Page 9 of High Seduction
Phillip smiled shrewdly. “You staying in town, then?”
“I’ll be around. Don’t know if I’ll be doing more than stopping for a drink.”
His friend’s gaze surveyed the main bar again, lingering where Erin was located. “If you’re planning on getting involved with her, I can see your sense of danger hasn’t diminished over the years.”
Tim tipped his head slightly. “It’s not about the risk, Phillip. She’s the one that got away, and I intend to fix my mistakes, for both our sakes.”
“Good luck with that.” Phillip gestured toward the room. “Your mark is leaving.”
Tim slipped a business card over the counter toward his friend. “Get in touch. We’ll have dinner and get caught up for real. Excuse me while I run.”
Phillip took the card with a laugh. “You’re not going to be simply running, my friend. I hope you’re ready for an all-out sprint.”
By the time Tim twisted toward where he’d last seen Erin, she’d made it to the door. One of the men from the table had an arm tucked around her as he attempted to help her one-handed with her wrap.
The first ideas that rushed Tim weren’t pretty, until he looked a little closer and noticed that though the guy was touching her, Erin’s body remained stiff, maintaining air space between them even as she smiled and teased. And when she glanced toward Tim and their eyes met briefly, it strengthened his conviction that her little flirtation was a ploy.
He sauntered toward the door, not wanting to spook her all over into making a decision she’d regret. If she wanted to go home with some stranger, that was her choice. Having her go home with the ass just to make a point to Tim would be wrong.
Only, on the other side of the door his assumptions were justified. The guy who’d escorted Erin stood against the wall, frustration on his face.
There was no sign of Erin.
Tim leaned next to the guy, offering a lighter when the man fumbled in his pockets, a cigarette dangling from his lips. “Troubles?” Tim asked.
The guy lit the smoke gratefully before pointing down the street. “My evening’s entertainment took a phone call, then disappeared,” he grumbled. “She’s a doctor, can you believe it? Had to run to the hospital for some kind of emergency.”
“Bummer,” Tim answered in agreement, which was better than smacking the guy a hard one for considering any woman, not just Erin, his “evening’s entertainment.” “The night is young, though.”
The man nodded. “Yeah.”
Tim left him holding up the building and paced the sidewalk, turning his collar up against the strong wind that had risen since he’d entered the bar. A Chinook was brewing, the strong winds from the west that could change the temperatures from below freezing to summertime heat in only hours. Ice crystals stung his skin as the wind howled past.
Erin was nowhere to be seen, but instead of tracking her he headed to his new home. The hunt had only begun, and there weren’t many places she could hide. Not when she really wanted to be found.
Now he had to convince her of that.
CHAPTER4
She’d slept horribly after ditching her “date” outside the bar. Not only were her dreams filled with heated and sweaty memories involving her and a certain blue-eyed devil, but in the sleepless moments between fitful tossing and turning, Erin felt guilty for deceiving the nameless guy from the bar into thinking she was interested in him.
She couldn’t even blame that on Tim, even though she wanted to, badly. It was her own fault becausehehadn’t forced her to act the fool—and there was that word again.
Maybe she’d better get Alisha a pager so she could provide instant responses for help, like an AA sponsor. “Hi, my name is Erin, and I’m addicted to a guy who’s no good for me. I’ve stayed clean for nearly seven years.”
The midday call-out for a rescue was a welcome diversion in spite of the tiredness in her body.
All around Lifeline headquarters the team hurried to gather gear. Devon and Alisha worked in the storage room as Tripp shouted a list of supplies at them. Erin shrugged on a warmer jacket and gloves before dodging around their winch man, Anders.
“It’s too early in the season for an accident at the ski hill,” Anders complained. “There’s been no time for the snowpack to build for avalanche conditions.”
Marcus shook his head. “Details coming once you’re in the air—but it’s not an avalanche. The gondola lift is out, and has been for the last three hours.”
People had been stuck on the gondola for three hours? Not good.
“I’m going to warm her up,” Erin shouted over her shoulder a second before sliding through the doors into the icy-cold air.
Over the past twenty-four hours the Alberta weather had lived up to its volatile reputation, changeable to the extreme. Erin was grateful the Chinook winds that had blasted through last night were over. They’d shaken the town up, rushing past and dragging temperatures up.
