Toren had made his way to the table as I sat the last of the items down. He lowered himself into the chair with careful,deliberate movements, trying not to aggravate either of his injuries.
We ate. For a few minutes that was the whole of it. Just eating, both of us working through the profound relief of being safe, dry, and eating food that didn’t come from a pouch.
He finished his sandwich in about four bites.
“Do you want another one?” I set my sandwich down, pushing my chair back to get up.
“It’s fine. I can make it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you could, but you’d make a mess in the process. I should have made you two to start with. Stay.” Getting up, I opened the fridge and took out all the sandwich fixings again and made him another sandwich. I was more tired than I thought. If I were running at a hundred percent, or even close to it, I would have realized a man his size needed more than a single sandwich after the last few days we’d had.
“Do you just want one more?” I looked over my shoulder.
“Yeah. That’s plenty. I can eat some of the chips too.” Even as he spoke, he reached for the bag. It crinkled as he opened it and put some of the chips onto his plate.
Wrapping the sandwich I made in the paper towel I made it on, I brought it to him, then sat down to finish my breakfast-slash-lunch-slash-dinner.
“Thank you for the food.” Toren glanced up after eating half of the new sandwich. “And for the hospitality. I know the doc wanted me to have someone around this evening after all the drugs they pumped into me, but I feel fine.”
“I’m glad you’re doing well. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Shock can come on suddenly, and your body’s been through a lot in the last few days. I don’t mind sitting with you to make sure you’re okay.”
“Still, you probably have better things to do than keep me company. Like figure out what’s happening with the wedding that started all of this.”
I chuckled softly. “Yeah. I’m giving Tina and Dustin a few hours, then I’m calling her. Tomorrow’s supposed to be their wedding day, but obviously we’re going to need to reschedule.” I sighed as the enormity of doing that hit me like a train. “I’m going to have to make some calls.” I propped my chin on my hand. “What a mess.” Thankfully, I had anticipated problems, so I’d put the vendors on alert before I left.
Toren hummed and took another bite.
“Do you think your wildlife officer friend will find Deke? And Vic?” The question had been sitting at the back of my mind since the two of them ran off.
“I don’t know. Jesse will stop at nothing to do it, though. He’s tenacious.” He ate a potato chip. “Having Toby in custody helps. I think he’ll sing like a canary to save himself. What Deke wanted to do with Dustin—with us—wasn’t anything he wanted to be part of.
“No, definitely not.” Toby had made that clear almost immediately upon our arrival. I was actually a bit surprised Deke didn’t take Toby out, then Dustin and us.
“Deke will probably head for civilization soon,” Toren continued. “He’s on foot without any gear. That country isn’t forgiving, even for someone who knows it, without a wealth of gear to support you.”
I agreed. We only survived as long as we did because of what we brought with us.
We finished eating. I cleared the plates, and when I turned back from the sink, he was watching me with an expression I couldn’t decipher.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He looked away.
Sure, okay.I raised an eyebrow but let it go.
“I need a shower,” I said. It came out more bluntly than I intended, but it was also just true. Four days of backcountry wilderness meant I wasripe, and I was acutely aware of it now that I was standing in my own kitchen. I kept thinking it was the trash I smelled, but now I realized it was me.
“Yeah.” He glanced down at himself. “Same.”
I ran through the logistics. My house was small, but it had two full bathrooms. I wasn’t sure my hot water heater could handle two showers at once, though. Not the kind we needed.
“You can go first,” I offered. “Guest bathroom is down the hall. There are towels and wash cloths in the cabinet, but I need to get you some soap.” Pushing away from the counter, I walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to my bedroom and its en suite.
I heard the creak and thud of Toren’s crutches following me.
In the bathroom, I unearthed a fresh bar of soap and a travel-sized bottle of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. It had a flowery scent, but it would do the job of washing his hair.
“Do you have some clean underwear in your pack still?”