Page 22 of Mountain Trial

“Any problems?”

“None. She flew smooth as ever.”

“I’ll take her off your hands, then. Go on, Barreau, get out of my way.”

“Thanks, Jean,” Kat said, touching his shoulder gently.

Opening the door to her car, Kat looked at the time. She’d agreed to meet Tess and Isolde at a coffee shop in town in less than thirty minutes. She could either go directly there, and spend the evening in her uniform, or go home, get changed and be at least half an hour late.

She opted for heading directly to the bar.

When she arrived in the coffee shop, Isolde was already there. She was wearing a black pantsuit and cream blouse, so she’d also come straight from the office. A small green Perrier bottle sat on the table next to her.

“Hi, Isolde,” Kat said, smiling. “Your hair looks particularly glossy today.”

What Kat knew about pregnancies and babies could fit on a post-it, but she’d heard pregnancy did great things for a woman’s skin and hair.

Isolde laughed. “Drake told me you were the one who guessed first.”

“Poor Drake. It wasn’t that hard. How’re you feeling?” Kat asked.

“Better now that we know what it is. I couldn’t stop throwing up―I thought I’d caught a really bad virus. In the end, it was Drake who insisted I get it checked out.”

“A virus, huh,” Tess said, coming up behind them. The young blonde was dressed informally in jeans and sneakers. “We won’t let the little one know you thought she was a virus. So, how long until she gets here?”

“We don’t know for sure that it’s a girl. That’s just what Drake’s hoping for,” Isolde said. “But due date is next summer.”

Though it made her heart glad to see her friend so happy, Kat didn’t know what to say. “A summer birthday sounds nice.”

“Think of the parties we’ll have,” Tess added.

Isolde laughed, patting her stomach. “What about you, Tess, when are you planning on bringing a little one into the world?”

Tess laughed. “I’m already a mom.” She was―Tess considered Damien’s seven-year-old son, Jamie, as her own. “Maybe someday, we can consider giving Jamie a little brother or sister.”

“How about you, Kat?” Isolde asked.

Kat paled. Deep in her heart, she’d always known she wouldn’t have any children. But that didn’t mean it was an easy thing to talk about.

“Babies are not in my future, I think.” She smiled to soften her words. “But I’ll make a great aunt to your kids―the kind who spoils them and gives them too much candy before bringing them back home.”

Isolde and Tess laughed softly. Both women were too smart and kind not to see just how uncomfortable the conversation was making Kat. After a few minutes, Isolde called the waitress over, and they ordered a couple more bottles of sparkling water―it didn’t seem right to drink anything else, though Kat could really have used a beer.

“So, Kat,” Tess began, taking a sip of her glass. “We hear you left the bar with a man last week.”

Kat smiled. Her teammates could gossip like old ladies. Then she winced, thinking about Luc.

“We were interrupted by work, and I haven’t seen him since that night,” she said.

“You haven’t called him?” Tess asked, surprised.

“Why not?” Isolde asked.

“We didn’t exchange numbers. I stopped by his place to see him a couple days later, but he wasn’t there.”

“Did you leave a note?” Tess asked.

“I didn’t have a pen with me.”