by Cindy Kirk
“Uh, no.” Kate tried not to cringe. “Those aren’t my colors…and they’re definitely not yours.”
Mitzi laughed and shoved the garment to the back of the rack. “I can’t believe you thought I was serious.”
“You did show up at my office wearing cowboy boots,” Kate pointed out.
“It’s Jackson Hole.” Mitzi winked, an impish gleam in her eyes. “Not New York during Fashion Week.”
Before Kate could think of a comeback, she caught sight of another dress, one she hadn’t noticed before. Sleeveless and the color of raspberry sherbet, it had a scooped neck and wide jeweled belt.
Kate held it up. “What do you think of this one?”
“Ooh, I love it,” Mitzi squealed.
“I’m going to try it on.” Dress in hand, Kate turned in the direction of the fitting rooms.
Before she’d taken two steps, Mitzi blocked her path. “Will the fabulous Mr. Dennes be at the soiree this evening?”
“I’m terribly sorry,” Kate said in a fake English accent. “I haven’t been privy to the guest list.”
She held the dress up and studied it carefully.
“But he’ll probably be there, right?”
“I really like this dress,” Kate said.
“He’ll be there,” Mitzi said, answering her own question. “You know it and you’re glad. Cuz you like him.”
Kate groaned. She refused to revisit a subject that had already been beaten into the ground. Bottom line, becoming involved with Joel as anything more than a casual friend would be a mistake on too many levels to count. “Of course I like him. He’s a nice guy. But that doesn’t mean I want to date him.”
“Would you mind if I did?”
Kate jerked her head up from the belt she’d been inspecting. “Date Joel?” She narrowed her gaze. “Are you serious?”
“What do you think?” Mitzi’s blue eyes were all wide-eyed and innocent.
“You’re not interested.” Kate wasn’t sure whether to feel exasperated or relieved.
“I may not want him…but you do.” Mitzi grinned. “That’s what makes teasing you so much fun.”
“Read my lips. I’m only interested in Joel Dennes because he’s Chloe’s dad.”
“And because he’s got a phenomenal ass.”
“Never noticed.”
“A ruggedly handsome face.”
“He’s not ugly,” Kate grudgingly admitted, knowing that was an understatement.
“Best of all he’s got big hands and feet.”
Kate frowned. “What does the size of his hands and feet have to do with anything?”
Mitzi wiggled her brows. “Supposedly men who have big hands and feet have a big—”
“Old wives’ tale.”
“You’re such a priss.” Mitzi’s saucy smile took any sting from the words. She pulled out a slinky-looking red dress with a slit up the side that would have done a hooker proud. “Does this mean you’re not going to spill when you find out if Joel’s, uh, size correlates with those big feet?”
“If I did sleep with him—which is absolutely never going to happen—I certainly wouldn’t give you details.” Kate headed for the dressing room with long purposeful strides, ready to put an end to this ridiculous discussion.
Mitzi hurried to catch up, obviously determined to have the last word. “One of these days you’re going to have to admit it, Kate.”
“Admit what?”
“You’re not just interested in Chloe.” Mitzi’s gaze met hers. “You’re interested in her dad, as well.”
Chapter Seven
The “summer solstice” party at Mary Karen and Travis’s new home ended up being as much a house-warming event as a celebration of summer’s arrival. Most of the guests brought a bottle of wine, a plant or some other small item.
Kate came with a bottle of champagne in hand, knowing it was Mary Karen’s favorite beverage. Any woman who daily dealt with a doctor husband and five small children deserved to get something special just for her.
Mary Karen squealed when she saw the gift, then gave both Kate and Mitzi a big hug. After an impromptu tour of the large home, Mary Karen got called to the kitchen. Kate and Mitzi stood around sampling a few of the delectable appetizers Lexi had made especially for the party.
