“I usually bring some bear spray to ward off unwanted creatures, but I couldn't find any in my truck. Don’t worry, Helen. I’ll protect you. Besides, Coyotes don’t know how to work zippers last I checked.”
I tried to joke with her but there was no humor in Helen’s eyes. Just fear and annoyance.
“I think I’ll sleep in the car.”
“Helen—”
“I am not sleeping on the hard ground listening to the howls of coyotes all night. At least there are padded seats and steel walls in here.”
I was beyond frustrated now. I had just spent almost an hour setting up a nice camp for us to make the most of this situation. Time and again I had gone out of my way to make Helen comfortable and to share a piece of me with her through the love of my outdoors, but she couldn’t appreciate any of it. Not for very long anyway.
“You know what? Fine. Enjoy the truck.” I shut the door and made my way back to the tent, unzipping it.
“Samson!” I called and he came running from behind a tree. He looked at the truck and whined. “Nope, you’re sleeping with me, bud.”
I closed my eyes, rolling over several times to get comfortable. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about Helen in that truck and what I had wanted to do to her in there earlier. Now, my mood had soured. Who was I kidding? Helen Washington and I would never work.