46
“H eather, I need you to wake up.”
Heather turned her head away. She didn’t want to wake up. Her head hurt. Come to think of it, most of her body ached, but not as bad as her head.
“I know you want to sleep, but you can’t. I need you to talk to me for a minute. Then you can sleep more if you want.”
She knew the voice but couldn’t place it, not at the moment. And she didn’t want to wake up. She wanted to lie here being held. But wait, she wasn’t being held. Aaron was gone. That more than the voice pulled her to open her eyes.
“What is it? Where is Aaron?” she asked as she rolled toward the voice and opened her eyes.
Matt stood beside the bed, a crease of concern between his brows. “Answer a couple of questions for me and I’ll let you go back to sleep. What day is today?”
“Tuesday, why? And aren’t you leaving so you can go to work tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. I took tomorrow off. I can’t leave right now.”
She frowned. “Why not? I don’t want you putting your job at risk because of me.”
“I will do what I need to do, and Cowboy won’t fire me over this.” He waved one hand, as if dismissing the issue. “What’s my full name?”
“Matthew James Fields, why are you asking me that?” Heather pushed herself up, so she sat in the middle of the bed, glaring at him.
“Do you remember what happened this morning?”
She couldn’t help looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “The target shooting, or the idiots who scared me into falling when they thought they’d try to collect on the reward those friends of Mitch’s put out?”
The concerned crease on Matt’s forehead eased.
“You still haven’t answered me.” She scooted to the edge of the bed and swung her legs off, waiting long enough for him to step back and out of her way before standing.
Her head throbbed at the movement, and she paused. Matt reached for her, taking her arm as if she was unsteady. She stared at his hand for a moment then remembered someone telling her and Aaron that if she was dizzy then she needed to go to the emergency room. Was she dizzy? She blinked a couple of times, thinking about it. No. Not dizzy, nor was she nauseated, she just hurt.
“I’m okay. I’m not dizzy. I just need to pee.”
“Are you sure?”
She sent him a scowl to let him know what she thought of his second guessing what she’d told him, then turned and made her way into the trailer bathroom.
When she’d finished her business, she went to the sink to wash her hands and couldn’t hold back the squeak of surprise that escaped as she caught her own reflection.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right? Did you fall?”
She twisted around and opened the door, not bothering to disguise her irritation with him. “Did it sound like I fell? You would have heard since you’re hovering right outside the door like some kind of creeper.” She turned back to the mirror and frowned again. “Why didn’t you tell me I look like shit?”
Her hair had come loose from her ponytail and now stood on end, making her look like a crazed person. And that was before even considering the dirt and grime streaking her face.
“I was more worried about how you’re doing, you know your health, than what you look like, or how your hair’s done.” Snark fairly dripped off Matt’s voice.
She didn’t even look at him as she dug out a washcloth, wet it and started cleaning her face. Oh my god. Aaron had seen her like this too and hadn’t said a word.
Her face heated at the idea, but she did her best to hide it as she scrubbed at the dirt, doing her best to get it all, but suspecting she’d need a shower as she felt bits of dirt and rocks in her hair as she tried to smooth it back into place.
She glanced over at Matt who stood watching her, concern clear on his face.
“Will you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Will you go see if there’s anyone around in the bunkhouse, and if the showers are open?”
“You can shower in here you know.”
“I know, but there’s more room in there. And then there’s the hot water too. I haven’t figured out the water heater on this.”
Matt rolled his eyes but turned toward the door. “I’ll be right back, and I’ll show you the water heater again before I go.” He said more but she suspected he was muttering to himself because she couldn’t make it out.
She gathered her towels, clean clothes, and her shower bag, when he came back to tell her the bunkhouse was empty, she was ready.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Matt asked as he walked with her into the bunkhouse.
Heather didn’t bother to respond, instead sending him a scathing glare that said more clearly than words that she was tired of him asking and to shut the hell up. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything more as they went inside, and she disappeared into the bathroom.