explanations? Look, Brian, I’m willing to admit that you know what you’re about out here. I’ll bow to your expertise about our health, but you have to stop going off half cocked where getting rescued is concerned. You said you understood about getting to the plane,” she countered.
Brian winced slightly. “And I do.” He paused and his eyes seemed to cloud over as if he’d drifted far away. Then his gaze cleared and he stared at her for long moment and said, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I struck out on my own. But you have to admit you weren’t up to starting out at dawn. In fact, I’m not sure you’re up to it now.”
She was so tempted to agree that she held her breath to keep from betraying her level of discomfort. One benefit of his solo trek was that it would be a shorter day hiking. “I told you I’ll make it. And I will,” she said after a pause then she shifted her stance a little. “We’ve wasted enough time today. How do you think we should go about carrying all this?”
“One of the things I did while you were sleeping yesterday was to rig up a backpack for myself out of a parachute harness. I hated to waste the suture kits to stitch it, but we may need these supplies.”
“You can’t carry it all.”
Brian stared at her for long moment then winked. “Watch me, sweetheart,” he quipped and turned away to begin packing up and breaking down the shelters. “It should take me half an hour. In the meantime, you should rest. I’ll give you that painkiller I promised now. By the time we’re ready to move out, it should kick in.”
Joy fervently hoped that it would.
Brian glanced behind him to check on Joy. He leaned back against a rock and waited for her to catch up. She was a trooper he had to give her that, but her labored pace was painful to watch even though his idea for the crutch seemed to work well. Back at the campsite her anger had nearly convinced him he’d been wrong about the possibility that she was afraid. She’d looked like a proud, strong Valkyrie standing there wielding that crutch. But then he had to wonder what she’d thought she would need to fight off—a two-or four-legged menace?
Then, as often happened to him, his mother’s voice echoed from the recesses of his mind. Around the time Joy was fourteen he’d been teasing her. Not that there was anything different about that, but this time Thomasina Peterson had come down on him like a ton of bricks for hurting Joy’s feelings.
Indignant, Brian had countered that Joy gave as good as she got. She wasn’t hurt, just angry, he’d said. His mother’s kind face had creased just a little more with a sad smile. No, she’d explained, Joy was the kind of person who hid her hurt behind anger. She’d explainedthe difference between his home and Joy’s—that there was no place in the Lovell household for hurt feminine feelings. Basically, she said Joy had been taught from an early age to process hurt and make it anger. She’d even wondered aloud if Jimmy Lovell knew his youngest was a girl. She’d gone on to add that Joy was very nearly a young lady and that as a young man it was his duty to protect young women, not torture them.
Brian had gone off to sulk, annoyed that his mom would try to wreck the one bit of fun he’d had in his life at the time—a sad testament to his teenage years in the blue-collar neighborhood. Being top in your class didn’t earn you street credibility, that was for sure.
After that, teasing her had lost its luster and he’d tried to be nice to her. She’d responded in kind and they’d struck up a wary friendship. A few more years passed and he came to be grateful. He’d had considerably less to apologize for when he’d come home from college for winter break and saw that the cygnet had become a swan in his absence. He’d wanted to date her then, but he’d waited till she was in her senior year of high school. And then it had only taken months for his dreams to turn
Brian winced slightly. “And I do.” He paused and his eyes seemed to cloud over as if he’d drifted far away. Then his gaze cleared and he stared at her for long moment and said, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I struck out on my own. But you have to admit you weren’t up to starting out at dawn. In fact, I’m not sure you’re up to it now.”
She was so tempted to agree that she held her breath to keep from betraying her level of discomfort. One benefit of his solo trek was that it would be a shorter day hiking. “I told you I’ll make it. And I will,” she said after a pause then she shifted her stance a little. “We’ve wasted enough time today. How do you think we should go about carrying all this?”
“One of the things I did while you were sleeping yesterday was to rig up a backpack for myself out of a parachute harness. I hated to waste the suture kits to stitch it, but we may need these supplies.”
“You can’t carry it all.”
Brian stared at her for long moment then winked. “Watch me, sweetheart,” he quipped and turned away to begin packing up and breaking down the shelters. “It should take me half an hour. In the meantime, you should rest. I’ll give you that painkiller I promised now. By the time we’re ready to move out, it should kick in.”
Joy fervently hoped that it would.
Brian glanced behind him to check on Joy. He leaned back against a rock and waited for her to catch up. She was a trooper he had to give her that, but her labored pace was painful to watch even though his idea for the crutch seemed to work well. Back at the campsite her anger had nearly convinced him he’d been wrong about the possibility that she was afraid. She’d looked like a proud, strong Valkyrie standing there wielding that crutch. But then he had to wonder what she’d thought she would need to fight off—a two-or four-legged menace?
Then, as often happened to him, his mother’s voice echoed from the recesses of his mind. Around the time Joy was fourteen he’d been teasing her. Not that there was anything different about that, but this time Thomasina Peterson had come down on him like a ton of bricks for hurting Joy’s feelings.
Indignant, Brian had countered that Joy gave as good as she got. She wasn’t hurt, just angry, he’d said. His mother’s kind face had creased just a little more with a sad smile. No, she’d explained, Joy was the kind of person who hid her hurt behind anger. She’d explainedthe difference between his home and Joy’s—that there was no place in the Lovell household for hurt feminine feelings. Basically, she said Joy had been taught from an early age to process hurt and make it anger. She’d even wondered aloud if Jimmy Lovell knew his youngest was a girl. She’d gone on to add that Joy was very nearly a young lady and that as a young man it was his duty to protect young women, not torture them.
Brian had gone off to sulk, annoyed that his mom would try to wreck the one bit of fun he’d had in his life at the time—a sad testament to his teenage years in the blue-collar neighborhood. Being top in your class didn’t earn you street credibility, that was for sure.
After that, teasing her had lost its luster and he’d tried to be nice to her. She’d responded in kind and they’d struck up a wary friendship. A few more years passed and he came to be grateful. He’d had considerably less to apologize for when he’d come home from college for winter break and saw that the cygnet had become a swan in his absence. He’d wanted to date her then, but he’d waited till she was in her senior year of high school. And then it had only taken months for his dreams to turn
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