Page 8 of Lover from the Waves

Does he think that I find his touch repulsive? That I findhimrepulsive?

Kathryn groaned. “Way to go, Kat. A male compliments you, and you get skittish and run like you couldn’t get away fast enough.”

She hadn’t found him repulsive in the least. He was different, but not off-putting. And if she hadn’t come to her senses… Well, she likely would have explored a little farther south. That she’d been intimately touching a stranger—in public, no less—was embarrassing, but she couldn’t deny that it was also titillating. He certainly hadn’t seemed to mind. And despite Ector’s obvious differences, Kathryn’s body had reacted to him in a way it hadn’t to anyone in years.

She’d harbored this growing desire for some sort of change for weeks, for months—if not longer—but it had always been vague, and she’d never really known what she wanted. Did Ector represent what she was after without her even knowing, or was her reaction to him simply a symptom of a larger problem that she’d yet to find the heart of?

Kat was lonely, yes; she could admit that to herself. But taking a man to bed wasn’t necessarily going to fix that—though the appeal of it only grew with each passing moment. No, she needed something more significant, something more meaningful than a single night of sex. She needed to break the rut she’d been in for so long. She needed to change the routine that had come to define her life. Her family, this house, her work…as much as she loved all of it, she was ready for a change.

She was ready to feel young again. To have an adventure. To be…alive. Ector’s flirtation had given her a taste of it, but she wanted more. Needed it for herself.

If only I hadn’t been such a coward…

Her gaze returned to the water; she felt the sea calling again, felt that pull toward…toward whatever was out there. The ocean couldn’t wash away her scars like it could footprints on the beach, but perhaps it could renew her. Perhaps it could give her whatever she’d been missing.

Kathryn had spent so much time just being a mother that she’d forgotten she was also awoman. A woman who’d hunted the wilds with her father when she was young, a woman who’d sailed those blue waters, a woman who was capable and independent and adventurous. A woman with desires, with needs. A woman with cravings.

And if those cravings happened to turn toward a big, green-skinned kraken…well, that was fine, wasn’t it? There were many townsfolk who’d entered relationships with kraken, male and female alike. And there was no sense in trying to deny it—Kathryn found Ector sexy, tentacles and all.

But she knew at heart this wasn’t about him. It was about Kat herself. Despite those aches that had cropped up over the years, despite her daughters being grown and her grandkids getting bigger and bigger all the time, she wasn’told. She wasn’t done. This was just the beginning of a new phase of her life, a new chapter.

She dipped her gaze slightly, letting it fall on the boats bobbing along the dock, which was long enough for her to see despite the harsh drop of the cliffs.

She wasn’t going to let the rest of her life pass her by. She’d chosen the path that had brought her here—she’d fallen in love with Colin all those years ago, and when Allison was born, Kat had decided to give up what she’d known since she was a little girl. She’d stopped hunting and trapping and become a seamstress instead because she wanted to spend every moment she could with her daughter, caring for her, nurturing her. Colin had died too young, too suddenly, but Kat would always treasure the fourteen years they’d had together.

After he’d passed away, she’d found herself the sole caregiver for her two daughters. It hadn’t always been easy, but they’d made do—and they’d made countless good memories. Her friends and neighbors had always helped, and Alli and Lotty were good kids, even if those first few years after Colin’s passing had been rough.

But as much as she’d loved all those years—she didn’t regret a moment—Kathryn could look back and clearly see that she’d left little for herself. Sometimes it felt like there was littleofherself left. She’d given her all to her family and her community. Now she was ready to choose a new path, if only for a little while. She was ready to rediscover herself, to figure out who she was and who she could be again.

She was ready to follow this wanderlust into the unknown and see where it led her.

Chapter 3

Kathryn tugged her jacket closed and crossed her arms over her chest to ward off the early morning chill. The sky was that unique shade of gray it only achieved just before sunrise, when the world was quiet but for the songs of wind and sea. She’d come to cherish times like this, when everything seemed to collectively hold its breath, as though Halora itself didn’t dare move before feeling the first warm rays of the sun.

She walked briskly along the path down to the dock. Most mornings—so long as the wind was right—she could hear the fishermen starting their day, and this morning was no exception.

As she neared the landing, she lifted her gaze to look down the length of the dock. Boats of many shapes and sizes were moored all along it, several of which were being prepared by the fishermen. A splash of color, oddly vibrant despite the early morning gloom, was visible closer to the end of the dock—a group of kraken, likely waiting to assist the fishermen in their work.

Kat’s eyes fell on a kraken with drab green skin. Her heart fluttered, and her skin prickled in a way that had nothing to do with the morning chill. He was talking to his companions, gesturing with both arms, and she watched the play of the muscles of his back and shoulders as he moved. All at once, she recalled the way his large hand had cupped her breast, the way he’d held her against his solid chest, and the way his flesh had felt beneath her bold touch.

Kathryn sucked in a sharp breath and averted her gaze. Ector was turned away, wasn’t looking at her, but she didn’t want to draw his attention, didn’t want to make eye contact—didn’t want him to know how much he affected her. She was here for a specific reason, and it wasn’t to see Ector.

Fortunately, the person shewashere to see was standing beside one of the boats near the midpoint of the dock, and he was plenty big enough to shield her from the kraken’s gaze should Ector glance this way.

Kat balled her hands into fists at her sides and strode onto the floating dock, heading straight for her oldest friend—Breckett Sinclair.

Her boots thudded on the dock’s surface. Several fishermen greeted her as she passed them, offering waves, friendly smiles, andgood mornings. Kathryn returned their greetings with a smile of her own.

Breckett didn’t look her way until she was within a few paces of him. He glanced at her briefly and looked back to the rope he was neatly coiling, only to snap his head toward her with eyebrows low. He dipped his gaze to her hands—her empty hands—and then back up to hers. “What’re you doing down here this morning, Kat? It’s not Tuesday yet, is it?”

She brought meals for the fishermen to take with them almost every Tuesday morning; most of these men were her friends or the children of her friends, and many had worked with Colin all those years ago. She couldn’t recall having come down to the docks for any other reason over the last eighteen years—and clearly Breckett couldn’t either.

He was a tall, burly man with thick, dark hair, a big beard, and a brooding face that was completely at odds with the gentle, kindly soul behind it. He was at once the most intimidating and kindest person she knew.

Kathryn’s smile widened as she stopped in front of him. “And a good morning to you, too, Breckett.”

He frowned; she knew it by the way his beard moved, though it covered most of his mouth. “Morning, Kat. It’s good to see you, but it’s probably been close to twenty years since I saw you down here without a basket of food in your hands. Not that I’m ungrateful for all that, or upset that you’re here emptyhanded, of course.”

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