3. River

3

River

It was obvious to all of us that Kat’s pain was mainly from the loss of her baby. Seeing the grief etched on her face, I wouldn’t have been surprised if a few of us guys had shed a tear. Her voice carried the weight of her sorrow as she shared her story, the torment in her words evident.

“I’ll see everyone in the office tomorrow,” I said as we all headed toward our vehicles. “Does anyone need a ride?”

“I do,” Tag replied. “I got dropped off.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep. My mind was consumed with thoughts of Kat. Would she ever be the same after what we’d been through in Texas? I wasn’t sure. I was anxious to see how she’d be moving forward.

We lived in the small coastal town of Carlsbad, California, where people knew each other from bumping into them at grocery stores or restaurants. But it hit me—I had never seen Kat out at any of those places. Did she go out with friends? Did she have a social life outside of work?

I knew what I wanted to do after leaving the Army Special Forces. I had trained in Carlsbad for my smoke jumping certificate and had fallen in love with the town. When my buddies left the Special Forces, they moved here, too. It was the perfect place for us and the work we did. You just had to hide from the three elderly women matchmakers, who tried to set everyone who was single up.

I was going through emails when the others started trickling into the office.

Then Kat walked in, wearing her usual high heels and skirt. For some reason, I felt a bit disappointed. But then she smiled, and it changed everything.

“I forgot to ask you guys if I need to wear heels every day,” she said playfully. “I was thinking maybe I could wear them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What do you think?”

“You can wear whatever you want, as long as it’s clean and not all wrinkled,” Gage said with a grin.

I couldn’t find the words to speak. Her smile was so beautiful. Did she ever smile like this before Texas? It hit me—I had never seen her smile like this before the trip. I turned and headed to my office, needing a moment to process everything.

Five minutes later, Kat walked in and sat down.

“Tell me what’s bothering you,” she said, her voice soft but direct.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night. Sorry if I’m a little grumpy.”

“You’re not grumpy. You haven’t even said anything to me yet,” she teased. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

I fumbled for words. “Today… well,” I paused, my brain blank. “Can you start by going through the emails? We can take it easy for the next few days. I’m sure you know what you need to do, so I’ll leave you to it.”

“River, please let me know if my being here is causing you stress,” she said, her tone serious .

“No, it’s not stressing me out. Actually, I think I’m going to take the day off.”

Kat chuckled. “You never take the day off.”

“Kat, I’m fine. And just so you know, you can wear whatever you’re comfortable in. You don’t need to ask. We always assumed you liked wearing heels and those sexy dresses.”

“You think my dresses are sexy?” she asked with a playful grin.

“Don’t you? But let’s not discuss how sexy your dresses are.”

“Agreed,” she said, smiling.

With that, I stood up and walked past her. I needed a moment to regain my composure. I passed by the others, heading toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Gage called out from his office.

“I’m taking the day off,” I said over my shoulder.

Everyone paused what they were doing and stared at me. “But you asked us to be here this morning. We thought you had something important to tell us,” Gage said, clearly puzzled.

“No, nothing important,” I replied with a forced smile. “Actually, I think we should all take a couple of days off.”

Gage chuckled and grabbed his jacket. “See you in a couple of days, then. Who’s up for breakfast?”

I paused, listening to hear if Kat was going with them. Then I heard her say, “Not today. I’ve got to tackle these emails. I’ll call if something comes up.”

“All right, but it’s your loss. We’re heading to the pancake house,” Gage said as he walked outside. All of our phones were hooked up to our main line so we wouldn’t miss an urgent message.

“The pancake house? My jeans are already snug. Oh, what the heck. Count me in,” Kat said with a laugh. “I’ll come back and work later. What’s a little more snug? Their waffles are worth it. Strawberry waffles will be my punishment for indulging.”

I met up with them at the pancake house, and they didn’t seem too surprised to see me. We walked in together, and I found myself walking behind Kat.

“Did you hear me talking about the strawberry waffles?” Kat teased.

“No, I’m here for the blueberry pancakes. I’ll share some of mine with you if you share yours with me,” I said with a chuckle.

“Deal,” she replied, smiling at me. “They put the best-whipped cream on their waffles. You should tell them you want to try it on your pancakes,” she said, smiling.

Breakfast turned out to be a great idea, but I couldn’t help noticing how many men were watching Kat as we made our way to the table.

I walked beside her, guiding her through the restaurant. Don’t ask me why, but I felt the urge to claim her somehow. I rested my hand on her lower back, silently letting those guys know she wasn’t available. Not that she was actually taken. I didn’t even know why I did that.

