So much more than anything I ever thought I’d find.
I reach up and push some of the wet hair from her face.
She looks up at me through thick lashes.
My gaze drops to her mouth.
Her lips part.An invitation maybe?Does she want this as badly as I do?
And then—Sawyer clears his throat.“You two going to swim the rest of the way?”
I glare up at him, and based on the grin he’s sporting, he knowsexactlywhat he just did.
“Thanks so much for this,” Katelyn says as she drops down on the log beside me.In front of us, flames crackle in the fire ring of the campground.Sawyer sits across from us, shooting a glare at where Anastasia and Jack sit, all while Cowboy and Tank try their best to distract him so he doesn’t do something stupid.
It shouldn’t make me happy that Sawyer is frustrated, but after what he interrupted earlier—well, let’s just say I’m taking a bit of satisfaction from his irritation.
“Of course.I’m glad you had fun.”I pop a fry in my mouth and offer her one from what’s left of the dinner Anastasia and Jack brought out for all of us just before sunset.We’d spent the rest of the afternoon finishing our kayak adventure—wet clothes and all.By the time we were taking off our life vests, the sun had dried us.
Katelyn takes a fry.“I really did.”
“How’s Thomas doing?”I gesture to where she set her phone between us.
She smiles brightly.“He’s doing fantastic.Which only added to my joy over the day.This is the first time he’s done anything like this, and he’s just—he’s having the time of his life.”Her smile fades slightly.“It makes me wish we would have done this sooner.”
“Baseball camp?”
She finishes chewing the fry she put in her mouth.“Settled in.”
“What kept you from settling?”
Silence carries between us even as the conversations around the fire continue on.There’s a heaviness settled on her shoulders that wasn’t there just a few seconds ago.“Just never found someplace that felt like home, I guess.”
But it’s not the truth.Not the whole truth, anyway.Still, I don’t press.
“I’m glad you found your way to Stormwatch Landing.”
Katelyn’s gaze levels on mine, and she smiles softly, firelight illuminating her features.“Me, too.”
Once more, that thick tension settles in the air around us until Anastasia claps her hands.“All right.It’s time.”
“Time for what?”Sawyer asks.
Anastasia stands.“Be right back.”
“So, Katelyn, how long have you lived here?”Jack questions.
“Uh, a few months.”She smiles, but it’s awkward.Uncomfortable.My guess is that it has something to do with his occupation.Did she have a bad interaction with the police before?Maybe filed charges on her ex-husband and had things go sideways?
“You like it?”
“I do.It’s a great place.”
“Yeah, I’d have to agree with you there.”He glances behind him.“I’m thinking about moving here myself.”
Sawyer starts coughing uncontrollably, sucking in air like he just completed a competition dive.“Swallowed wrong,” he chokes out.Ryker fights a grin as he pats him on the back.
“Sure you did,” Ryker replies, earning a glare from Sawyer and a chuckle from Weston.