Page 6 of River

“Because there is that damn rule that coworkers can’t date. You’re too attractive; I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself. Knowing you had a husband, I kept my hands to myself.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, that’s silly. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble keeping your hands to yourself. All you have to do is call up one of those dozens of women you always go out with.”

“River, just don’t ask her out,” Gage suggested.

“It’s not that simple. I’ve been fighting the urge every damn day. I wanted to bring her into my office and strip those hot skirts off her. Now that I don’t have to resist that urge, we won’t last a week working together.”

“What are they talking about?” Mom asked, looking at me.

“I don’t know. I think River is going to fire me because my husband is dead.”

“No, I’m not going to fire you because of that. It’s because…” River hesitated and glanced around the table. “Our plane leaves at six in the morning. I expect all of you to be ready by five. Kat, that includes you.”

Tag looked like he wanted to argue about something. “We have our private plane; why does the time matter?”

“Because that’s the time we arranged with the airport.” He got up and walked away.

“We’ll vote to ensure he doesn’t fire you,” Gage said. I’m so sorry you went through all that pain.

“Thank you,” I glanced at River’s spot. “He didn’t even eat,” I noted, watching him walk toward the rooms. What is his room number?”

“Number twelve.”

“When we order ours, I’ll have them deliver a meal to his room.”

“Sweetheart, have you considered moving back here to where your family is? We miss you so much,” Mom said.

“I miss you too, Mom, but I don’t want to live here anymore. It causes me too much pain. I love living in California. I love my job. You don’t have to worry about River firing me.”

“Well, then we will come and visit you in California.”

“That will be nice,” I replied, though my mind was on River, worrying that he would indeed fire me.

Sure, I noticed how attractive he was; all the Special Forces were incredibly good-looking. But River had those mesmerizing eyes that seemed to devour me with every glance.

I used to condemn myself because I wanted to be one of those women he was always with—the ones who came to the office and draped themselves all over him.

I wanted his hands on me like they were on those women. At least it wasn’t only one woman, proving he wasn’t serious about any of them. Maybe this wasn’t going to work out.

I was sure if River was going to fire me, he would have said something before we boarded the plane this morning. My eyes were swollen from crying most of the night, but I was relieved I still had my job.

“Kat, can I speak to you for a moment?”

I turned toward River as I stepped onto the plane. “Of course. Should we take a seat, or do you have something to say before I sit down?”

“Let’s sit,” River replied. Once we were seated, he reached over and took my hand. “I want to apologize forwhat I said earlier. I didn’t mean to imply I’d fire you because of your husband’s death. I’m truly sorry for the pain you’ve endured. Losing your husband and child in one day must have been unbearable.”

His words were filled with genuine regret. “I can’t even fathom how you’ve managed to cope with the loss of your husband and your baby son. You don’t have to worry about your job or me. I was just speaking out of turn because I couldn’t stand seeing you so upset.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, grateful for his kindness.

“Could you tell me more about your husband?” he asked gently.

The others gathered around, listening as I shared about Alex. “Alex was originally from Kansas. He transferred to our high school in the tenth grade, and I was in the ninth. We became fast friends, and I fell in love with him over time.

I guess it could have been puppy love at first, but my love grew stronger when we married. He asked me to marry him when I was in college. I had plans for my life. I told Alex that I intended to join the Marines when I left college; he was upset because he wanted me with him. But I wasn’t going to change the plans I’ve always had since I was little.

“I served in the Marines for four years until I was shot twice, which brought me home. Otherwise, I would’ve stayed longer—I wanted to help more people.”

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