Even while she asked and answered questions, Kate surreptitiously scanned the room for people she knew. Her surveillance activity was briefly interrupted when a woman who was involved in working with Jackson Hole’s immigrant population stopped over to say hello. During the introductions that followed, Mitzi mentioned she was bilingual. The woman’s eyes had lit up and a discussion of the part Mitzi could play in the medical community was off and running. After a few minutes of polite listening, Kate wandered off.
She found a spot by the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and resumed her people watching. Men in casual pants and cotton shirts. Women in colorful dresses and flouncy skirts. Everyone talking and laughing. People she knew and those she recognized. Normally the parties she attended were smaller and more intimate. At those events, finding who she was looking for was easy.
Standing there in her raspberry-sherbet dress and black eel-skin heels, Kate sipped her glass of white wine and wondered if Mitzi might be right about her attraction to Joel.
Even though the anticipation over seeing Chloe again might partially account for the nervous quiver in her stomach, it didn’t explain the extra time she’d spent on her makeup and hair.
On her way home from the “Great Dress Hunt,” she’d picked up some eye shadow guaranteed to make her eyes dark and mysterious along with a tube of lipstick that matched her dress. While getting ready for the party, rather than leave her hair hanging loose, she’d pulled the dark strands off to one side in a low stylish bun.
Had she really gone to all this extra effort simply to celebrate the arrival of the summer solstice? Kate tightened her fingers around the stem of the wineglass.
Joel was an attractive single man whom she admired, she told herself. She’d admired him even more when he’d called to apologize for his gruffness in the office and to thank her for looking out for his daughter’s welfare. Still, that didn’t mean she was foolish enough to consider dating him. Or, heaven forbid, sleep with him.
Darn Mitzi for even putting that idea in her head.
Still, reassured by her logic, Kate relaxed her hold, took a sip and decided that rather than continue to survey the room like some spy in a Grade B movie, she would socialize.
With bold confident steps and her head held high, Kate started across the room. She’d barely gone ten feet when a couple crossed in front of her without warning. She abruptly changed course to avoid a collision and ran straight into a broad muscular chest.
Her white wine flew forward. She stumbled backward, teetering on the edge of her four-inch heels. Just when she thought a fall was inevitable, a pair of large hands reached out and steadied her.
Kate looked up into the concerned eyes of Joel Dennes. The gallop in her chest became an all-out sprint.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” she blurted out.
Joel glanced down at his shirt. A twinkle filled his eyes. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
Even with wet splotches of wine across the front of his brown shirt, Joel looked way too appealing. His normally longish hair had been recently trimmed and he’d exchanged his jeans and work boots for khakis and stylish loafers.
“I’m sorry about the wine.” Kate mumbled the apology, her tongue thick and unwieldy.
“I’m sorry I knocked you off your feet.” He flashed a warm smile that brought back that off-kilter feeling she’d had when she was falling.
They exchanged a smile before his gaze dropped and traveled down her body. When those piercing hazel eyes reached her bodice, Kate felt her nipples strain against her lace bra. As his gaze dropped lower, an almost forgotten heat filled her abdomen.
She felt like protesting when he shifted his attention back to her face, until she saw the look of
pure masculine appreciation in his eyes.
“You look nice,” he said, his eyes glittering.
“So do you. I mean you did—” Kate gestured toward his damp wine-splattered shirt “—before…”
“A certain beautiful doctor threw a glass of wine at me?”
He thinks I’m beautiful. A thrumming filled her veins. She gazed at him through lowered lashes. “Only because a certain handsome contractor chose to block my path.”
A smile slowly made its way across his face. In response, an answering one lifted her lips.
Unexpectedly Joel put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to let a waiter with a platter of tiny sandwiches pass by them. Her heart gave an excited leap.
If she’d been a teenager, having him so near would have made her swoon. She may have kept her composure, but her insides quivered as he maneuvered her through the crowd. “First you block my way, now you’re spiriting me off to God knows where.”
“Blocking your path was the only way to get your attention.” He grinned and shot her a wink before stopping in an alcove just off the main room.
