“True,” Zoey said in a small voice. “If I were by myself, I have no idea what I would’ve done. Probably have a nervous breakdown.”
“Nah, you would’ve done what you’ve always done.”
“And what’s that?” she asked when he didn’t immediately finish his thought.
“Pulled yourself up by your bootstraps and gotten shit done.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me,” Zoey told him.
“Then I’ll have to work harder to top it,” Bubba said. And he wasn’t just placating her. Everything he’d learned today had been enlightening. Zoey Knight wasn’t someone who let life get her down. “I’m glad I’m not alone either,” he told her after a while.
She made a scoffing noise.
“What?” he asked. “I’m being serious.”
“As if you need anyone else. All I’m doing is slowing you down.”
“Not true,” Bubba told her. “Having a team is the most important thing in a situation like this. You’ve got my back and I’ve got yours. That’s how a team works.”
“You got stuck with a pretty shitty teammate then, Mark.”
His name on her lips never failed to make his belly do flip-flops. “Don’t say that,” he scolded. “When I was going through BUD/S, we were taught that every single person is vital to the mission. Yeah, today has been tough for you, but I’ve watched you get more and more confident in your abilities as time has passed. You know how to start a fire and make a shelter, now. But probably more important, you’ve kept me company. Losing my dad was like a sucker punch to my gut. I have a lot of guilt and regret about our relationship, and having you talk about him, telling stories about him, made me feel a lot better. So don’t think you aren’t a vital part of this mission, Zo. Because you are.”
“So this is a mission now?” she asked.
The sun had finally set, and the fire in front of them was the only light around for miles and miles. It felt intimate and cozy.
“It’s absolutely a mission,” Bubba told her. “Someone wanted us gone, out of the way. We need to figure out who and what they have to gain from it. We need to survive long enough to get back to civilization. We’re bound to run into someone eventually. Even though this is Alaska, there are thousands of people living off the grid. We don’t want to get eaten by a bear or moose, we have to find our own food and water, and most importantly, we have to stay positive. So yeah, Zo, it’s definitely a mission.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Zoey said.
“And I’m glad you’re here with me too,” Bubba returned.
Several minutes of silence passed. Zoey shivered in his arms, and Bubba tightened his hold on her. He should be exhausted, but just like when he was on a mission for the navy, his mind wouldn’t shut down. As was his way, he couldn’t stop trying to figure out why someone had gone through the trouble of stranding them. He kept going over everything Zoey had said about his dad, and about the people who were closest to him.
“Do you know exactly how my dad died?” he asked after at least twenty minutes of silence. “I mean, I know it was his heart, but that’s about all I know.”
“I don’t know all the details. He’d been feeling under the weather for quite a while. I’d made him chicken noodle soup and stuff when I visited. Some days were better than others. But he’d been feeling better. I was relieved about that. I thought it was safe for me to go to Anchorage. Your dad hated doctors, never wanted to admit that he needed one. If he had any kind of chest pains or anything, I know he wouldn’t have gone to the hospital like he should’ve. Anyway, Malcom went to the house to check on him, since he hadn’t shown up at work, and found him in his bed. He’d apparently passed away sometime in the night.”
“I didn’t even know he was sick,” Bubba said softly. “I hate that.”
Zoey then did something that blew Bubba away. She picked up his hand, kissed the palm, then put it back around her chest. “He didn’t want anyone to know. I only knew because I was at his house every other day getting his mail, straightening up the place, things like that. Sean knew, and Malcom. Oh, and I guess Kenneth knew too, but that was about it. None of his employees were aware of how ill he’d gotten, and that’s how he preferred it. I begged him to go to the doctor, but he always said he’d feel better in the morning and kept putting it off. But I swear neither of us thought he’d have a heart attack.”
“That’s totally my dad.” Bubba sighed. “I’m gonna miss him.”
“Me too,” Zoey agreed. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Same as today. We keep moving south. Hopefully I’ll have caught something in the trap and we can get some protein in us. We’ll keep our eye out for edible mushrooms and berries, and we can nibble on certain leaves too. There’s no danger of us dehydrating because it seems as if every hundred yards we have to cross one stream or another. We’ll just keep moving until we either run into some sort of town, or we cross paths with someone.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Zoey complained good-naturedly.
“One foot in front of the other,” Bubba told her. “That’s all we can do.”
“Do you really think your friends will realize something’s wrong?”
Earlier when they were setting up the camp for the night, Bubba had mentioned his team, and how he was sure they’d figure out something was up and come looking for him when he didn’t get in touch.
“Yes. I’d bet everything I own that Rocco has already called in the troops.”
Bubba felt Zoey finally relax against him. She gave him her weight, and that small step toward trusting him felt amazing. As if he’d crossed some huge hurtle that he’d been working at for days.
He shifted until they were both on their sides. He kept his arm around her waist and pulled Zoey back against him. She had the fire in front of her and hopefully his body heat would keep her warm as well. It was chilly, though nothing that he hadn’t been through before. But Zoey wasn’t used to this at all, and, like she said, her body temperature seemed naturally low. He’d have to watch her carefully to make sure she was holding up all right.
“For the record?” Zoey said.
“Yeah?”
“The next time we go camping, I want the glamping experience.”
“Glamping?”
“Yeah, camping with all the comforts of home. A real bed, real pillows, shower, maybe even a Jacuzzi. Fireplace and room service.”
“Is this really a thing, or did you make it up?”
“It’s a thing,” she told him. “Look it up. Well…you’ll have to look it up when we get home. I don’t like sleeping on the ground.”
“I’m not a huge fan myself,” Bubba told her. “But I promise to take you glamping when we get back.”
“Good. Mark?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know how you’ve managed it, but I’m not freaking out. I’m scared…but with you by my side, I think we might actually make it home.”