“Well, hopefully the weather will break, and you can get back to it soon. I’m just sorry we didn’t find Dustin before I got hurt.” He discarded the drawn card.
“I’m not worried about my business. Luke and Mina will handle things until I return. I’m more worried about Dustin.” My brows dipped. “I don’t like that he’s still out here somewhere with poachers on his tail. Or worse.” I grabbed a card. It was an eight of hearts. I slid it into my hand after seven of hearts, then laid them out on the tent floor, along with the six, nine, and ten of hearts. “Rummy.” I looked up with a grin.
Toren’s mouth pulled to the side. “Already?”
I shrugged and held up my empty hands. “What can I say? I’ve played this a lot with my grandmother.”
We played several more rounds before fatigue finally started to get the best of us. I covered a yawn.
“We should sleep,” he said, gathering the cards after our last round. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day, even if we’re just staying put.”
I nodded, trying to ignore the flutter of nervousness in my stomach. The tent suddenly felt very small at the thought of sleeping so close to him. “We should probably take a bathroom break first.”
“Yeah. Why don’t you go ahead. It might take me a bit.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded. “I’ll stoke the fire and make sure it’s good to go for a few hours before we hit the sack. I need to get up and stretch out a bit before I wander too far, anyway.”
“Okay.” I reached for my boots. “Do you need help getting a sock over your injured foot? Or are you going to leave it bare?”
“I’ll just leave it bare. I don’t want to get a sock wet while I hobble about.”
“All right. I’ll look for a walking stick for you while I’m out.” Quickly, I laced my boots and tied them, then unzipped the tent flap and slipped out.
Outside, I lifted my jacket off the short stick I propped it on earlier and slid my arms into it. A quick smile ghosted over my face as I zipped it up. It was warm.
Flipping up the hood, I stepped out of our shelter and wandered about twenty yards away until I was hidden behind several trees. This was the part of wilderness camping I hated. Toilets were one of man’s greatest inventions, as far as I was concerned.
It didn’t take me long to do my business. With my clothing back in place, I scoured the ground for a stick sturdy enough and tall enough to support Toren’s weight. Halfway back to camp, I found the one. It even had a fork at the top, and another coming off the side, so he could tuck it under his arm and use it like a crutch if he wanted.
I held it out, turning it in my hands. Maybe he could do that. I wasn’t sure it was tall enough. The man was a giant.
As I headed the rest of the way back to camp, I kept looking for another long, sturdy stick, just to be safe, and found one not far from the shallow cave we were calling home. It was a little longer but didn’t have the fork at the top. It also wasn’t as green as the other one.
Toting both, I stepped under the outcropping and pushed my hood back, happy to be out of the rain. It was now mixed with fat snowflakes. We’d probably wake up to a blanket of white in the morning.
Turning toward the fire, my heart skipped a beat as I saw Toren standing beside it, balancing on one foot. The light cast a golden glow over his face and put a metallic sheen on his black hair. He looked a bit like what I imagined the Greek god Hades would look like. Tall. Powerful. Intimidating.
Beautiful.
Minus the ankle wrap and the tape around his fingers, of course.
“You found some walking sticks.”
And that voice. There was a hint of gravel in the rich tone that tickled my brain in delicious ways.
I cleared my throat softly, pushing those thoughts away. They would only get me in trouble under our current circumstances. “I did. Hopefully, one of them works.” Walking forward, I handed them to him.
He studied them both, then put the forked one under his arm. “This isn’t bad. I like the hand hold.”
I took the other one back, so he could limp around the camp.
“Don’t wander too far,” I said. “The weather’s getting worse.”
“I don’t plan to.” Glancing over his shoulder, he tottered toward the cave entrance. “I’m just going to step around the corner.”
I nodded. “I’ll be in the tent. Yell if you need help.”
