Page 41 of Every Little Kiss
“That I can help you with,” he said. “But the petting zoo, milk-can toss, and gold panning are way too mother-approved to beat out a paint-gun alley with glowing pellets,” he said, and she opened her mouth to sayfireworks—he could see her lush lips forming the sound. “And wagon rides down Main Street and fireworks are permitting nightmares—and not the answer.”
She sat back. “Since when did you become an expert on what kids think is cool?”
“Since I started volunteering at a junior search-and-rescue camp a few years back.”
Liv looked impressed, as if thinking maybe she’d been wrong about him. “What are you thinking?”
“A challenge course where families and kids work together to complete different obstacles.” He took out a pencil and began to sketch a basic map.
Liv leaned in while he was writing, resting her elbows on the other side of the desk and scooting her chair all the way forward. When he finished, he flipped it toward her.
“A log ladder, a mini rock climb, and is that a zip line?” she asked, clearly impressed. And Ford liked impressing her too damn much. “Wow, this is like those team-building camps.”
“We could do ground-based courses for the kids and higher events with harnesses for fifteen and up,” he explained. “The thrills of a carnival, only in a back-to-nature kind of way that the founders would have loved.”
Liv studied the map, her smile becoming more and more real at the idea. “It’s like our own little Wild West.” She looked up. “But wouldn’t this be a huge undertaking? Wagon Days is in three weeks, and even though I want to go big enough to make a splash, I don’t want to promise the world only to deliver a petting zoo.”
“Every spring, my department teams up with Sequoia Elite to run a junior search-and-rescue camp outside Reno for at-risk kids. We do zip-lining, obstacle courses, and team-building events. We could easily do the same thing here, right by the lake.” When she didn’t look convinced, he said, “You asked for my help—let me help you.”
Liv considered his words for so long one would think he’d asked her to a lace-only sleepover instead of offering to lend a hand at something he happened to be good at. It was going to come down to what she was more afraid of: underdelivering on the town’s expectations or letting someone new into her world.
“Help is a new concept for me,” she admitted. “But that’s what this is about, working with community officials and residents, right?” She released a breath and smiled. “How do you guys plan this course?”
Ford smiled. “Come here.”
Ford opened his browser, and the site loaded right as Liv rounded his desk. “Look at this,” he said, scooting his chair back so she could slide up to the desk, so close he could feel her body heat.
It couldn’t be helped. His office was small, overflowing with flowers and balloons, leaving little room behind the desk. Normally, Ford would have moved out and given her the chair, but she moved in so fast he didn’t have time.
“Are these pictures from the camp?” she asked.
“Yes, and all the equipment you see is owned by the department, but Sequoia Lake Lodge has everything we’d need to replicate this. We could even add in a little hiker 101 training to make the moms happy,” he said, wondering if she was reneging on the no-flirting rule, since her thigh pressed against him when she bent over to get a better look at the monitor.
He could feel her breathing change, but she didn’t move.
“It looks like it requires more than just a ton of equipment.” She reached for the mouse, their bodies pressing closer until her hair slid over his forearm. It was silky and smelled good enough to bury his face in.
But she’d said no flirting, and he’d honor that.
“Wouldn’t we need trained personnel to run it?” She tapped the screen. “This camp looks like it has one instructor to every ten kids, and we’re hoping to have hundreds of kids, all day. Do you have enough people to run that?” she asked, her face willing him to say yes, but preparing herself for the disappointment.
Ford didn’t want to be another disappointment. She was putting herself out there, getting involved, asking for help—and he wasn’t about to shut her down.
Not when she was so close he could feel her breath mix with his when she spoke.
“We’d have to create a course that required the fewest amount of department hands to run it.” Reno was just over an hour away. He could talk a few of his buddies into helping, if necessary. Plus, that’s what Harris had told him to do—get to know the lady. “And prove we have enough extra medical personnel on hand for the permits to go through.”
“I bet I can get some of the hospital staff to volunteer their time,” she said. “My boss wanted a creative way to introduce the Mobile Medic team to the community. I can’t think of a more fun and positive first impression to the families in town.” She smiled. “This might actually work.”
His desk, those lips, this insane chemistry. It could work, all right.
“One call, Liv, and you’d have everything you need.”
“Are you sure?” she whispered, her tone saying she wasn’t referring to the obstacle course anymore, but the obstacle that stood between them being friends and them being flirting friends.
She wasn’t ready. He was leaving. And he didn’t even want to think about Sam.
“Trust me.”
