“You ever peed behind a bush before?”
“Who hasn’t? I mean, I’m an old hand at it.”
“Are you lying to me, little one?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t call it lying.”
“Then what would you call it?”
“Totally humiliated babbling,” she spat out. “This isn’t exactly something I’m comfortable with.”
“Teeny, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” His voice was so soft and sweet that she felt her insides melt.
Why did she have to meet him now? When everything was up in the air? When it was all a complete mess?
Because fate hated her. She was certain of it.
“Just squat right down so your hips are lower than your knees. If you can’t squat easily, we can find you a tree to lean against.”
“No, I’m fine squatting.” She was not going to go on a hunt for a tree to pee against with him. How would that even go? What sort of tree qualified as a peeing tree? Nope. There had to be somewhere where she drew the line and that was it. No searching together for good spots to squat.
Oh dear Lord.
“Try to keep your clothes and feet out of the way so you don’t pee on them.” How could he sound so normal? Was this something he did every day? Coaxed someone on how to pee outside? And here she thought moving to the country, the only things she’d need to worry about were the different sorts of critters. She froze in a crouching position.
“What if there’s a snake?” she asked in a high voice.
“There’s a snake?” Now alarm filled his voice.
“Not that I can see!” She glanced around frantically. “But what if one appears?”
“Okay, Mari-girl. Calm down. I can hear you panicking from here.”
Well. Yeah. She was freaking out. Peeing outdoors. Have snakes slither up on her while her pants were down. These were all new experiences and none of them good.
“Snakes are more scared of you than you are of them.”
“I really don’t think that’s possible.” Her thighs were starting to burn. She needed to start an exercise routine. Pronto.
Not that she ever intended on repeating this experience again.
Nope. Not happening. She should have just held on and risked peeing her pants.
“Snakes aren’t really active this time of year, it’s too cold for them. But if you want, I can come keep watch for you?”
“No! In fact, you should step away. Far away.”
Last thing she needed was for him to hear her pee.
“I’m not going too far away in case you need me. Just let go, Mari-girl. I’m not embarrassed. You shouldn’t be either.”
Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one peeing behind a bush and making a fool of themselves.
Finally, knowing she couldn’t crouch here much longer or she’d risk falling over, she forced herself to relax. She could hear Linc singing in the background as though he was trying to help her relax. What was he singing?
Whatever it was, it did the trick. She finished up and then stood behind the bush, trying to wait for the embarrassment on her cheeks to fade.
Come on, Marisol. You can do this.
“Are you singing?” she asked as she walked back towards him.
“Thought it might help,” he told her.
“Well, it did. So thank you,” she replied quietly.
Suddenly, something sharp pierced her foot and she let out a cry. Falling onto her ass, she grabbed at her foot, tears dripping down her face.
“What is it? What happened?” he demanded.
“I . . . I don’t k-know!” she wailed. He crouched and grabbed her foot, looking around.
“Oh shit, you stood on a bee, teeny.”
She sniffed, her foot was hot, burning. He turned it over and there was a red welt on her foot. Already it was starting to swell. He flicked the stinger away.
“Ow. Ow. Owie.”
“Oh, baby,” he crooned in sympathy. “Are you allergic?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on, let’s get your foot into the water. The cold will help.”
Linc stood and she expected him to hold out a hand to help her up. Getting to the truck was going to be a pain in the ass. Instead, he reached down and pulled her up, bridal style, into his arms. She squeaked in surprise. But he carried her down to the river and then he let her feet drop. He held her around the waist as she stood on her good foot and let the other one float in the water.
Oh, that was definitely better.
“I have a first-aid kit in my truck. After I get you out of the water, I’ll run back and get it. It’s got some calamine lotion in it.”
“Thank you,” she whispered quietly. She couldn’t believe how caring he was.
Linc picked her up and carried her back to the picnic rug.
“You don’t have to carry me,” she told him.
“You can’t walk on that foot,” he pointed out. “Besides, I like carrying you.”
He did?
He grabbed some clean napkins and wet them in the river then came back and placed them on the bottom of her foot. Ahh, that felt so good.
“Stay here, okay? Don’t move.” He gave her a warning look and she nodded.
She definitely didn’t feel like moving anywhere right now. She held the wad of napkins against her foot as he grabbed the picnic basket and quickly disappeared.
Way to make a complete mess of things, Marisol.
9
Linc made his way quickly back to the truck. He’d brought the basket with him because he wouldn’t be able to carry Marisol and it at the same time. He grabbed the first aid supplies he needed.
This picnic wasn’t exactly shaping up how he thought it would.
When he got back to her, she was where he’d left her. That was surprising. He had the feeling she wasn’t always the best at following orders.
If she agreed to be his, they’d have to address that, as well as her lead foot.
He had to do some research into diabetes. He could ask Doc for some information. He didn’t want to do anything to put her health in jeopardy. And there might be things he could do to help her.
He hated the fact that she didn’t have everything she might need because she couldn’t afford it. He’d look into that as well. Even though he knew she wasn’t likely to let him help her financially, there had to be something that could be done.
Not for the first time, he wondered how much her aunt was paying her. She drove a crappy car that was on its last legs. Her sandals looked like they were close to falling apart and her clothes weren’t in much better condition. She didn’t seem to have anything appropriate for the cooler climate here.
There was something going on. Something he didn’t like. But he knew he had to tread carefully. Family could be a tricky thing to discuss. And he knew that she felt an obligation to her aunt for taking her in.
He sat next to her and opened the first-aid kit. “Okay, let’s see what Doctor Linc has here to fix your boo-boos.”
She sniffled sweetly and he drew out a pocket pack of tissues that he’d found in the glove box of his truck. He reached over and wiped her cheeks gently.
“Oh.” She froze as he cleaned her up.