She was right. I was guessing what her job was like not knowing. People assumed search and rescue was finding someone with a twisted ankle and bringing them home. They didn’t know the times when we found nothing. Or worse, found the person too late to save them.
They didn’t know the toll it could take.
It was why I needed this vacation and why I needed things done my way.
“I guess I don’t know everything about what you do,” I admitted.
She flashed me a small smile at my admission but the stress over Kyle still showed in her eyes.
Chapter Six
Skye
Ibounced my knee as I stared into the underbrush waiting for Kyle to re-emerge.
He had never done this before.
Normally he was on his lead. I should have put it back on when we stopped.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Maybe I had overtrusted my little furball.
Maybe the man beside me had distracted me from my cat mom duties.
The end result was the same.
I said waiting for him to come back was the right plan and was sticking to that…but it was getting harder. Losing my travel buddy was too much to even think about.
Meeting new people was fine, being alone was fine too, but once I’d adopted Kyle — or he adopted me — I couldn’t imagine being without him.
A single almost forty-year-old woman obsessed with her cat, not exactly original. It was true though. I loved his little antics and having a warm body in bed beside me. I glanced over to where Aaron was patiently letting me take the lead and my heart gave a little flutter.
I had noticed Aaron from the first time we’d met. He was big and strong, and hot, who wouldn’t take notice? But as we got toknow each other we started butting heads, and that was more fun than I cared to admit. Acting on my crush wasn’t an option. We were too different, too busy, he was the loner mountain man and I lived my life on my socials.
Besides, he was friends with Cliff.
Now, with just the two of us here, it was harder to ignore the pull. The priority right now was Kyle and whether sitting here while he got further away was the right thing to do.
His warm palm landed on the bare thigh of the leg I had been shaking. I looked down at his hand, then up into his eyes. “You’re calm under pressure…well, a kind of pressure. If you’re confident this will work, then don’t worry. We just have to wait him out.”
His praise was as unexpected as it was welcome. It warmed my chest, and I gave him a half-hearted smile before my eyes dropped to the dirt. “I know people think a cat is just a pet, but he’s my partner in crime, you know?” I licked my lips. “I don’t know if I’ll ever find a person I can be around all the time and not get sick of. He is the perfect compromise, someone to love and who loves me, but who won’t expect me to settle down in one place or tone down my adventure plans.”
He squeezed my thigh, and that bit of tenderness had tears pricking my eyes. “Once he gets his furry butt back here, he is wearing that harness twenty-four seven.”
Aaron patted my leg and withdrew his hand. I wanted to grab it and put it back.
“I’m somewhat of a loner myself, so when you explain the little furball that way, I can sort of understand the desire to keep him around.”
A small smile crossed my lips. “That’s very big of you, Aaron.”
He smirked back, then we shook Kyle’s food and toy again.
The rustle of a leaf sounded from somewhere nearby, and my eyes shot to Aaron’s. He gave me a small nod, and we bothstayed still. More rustling sounded, and I shook the toy again. The rustling increased and got closer.
Finally, Kyle came running out of the underbrush, the cricket he’d been chasing in his mouth. Aaron reached down and grabbed him before he even saw it coming. He gave a little squeak and dropped his kill. Aaron held Kyle up so they were eye to eye. “You had your mother worried sick. No more running off or you’re staying in the cabin next time.”
Oh shit, sexy daddy vibes. Hello.
