ChapterTwenty
Audrey slept until early afternoon. That she slept at all was a testament to how exhausted she’d been, and that she’d managed to sleep for so many hours had to be because the fig she carried had drained her batteries to the bottom.
She woke with a jolt, completely ravenous, the same fig demanding food. Dim gray light penetrated the moss and leaf covering, enough to see Xavier’s handsome face as he lay with eyes open, staring at the netting that hung from the apex of the half-dome tent.
He shifted to face her, and his mouth curved in a soft smile.
“I can’t believe I slept so hard.” Her sleep had been fitful for the first hour or two, but at some point, her brain must’ve released the fear, knowing that Xavier was by her side and would protect her. Strangely, the hours she’d slept in the early afternoon had been the deepest sleep she’d gotten since she’d learned she was pregnant. “And now, if I don’t eat something in the next thirty seconds, I think I might implode.”
His smile deepened as he handed her the sleeve of crackers. “Get started on that while I slice cheese. Want some canned chicken too?”
“Yes, please,” she said as she rammed a saltine in her mouth. “I want it all.”
He handed her a fork and the canned chicken.
She pulled the ring on the top and dove in, placing chunks of chicken on a cracker and taking a bite. She added a cheese layer when he handed her a stack of slices. Her stomach didn’t settle until she’d inhaled her fifth fully topped cracker.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded. “I was dizzy with hunger. That’s new for me. Pregnancy is full of delights.”
“Your blood sugar was probably desperately low. Your eating and sleep schedules are off-kilter, and your body doesn’t know what to do.”
She took a bite of cheese, this time chewing slowly as she felt her equilibrium return. “Thank goodness we got food from the Baldwins’. I have a few protein bars, but those won’t last long.”
“We should have enough for another day, but we can search more cabins tonight for supplies if need be.”
“How did you plan to feed the team this week? Is there food in the lodge?”
“In the yurt and the lodge, although each team member also carries enough for days.”
Xavier opened a can of tuna and ate it straight from the container. She offered him the crackers and her remaining slices of cheese.
“No. Those are for you. You need it more than I do. I’m content with plain tuna.”
She wanted to argue, but she had no way of knowing what her body was going to demand in the coming hours. She ate just enough to settle her stomach, then tucked the remainder away where she could reach it in a hurry. Yesterday she’d had two full meals in her belly before the nightmare began, and adrenaline had carried her the rest of the way. Today would be a different story.
Xavier set up the Sierra stove under the flap at the front of the tent and boiled water, making tea for her and coffee for himself.
They sipped their warm beverages while sitting cocooned in the sleeping bag. The moment was surreal. She loved camping. It had been one of the things she and her ex had enjoyed doing together, and being all alone in the wilderness, snuggled up as raindrops pattered the tent, had been her favorite way to while away the time. They’d read, make love, talk about the future.
Those were some of her favorite relationship memories. Now, here she was with a new man—one who also enjoyed camping, she knew—and they were alone in the wilderness, living what would be an idyllic romantic moment, except they weren’t here by choice and were hiding out because they were being hunted.
Still, the moment had an odd comfort. He knew her secret now, and his betrayal didn’t cut as deep as it had yesterday.
It still cut, but she was starting to see a path through that pain. Not to forgiveness, but maybe she could put it behind them. For the baby. But also…for herself.
Her attraction to him had gone dormant in December. Maybe it had burrowed down, hiding deep in her heart, and his actions since yesterday afternoon had allowed it to rise to the surface again.
All she knew was the kiss they’d shared last night had proven the attraction had returned…and as much as she cautioned herself not to trust him, a large part of her wanted to explore the feelings he triggered now.
She sipped her tea as she studied his shoulder. His Under Armour shirt was so tight, she could see the top edge of the raised scars on his left shoulder. She’d seen him wince several times in the long night as he moved his arm or adjusted his pack. “What happened last night, when you were alone?”
“A merc crossed my path. We fought, and I killed him.”
His words were stark, but not without emotion. “You did what you had to do.”
“Yes.”