Page 35 of Healing Love

Throwing her body into action while emitting an ear-piercing scream, she rolled over Cam’s body. Her elbow jabbed his ribs sharply as she scrambled to her knees on top of him. Grunting, he was immediately alert, trying to move her thrashing body off his.

Unable to reach his knife with her body still mauling his, he grabbed her waist, hoisting her up as he stood. “What?” he growled, before looking down and seeing the snake.

As she turned to grab the oar, he pulled out his knife and flung it expertly toward the snake, spearing it. The snake was dead, his knife plunged behind its head by the time Miriam whirled around, holding the oar over her head to strike.

Staring at her, the bedraggled warrior-woman, Cam smiled. Then chuckled. Then burst out laughing.

Glaring at him, she continued to hold the oar, her eyes darting between his and the ground around.

“I think you can put the weapon down now,cariña,”

Huffing, she replied, “Don’t think you cancariñame. You’re laughing. If I hadn’t jumped up, that snake could have killed both of us.”

Walking over, he pulled the oar out of her hands andtossed it to the ground. “Babe, you deafened it with your scream…and me as well. Instead of alerting me to trouble and then getting out of the way, you climb all over me, keeping me from doing what I’m supposed to do, which is protect you.” Wrapping her in his arms, he pulled her in closely, still able to feel the pounding of her heart. And his.

“Well…” she huffed, unable to think of an appropriate retort, her eyes still riveted onto the dead snake at their feet.

“But” he said turning back toward the fire, “we’ve now got some meat for breakfast.”

“M…meat?”

“This is a Sinaloan milksnake. Not poisonous. Not necessarily all that tasty, but it’s meat and we need the protein.”

She remained motionless, watching as he brought the fire back to life from its embers and then turned his attention to the snake. Eyes wide, she saw him pull the knife from the body and make a slit?—

Jerking around quickly so that her back was to him, she began to walk a little way into the woods. “I…um…have to…go,” she stammered and hurried off to take care of her business hoping that the snake would be gone when she returned.

Several minutes later, she approached cautiously. He looked up, smiling. “The coast is clear, babe.”

She could see that he had a slim stick with something sizzling on it, much like the chicken kabobs her mom made. The smell of the meat cooking was enticing, as much as she hated to admit it.

“Have a seat,” he ordered gently, nodding toward the upturned canoe. “It’ll be ready soon. Why don’t you cut up some of the mango left over from last night.”

Nodding, she was grateful for the task. While not ashamed that she was scared of the snake, she was embarrassed that she had reacted so outlandishly.

“Cam?”

“Right here, babe.”

“Um, I’m sorry,” she began.

He stopped what he was doing and glanced over to her. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. You didn’t run away, leaving me still sleeping. You reacted immediately and grabbed a weapon. You’re amujer fuerteand while we’re in a shit situation, I’m fuckin’ lucky that I’ve got you.”

Her mind went blank as his last words washed over her.Lucky to have me?Before she could react, he handed her a stick with the sizzling meat on the end. She reached out tentatively, her expression unsure.

“Babe? Is a chicken pretty?”

She jerked back in surprise. “What? A chicken pretty? What are you talking about?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Um…no. I wouldn’t call a chicken pretty.”

“But you eat its meat.”

Her eyes moved back to the stick he was offering, the smell enticing her senses.

“Just think of it as your mama’s kababs,” he joked.

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