From Doctor...to Daddy / When the Cowboy Said ''I Do'': From Doctor...to Daddy

Dillon took her hand in his. “Would you have wanted to see the truth? Would you have listened?”

No one had ever asked her that question. She gave it a long moment of thought. “Maybe not. But when I became pregnant and Scott told me he never wanted to get serious, that he wasn’t just dating me, that he’d be leaving soon, I didn’t see it coming. I was so foolish,” she said shaking her head.

“You were young without much experience with men.”

“I was stupid. But Emilia is the wonderful result. She’s helped me grow up and I love her to pieces. Now I’m just grateful I have her and I try to forget the rest.”

“How often do you hear from him?”

“Never. He’s not in our lives. When he left, he made it clear he wanted nothing else to do with me, or a baby.”

“He doesn’t pay child support?”

“When I was out of work after Emilia’s delivery, I considered trying to find him. But if he paid child support, I’m afraid he’d want something in return. If he doesn’t care about his daughter, I don’t want him anywhere near her. I’ll raise her on my own.”

“Does he know he has a daughter?”

“No. But if she wants to search for him one day, I’ll help her. For now, it’s just the two of us and that’s okay. We’ve got a good life.”

“I can’t imagine a man wanting nothing to do with his child,” Dillon murmured.

“That’s because you’re a different kind of man,” Erika said, part of her knowing it, part of her afraid to believe it. That pained expression was back in Dillon’s eyes … as if he didn’t agree with her assessment. But he lifted their hands, studied their entwined fingers and leaned a little closer to her.

She lifted her chin, anticipating his kiss, ready to feel his arms around her again.

He enfolded her in his arms, began a heart-tripping kiss, but then pulled away. “You’ve had a raw deal once and I don’t want that to happen again. In a few weeks, I’ll be leaving. We both need to remember that.”

The problem was she still wanted him to kiss her, even though she knew he’d be leaving. Was she willing to risk falling in love with Dillon Traub—and having her heart broken all over again if she did?

Chapter Six

Fifteen minutes later, Erika paced Dillon’s living room. She’d agreed to stay until he was finished in the shower. What if the pain in his ribs suddenly got worse?

Dillon had left his cell phone on the occasional table next to the sofa. Just as she heard the shower turn off in the bathroom, his phone chimed. Crossing to it, she picked it up and saw Dr. Babchek’s number in the caller ID.

Hurrying to Dillon’s bedroom, she peeked inside the open door. Apparently Dillon was still in the bathroom. “Dr. Babchek’s on your cell,” she called. “Should I answer?”

The bathroom door opened a crack. “Yes. Thanks. I’ll be out in two minutes.”

She opened the phone and greeted the caller, just as she would if she were sitting outside Dillon’s office. “Good evening, Dr. Babchek. This is Erika Rodriguez, Dr. Traub’s receptionist. Can you hold for about two minutes?”

“I can hold,” Dr. Babchek told her in a deep voice that wasn’t the least bit impatient.

Erika retreated to the hall outside of Dillon’s bedroom. It didn’t seem right to be inside.

When he finally emerged, her breath caught. His hair was still damp from his shower and looked tousled, as though he’d run a towel over it. He was wearing black jogging shorts but there were still beads of water in his chest hair and on his very muscled upper arms. He might as well have been naked the way her heart was racing.

When his gaze landed on her, she blushed and handed him the phone. Although she’d been overwhelmed by the virility emanating from Dillon, she’d still caught sight of the bruising on his left side, which looked bad even to her untrained eye.

She walked beside him into the living room as he said into his phone, “Ron. It’s good to talk to you again. I wondered if you could cover for me tomorrow morning at the resort. I have an appointment at Thunder Canyon General Hospital.”

The doctor must have answered him in the affirmative because Dillon stopped before heading into the living room and nodded. “That’s great. I’ll let Ruthann know you’ll be there until noon.”

When Dillon closed his phone, Erika couldn’t help but ask, “Are you getting checked out at the hospital?”

