Page 4 of River

He laid down on the back seat, and she drove off. Why did I have a feeling she would be back soon?”

“She’ll be right back,” Junior said, as he started to walk away.

Am I just now finding out a crazy woman worked in our office? Where is the quiet Mrs. Mellows we were used to seeing? I caught up with Junior. “Why do you think she’ll be back?”

“Because Kat considers all of you her responsibility. She would never leave you to handle these fires alone. That’s just how she is.”

“But I gave her an order.”

He walked away, chuckling. Sure enough, two hourslater, Kat returned. She avoided me and spent the rest of the day in the office.

We stayed for three more days until we heard they had apprehended the people responsible for starting the fires. One of them was the shooter. His accomplices told the police they didn’t want anything to do with the shooting. They were part of some radical group who believed burning oil derricks would end oil production. People are bizarre sometimes, I thought. I hoped they stayed locked up for good.

It took three weeks to extinguish all the fires, but sadly, two firefighters lost their lives in the process. The town was saved, and the fires were out.

“Has anyone seen Kat?”

“She left with her brothers,” someone replied.

“Did she mention where she was going?”

“She said she would see us at the hotel.”

“Where’s the hotel?”

“It’s in town. Kat gave me all the information we needed. She mentioned you wanted to talk with her, but she couldn’t spare the time today. She had to visit her husband’s family and she wasn’t thrilled about doing that.”

“In fact, she looked pretty upset. Her mom insisted she visit since her in-laws are getting older. I’m surprised you didn’t hear her talking to herself, convincing herself she had to go. She was speaking loud enough for anyone to hear.”

I had completely forgotten about her husband. What was wrong with me? Kat was driving me fucking insane. Being in close quarters with her for an entire month had been the most challenging month of my life, that close and not being able to touch her.

She worked as hard as we did, never complaining. I yearned to hold her in my arms and make love to her.

I feared I couldn’t work closely with her without wanting her in my bed.She’s a marriedwoman. River, remember that!I would never sleep with a married woman, and I doubted she would ever cheat on her husband.

“I have never seen her like this,” Gage remarked, shaking his head. “She seems more human now. If she’s upset, she won’t stop talking. I don’t think she likes her in-laws.

“She told me they never liked her; they wanted her husband to marry someone who lived in Kansas. They were upset he married Kat,” Tag said.

“They clearly don’t know her. If they did, they’d love her,”Why the hell did I say that?The group went quiet.

“Have you guys noticed Mrs. Mellows and Kat McDonald are two completely different people?” I asked to change the subject.

“Yeah,” they all agreed, just as I expected.

Around eight that night, I saw Kat walking across the parking lot toward us. We were in the restaurant that was connected to the motel, seated on the patio. She looked so sad. I knew she had been crying, and I was ready to kill whoever made her this unhappy.

Gage stood and motioned for her to join us. “How was your visit with your in-laws?” he asked. I didn’t say anything. All I wanted to do was hold her. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, and her eyes were already welling up.

2

Kat

The momentI entered her home, I realized it was a mistake. My mother-in-law burst into tears, and I was transported back to the day I lost everything. She still held me responsible for Alex’s death, as if I wanted my husband to die.

I had tried to warn him to run, but he tripped. My poor husband—always tripping over his own two feet—stumbled, and the explosion took him.

I could never forget that day. The oil derrick explosion that took my husband and our unborn child. The pain was unbearable, and I had to leave town to escape the endless condolences and pity that only deepened my grief. My friends meant well, but their visits and constant talk about the tragedy just made it worse.

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