Page 2 of River

Did I just see her wipe away a tear? I must be mistaken. Kat Mellows isn’t the type to get emotional like some women I know. She’s always composed, speaking only when necessary and never letting her emotions take over. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to lose her as our assistant. She was perfect.

I have to admit, I was curious to see if her family would be waiting for us—especially after three years apart. I sensed Kat’s nervousness as we arrived at the site of the burning oil rig.

One thing I couldn’t wrap my head around: why had her husband let her come with us? She comes with us at least two out of eight times if it’s safe for her. I know it’s her job, but still—look at her. She’s a knockout. He must trust her completely.

When we pulled into the site of the burning derrick, I saw men everywhere, covered in oil, rushing around. Kat ran toward a group of men standing too close to the rig.

“Kat!” I shouted after her, unsure if she heard me or just chose to ignore me. One of the men hurried to meet her while the others turned around. The first guy picked her up in a tight hug, and Kat wrapped her arms around him. The others soon followed, taking turns embracing her. I even saw a few of them wipe away tears.

Were these men Kat’s family? I must be slipping in my own rules, not finding out about my employee’s personal lives. Why did I not know about them? They looked at us and approached us. By now, Kat was covered in black oil, from those hugs she got.

“Daddy, these are my bosses. Let me introduce you to some of the Golden Team,” Kat said, gesturing to us. “This is River Channing, Gage Archer, Tag Harris, and Faron Lightfoot. Guys, this is my dad, Jason McDonald, and my brothers, Junior and Thomas.”

We shook hands with Kat’s family, and I wondered if they found it strange that she had been away from them for three years. They all huddled around her, probably wondering why she was with us while her husband wasn’t present.

“I’m glad you made it. This fire is starting to spread. Two other wells have gone up in flames. I know someone is starting the fires. Have you dealt with fires like these before?” Kat’s dad inquired.

“Yes, we put them out in Iraq and Kuwait. We’ll get our gear together. Where are our sleeping quarters?” I asked.

He pointed over at the trailers located far enough away from the fire. “That trailer over there. Kat will go home with us. Her mother will be excited to see her.”

I looked down at Kat and couldn’t help but ask. “I brought you here to work. Are you coming back?”

“Of course I am. Why would you even ask that?” Kat responded, slightly irritated.

“Hell, I don’t know. For one thing, you are full of surprises on this trip. Why don’t you get cleaned up and get that oil off of you, and then you can inspect the damage from the monitoring station.”

When she mentioned she had experience working on derrick fires and could handle the monitoring systems, it caught us off guard.

“I’ll just get oil all over me again, so I’ll check everything right now,” Kat replied. As she walked away, she suddenly turned. “River,” she said my name so softly I almost couldn’t hear her.

I turned toward her. “Yeah.”

“If you feel more pressure than usual, back far away, or that devil will grab you and devour you. If you sense anything under your feet, run. Don’t stop for anything,” she cautioned. Then she looked at the others. “This is for all of you. Don’t try to be brave if you feel the earth shake; just run.”

“Kat, you don’t have to worry. I won’t let that devil get me,” I assured her before turning to my team, “Let’s dress up.” Fifteen minutes later, we were back with all of our gear on. I noticed Kat’s family walking toward us. Her dad walked next to me.

“If you feel that pressure building like a volcano’s aboutto erupt, don’t wait. Don’t even talk it over—just run,” he cautioned.

“Kat told me the same thing,” I acknowledged.

“That doesn’t surprise me. How long has Kat worked with your team?”

“Two years. I didn’t even know she was from Texas. I noticed a Southern accent but thought she might’ve been from Georgia.”

I must have hired her without looking over her resume. Wait, Gideon is the one who hired her. I was out of town, and she was already there when I returned to work.

“She was born and raised in Texas. Her mama is from Georgia, so our little girl gets all her Southern charm from her mama. We’ve missed Katrina so much. She called us weekly, so we knew she was alright,” I wondered what he was talking about.

“But when I saw her running toward us, I almost had a heart attack. She was so sad when she had to leave. We knew she needed that time, and then she would return to us.”

Since I had no idea what he was talking about, I decided not to question him. It was none of my business. I felt someone watching me, and I turned my head to see Kat standing in the doorway of the building, watching us. My phone pinged, and there was a message from Kat.

I looked at the guys. They also had a message. “If it feels off, it is off, so run like when that bear chased you guys.” Kat’s message read. We gave her a thumbs-up and resumed walking. We continued working into the night.

Throughout the night, we traded shifts. Kat had gone home with her dad, but I hoped she’d come back. We needed her—she was the best assistant we’d ever had. Notthat I’d admit I didn’t want to lose her because I liked having her around.

The thick black smoke blotted out most of the rising sun as dawn broke. Around six in the morning, I spotted Kat returning with her dad, carrying trays of food. She must’ve stayed up all night cooking. She set up a table and loaded it with food, then filled an ice chest with bottles of water.

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