Free The Doctor's Not-So-Little Secret by Cindy Kirk

his arms, but settled for squeezing her closest hand instead.
    “When we leave here, I think we should go back to the store,” Chloe said. “I want to apologize to Mr. Henderson.”
    “He’d appreciate that,” Joel said. “And maybe we can buy you a tube of this stuff while we’re there.”
    “Really, Daddy, really?”
    Joel nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before when you tried to talk to me about the lip gloss.”
    “It’s okay.” Chloe shifted her attention back to Kate. “Will the stitches hurt?”
    “I have good news and bad news.” Kate smiled. “The good news is that now that I’ve had a chance to inspect and clean the wound, no stitches are needed. Instead, we’re going to glue the edges together.”
    “Glue?” Joel looked surprised.
    Chloe looked pleased. “Superglue?”
    Kate chuckled. “Actually I’ll be using a special skin glue that’s quite similar. It will keep the edges together until the laceration heals. And it dissolves by itself in seven to ten days, so you don’t have to come back.”
    “What’s the bad news?” Chloe asked.
    “You’re going to have one heck of a shiner.”
    * * *
    “You’re quite the party animal.” Mitzi stood back while Kate perused the dresses at a boutique in downtown Jackson.
    “That’s me,” Kate said with a wry smile. “Wild and crazy.”
    Moving to Jackson Hole had been quite an education. Kate hadn’t known what to expect from this part of the country. What she’d found were people who liked to work hard and play even harder. Tonight, she and Mitzi would attend a party celebrating the change of seasons.
    “I’ve never been to a party heralding the arrival of the summer solstice,” Mitzi said. “Being from Los Angeles, I thought I’d seen everything.”
    “For Mary Karen and Travis, any excuse will do. They love to entertain. Lexi and Nick are like that, too. Because most of their friends have children, kids are usually included.”
    “Are you telling me there will be toddlers underfoot and babies screaming?” Mitzi wrinkled her nose. “On second thought I may have to stay home and wash my hair this evening.”
    “Trust me, it’ll be fun.” Still, Kate couldn’t help but remember one event where she’d looked down and seen Connor—one of Mary Karen’s twins—dressed in camouflage and crawling commando-style under a coffee table with a toy hand grenade in his hand. But that had been during a book-club meeting, not a full-blown party like tonight. “For the bigger parties, they hire college girls to watch the children. The kids will have their own ‘party’ in another part of the house.”
    Mitzi’s face brightened. “Okay, so maybe I don’t need to wash my hair tonight after all.”
    With renewed enthusiasm, her friend shifted her focus back to the task at hand. Plunging her hand into a rack of clothes, Mitzi pulled out a dress. “How about this one?”
    Oversize violet and yellow flowers decorated the bodice of the ugliest dress Kate had ever seen.
    “Uh, no.” Kate tried not to cringe. “Those aren’t my colors…and they’re definitely not yours.”
    Mitzi laughed and shoved the garment to the back of the rack. “I can’t believe you thought I was serious.”
    “You did show up at my office wearing cowboy boots,” Kate pointed out.
    “It’s Jackson Hole.” Mitzi winked, an impish gleam in her eyes. “Not New York during Fashion Week.”
    Before Kate could think of a comeback, she caught sight of another dress, one she hadn’t noticed before. Sleeveless and the color of raspberry sherbet, it had a scooped neck and wide jeweled belt.
    Kate held it up. “What do you think of this one?”
    “Ooh, I love it,” Mitzi squealed.
    “I’m going to try it on.” Dress in hand, Kate turned in the direction of the fitting rooms.
    Before she’d taken two steps, Mitzi blocked her path. “Will the fabulous Mr. Dennes be at the soiree this evening?”
    “I’m terribly sorry,” Kate said in a fake