Longing for reassurance, she crept her hand back to Grant’s.
“Damn, you’re still freezin’ cold, girlie.” Grant shook his hand, exaggerating his surprise. From beneath the small, patio table beside Jenny’s lounger, he collected another blanket and floated it down across her. “This here’ll be better for you. Need layers to help keep you insulated from that air.”
Jenny nodded, prompting Grant to begin working along the cushion, tucking in the extra blanket. “No.” She took her hands from underneath. “Don’t.”
“Just tryin’ to help you get comfortable.”
“I know—” She coughed to clear her throat. “I know you are, but I don’t need you to do that. I’m gonna get up here soon anyways.”
“With what strength? Pretty sure if you try standin’ right here, you’d be tippin’ back over into that little thing you call a bed.”
“You think so?” she sneered before trying to wriggle her way out of her blankets.
Grant snapped his head to the side, diverting his eyes. “Whoa-ho-ho. Cover up.” Her bare thigh had been exposed—the cool air bit into her skin. She drew back onto the lounger, and Grant desperately pushed the blanket to cover her. “Alright, alright. I hear you. You ain’t gotta prove nothin’ to me. I believe you.” He shook his head. “And just so you know, ain’t nobody tryin’ to see all what you got goin’ on under there.”
She scowled at him. It better have been Matt that undressed me. “You weren’t the one that, well, you know…”
“Hell no. Ain’t no pervert. Not my type anyways.” Grant cracked a smile. “Too immature.”
Jenny scowled at him again but managed a snicker once she realized he was only kidding. “You tease too much.”
“Life’s too serious to be serious anymore. Nobody knows what’s gonna happen. I learned that lesson too many times now, and I don’t want to be remembered as a damned fool for bein’ let down all those times. So, hell with it. I’ll be serious when I need to be, but here in this tent, just you and me like this, I’m gonna cut up a bit. Why the hell not, right?”
“Maybe inside here…” She took a cool breath in, reliving the gunshots at the house, feeling Matt’s body press to hers, colliding once they hit the floor.
“What’s the matter, girlie? You look like you’re about to break.” The wrinkles across his forehead scrunched. “Somethin’ happen?”
“They didn’t tell you we got shot at?”
Grant jolted from the folding chair. “What?! Who shot at you?!” The nylon floor of the tent crinkled under his pacing feet. “You see ’em? It wasn’t them was it?” His side to side stopped, his face only inches from hers. “Was it?” Both hands trembled at his sides. “Don’t even tell me it was them.”
“No,” she whispered, trying to calm him, “it wasn’t them.”
“Why the hell didn’t Danny tell me about this?” His voice remained loud.
“Please.” She pressed a finger to her lips.
“You right.” Grant listened for a moment, then began again with a whisper, “You sure it wasn’t them?”
Jenny nodded.
“How you know?”
“It wasn’t. I’ve never seen them before, and Danny said the same.”
“Well, why the hell they shoot at you? Was you in their territory or somethin’?”
She closed her eyes, knowing she had misled him slightly. She hated being wrong. Apologies hurt. “Well”—she kept her eyes from his—“okay… So, they weren’t exactly shooting at us, like directly. Danny saw them down the street, and we booked it into a house. After a little bit, they just started shooting.
“Not sure what they were going after. None of us saw, but Danny doesn’t think they even knew we were there. He thinks they were just kind of shooting for the hell of it. Maybe just passing through. Other than that, we couldn’t come up with any other reason. We were in our usual area, doing what we do, not even close to anywhere we haven’t been before, so I don’t know who they are, what they were doing. But I know this much, when the shots went off, it—it felt like I was gonna piss myself.”
“Jenny! Why you cussin’ like that?”
“Huh?” The abrupt change in his attention caught her off guard. “I—”
“You ain’t supposed to talk hard like that. Don’t care how scared you were. I don’t think I like you goin’ out on those scouts like that anymore.”
“Good thing you don’t make that decision then,” she snapped back.
“You think it’s a good idea? Gettin’ gunned down. Passin’ out. How’s that a good idea?”
“I haven’t been—I haven’t been taking care of myself.” It felt as stupid as it sounded coming out.
“And that’s your excuse? That should be your reason not to go.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
I hate being here. This isn’t my home. Never will be. Not after—
“Well?”
She simply stared at him.
“Okay, Jenny… you’re right, it ain’t my decision to make. And, I can’t tell you what to do, but you need to think better on it before Danny comes talkin’ with you.”
“Why? What’d he say?”
Grant wiped the spit from the corners of his mouth. “He can tell you. I ain’t lookin’ for a fight this evenin’.”
Deep down, Jenny already knew Danny was considering the idea of leaving her off his team.
“Look, a peace offerin’, eat some of this here.” Grant reached behind the lantern on the side table and lifted a bowl. “Maybe you’ll think twice on killin’ the messenger with some food in your belly.”
Jenny said nothing.
“Come on, you gotta eat.” Smiling, he brought it bedside and wafted its aroma toward her. “Come on,” he urged.
I guess it does smell pretty good. “What is it?”
“Dinner.”
“I mean, what’s in it?”
“Just eat,” Grant said. Jenny propped the back of the lounger upright then reached for the bowl, but he kept it from her. “I didn’t mean to get you all worked up.” His voice was gentle. He spooned a few morsels of stew, his tremors shaking the utensil as he brought it to her lips each time. She wiped a few dribbles from her chin before taking several more bites—its warmth filled her, bringing some needed comfort amongst the cold surrounding her.
“Where’s Matt and Danny?”
“They were meetin’ with the transport team to let them know what houses you hit.” Grant brought her the last bite of soup and put the bowl back. “Don’t you worry about that meetin’. Told them I got you for now. Least I can do.”
“I should be there with them in that meeting.”
“Do yourself a favor and rest. It’ll show Danny you’re takin’ this seriously. Might go a long way toward convincin’ him you’ll be ready to go in the mornin’ if that’s what you’re feelin’ you gotta do.” Grant lifted the lantern and set it to the floor before pulling a plastic bin from underneath her lounger. “Why don’t you read for a bit? Get your mind off things.” He popped the lid and passed her one of the books.
“You really think it’ll help things with Danny?”
“Yep.” He nodded. “But beyond that, I’m thinkin’ you need it anyways. You don’t need to be rippin’ and runnin’ like that all the time.” His voice shifted to a more fatherly tone. “I’m not gonna lose one of you kiddos again. Never again, alright?” Jenny heard the guilt in his voice. The death of Xavier had wrecked him. His tremors more furious than ever, especially when he mentioned him. Or, anything related to River’s Edge for that matter. To be honest, there had been several times Jenny had to escape his guilt-ridden monologues. His depression was too much at times, blaming himself for what happened. There was no convincing him otherwise. Even though Xavier had made his choice, Grant felt he should have done more. Owed it to him. Owed it to his father.