clumps, her white blouse was covered with dust and the strawberry jam
Caleb had smeared on it while eating his biscuit, and there were
smudges all over her cheeks. He still thought she looked too damned
sexy for her own good . . . and his peace of mind.
Jessica was too tired to eat, until he convinced her she needed the
nourishment. He coaxed her in much the same way she'd coaxed her son,
but he was smart enough not to mention that fact to her. In her
present state of mind, she wouldn't be amused.
He was starving and ate two helpings of the ham, beans, biscuits, and
sugar cookies. He kept his eye on her while he ate.
She was definitely in a mood tonight if her frowns were any
indication.
After suffering her stony silence for several minutes, he gave up and
asked her to tell him what was wrong.
'Why didn't you tell me we would be camping out tonight? You should
have warned me.'
'Would you have done anything different if I had told you? ' She
started to nod, then stopped. 'I don't know, but I would have insisted
that you select a safer spot, ' she said.
'This is about as safe as I could find, ' he replied. 'No one can get
to us from behind, and I can hear anyone coming down the path.'
'That isn't what I mean, ' she said. 'And now you've started a fire.
I can't be in three places at once.' He wasn't sure what she was riled
up about. He leaned back against the rock and stared at her. 'We'll
need the fire later, ' he said. 'It's going to get cold in the middle
of the night. It always does up here in the mountains.' She threaded
her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. 'Did you have to set
up camp next to a lake? ' 'The horses need water, Jessie, and so do
we, } he reasoned.
She didn't care if his explanation was logical or not. 'Don't you
realize the enticement the water is for Caleb? I won't sleep a wink
tonight, worrying about him. What if he wakes up and wanders away? He
could get lost in the forest, or drown, or step on a snake . . . '
'Jessica, calm down. I'm not going to let anything happen to him. '
She acted as though he hadn't said a word. 'He could fall in the fire
or step on a hot ember, ' she continued. 'What were you thinking? '
Although he did understand her concerns, he was a little insulted that
she didn't trust him to look after her and her son. 'I'm not going to
let him get burned, drowned, bitten, or lost.'
