gripped her upper arm and gave it a light shake. No reaction. No surprise. She’d been exhausted last night. Unfortunately, break time was over, and he shook her a little harder.
She woke with a gasp, her eyes popping open and her hands half curling into fists. In a sleep-roughened voice, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s time to get up.”
On a heavy exhalation, the tension in her muscles relaxed. Then she yawned so wide it was a wonder she didn’t dislocate her jaw. Eyes heavy-lidded, she looked around. “It’s still dark.”
“I know. We’re starting early to get a jump on the heat.”
There they were again, those lines between her pale eyebrows, and he felt bad for causing their return. She let out a huff of annoyance that reminded him of how his sister Larissa reacted whenever he or his brothers did something to exasperate her, which was pretty much every damn day.
Hope pushed up to a sitting position and wiped the sleep from her eyes. “Can I at least eat breakfast first?”
“Sure. What do you want? I’ve got meal bars, granola, and dried fruit.” He also had powdered eggs and pancake mix in his pack, but he wasn’t in the mood to screw around with it this morning.
Her face scrunched in a clear indication she found none of the options appealing. “I guess I’ll take a meal bar. Are there any mint chocolate chip left?”
“Let me check.” Wade dug into his bag. There was only one mint chocolate chip meal bar left, and though it was his favorite kind, he handed it to her. It was the least he could do after waking her up at the ass crack of nothing.
While she ate, he did a quick inventory of their supplies. They’d burned through a quarter of their food already, a little faster than he’d anticipated. To ensure they had enough for the return trip, they’d have to start foraging to supplement their dwindling supplies.
There were plenty of fruits, berries, and nuts to be found; they just had to make sure to avoid the ones that were poisonous to humans. If they wanted fresh meat, they’d have to hunt for it, though he wasn’t all that crazy about building a fire.
“We’re leaving in ten.” Wade zipped his pack closed. “Does that give you enough time to get ready?”
“Sure. It’s not like I have to do my hair.” Her gaze flicked up, meeting his. “Do you have any more Jolly Ranchers?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I have one?”
He gave her a look. “It’s not even six in the morning.”
“What’s your point?”
“They’re not breakfast food.”
“Says who?”
It took some effort not to smile. Funny, he would have expected a doctor to be more health conscious. “I hadn’t pegged you for a sweet tooth.”
She rolled her eyes. “Says the man who brought a bag of candy into the jungle.”
Truth be told, he usually avoided junk food. Body was a temple, and all that happy shit. But everybody had a weakness, and his just happened to be Jolly Ranchers. He indulged every now and again, and why the hell not? He didn’t smoke, stayed away from drugs, and only drank alcohol on occasion, so he figured a few pieces of candy wasn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with a sugar addiction. He dipped into his stash and tossed her a grape-flavored candy. If he wanted them to last until they got back to town, he’d have to start rationing them. “You’re not getting any more today.”
“I can live with that.” She unwrapped the candy, popped it into her mouth, and a look of bliss formed on her face that made him wonder what else would put it there.
Pushing the thought from his mind, he stood. “I gotta take a leak. Be ready to leave when I get back.”
Much to Hope’s surprise, Wade didn’t resist when she suggested checking the wounds on his back while they took a break under the shade of the dense tree canopy.
While Hector grabbed a quick catnap, she and Wade found a spot that would give him privacy and her room to work.
This time, instead of removing his shirt, Wade lifted it just high enough to expose the marks left behind by the scattering of buckshot pellets. She knew he was sensitive about the scars covering his back, though he didn’t seem as hesitant to let her see them this time around. Still, she’d move as quickly as possible in an effort to ease his discomfort.
“All things