Wyatt sat up next to Nev and watched her as she started to get dressed and packed. The words he had whispered in her ear hung heavy in his mind now. He didn’t regret saying them, but he was feeling increasingly anxious about her lack of response. He knew, however, trying to stop her from getting ready to leave would only cause her stress. So, for now, he followed suit.
“Wait,” he said softly, as they both exited the cave.
“Wyatt, I wish we could stay longer too. But we can’t. We really have to go. It isn’t safe to stay in one place very long,” she said, pausing only a moment before continuing to check to see that all of her belongings were secure.
“I know. And we will. Just give me a moment,” Wyatt said, almost pleading.
Nev acquiesced and turned to look at him. “Alright, but just a moment,” she replied.
“I, well… I just wanted to know if you… well… if you,” stammered Wyatt, stumbling over his words.
Nev frowned a bit. “Maybe we should talk about whatever it is later,” she suggested gently.
A wave of panic swept over Wyatt. “No!” he blurted out as he took her hands in his.
Looking concerned, Nev asked, “What is it?”
“I meant it, you know,” he said softly. Wyatt squeezed her hands gently and looked up at her. “I have never said it… much less said it and meant it. Not to anyone besides my parents and Addi anyway, and that is different,” he stated, sounding and looking truly sincere.
Nev didn’t know how to respond. She had already convinced herself that she’d either misheard him or he’d simply gotten caught up in the moment. She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.
Wyatt sighed and said, “Look, I wasn’t trying to put you on the spot. I just needed you to know that for me anyway, that is how I feel. I think you are amazing, and being with you was… is wonderful. And before you say it—I know we haven’t known each other very long. And most of our time has been spent in crazy and dangerous situations. Yet, it doesn’t make what I feel for you any less real. Anyway, I just needed you to know that before we headed out again.”
She felt him squeeze her hands one more time before releasing them and giving her a half-smile. “Wyatt, I…,” she said before her voice trailed off.
“No worries, remember,” Wyatt said, before giving her a wink and a smile. He then turned and started walking west. “Better catch up and oh, be on the lookout for more caves. I had no idea they could be so exhilarating,” he shouted back at her, with a laugh.
Nev felt herself blush and then grin for a moment. The time she had spent with him had been wonderful. She wanted to tell him that. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she didn’t. Instead, Nev shook her head and quickened her pace until she was just a few steps behind him. “You are such a fool. He deserves better,” she berated herself, under her breath.
Chapter 16
They walked for several hours in the rain without incident and without conversation. Wyatt began to wonder if this was how their relationship was doomed to be. Brief and wonderful moments of tender intimacy bookended by long stretches of awkward and painful silence. The thought was disheartening, to say the least. Desperately he wanted to push her to say she either loved him back or that she didn’t. Even so, he simply couldn’t.
Her life had been filled with enough hardships, and he was determined not to add to it. Guilt was already plaguing him for making her face and deal with his feelings for her. The very least he could do was not add any more difficulty to her life. If he truly loved her, then he should protect her. Even if that meant protecting her from him and his feelings for her.
They were only a day or two from Birclan, and dusk was approaching fast. Wyatt had been taking point for the last several hours, walking due west and in the dreary rain as Nev felt her mood darken to match the sky. She had increasingly become lost deep in thought the longer they walked. Oblivious to everything around her except for Wyatt, she kept her vision solely focused on him.
She had no experience in dealing with relationships. Almost all of her life, she had actively avoided forming any attachment to anyone. Her worry about how she was handling her feelings for Wyatt ate at her. The more she thought about it, the more she became certain she was making a mess of things. Part of her even toyed with the idea that it would best if things between them stopped progressing—despite her desperately hoping he didn’t feel the same way. Her time with him had been more wondrous than she could’ve imagined, and she cared about him, maybe even loved him. Still, she worried about the danger she would continue to bring into his life. The dilemma left her head and heart aching. Abruptly, he stopped moving several feet ahead of her. Hearing her name, she looked up at him as she was yanked from her thoughts.
“Well, this cabin has seen better days. Still, the walls and roof seem surprisingly intact. Maybe we should spend the night here?” he inquired, examining the door to the cabin. “Nev? What do you think?”
Nev looked up and suddenly
