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With deliberate care, he got to his feet.
The carry strap lay within easy reach. He grabbed it, checked to make sure neither the canteens or the pot had given up their precious contents. Then he scooped up the stack of young, leafy branches and squinted through the treetops at the sky.
It was late.
Soon, too soon, the sun would set. And he had a lot to do before that happened.
So what if his leg hurt? Despite what he’d told the physiatrist and Chay and Blake and—be honest for once, Akecheta—what he’d told himself, it almost always hurt. He’d learned to live with the pain, and now was not the time to abandon that talent or ability, or whatever you wanted to call the lie by which he lived.
A thick, sturdy-looking tree branch lay a couple of feet away.
It would make a perfect cane.
Hell, no.
A walking stick. Not a cane. And not yet. He could always cut one tomorrow.
Tanner drew another deep breath, exhaled, and headed back to camp.
* * *
Alessandra was sitting under one of the palm trees, legs crossed, hands on her knees, the pistol in her lap.
She looked like a woman ready for, and ready to handle, anything.
“It’s me,” he called as he emerged from the trees.
She got to her feet.
“You’re back,” she said, smiling as she rose and came towards him.
He nodded. A welcoming committee of one, he thought, surprised at how good it felt to be greeted with that smile.
“Did you find wa…Hey. Are you limping?”
To lie or not to lie. Hamlet wasn’t the only guy with doubts.
“It’s nothing.” He dumped the branches near one of the trees, unslung the rifle, put down the machete and the water containers. “I slipped in some mud. Nothing to worry about. A night’s rest, I’ll be fine.”
Her gaze flew over him. “I was starting to worry.”
He was surprised at how good hearing that felt, too, and wasn’t that nuts? Loners never wanted welcoming committees or worriers in their lives, and he damned well was a loner.
Besides, he was reading more into things than they deserved.
Of course she was relieved he was back. That was as logical as the fact that she’d been worried.
He was her ticket out of this place. It was only natural she’d have been concerned when he didn’t show up as quickly as she’d thought he would
The last thing she needed to hear was that the man charged with saving her was having trouble saving himself.
“Sorry. It took longer than I figured to find water.” He jerked his head towards the containers he’d dumped beneath the tree.
“But I did.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“I’ll get a fire going. Then I’ll rig us a shelter for the night. We’ll eat after all that is done, but for now, why don’t you find one of those power bars in my backpack and chow down?”
