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Longest. Day. Ever.
Her eyes shut for only a moment as she inhaled a long breath.
The room still smelled like him. Her pillow, her blanket, her cot...
She rolled onto her side and took hold of the material, bringing it to her nose and inhaling. He smelled of sunlight, pine wood, and a spice all his own. Her stomach twisted again at the thought of him.
Eva flopped on her back and stared at the ceiling. Was he resting easy?Were his stitches ready to come out?
She should probably check on him.
She stood, changed out of her fighting wear, and put on a long-sleeved white cotton shirt and black loose-fitting drawstring pants. She grabbed her fur pelt, then disappeared out her door.
Darkness had fallen on the settlement. Glowing lanterns hanging on the side of the huts lit the way as the balls of her feet led her across the wooden bridge to the entrance of his room.
She knocked lightly and entered. Her eyes looked upon him. Upon this stranger. His lips were parted, his breathing was steady, but his blanket had fallen partly off him.
She sat on the edge of his bed and hauled the pelt off the floor and up around his neck, her fingers grazing the skin on his hands.
He was cold. Block of ice cold.
What if she hadn’t come to check on him? He wasn’t even out of the woods a day, he could relapse, and next time he might not be so lucky.
Eva wasn’t sure what made him come back from the brink of death. He was strong, a man fitting of the name she had bestowed on him.
She had been sure he’d lose his battle with the fever, but she didn’t give up on him. She kept him cool, gave him water, and sang sweet words of comfort. Had he heard her?
When she reached her hand out to him and cupped his face, he leaned into her but stayed in his slumber.
Warmth filled her chest.
Eva retracted her hand. She was not this girl; she would not be this girl. The one who swooned over handsome men. Many had tried to impress the leader’s daughter with words of love, acts of bravery, and shows of beauty. None could sway her.
Her interests had always lain elsewhere. But now, now her interests were right here in this room, with him.
What was it about him that drew her attention? Maybe it was because he was a mysterious stranger who happened to be above average in the looks department. Or maybe it was something else?
Could it be the way he whispered “Angel” as he burned or his strength to overcome his infection? Or maybe it was the way he looked at her. He didn’t look at her as the leader’s daughter—he saw the real her. Like she was the only person that mattered.
Derek, for years now, had let his interest be known. But he was like a brother to her—she admitted that to him, and he had accepted that fact. She’d known him since she was a kid, since they had founded Everwood.
Krieger, on the other hand, intrigued her. Something about him drew her interest, even if he was just a stranger to her. Hell, he was a stranger to himself.
Nonsense. Just plain nonsense. She needed him healthy if he was going to help Everwood. That’s it.
She yawned as she turned her back to him, stocked the small wood stove, and started a fire. Once the flames began to crackle, she went back to the edge of his bed. As soon as she sat, she felt his hand on her lap. Did he like her presence, even in his sleep?
Well, shit. She might as well stay. She hadn’t nursed him back to health to have him relapse.
She picked up his hand and placed it on his stomach as she eased off the bed, and with slow motions, she removed the lantern from the stool and set it on the floor. Eva sat on the wood structure and kicked her feet up onto the end of the cot, resting her head against the wood-paneled wall as she arranged the fur pelt on her lap.
Her eyes traveled back to him as her lids became heavy, the stress of the day weighing on her.
If her presence made him feel better, then she could spare the time for him. But only one night, then she had to go back to her normal routine.
Her eyelids closed as his hand clasped hers.
The damn birds were chirping as the sun was just beginning to rise. She startled awake, falling off the stool.
