“In the off season, I usually go to Jackson, Wyoming, and spend time with Mia and John. I hike. I bike. I camp.”
“You are very outdoorsy.”
“I like to be active. John has a football camp and I help him out sometimes.”
“Do John and Mia have children?”
His eyes drooped a little. “No. They’ve tried but they just haven’t been able to yet.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I stopped asking. Mia has been really sad, so I don’t press.”
I wanted to ask him if he wanted children. The words danced on the tip of my tongue. It was very personal and I wasn’t sure I was ready to widen the fissure that had opened in my heart. “Do you want children?” Too late. Inquisitiveness got the better of me.
His grin grew. “I do.” A peaceful acceptance settled between us as we simply stared at each other. “Do you?”
My heartrate accelerated. “I’ve, yeah, I’ve thought about it. Maybe two. A boy and a girl.”
He laughed. “Didn’t you learn in medical school that you don’t get to decide?”
“Brat.” I slapped his knee and he grabbed my hand before I could pull it back.
Huskily he said, “While we focus onnotdiscussing what this is, what do you want to do tomorrow?” His hands were soft.
“How about snowmobiling?”
He almost shot off the couch. “Yes! Definitely, snowmobiling.”
It was so hard not to like him. He was so energetic. So full of life. I smiled at him.
Then he leaned closer and said in a seductive tone, “In the meantime, can we do more of the stuff that happened between us, that we won’t regret?” He inched towards me.
I put my wine on the coffee table and scooted down so he could lay on me. “Such as?” I pouted.
“Dr.Cain, you are more than your fancy education, aren’t you?”
A flash of wariness about his own profession creeped in around the edges of my thoughts. I pushed them away. Not tonight. Tonight, I would let myself be loved. In a few days, we could go our separate ways.
In lieu of answering, I pulled his shirt up and over his head. His phone rang. I ran the tips of my fingers over his well-defined chest. He reached into his jean pocket, pulled out his phone, and turned it off.
“Do you need to answer that?”
“I need to kiss you.” He lowered his lips to mine and we kissed like we’d been kissing each other forever.
Our night was spent in a blissful bubble of lovemaking, sleep, talk, repeat. I don’t know how long I slept, or how many times we touched each other. It was as if nothing else in the world mattered except the safety of the cabin and me and Brett.
The next day was a continuation of the night before - laughter and lighthearted fun. I would work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on patrol, so I had the day off to play.
Brett was charming and genuinely kind. He helped a couple from Mississippi get settled on a double snowmobile. They’d come in on a cruise ship and had always wanted to go snowmobiling on a glacier.
At first glance, I had nothing to complain about. But the reality of who he was, along with my past, precluded any potential future I had with him. That thought started to make me grumpy. By the end of the day, all I wanted to do was go home and be alone. I wanted him to leave. I was ashamed of my thoughts. Brett had been nothing but pleasant and kind all day. I didn’t want to want him.
On the way back to my cabin, he held my hand and drove with the other. He sang along to the country music playing on the radio. It was one of the only stations with enough frequency to cut through the winding mountain passes.
His phone rang. He let go of my hand, grabbed it from the console, and hit the end call button.
I fidgeted in my seat. “You keep ignoring your calls. Should you answer?”
He glanced at the phone and then at me. “Nah, it’s just the team doctor. I’ll call him tonight. Are you okay?”
The moment was getting closer. He would soon know who I was.