About an hour later, she found herself praying they’d quit walking soon. Her feet were killing her, and the harder she breathed, the more her ribs hurt. She was thinking of sucking up her pride and telling Jake she couldn’t go any farther, when he turned and said the three little words she’d been longing to hear.
“We’ll stop here.”
Chapter 7
Olivia looked in the direction Jake was facing. Apparently, their evening shelter was going to be a gigantic tree.
The ground around the base of the tree had eroded on one side, creating a nook between two sets of exposed roots. They were so big and bulky that they formed a sort of retaining wall, framing both sides of the area where they would be sleeping.
Jake climbed over one of the massive roots before turning and offering his hand to her. Once she was over, he instructed her to wait there while he took a closer look.
Olivia watched as he began a thorough inspection of the area around the base, presumably checking for any unwanted critters or insects. Though her body was screaming to sit down, she was more than willing to stand a few extra minutes for that.
While waiting for the all clear, Olivia began to feel extremely lightheaded. As if sensing her distress, Jake turned back around, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern.
His lips began to move. He was saying something, but she was suddenly too busy trying to stay upright to make out what it was.
Jake’s eyes widened with alarm and shouted her name, the sound muffled as he ran toward her. He reached her just as her knees started to give out.
Grabbing hold of her upper arms, Jake steadied her with both hands. Thankfully, the contact was enough of a jolt to keep her conscious until the fog began to clear.
“W-what?” she asked unsteadily.
“I asked if you could hear me.”
“Oh. Y-yeah. I'm okay.” She blinked a few times. “I think I’m okay now.”
His shoulders dropped, and he huffed out a breath. “Jesus, woman. You almost gave me a damn heart attack.”
He sounded mad, but she knew he was more worried than anything. Olivia did her best to reassure him.
“Sorry. I just got a little dizzy for a second, that’s all.” She could tell he didn’t believe her, so she gave him a shaky smile and apologized again. “Sorry.”
Jake’s expression hardened, and he growled. Actually growled. Before she could ask what his problem was, he grumbled, “Come here.”
Not waiting for a response, he used her elbow to guide her to the tree’s base. His gentle touch was in complete contrast to the gruffness in his voice. “Sit.”
Part of her wanted to balk at his abrupt tone, but Olivia held back. Her legs were still quivering, and she could tell from the way her body ached that her adrenaline levels were starting to drop. Add to that the hunger, dehydration, stress, and lack of sleep over the last few weeks, and it was no wonder she’d nearly passed out.
With Jake’s help, Olivia got settled onto the ground. He sat down to her right and reached for her legs. Wrapping his fingers around her ankles, he carefully spun her feet toward him and positioned them across his hard thighs.
The movement was slow but unexpected. A tiny squeal escaped as Olivia’s arms flew to her sides to keep her from falling backward.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a higher-than-normal pitch.
Reaching for his bag, Jake started to dig through it. Without looking at her, he sounded only slightly less grumpy when he answered, “Getting you something to eat. After that, I’m going to clean and wrap your feet. I have some alcohol pads, antibiotic ointment, and a couple of elastic bandages. I’ll clean the wounds as best I can and wrap your feet in the bandages. Won’t be as good as shoes, but hopefully, they’ll keep the cuts from becoming infected. I also have some ibuprofen to help with the pain.”
Now, she wanted to growl. All he’d done since finding her was take care of her. Olivia couldn’t stand the thought of being a burden to anyone, especially Jake.
“Give me the stuff,” she blurted a little louder than she meant to. “I’ll clean them myself.” She tried to pull her legs free, but he easily held both ankles in place with one hand.
Still focused on his bag, he ignored her request. “Just relax.”
Relax. Right. “It’s fine, Jake.” She tried freeing herself again, but he only held on tighter. “Really. You don’t have to—”
Frustrated, he glowered at her from over his shoulder. “I can see your wounds better than you can. They need to be cleaned and treated. I’m pretty sure you understand what getting an infection out here would mean.”
She did, but... “I can—”
“Would you just stop?” he barked, startling her. “You’ve been through hell, Liv. I think you’ve more than earned the right to have a little help, don’t you?”
Olivia flinched, from both the sharp tone of his voice and the question. Mainly because her answer would be an immediate and resounding No.
She didn’t deserve anyone’s help. Not when she hadn’t done a damn thing to help her friends when they’d needed it. Unfortunately, Jake was right. At least about her wounds.
Getting an infection while traveling through the jungle could be deadly. If she became sick with fever, she’d only slow him down even more. That was the last thing Olivia wanted to do, so she bit her bottom lip to keep from arguing further, and nodded in agreement.
Looking somewhat satisfied, Jake held out the canteen. “Here. Drink.”
He waited while she took several slow, small sips, before handing her a protein bar. “Now eat.”
Olivia raised one eyebrow. Grateful didn’t even come close to how she felt for all he’d done, but the man was really starting to push his luck with all of his cavemanesque orders. Lucky for him she was starving.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
Jake replied
