Page 36 of Fire and Rain
Sean.
She couldn’t get him out of her mind—or forget how good it had felt to be in his arms, his body strong and hard. The way he’d looked at her, desire in his eyes...
It still gave her belly flutters.
Why hadn’t he kissed her? She was certain that he’d wanted to, but he had stopped himself. Did he still think of her as a married woman? Did he believe he was betraying Justin somehow? Was it the guilt he felt about Justin’s death?
Maybe you misread him. Maybe he’s not attracted to you in that way.
The few women he’d dated since arriving in Kodiak had all been tall blondes without children. Eden was none of those things. What did he think of her now? Would he avoid her, put distance between them?
Belly flutters turned to a knot of worry.
She hadn’t heard from him since their fishing trip Friday. Not that she’d expected him to call necessarily. She knew he’d had at least one duty shift during that time, and she was sure he must be busy. It was peak fishing and tourist season, after all, and the weather had been rough all weekend with rain and forty-knot winds. She’d heard helicopters lifting off close to a dozen times since the storm began.
She dried her hands and walked into the living room to watch the weather report.
“We’ll get sunshine this afternoon as this storm breaks up, with temperatures climbing back into the sixties by tomorrow.”
Good.
She and Maverick could spend time outdoors tomorrow. In the meantime, she needed to get him dressed and head over to the base gym for his swimming lessons. She and Justin had been teaching Maverick to swim before Justin’s death, but she hadn’t been to class since.
“Are you ready to go swim, Maverick?”
He stood, block in his hand, as if trying to remember what that meant. Five months was probably an eternity to a toddler.
“Let’s get you dressed.” She held out her hand, smiled when he took it.
A half an hour later, she and Maverick arrived at the pool. A half dozen mothers and kids waited on benches for the lesson to begin. She knew most of them. They welcomed her, hesitancy in their eyes as if they didn’t know what to say.
“It’s so good to see you again.” Kristin, whose husband was assigned to one of the boat crews, had a daughter close to Maverick’s age. “How are you doing?”
Eden kept her answers light. “I’m doing better. We need to catch up on our swimming lessons. How are you?”
“I’m doing great. We’re transferring to Miami in a few weeks. I can’t wait to get back to warm weather and sunshine. Where are you planning to move?”
“I was born and raised on Kodiak Island, so I’m staying here.”
“Oh. Wow! I didn’t know that.” Kristin switched topics. “How is Sean McKenna? I saw the two of you at Crab Fest together.”
There was a note of undeniable interest in Kristin’s voice.
Eden kept her facial expression neutral. “He’s doing well. He was Justin’s best friend, so he’s stopping by to help when he can. I asked him to go with us to Crab Fest. That’s where Justin and I met, so it was hard. Sean was kind enough to make the time.”
Kristin leaned closer. “If I weren’t married, I’d snap him up. He’shot.”
Eden didn’t know whether Kristin was fishing for gossip or not, but she was spared having to respond by the timely arrival of Scott, the swim instructor.
In swim trunks and a swim shirt, he walked straight to Eden. “Welcome back, Eden. Hey, Maverick. Are you ready to get back in the pool, little buddy?”
Maverick pointed. “Swim pool.”
Then mothers and children were allowed to get into the water.
Eden couldn’t help smiling when she saw how much Mavie remembered. He could still tread water and turn in a circle by himself. He could also float on his back with a little support.
“Look at you, Mavie. You’re a fish!”
