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“Are you okay?” Houghton said from behind him. “Ribs still taped up?”
“Yeah,” he muttered, feeling so lost and alone. “I just hate that for him – and he’s such a good guy. I don’t want it to break him or for him to deal with being declared disabled. I know it’s just a label, but man, it sure emasculates y…” Jake turned – and met Lena’s eyes.
She was standing silently behind Houghton and had come to check on him. He stared at her, fighting the feelings within him, and realized that all of this was just a mess. Him, her, sharing a cabin, all of it.
He hadn’t been here a full twelve hours yet, and things were already hitting the fan. Maybe Logan was right. Maybe he wasn’t ready for a pen pal… and never would be.
“Yes?” he said bluntly. “Come to watch the pathetic, disabled vet puke up his guts, or are you waiting for the crybaby tears?”
“I left your plate for you,” she said quietly.
“That’s fine,” he lashed out, feeling so much tearing him apart on the inside – and it was like acid on his soul. “I’ll put my own stupid plate away just like my clothes on the floor. I don’t need your help or anyone else's help. I sure don’t want your pity either! Just go away!”
“Lena, why don’t you go inside.”
“Yes, sir,” she said simply – and Jake wouldn’t have it. He just kept egging her on, picking and attacking like a wounded animal.
“Sir? You call him ‘sir,’ and you can’t even saymyname?”
“That’s enough, Ortega,” Houghton said angrily – stepping between him and Lena, who turned to walk away.
As the door shut behind her, Jake collapsed onto the deck, crying.
7
LENA
Lena had never seen such utter and raw devastation on someone’s face as she had on Jake’s. The man had been through a lot already, and Jill told her about the explosion while they were setting the table. She could put together much of the rest of it on her own but seeing his face, the concern for his friend, she realized that maybe it was worse than any of them understood.
She had offered to take his plate just so he could run away and take a moment alone for himself because she knew and comprehended that painful urge herself. That is why she was here – she was running from everything that she knew was bad for her, knowing that if she stayed, it would destroy her.
And she hoped it didn’t break Jake tonight.
Opening the front door silently, she heard him vomiting nearby, along with his muttered ‘oww’ he’d whispered. It was hard to keep it at the forefront of her mind that he nearly died and had major surgery recently. He was still healing from broken ribs, dealing with the emotional trauma of what had happened, along with the physical – which made her wonder about who this man was even more.
Did he really believe some of the arrogant stuff he was spouting off? And just as he was baring his soul, talking openly to Houghton – he looked directly at her and practically attacked.
Oh, she’d left his plate for him, but only after putting another biscuit on there since he enjoyed them so much, along with one more slice of roast. She wanted him to come back in and feed his mental anguish with food because that was what she and her sister did when they were having a rough time.
It was either chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, or cheesecake, and if you were broke? Cheesecake instant pudding in a tub of Cool Whip would serve in a pinch.
Gosh, there had been many times where she’d sat down on the kitchen floor, sobbing and eating it by the spoonful direction from the plastic tub. When she got fired from the grocery store after being dumped – again – she’d nearly polished off an entire roll of toilet paper, blowing her nose, wiping her eyes, and ate the complete tub of Cool Whip before getting sick to her stomach.
“How’s he doing?” Jill asked in consternation.
“Not good,” she whispered painfully, hearing every word he’d said once more, feeling it almost like a stab to her own heart… and wished she had some cheesecake or Cool Whip tonight. “He’s very upset.”
“I’m not sure he will be back in tonight to finish his dinner.”
“I don’t think he will be.”
“How about I wrap it up into a sandwich, and you can put it in the mini fridge in your cabin in case he gets hungry.”
Lena nodded, wiping her eyes and felt Jill reach for her, hugging her.
“It’s notyou, you know,” she whispered.
And Lena let out a whimper as her words hit a nerve.