“A tad dramatic.” Kate put a finger to her lips. “But I like your style.”
She resisted the urge to tell him that she’d been searching for him since she’d arrived. Instead, she gestured to the crowded room. “Look at this party. All sorts of interesting guests are here this evening.”
“If you feel that way, why were you alone?”
“I’m better one-on-one.”
“Me, too.”
“Your daughter seems to do better one-on-one, too.” Kate tried to ignore the spicy scent of his cologne. “By the way, how is Chloe?”
“Very well, other than her eye. You were right.” Joel shook his head. “She’s got quite a shiner.”
“Did you bring her tonight?”
“She’s downstairs at the kids’ party. Lexi’s daughter Addie spirited her away the second we came through the door.” Joel’s gaze turned thoughtful. “I wish Addie were a couple years younger. She and Chloe would be good friends.”
Every time Kate thought about Chloe feeling left out, her heart ached. She’d been there. It wasn’t a happy place to be. “How are things in the friend arena?”
“If you’re asking about day camp…” He shrugged. “About the same. But she’s been talking to Savannah every evening and that makes her happy.”
A waiter with an empty tray stopped to take Kate’s glass.
“May I get you another drink?” Joel asked.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Kate spoke with mock seriousness. “Are you sure you want to procure alcohol for a person already proven to be tipsy?”
By the blank expression on his face, she realized he’d missed the point of her pathetic stab at humor. No wonder she’d never been a social success. She lifted one foot and wiggled it back and forth, then pretended to lose her balance. “Tipsy. Get it?”
His gaze lingered for an extra beat on her leg, then he chuckled, a low pleasant rumbling sound. “Got it.”
“Mental note,” Kate said with a teasing smile. “Spell it out for Joel.”
“Hey,” he said with mock outrage.
“It’s okay.” Kate patted his arm. “In the future I’ll keep it simple. Make it easier for you to comprehend.”
She’d been bantering with Mitzi so much this past week that Kate responded to Joel in the same manner. For a second she worried she’d carried the teasing too far. Until he broke into laughter.
With a smile tugging at her own lips, she shifted her gaze out the window. “It’s much too beautiful a night to be indoors. What would you say if I asked you to go outside and swing with me?”
On the tour Mary Karen had given her and Mitzi, Kate had taken note of a porch swing in a backyard gazebo. She didn’t feel that it was necessary to explain which swing. Joel had built this beautiful home.
“If you ask me,” he said, his expression turning serious, “I will say yes.”
There it was again, a connection, a spark, a fiery heat she hadn’t felt in years. An intense attraction that should send any woman with her secrets running for the hills. Instead of taking off as fast as her heels would carry her, Kate rested a hand on his arm.
“Would you come outside and swing with me?” she asked in a tone that bordered on flirtatious.
His eyes danced with sudden humor. “I’d love to play on the swings with you, Dr. McNeal.”
Play?
Kate found the possibilities intriguing.
Nonononono. What was she thinking? Playing with Joel was too dangerous. Unfortunately if she backed out now, she’d look like a total flake. Or worse yet, a shameless flirt.
Besides, she simply wanted to swing with Joel.
That’s all.
How could that kind of play be dangerous?
Feeling reassured, Kate considered the next hurdle—how to get outside without attracting attention. Many of the people at this party were into “couple activities,” which meant if they found out where she and Joel were headed, they’d want to join them.
“If we want to make a clean break, the best exit to use would be the one in the kitchen,” his voice whispered in her ear.
Kate whirled to face Joel, wondering how he’d known what she’d been thinking.
Even though she hadn’t said a word, he tapped the side of his head with an index finger. “Psychic.”
Kate rolled her eyes. The man was incorrigible.
Joel gestured to where Mitzi stood halfway across the room still talking to the economic-development woman. “Do you need to tell your friend where you’ll be?”
Lifting a brow, Kate smiled. “You’re the one who’s psychic. You tell me.”
“I’d like to hear it from you.”
