“We were roommates, and she was my birthing coach.” Kit rolled her eyes. “You should have heard her swearing when she thought the obstetrician should have been more helpful. Thankfully, no one understood the names she was calling him.”
“I can imagine.” Audrey pulled out her phone and displayed an Italian/English translator. “I’ve looked a lot of those swear-words up. The ones they’ll list.”
“Clever.” Kit checked her son. He was sneaking through the trees, moving very slowly. So patiently. “When Aric was almost three, I married a sweet man, and we moved to Texas. But Brenden died. And before I really got over him, there was Obadiah.”
Two husbands in two years. She was certainly doing things wrong.
No, don’t think that way. Brenden had tried his hardest to stay clean; he just hadn’t been strong enough.
Obadiah was simply a lying abuser.
“I know this might sound bad”—Audrey pulled in a breath—“but I’m really glad that jerk Obadiah is dead, and you’re free of him.”
Kit blinked back tears. It was exactly what she needed to hear. “Thank you.”
As they turned to watch the game, Kit saw that Caz and Hawk had moved far apart, approaching the target flag from different sides.
Bull and Gabe spotted the two men, but the children were also creeping forward. Down low where there was more cover.
“I saw you planting seeds into trays. More veggies for the garden?” Audrey asked.
“No, they’re flowers. I’m going to make autumnal hanging baskets to thank the people in town who saved us from the PZs. I think they’ll flower right around the beginning of August.” Kit shook her head.
“You know you don’t have to thank anyone.” Audrey smiled. “But they’ll love it if you do.”
As the wind carried a spray of rain under the umbrella, Kit frowned and leaned forward. “Where’d the children go?”
Audrey pointed. “There’s Regan.”
The girl was crouching behind a bush. Farther away, something crashed.
“Was that JJ over there?” Audrey asked.
“I lost track of her.” Kit noticed Gabe and Bull turned toward the noise too.
Regan sprinted forward and threw her water balloon at Gabe.
The police chief dove to the ground, only half escaping her excellent pitch.
Bull threw at the same time Regan tossed a balloon at him—and both hit.
A high scream of victory ran through the forest. “Got it, got it!” Having grabbed the flag, Aric waved it over his head, yelling and bouncing.
Everyone cheered. Gabe set Aric on his shoulders, Bull did the same with Regan, and moved close enough the children could exchange fist-bumps with each other and their other teammates.
And they headed out to the road where Kit and Audrey waited.
“Did you see me, Audrey?” Regan was yelling. “JJ was the first di—diversion, and I was the second, and I got Uncle Gabe and Uncle Bull anyway.”
“You showed awesome skills,” Audrey agreed.
Laughing, Gabe lifted Aric from his shoulders and set him in the pickup bed. “Aric and Regan are an amazing team.”
“I did it, Mama,” Aric boasted.
He sounded so much like he used to that her words could barely escape the thickness in her throat. “You did. You were amazing.” She held out her good hand to get a fist-bump from him, lost her battle to restrain herself, and pulled him in for a hug.
His giggle was high and infectious, and when she let him go, his face was flushed and his crooked smile simply huge. “We was all good. Cuz Hawk ‘n’ Caz moved fast so they’d getted looked at ‘n’ JJ made a big noise ‘n’ Regan was a-tillery.”
“Artillery,” Hawk corrected.
“That’s me,” Regan agreed and gave Hawk a big hug.
When his blue-gray eyes turned soft, and his hard face turned gentle, Kit’s heart went to mush. The man might present himself as a hardass, but he loved that little girl—and Aric.
“Crew.” Bull’s laugh was deep and hearty. “Frankie said, if Aric and Regan’s team won, they’d get cupcakes.”
More cheers echoed off the trees.
Even as Kit’s mouth watered, she was appalled. Frankie’s sugar-loaded, sprinkle-covered frosted cupcakes?
They’d never get the children to calm down tonight.
“While we eat, we’ll debrief—what we did wrong, what we did right, and what we can do better next time.” Gabe punched Bull’s shoulder. “Neither of us expected a four-year-old to sneak past us.”
“True that.” Bull eyed Hawk. “You’ve been working with him, haven’t you, bro?”
“Some.” Hawk pulled Aric’s cap off and ruffled his hair. “Caz is up next.”
“He has skills.” Caz nodded. “I’ll take him when Regan and I go out.”
Regan grinned. “Papá is the best.”
Kit eyed the combatants and saw they agreed. Sneaking was Caz’s skill—and he’d work with Aric. They were playing to their strengths. Building on them. Working together to achieve the goal.
She could hear Hawk’s voice when he’d talked to her after the firefight at the cave. “A team is stronger than a person alone.”
What would it be like to be part of a family who felt that way?
It was something she’d never know. And all too soon, she’d be moving away from the Hermitage.
But maybe if she and Aric stayed in Rescue, they’d still be friends. Aric could have their support in growing his skills. She’d have Frankie—and maybe Audrey and JJ too.
She just needed to find a job.
I can do that.
Chapter Eight
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. Yet that will be the beginning. ~ Louis L’Amour
On Monday afternoon, Hawk was in his armchair reading while listening to the murmur of the kids. Seated on the floor, Aric and Regan were clicking pieces together to create a marble run. Each new twist, chute, tube, or spinner involved a discussion.
Perched on a chair, Sirius supervised. Regan’s oversized fluffy cat was probably just waiting for the marbles to start rolling.
At a tap on the door, he looked up to see Kit on the deck. She’d been in town for her PT and counseling appointments.
Without rising, he waved her in and pointed at the kids. “Building isn’t done.”
Aric scrambled to his feet and ran over to hug her—a sight that never failed to make Hawk smile…and feel a bit of envy.
“Can I finish, Mama?”
“We’re almost at the end,” Regan called. “We want to see a marble go through.”
“I…” She glanced at Hawk.
He pointed her to the couch. Now he’d have to talk with her. It wasn’t as if he was unwilling, too much the reverse. She was easy to talk with. And far too fucking appealing.
Clicking a spinner piece into place, Aric let out a squeal of victory. Regan clapped her hands for him, and Kit let out a low laugh.
Jesus. Hawk frowned, realizing he had three people in his house, none of whom was a brother. The isolation of the Hermitage was coming to an end.