in impoverished areas who couldn’t otherwise afford medical care.”
“We’ve got places like that in the States.”
“I know. My first assignment was in a rural community in northwest Alabama. The town looked more like a third-world country than something you’d expect to see in America. Most of the houses looked like shacks, and a lot of them didn’t even have basic water and sewer hookups.” Something swirled in her hazel eyes, but then she blinked and it was gone. “After that, a spot in Guatemala opened up, and I decided to see a little more of the world before I settled into private practice.”
Wade unzipped his bag and rooted around for something to eat that hadn’t been peppered with buckshot. The good news was most of the food had been spared. Bad news, the few spare clothes he’d packed had taken the brunt of the damage, which meant he’d either be wearing the same clothes for a while, or clean clothes with built-in air conditioning.
His stomach wanted something hearty like stew, a reward for a full day’s work. But damn, he was tired, and he wasn’t up for the challenge of creating a palatable meal with their limited supplies in the great wide open. Maybe tomorrow, if they made significant progress without any drama, he’d break out the pots and pans, build a fire, and cook an actual meal.
“Here. You must be hungry.” Leaning forward, he handed her packets of dried fruit and jerky. Not the most appetizing dinner, but it didn’t require any prep work.
Hope looked down at the package of jerky. “What kind is it?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t ask.” Experience taught him it was better not to ask for the sake of plausible deniability. He’d bought it from an old guy running a roadside stand not far from the room they’d rented in Viento Tranquilos. Most likely, it was beef, goat, pork, or iguana, but there was always the chance it could have been made from something far less appetizing, and he chose not to think about it. Unless somebody told him otherwise, he’d assume it was plain old beef jerky.
Stomach grumbling, Wade opened his pack of jerky and tore off a bite. Salty and tough, but it had a good flavor, though he still couldn’t determine what kind of meat it was. It wasn’t a ribeye at his favorite steakhouse, but it would have to do for tonight.
Hope tore the package open, gave one of the strips of dried meat a cautious sniff, and took a tentative bite. After a few chews, she nodded. “Not bad.”
“It’s not five-star dining, but it’ll do.”
When Hector returned with the canteens a few minutes later, Wade tossed him some packets of jerky and fruit, and he settled on the ground beside Hope. At the first bite, he made a sour face. “Christ, that’s salty.”
“It’s jerky. What did you expect?” Wade said around a mouthful of food. “I’ve still got plenty of meal bars and granola if you’d rather have one of those.”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll get used to it.” But he didn’t seem happy about it. Hector ate another bite and washed it down with a big swig of water. “When we get back to the States, you can make it up to me by whipping up a batch of asopao de pollo.”
Hope’s eyebrows lifted. “You cook?”
“Why is that such a shock?” Wade was all too familiar with the stereotypical assumption that most guys didn’t know their way around a kitchen. He also knew a lot of people assumed that a big guy with big muscles was dumber than a bag full of hammers. Most of the time, he let people believe whatever the hell they wanted, especially if he could use it to his advantage. But there were other times, like now, where he enjoyed giving people shit about it.
Hope made a vague hand gesture. “I don’t know. I guess you just didn’t strike me as the Gordon Ramsay type.”
“Man’s gotta eat,” Wade said. “It only makes sense to know how to cook.”
Truth be told, he hadn’t learned how to cook anything aside from the bare essentials until after he’d been at the DEA for a few years. Until Carmen. She’d taken one look at his pitifully stocked kitchen and piles of takeout containers in his fridge, and decided he needed to learn how to prepare real food. Back then, he didn’t know shit about spices. Didn’t even own a measuring cup.
Carmen had dragged him out shopping for much-needed supplies, and then