“You’re good.” Kate laughed. “Actually I doubt Mitzi will notice I’m gone. Because we came in her rental car, even if she does, she’ll know I can’t be far.”
“Chloe knows to have someone call my cell if she needs me, so it sounds like all bases are covered.” Joel pointed to a slight break in the crowd. “Looks like an escape route has opened up.”
Anticipation skittered up Kate’s spine. “Ready when you are, James Bond.”
Joel lifted his eyes to the heavens. “The woman asks me to go outside and she doesn’t even know my name.”
Kate punched him in the shoulder. “Get movin’, Sherlock.”
Luckily no one stopped them on their way to the kitchen. They’d barely stepped past the large refrigerator when Joel brought a finger to his lips, whispering there were footsteps headed their way.
“Quick,” he urged, “out the back.”
By the time they reached the gazebo and plopped into the swing, they were both laughing.
“Ohmigod.” Kate wiped tears from the corner of her eyes with her fingertips. “Who knew making a quick getaway could be so much fun?”
“I haven’t laughed this much in years.” Joel’s eyes crinkled with good humor. He gestured to the broad expanse of lawn flanked by tall evergreen trees. “Coming out here was a brilliant suggestion.”
Kate exhaled a contented sigh and lifted her eyes to the clear, star-filled sky. “I didn’t realize there was a full moon tonight.”
Like a huge yellow orb, the moon cast its glow on the earth below. Over the Tetons with snow still lingering on their peaks. Over the trees filling the air with their pungent scent of pine. Over the gazebo with its gingerbread trim.
A breeze caressed Kate’s cheek as she swung back and forth, but she wasn’t at all cold. How could she be? Heat rolled off Joel in waves.
An image surfaced of Joel covering her like a blanket on a snowy winter’s night. Kate shivered, imagining the feel of his bare skin against hers, the touch of his lips—
“Don’t tell me you’re cold,” Joel whispered in her ear.
Kate hoped the dim light hid the heat flooding her face in a warm tide. She shoved aside the stranded-in-a-blizzard-with-a-sexy-contractor fantasy. “
Nope, not at all.”
He rested his arm on the back of the swing behind her and leaned in close. “Kate, I—”
She wasn’t sure what would have happened if the phone in her tiny black purse hadn’t begun to vibrate. Kate cast an apologetic glance in Joel’s direction and retrieved her smartphone. “I need to take this. I have a patient in the hospital who—”
“Answer it.” Joel straightened in his seat. “Do you want me to give you some privacy?”
She shook her head.
“Dr. McNeal.” Although she and Joel were the only people in the gazebo, Kate kept her voice low.
“Kate? Is that you?”
“Mother?” Kate stifled a groan. This is what she got for answering without looking at the readout first.
“I’m surprised I reached you,” her mother said, sounding peevish. “I was just telling your father the other day that you screen my calls. And don’t bother to deny it.”
Kate ignored the jab. “I’m surprised to hear from you.” She and her mother had already talked on the first of June and Kate hadn’t planned to hear from her again until the obligatory call on July 1st. Once a month had always been enough for both of them. “Is everything okay with you and Dad?”
Beside her, Joel stilled.
“We’re both fine, although your father’s prostate has been giving him fits and my hemorrhoids are a constant battle.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kate wanted to ask her mother why she was calling, but she held her tongue. Knowing LuAnn McNeal, she’d soon get to the point.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I called.”
“It crossed my mind.” Kate kept her tone light.
“Your Aunt Edith read me the riot act today. She said I should have let you know Elle is in the hospital. I told her it’s nothing serious but she insisted I call.”
Elle was Kate’s niece, the youngest of her sister Andrea’s three children.
“Mother, they don’t put a three-year-old in the hospital unless it’s serious. What’s wrong with Elle?”
“They don’t know. Not yet anyway.” For the first time, her mother sounded uncertain. “But I’m confident they’ll figure it out.”
Kate’s medical training kicked into high gear. “What are her symptoms?”