He shook his head. “You worry too much. No, this is business. I have an appointment with the Chief of Staff.”

She supposed it wasn’t unusual for doctors to consult with each other and she had no right to delve into Dillon’s business.

“If you didn’t have to get home to Emilia, I’d ask you to have dinner with me tonight,” he said casually.

Her gaze lingered on his eyes and then his lips and then his upper body. She swallowed hard. “I do have to get home.”

When he set his hands on her shoulders, her stomach somersaulted. He asked, “Why did you come up to my suite tonight?”

She licked suddenly dry lips. “I told you I was worried about you.”

Silence wound about them, intensifying pheromones, need and awareness. Whatever bond they were forming drew them closer together. Erika breathed in Dillon’s freshly showered scent, longed to feel his skin against hers.

When Dillon wrapped his arms around her, she wound hers around his neck. His body was hard against hers. His mouth took its time with her as he nibbled at her upper lip and lined it with his tongue. She touched his upper lip with hers, thinking that would be the tinder that burst their kiss into flame. But he apparently had more self-control than she did because his lips trailed kisses across her cheek and down her neck. She moaned, feeling weightless in his arms.

Every thought skittered away into pure physical sensation. Then his hands were in her hair, his lips sealed to hers, and the taut pressure gave way to erotic invasion. His kiss seemed to go on forever. She responded to every thrust of his tongue, playing a game of tease and retreat. She felt the shudder that ran through his body and knew they were both dabbling with desire that could explode and hurt them both. Still she couldn’t seem to get enough and neither could he. If his ribs were bothering him, desire must have overridden any discomfort he felt.

The kiss might have urged them to his couch. They might have ended up in his bedroom. But she’d never know because there was a knock at his door.

They both froze.

Dillon pulled away from her just a few inches, called, “Just a minute,” and kept her in his embrace.

She had to find her composure and quickly. This had been a test and she’d failed it miserably. If that knock hadn’t sounded on the door—

She backed away from Dillon … a good foot away. With a deep breath, she let her gaze trail down his upper body again, and it settled on his bruises. She brushed them lightly with the back of her hand, and he winced, obviously in greater pain than he was willing to admit. “While you’re at the hospital tomorrow, please get this checked out.”

She felt his hot gaze on her as she crossed to the table and picked up her purse. Then she went to the door and opened it, welcoming the waiter and Dillon’s supper … escaping back to a life that was safe.

The following evening, Dillon walked up to Erika’s house and pressed her doorbell. Today he had been suddenly aware of time ticking away. He was dissatisfied with allowing his career to become his life. Considering the past few years, he was downright fatigued by beating himself up about his failed marriage … about the god-complex he and other doctors had that they could cure a child in spite of the odds. He also realized he needed to remember Toby well—not sick—and the good times they’d experienced, rather than all the moments he’d missed.

He’d spent the morning at the hospital, thinking about his future, discussing options with the Chief of Staff who understood the needs of Thunder Canyon residents. By the time he’d returned to his office, Erika had gone for the afternoon, working to finalize events for Frontier Days. He’d missed her. He didn’t know what this feeling of connection to her was, but he needed to pursue it.

So here he was, standing at her front door, rationalizing why he’d come, why he was carrying a present for her daughter.

Before he’d left the resort, he’d been steeped in decisions about what came after September. Should he accept the offer to join the concierge practice in Texas? Should he stay near his family? Should he make a move and maybe find a new life in Montana? He was grateful he had choices, but the choice right now didn’t seem clear. This evening, getting away from the resort and his suite had just seemed like a good idea.

The chime from Erika’s doorbell echoed inside. He felt a rush of adrenaline when she answered the door wearing a thigh-length red sweater and black leggings. Her mass of loose waves tumbled around her shoulders and all Dillon wanted to do was run his fingers through them.

Her brown eyes were huge with questions. “This is a surprise.”

Her gaze ran over his black sweater and khakis, and he liked the fact that she looked at him the way he looked at her. “I should have called.”