Page 9 of River

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 tojoin 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.

4

River

We wereall sitting on Raven’s back deck when we saw surfers showing up further down the beach. They all wore black wetsuits, so it was hard to tell who was who until she came walking down the beach.

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