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She didn’t respond and picked at the fish, putting the small bite in her mouth.
He noticed the shape her lips took around her fingers and looked away, concentrating on the fire. “Are you wanting to return? Is it safe?”
“If that man’s claim is to be believed, the search has been called off.”
“And will they just forget what happened so you can return?”
“Most likely, the man who made the claim will be gone like most of the passers-through. I’ll be vouched for, and the claim will be dismissed. I have my father.”
Lachlan stared at the fire pondering that, then suggested, “Another few days, then?”
“Except Gan knows where we are.”
“He won’t be back,” Lachlan said, still raging at the man and his comments about what he would have done to Tarley. “I made sure of it. Besides, he thinks you’re a taken woman.”
Tarley fidgeted next to him, then cleared her throat. “Are you strong enough to make the hike?”
“I can make it, but I can’t guarantee I can walk quickly.” He wondered if Ollie was alive and in Sevens. The curiosity burned through him and ignited his willingness to make that hike but didn’t fan his desire to leave the comfort of what this camp had become to him.
He glanced at Tarley.She’d kissed him back.
She hummed, thinking, and held out the fish. “Eat the rest.”
Lachlan took the skewer.
“We’ll wait one more day,” she said. “Then start back.”
Lachlan ate some of the fish, then picked out a bone and flicked it into the fire. “I’m surprised your protective family approves of your trips.”
“It was like going to war—a battle of wills between my mother and me.” Her hand went to her wrist, and she rubbed it, an unconscious action that Lachlan realized he’d seen her do several times. “I guess it’s always like that between us.” She gave him a wan smile.
He looked closer at her wrist, at the red ribbon tied there. “What else?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you so preoccupied with my boots?” He smiled. “I’m preoccupied by the fact you’re a pretty woman attempting to disguise herself as a boy, who knows the healing arts, how to take care of herself, and is distressed at causing her family worry.”
She looked at him and bristled. “I’m not preoccupied with your boots.”
“You are. You bring them up every three or four sentences.”
She huffed a noise, but her tension deflated. “I don’t want my mother using this against me, is all.”
“Would she?”
“I imagine so.”
“And your father?”
“He was the one who insisted on the disguise.”
Lachlan pointed at her. “That disguise is terrible.”
“Not from a distance.”
“Except Gan got close.” Lachlan wondered if his worry was written on his face.
Her head tilted the other direction, and she hummed as she considered. Then she said, “Is that the first time you’ve encountered a hunter?”
