Page 13 of Lover from the Waves

“So what does that mean, Alli? That I should sit in a rocking chair and spend my days staring wistfully at the sea? That I need to move in with you and Jackson so you can take care of your feeble old mother?”

Allison cringed, and at least had the good sense to look contrite. “You know that’s not what I mean, Mom.”

“Then what?”

“That you’re not young anymore, and that it’s not safe for you.”

“That’s just it, Alli.” Kathryn pushed herself to her feet. “I don’t want safe. I’ve been safe for years and years and I’m bored of it. I need adventure. We each have only one life to live, and I want tolivemine, not passively watch it go by.”

Kathryn closed the distance between herself and her daughter and took Allison’s hands. “I have loved almost every moment of my life, and the bad times only make the good shine all the brighter. I love that I was blessed with two beautiful daughters and so many grandchildren. And guiding you and Charlotte as you grew into the wonderful young women you are today has made me so proud.

“But you don’t need me to hold your hands anymore, and I need something beyond this routine I’ve fallen into. I need more than working every day and coming home to an empty home. I need to figure out who I am again.” Kathryn released one of Allison’s hands and reached up to brush her fingertips across Alli’s temple, tucking a stray lock of hair behind the younger woman’s ear. “And I don’t plan to go away forever. It’s only for a short while.”

Tears shone in Allison’s eyes. “But what if I lose you? We already lost dad.”

Kathryn’s eyes stung with the threat of her own tears. She smiled softly and cupped her daughter’s face in both hands. “Oh, sweetie, we can’t live our lives around what-ifs. We’d never do anything worth doing if we did that. I have every intention of coming home to my family. Besides…I won’t be going alone.”

Allison reached up and took hold of Kathryn’s wrists, gently drawing Kat’s hands away from her face. “Who is going with you?”

Kat chuckled. “Didn’t hear that juicy little tidbit, did you?”

“Mom.”

“Ector is accompanying me.”

Allison glanced away, brow furrowing. “Ector. That name sounds so famil—” Her eyes rounded. “The kraken?”

Kathryn nodded, smiling wide. “He offered to join me, and Breckett made it a condition if I wanted to take one of the boats.”

“But isn’t he also…old?”

Kat tilted her chin down and eyed her daughter.

“Well he is!”

“And he’s also a strong, experienced hunter who’ll keep me company while keeping me safe.”

He also happened to be pretty easy on the eyes, with muscles Kat could stroke for days—not that Kathryn had any intention of saying that aloud.

Allison released a long, slow breath. “Fine. At least you’re not going by yourself. But for the record, I would rather you didn’t go at all.”

Chuckling, Kathryn leaned forward and pecked a kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t need your permission, then.”

Allison rolled her eyes, but wrapped her arms around Kat, holding her tight. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

Kathryn closed her eyes and embraced her daughter. “I promise.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“Love you, too, Alli.”

Chapter 4

Beyond the long shadows of the shoreside cliffs, the sea shimmered with golden morning light. On a normal day, the fishermen would’ve already departed by now, but this was a day of rest for them. The dock was rarely so deserted, rarely so peaceful. Everything was blanketed in the soothing sound of the water lapping against the shore.

Ector took a deep breath of sea-scented air and stared out over those gently rolling waters. There was an odd heat and tightness in his chest—eagerness. As the years had passed, he’d often felt there was less and less to look forward to, but that had all changed when Jax and Dracchus brought Macy to the kraken’s ancestral home. In the time since, Ector had seen and experienced things he could ever have imagined—some of it tragic and painful, much of it awe-inspiring and exhilarating.

This was a new adventure. He’d hunted the waters near the Facility, but he’d rarely ventured beyond those familiar hunting places. He’d always had a vague idea of the vastness of the sea, but viewing it from land, knowing that it stretched farther than his eye could see even from high ground…

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