Kat seemed oblivious to all the attention, including mine. I wasn’t sure if she even noticed the way those men looked at her. We were almost done with breakfast when two guys approached our table, grinning as they neared Kat.

“Hey, Kat! We weren’t sure it was you. We’ve never seen you with your hair up. How are you? The surf’s up today—are you hitting the waves?”

“Hey, Josh, Mitch,” Kat greeted, introducing us. “These are my bosses: River, Gage, Tag, and Gideon. Josh and Mitch are champion surfers. I’m not sure if I’ll make it out there today, but it’s great to see you. ”

“Always a pleasure to see you, Kat. Maybe tomorrow? The waves are supposed to be just as good.”

“Absolutely. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she replied, still smiling ten minutes later.

“Why are you grinning like that?” I asked.

“You should’ve seen your faces when Josh and Mitch asked if I’d be surfing,” she laughed. “It was hilarious.”

We all chuckled.

To be honest, I was glad Kat hadn’t been this outgoing before our trip to Texas. If she had been, I don’t think I’d have been able to resist her, and I would’ve had to fire her since we don’t date coworkers.

Yeah, I know it’s a stupid rule, but I put it in place because of a bad experience I had during college. I dated a coworker, and when things got serious for her but not for me, breaking up made everything uncomfortable.

Her laughter sent a charge straight to my cock, and I knew I had to keep my distance.

“You’re full of surprises, Kat,” Gage said, shaking his head. “First, we see you running with a gun, then we find out you were a medic in the Marines, and now two surfers are asking if you’re going to catch some big waves.”

“I’ve been surfing since I was five,” Kat explained. “My mom taught all of us kids how to surf. She was Miss Georgia Peach in college, and the pageants helped her pay her tuition. Mom didn’t like doing beauty pageants, but it was her way of affording college.”

“She’s just as beautiful as you,” I said, immediately regretting it. I got up and walked toward the register to pay the tab, trying to shake off the awkwardness. When I glanced back, Kat was smiling at me.

“Thanks for breakfast, River,” everyone said as they joined me at the register .

“I’m heading back to the office,” Kat said, strolling out of the diner.

“Who’s up for watching the surfers in the morning?” Tag asked, watching Kat through the window.

“I am,” we all said in unison, chuckling as we headed to our vehicles.

I decided to visit a couple of my Special Forces buddies who’d bought a house together on the beach. They planned to sell it eventually and make a decent profit. When I pulled into the driveway, Raven followed behind me.

“What are you doing not working?” he teased. “I’ve never known you to take a day off unless you had food poisoning. Remember when your secretary dragged you to the hospital in her tiny car?”

“What’s the emergency?” he asked, smiling.

“First of all, Kat isn’t our secretary—she’s our assistant. She knows more about smoke jumping than any of us, and she was a medic in Afghanistan and Iraq. Plus, she was a lieutenant in the Marines. Second, I decided we all needed a couple of days off after putting out fires in Texas for a month. And...”

“Here it comes.”

“Don’t be a smartass. Can you see the surfers from your back deck? Didn’t you say this place gets good waves?”

“Yeah, we can see the surfers. This is the place to go to watch the surfers. Since when have you been interested in surfers?”

“Since Kat’s going to be surfing with her friends tomorrow.”

“Did I mention I’ll be joining your team next month? I’m officially done with the service.”

“It’s about damn time! What about Oliver? Is he going to join us? I haven’t spoken to him since he left the Special Forces.”

“He’s away right now, but he’s planning to. He’ll be back soon. So, I’ll be putting out more oil derrick fires. I wasn’t crazy about that in Kuwait.”

“We don’t do it often, but you need to be certified for it when we do. Where’s Oliver now?”

“He went back to Virginia. His dad’s really sick, and they have hospice at home. His sister’s struggling since their mother passed away two months ago.”

“That’s tough. Doesn’t he have a couple of younger brothers?”

“One of his brothers died from fentanyl poisoning last year while away at college. His other brother lives in Hawaii, but I think he’s going home to help with their dad.”

“Wow, I’m sorry to hear that.”

After spending a few hours catching up with Raven, I headed home. Walking through the front door, I realized how cold and empty the house felt. It wasn’t cozy or welcoming like Raven’s beachfront place. I had just bought this house and hadn’t furnished it beyond the bedroom.

Deciding to change that, I spent the evening ordering new furniture for the living room and picking out a few paintings. I didn’t have to leave home; I did it all online. I also ordered some things for the spare bedroom and kitchen. By the end of the day, everything was on its way, including some throw pillows and a large area rug. I even remembered the deck and ordered furniture for it as well.

I was excited about these changes and couldn’t wait to see how they’d transform my space. Next on the list are some houseplants.