Ingrid flicked her glance to Jenny meaningfully, and Jenny added, “Erik’s never been much good with girls, Katrin. Sort of a player—um, I mean, he sort of dates a lot, but, he’s a real good man on the insi—”
“You don’t have to sell him to me, Jenny. I’m already buying.”
Jenny’s eyes opened wide, and she colored pink, grinning at Katrin. “I sort of thought so when you two walked up together. Never seen Erik hold a girl’s hand, let alone in front of the whole family. Ing said you two might have formed an attachment, but seeing is believing…”
Katrin nodded, glancing over at him again. He had taken a seat with his brothers and Sam around the fire, and briefly caught her glance, winking at her. “He’s um…surprising.”
Ingrid touched her arm, drawing her attention. “Kat, I wanted to kill him after you called me crying two weeks ago. I mean it. I felt so bad that we ever had the idea to throw you two together.”
“Throw us together?”
Ingrid cringed then looked at Jenny, who pursed her lips shaking her head back and forth like she wished Ingrid would just shut up.
Katrin asked again. “Throw us together, Ing?”
“Well,” Jenny started, turning red. “You were single. And Erik was single. And Wade was…Wade. We thought…what better person for you, than someone protective, you know, in law enforcement. And you were both going to be up there…”
“You two were matchmaking?” She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “What about all that warning me about how Erik could break my heart?”
“Jenny had this idea that forbidden fruit is the most…enticing.”
Katrin flicked her glance to Jenny, who stared at Ingrid in disbelief.
“Your new name is Benedict,” said Jenny tartly. “As in Arnold.”
Ingrid wrinkled her nose at Jenny then turned back to Katrin. “Are you mad?”
Katrin shook her head at the pair of them. For two women several years older than she, they sure looked foolish, and guilty, shifting their feet back and forth. Katrin smiled at them, breaking the tension and letting them out of their misery. “Lucky for you two it all worked out okay.”
“Kristian’s piping mad, Kat.” Ingrid crossed her arms over her chest.
“I saw.” She tilted her head to the side, regarding Ingrid thoughtfully. Her tone brooked no argument. “Well, Miss Matchmaker, you’ll just have to figure out how to take care of that problem, because if he lays a hand on Erik, it’s going to cause a mighty rift in the fabric of this family. I’m not having it. Erik’s my business, clear?”
Ingrid’s mouth popped open, but she closed it, nodding at her sister-in-law.
Jenny flashed Katrin a thousand-megawatt smile, stepping forward to take Katrin’s arm and ushering her back to her brother at the campfire. “Oh, I like you so much. We’re going to be good friends, Katrin Svenson. Real good friends.”
***
Erik had pulled Katrin down on his lap in front of the fire and had his arms loosely around her waist, one hand resting lightly on her thigh while the other held a half-finished bottle of Swedish beer the Triple Peak imported every year for the celebration. Her legs dangled over his and her head was comfortably cradled on his shoulder.
One of the hotel employees came by and threw a few more logs on the fire every half hour or so, keeping it burning hot and high as the night cooled down. At one point they brought over graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate too, and they’d all roasted marshmallows like kids. Lars and Nils told hilarious tales of their latest tour groups that kept everyone laughing. Sitting there surrounded by his family with Katrin on his lap, it occurred to Erik that he’d never felt happier, more centered and complete, in his entire life.
The surprised and curious looks from the members of their families were less frequent now as the night wore on, and Erik was feeling less like half of a sideshow attraction. They’d enjoyed a boisterous, traditional Swedish smorgasbord all together at a long table in the dining room of the main lodge with plenty of teasing banter and loaded comments all around. The highlight of the meal had been when Jenny and Sam stood up to share that a new little Kelley would be joining the family at Christmastime. Erik had never seen his father so overcome with emotion, even dabbing at his eyes once or twice as he gave his only daughter a long embrace.
Erik sat next to Katrin at dinner, of course, and when possible, he held her hand under the long table, rubbing her soft palm with the pad of his thumb, happy to have her beside him.
The only thing upsetting his general feeling of contentment was that Kristian kept shooting dark glances at them. Whether he was trying to figure them out or spoiling for a fight didn’t much matter. Erik wasn’t scared of him, but he also wasn’t interested in riling up Ingrid and Katrin and ruining their first Midsummer together as an extended family. He didn’t look in Kristian’s direction, trying to leave well enough alone. He would try to talk to him later or tomorrow and explain his feelings for Katrin—that they were strong and true, and Kristian didn’t need to worry about his sister. He might even need to assure Kristian of his intentions toward his little sister.
That forced him to think through what exactly those intentions were.
As the light finally started to fade outside, he’d looked over at Katrin again and again, her face golden in the candlelight of the table, smiling at something Ingrid said, laughing at stories told
