now took a stand beside his cousin. “This doesn’t look friendly. What’s going on here?”
“Sorry, Sam. We like you and all, and you’re sort-of family, but no way we’re letting Kristian jump Erik. He touches Erik, we touch him,” said Lars.
“Heya, Erik.” Sam offered Erik his hand, and Erik shook it.
“Heya, Sam. You’re looking well.”
“Thanks, Minste. You too.” Sam scratched his head, looking back and forth between his favorite cousin and his three burly brothers-in-law. He put his arm around Kristian’s shoulder, pulling him close. “Not going to help a damn thing hitting him. Would make Kat crazy. Ingrid and Jenny would hit the roof. You don’t want that. Kat’s happy now. Let it go.”
“I trusted him with my sister, and he hurt her. God only knows what his intentions are.” Kristian turned to Sam with a scathing look, trying to shrug off his arm. “You’re more Lindstrom than Gunderson now, huh?”
Gunderson was the maiden name of Sam and Kristian’s mothers, and a middle name the two men shared. Sam pulled Kristian closer and spoke low in his ear. “Nah, but me and Jenny have some news to share now that the whole family’s here, and I’m not letting you wreck it for her by getting into it with her brothers. You do that, she’ll be upset and then we have a problem. So, you’re going to let it go, cuz. Least for now.”
Kristian turned to Sam, nostrils flaring and nodded once curtly, then turned back to Erik.
“You’re not good enough for her,” Kristian said softly, before stalking away.
“I know,” said Erik to Kristian’s retreating form. But by the grace of God, she belonged to him now, and he aimed to keep it that way.
“Nice work, Erik.” Sam didn’t look pleased.
“Sam, I didn’t mean to hurt her. I lo—I mean, I care about her. More than—I mean, my intentions are—”
“Oh, Erik!” Sam stared at Erik, eyes widening as he snickered with understanding. “This isn’t a fling, huh? You got it bad, son.”
“Just here for your amusement, Sam.” He smirked dryly at his brother-in-law. “And no, this is not a fling.”
“You and Katrin, huh?”
Erik glanced over at her, and she looked up at the same time, her eyes catching his and dancing, dimples caving in as she winked at him. Without looking away from her, he murmured back to Sam.
“Yeah. Me and Katrin.” Us.
***
Katrin winked at Erik and then turned her attention back to the women that surrounded her. Sam’s mother, her aunt Margaret, was asking her about the clinic and she was telling them all about her job in broad strokes.
Her mother looked like she was about to cry, so pleased to see her daughter.
Ingrid looked a little worried, likely still trying to figure out if Erik and Katrin were a good idea, and how to convince Kristian of the same.
Jenny also looked a little worried, but a little wary too, which made sense since she was so close to Erik. He would be her first priority, whether there were tales of him making Katrin cry or not. Katrin watched as Jenny’s glance flicked nervously over to the men at one point, and she followed her gaze. She saw Sam put his arm around Kristian then watched Kristian stalk away, looking sour.
Aside from a brief brotherly nod when she and Erik arrived, Kristian hadn’t come over to say hello to her, which meant he was furious about her getting involved with Erik. She decided she wasn’t putting up with her brother’s moods this weekend. She’d speak to him later and make it clear that he needed to stay out of her business and leave her and Erik alone. And he’d better just mind her words.
“…up and running now, and it’s just wonderful to see town embrace the clinic,” she finished, smiling politely at her aunt Margaret.
“And you love it up there?” her aunt Margaret asked.
“Mom, show Aunt Margaret the postcard I sent you. It’s beautiful. You would love it.”
Katrin’s mother looked at her quizzically as Ingrid transferred Anna gently over to her farmor, and Lisabet kissed the baby’s sleeping face.
“You’ll have to show me, Lisabet,” Margaret reminded her sister.
“I didn’t get a postcard. Are you sure you sent it?” said Katrin’s mother.
“Pretty sure,” said Katrin. “You sure you didn’t get it?”
“Maybe it got stuck in a catalog or something. I’ll check when I get home.” Lisabet kissed Anna’s peach-fuzzed cheek again. “We haven’t heard a thing from Wade,” her mother blurted out. “Not a thing since he started at the rehab place.”
Katrin looked at Ingrid who confirmed, “I guess he’s there. At the treatment place. Been a week and five days now. We heard from Mrs. Doyle last Monday after he was admitted. I guess they had a devil of a time finding him. He took off with their car for hours and didn’t come home until almost morning.”
“Well, at least he’s there now.” Katrin was grim. “Erik’s worried about the security in those sorts of places.”
“Well, it’s an hour away. I think they keep a pretty good eye on the folks there. I don’t think you should worry, Kat. I think it’s finally over.” Her mother placed a gentle palm on Katrin’s face. “My strong girl. I’m so glad it’s over.” She glanced at Erik. “I’m so glad you’re moving on. You look happy, Katrin Marie.”
Margaret nudged her sister. “Oh, look, Lis. Sam’s talking to the boys and Carl’s all alone. We should keep him company, poor man. Let the young girls catch up.” She winked at Katrin, then ushered Lisabet away.
Katrin watched as her mother and aunt returned to the campfire, feeling a small measure of sympathy for poor Mr. Lindstrom as they sat down on either side of Erik’s father. The sisters could be overwhelming, and Mr. Lindstrom looked like sort of a soft-spoken gentleman. She turned to Ingrid. “Where’s Uncle Sean? You know, to even things up a little.”
“Up on Egg Mountain. He can’t resist it when he’s here. Margaret said he’d be back down later for dinner, but who knows? Mr. Lindstrom’s tougher than he looks. Has to handle all those tourists.” She smiled, but the smile was nervous, uneven. “You okay, Kat?”
Ingrid flicked her glance to Jenny meaningfully, and Jenny added, “Erik’s never been much good with girls, Katrin. Sort of a player—um, I mean, he sort of dates a lot, but, he’s a real good man on the insi—”
“You don’t have to sell him to me, Jenny. I’m already buying.”
Jen
ny’s eyes opened wide, and she colored pink, grinning at Katrin. “I sort of thought so when you two walked up together. Never seen Erik hold a girl’s hand, let alone in front of the whole family. Ing said you two might have formed an attachment, but seeing is believing…”
Katrin nodded, glancing over at him again. He had taken a seat with his brothers and Sam around the fire, and briefly caught her glance, winking at her. “He’s um…surprising.”
Ingrid touched her arm, drawing her attention. “Kat, I wanted to kill him after you called me crying two weeks ago. I mean it. I felt so bad that we ever had the idea to throw you two together.”
“Throw us together?”
Ingrid cringed then looked at Jenny, who pursed her lips shaking her head back and forth like she wished Ingrid would just shut up.
Katrin asked again. “Throw us together, Ing?”
“Well,” Jenny started, turning red. “You were single. And Erik was single. And Wade was…Wade. We thought…what better person for you, than someone protective, you know, in law enforcement. And you were both going to be up there…”
“You two were matchmaking?” She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “What about all that warning me about how Erik could break my heart?”
“Jenny had this idea that forbidden fruit is the most…enticing.”
Katrin flicked her glance to Jenny, who stared at Ingrid in disbelief.
“Your new name is Benedict,” said Jenny tartly. “As in Arnold.”
Ingrid wrinkled her nose at Jenny then turned back to Katrin. “Are you mad?”
Katrin shook her head at the pair of them. For two women several years older than she, they sure looked foolish, and guilty, shifting their feet back and forth. Katrin smiled at them, breaking the tension and letting them out of their misery. “Lucky for you two it all worked out okay.”