Page 21 of River

“Okay, Kat, and you can call me Joel.”

After hanging up, I started thinking about poor Janelle. I wonder how she died. There’s no telling, given that she lived in a country run by those murderous Taliban. They killed so many of my friends. They probably stoned her for having a child without being married. I remember her father was a horrible man.

I needed to do this to get away from River and determine if I needed to leave this job. I couldn’t keep working for the Golden Team and loving River—it was too hard, especially after that kiss. After we rescued Joel's daughter, I could use the rest of my two weeks off to decide what I wanted to do.

I had to find a sitter for Penny. Who could I ask? Maybe Myrtle and Jack would watch her for me. It was only for a few days.

Myrtle agreed to watch Penny, so I headed to work. Thanking my lucky stars, Myrtle and her match-making friends have stopped trying to match me up with a man. The first thing I did was tell the guys I was taking two weeks off. I didn’t tell them where I was going; I knew they’d get upset and try to stop me.

“Where are you going on your vacation? Is this the first time you’ve taken a vacation?” Tag asked.

“Yeah, this will be my first regular vacation. I usually take a few days at a time.”

“Where are you going?” Tag pressed.

“I’m going to visit an old friend.”

“That should be fun. Where does she live?”

“She lives out of the country. I’ll visit her for a week, then spend the rest of the time with my family.”

“I know you’ll have a great time, and that’s what counts. What country does she live in? And what are you going to do about your puppy?”

“I named her Penny. Isn’t that a great name? She’s going to stay with Myrtle, my neighbor. I should have asked if I could bring her today—I didn’t want to leave her alone.”

“We all brought our dogs because they’re too young to stay home alone. I set up a large area in the back on the grass where they can all play together,” Gage said.

“Oh, good,” I said, heading to my desk. I wondered where River was. I set Penny’s bed and kennel beside my desk. Then, I let her outside with the other puppies.

Gage walked over. “River just called. He’s not coming in today.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know,” I said, continuing to type, wishing the day would hurry and be over. I knew where River was—I’m not stupid. He’s with that skinny-ass model.

Fine, I’ll have to find a new job. He can have all his women. I don’t want a man who’s with another woman when I thought he had feelings for me. He said he might have to fire me. Wouldn’t you think that meant he wanted me?

10

River

I feltlike crap letting Kat think I was with Charlotte. When Charlotte showed up, I thought her timing was perfect, so I walked her to her vehicle and told her I wasn’t interested, explaining that I was in a relationship. She thought I was playing hard to get. And she draped her arms around me. It took a little more talking to convince her I was serious.

I walked my puppy outside and looked around. “Where’s Kat?” I asked as I stepped into Gage’s office.

“She’s on vacation. Kat took two weeks off. I’m surprised you even want to know. I mean, you kissed her like you were ready to strip her, then ignored her and left with that skinny woman who laughs like a damn hyena.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“I thought I just said it. Okay, yeah, I do have something to say. You hurt Kat yesterday. I was surprised you’d do that to her.”

I ran my hands through my hair, turned around, and sat in the chair across from him. “I feel like shit for that. It’s just that when Charlotte showed up, I thought it was perfecttiming. I walked her to her car, then got in mine. I wasn’t with her.”

“Why the hell was it perfect timing? That doesn’t make sense,” Gage argued.

“I didn’t want to start something with Kat that might cause her to leave when things ended.”

“Why would it end? You might be together forever. You won’t know until you take the risk and tell her. Take her out for dinner. Take it slow. See if you want to be with her or if it’s just something you’ve built up in your head.”

“It’s not just in my head. I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. But I’ll have to wait until she gets back from her vacation. Where did she go?”

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