Women didn’t want to live out in the middle of nowhere, and from what Opal told them, she had a life in the city. The horrible, smelly, polluting, city. There was no way a woman would want to give up the ease to living out in the wilderness. He loved it here. When his parents were taken from him, he’d hated the city. Hated the people. They were constantly asking questions as if they had a right to know the answer to them, and it pissed him off.
He’d always been a private person, and talking about his feelings never worked for him.
The following morning, he was the first one up, and made Opal some of the tea he’d made her the night before, along with some toast and their best homemade jam. Making his way to the bedroom, he was surprised to see her already sitting up in bed.
“Morning,” he said.
She offered him a smile. “Morning.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. I slept amazingly. Thank you so much.”
“I’ve come with goodies.” He placed the tray on her lap, and then took a seat, bringing it closer to her.
“You really don’t have to do this,” she said.
Her stomach chose that moment to growl, and he laughed. “I don’t mind making you up a tray. You need someone who can help you out right now. It’s time to heal. Don’t worry about a thing.”
He saw her cheeks heating, turning a pretty pink. “This is the first time I’ve been brought breakfast in bed.”
“Until your ankle is better, get used to it.”
He watched as she took some of the jam on her knife, and spread it over the toast. The moment she took a bite, her eyes closed. “This is amazing. What flavor is it?”
“Wild strawberry. They grow in abundance around here, and Damon and I are always picking them.”
“This is your jam?”
“It is.”
“You actually made this?” she asked, taking another bite.
“You kind of have to living out here. We go to the main town to pick up enough supplies, but for the most part our pantry is filled with our own stuff.” He liked it that way. Being self-reliant, keeping close to nature, it meant a lot.
There were always too many additives and pollutants in store-bought food. He didn’t like anything that had a warning or an ingredient he couldn’t pronounce.
“I’ve never met anyone who actually preserved before. That is new for me.”
“It’s a totally manly thing to do,” he said, thinking about what Damon would say. He gave her a wink. “You’re from the city, anyway.”
“Yeah, the city…”
He saw the smile on her face drop. “You came out to the wilderness to find yourself?”
Opal nodded. “I was surrounded by a bunch of people attempting to get back to nature, wanting to know what it felt like to be poor, and to go without.”
He heard the sadness in her voice. “You know what that’s like?”
“Being poor? Can’t you tell? I spent everything I had in order to find out who I was, and now I feel like I’ve lost everything, and I don’t even have money to pay for the medical bill.” She placed her toast on the plate, and pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes. “And I still don’t know who the hell I am.”
“You don’t need to worry about the bill. The doctor, he likes getting some of our preserves. We’ve already got a box ready for him.” They also had plenty of money to pay for her bill, but he didn’t want to talk about dollars and cents. It was the root of all evil, in his opinion.
“I don’t like taking charity. I can deal with it. As soon as I’m able, I can work, I’ll pay you back.”
His heart went out to the woman on the bed.
Taking her hand, he pulled it away from her face, and moved a bit closer. “We won’t take your money, Opal. We’re not monsters. Just get well, and let us take care of you. That’s all you need to do.”