Page 10 of Relentless
While some medical conditions could sneak up on a person, in someone as young as Shelley, heart attacks generally weren’t one of them. “Me, neither,” Kara agreed. “Once we know about a funeral or a service, I’ll call and give my sympathies to the family. Want me to send something on your behalf?” It wasn’t always easy to take care of things when out in the field.
“No, I should be able to. If that changes, I’ll let you know.”
Kara paused, unsure what to say next. She was still in shock. As was Scarlett, she suspected. But Scarlett also had a flight to catch. Life did go on, and people needed her help. Finally, Kara sighed. “Take care and be safe,” she said. “Thank you for calling me.”
“I wish I hadn’t needed to, but I knew you’d want to know.”
“I did, and thank you.”
She wished her friend safe travels again then ended the call. She remained still, letting the news sink in. The doctor in her knew that, even though rare, heart attacks could happen without warning in someone Shelley’s age. But the friend in her wanted answers. She wanted to know how this could have happened to such a young, vibrant, and capable woman.
Thirty minutes later, she was going through the motions of making coffee as her mind swirled with a mix of emotions. She continued to struggle with all her unanswered questions. But memories of her friend had started taking root as well. All the assignments they’d been on together. The nights out drinking to celebrate the good days or forget the bad ones. The surgeries neither had been sure they’d pull off but had. And the times they hadn’t and had to inform families.
“Kara? Are you okay?” Ethan asked, standing on the other side of the counter. His crutches were propped casually under his arms, but his expression was grim. Concerned.
She frowned and rushed around the counter to pull a barstool out for him. “What are you doing up? I told you to call me,” she said.
He eased himself onto the stool, and she set his foot on the lowest rung to take the weight off it. “I did,” he said. “You didn’t answer. And then I heard you out here and even called your name a few times.”
She winced. “Sorry. I left my phone upstairs. And I guess I was…kind of distracted. Coffee?”
He nodded. “What’s going on?”
She pulled two mugs from the cabinet as she told him about her conversation with Scarlett. By the time she had his coffee in front of him, with the dollop of half-and-half that he liked, he knew everything she did.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, genuine sympathy ringing in his tone. For a fleeting moment, she wondered how many of his colleagues he’d lost during his time in the navy. She didn’t have the courage to ask, though. Not when her own loss was so new.
“Do you want to tell me about her?” he asked. She shot him a questioning look, and he flashed her a smile. A smile tinged with both experience and sorrow. “I’ve been there a time or two. I know what it’s like to lose good people you work with. I found it helps to talk about them.”
And suddenly shedidwant to talk about Shelley. She wanted to share all the memories that had been floating around in her head. She wanted to bring her friend back to life in the only way she could.
Blinking away the first tears since she’d heard the news, she nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’d like that.”
The look he returned was so gentle, Kara almost squirmed. “Of course I don’t mind. But maybe we could move somewhere a little more comfortable.” He jerked his head toward the sitting area Sofia and Josh had created during the remodel. It sat just off the kitchen and held a love seat and two upholstered chairs. It also had a stunning view of the lake through a huge picture window.
She smiled back. “Thank you. I think that sounds perfect.”
CHAPTERFIVE
“What’san eight-letter word for an online handle?” Kara asked.
At her question, Ethan looked up from the book he’d been reading. Having coffee together in the sitting area off the kitchen had become their morning routine since they’d arrived a week ago. A routine he’d quickly grown to love. In all his thirty-six years, he’d never spent so much time with a woman justbeing. They read, did crosswords and Sudokus, and talked. It was cozy. And intimate. And sure, there were other ways he could think of to pass the time. But these few hours each morning had become one of his favorite parts of the day. He was almost grateful for the injuries that facilitated him being in Kara’s presence nearly 24/7—a feat he never could have accomplished without the torn tendon.
“Username,” he replied.
She stared, then rolled her eyes and scribbled the answer in her crossword. “I think I’ve been spending too much time with military personnel and not enough in the online world. That isnotwhere my mind went when I saw the wordhandle.”
He chuckled, knowing exactly what she meant. The connection betweenhandleandusernamewas obvious once put together. But he agreed. Ahandlein his world—their world—didnotmean a username.
His gaze lingered on her as she puzzled out more clues. When he’d first met her, her hair had been dyed auburn and she’d worn contacts that turned her blue-green eyes more of a hazel. Now, she’d forgone the contacts and was allowing her hair to change back to its natural strawberry blond. She kept it in the same short cut, though, and the ends curled around her delicate cheekbones and brushed over her fair skin. Skin he craved to touch and trace with his fingers before doing so with his lips.
As the morning sun filtered through the window, casting her in a gentle light, his thoughts turned to their first meeting. There’d been something between them then, just as there was now. Something moreelementalthan primal. As if everything in his body recognized something in hers. He wasn’t one to believe in soul mates, but he couldn’t deny—had never been interested in denying—that Kara Kenyon called to him in a way no one ever had before. He couldn’t explain why or what it was. It just was.
When he’d asked her to dinner, though, and she’d said no, he’d almost felt a sense ofrelief. No, that wasn’t quite the word. But the rejection had felt…right. They were meant to be a part of each other’s lives. Of that he was certain. But until Kara, he’d never met a woman who had him craving her as both a friend and a lover. The emotions she elicited in him were powerful and, at the time, confusing. Not to mention, a little uncomfortable. By turning him down, she’d given them both the gift of time to sort through their feelings.
The intervening months, and the number of times she’d starred in his nighttime fantasies, had clarified a lot, though. And when Sabina had told him that Kara would be coming to Mystery Lake for two months, he felt as if he’d won the lottery.
In his mind, he’d plotted hikes and picnics and outings on his boat. Fun activities she enjoyed and that would give them time to be together. Being injured and immobile had torpedoed all those romantic plans. But navy officers—even former ones—were nothing if not adaptable. And he was smart enough to recognize a gift horse when given one. Absent his injury, heneverwould have been able to finagle the time they now had together. Time that he didn’t intend to waste. They’d been friends from the very start. Now he needed to convince her they should be so much more.
