Chapter 14 #2
Up ahead lay more wooded areas, which likely meant more hills and twisting roads.
They might be nearer their destination than Cam had initially thought, but at this point, it was hard to tell.
He didn’t mention that to Allie, though.
No need for what might be false assurances—not when she was doing her best not to show how rough the last few hours had been for her.
Damn it. If those Zs hadn’t showed up back at the shop...
Once Allie’s color had returned to normal, Cam unloaded a few items from her bike and added them to his baskets.
When he opened her pack to do the same, Allie got to her feet, wincing a bit. “You can’t overload yourself,” she told him, frowning. “I can do it. I can carry my weight.”
Cam paused, the echo of her piece-of-shit cowardly would-be murderer of an ex-boyfriend’s vindictive label clear in her words.
Go easy, Hale, Sergeant Lee advised.
He tried for a smile, hoping it didn’t look like he was trying to placate her. “Allie-cat, you’re more than carrying your weight in this duo. Way more.”
“I’m holding us back.” Now it was a mutter. She blinked once then twice and looked down. “You’d be way faster on your own.”
“Look, of the two of us, I’m the one who’s been on the road the most. Right?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “I’m also stronger, physically. Not a brag, a fact.”
She took a deep breath. “I know that. But—”
“But nothing. I should have realized when I packed this shit that I was giving you more than you could reasonably travel with. My fault, not yours.”
“I want to be useful.” It was a stubborn but heartfelt entreaty.
“I think the bikes we’re riding and the supplies we’re carrying with us are more than enough evidence of that. Right, Allison?”
She narrowed her eyes, but there was a hint of humor there. “Sure, Cameron.”
Hands on her hips, Allie sighed and cast her gaze at the sky. He knew she was wrestling with her inner demons. He could practically see the battle behind her eyes.
Don’t doubt me, please, Allie. You have to know I mean what I’m saying.
“Okay,” she finally said, meeting his eyes again. “I’ll stop worrying.”
Sure you will. But at least she wasn’t drowning in it anymore. He could tell by the way her shoulders eased and her chin raised.
He gave her a grin. “Thank you.”
Allie snorted and shook her head, but her expression smoothed out a little, and she took another sip of water. Then, after a moment, she asked, “Cam, did you use to run marathons?”
That startled a laugh out of him. His angel could certainly rock the non sequiturs.
“Never really saw the point of long-distance running. I did like rock climbing and that kind of thing. Hiking. Some biking—for fun, back then.” Damn, he missed the big old-growth forests and trails around San Fran.
With a sudden pang of yearning, he envisioned them and could almost smell them, so dense and dark.
“Right.” She tilted her head, giving him a considering look. “I wondered because... I mean, weren’t you running for days before I found you?”
“Well. Yeah, with a few breaks here and there whenever I could bottleneck them.” He’d blocked most of that time out of his memories already.
“I mean, obviously the Zs didn’t get you.
But the constant running—it didn’t, you know.
.. kill you?” She quirked a brow when he frowned.
“No, seriously. Very little food, water, and rest? Running so much, often flat out? I know you’ve been traveling a lot, but your body couldn’t have been used to that. ”
Cam shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, the human body can do some amazing things in extreme circumstances. Being chased by Zs qualifies, I think.”
“Yeah.” But she still looked thoughtful.
He drank the last of his bottle of water, not sure how to move forward, then simply busied himself with lightening her pack a little more and distributing the weight of what was left.
Once he’d transferred everything and tested the weight of his pack and bike—heavy but not unmanageable—late afternoon had set in.
They needed to get in another hour or two of riding, if possible.
Though it was probably just wishful thinking, he felt like his moms were close.
The sooner they met up with the group, the easier everything would be for Allie.
He turned to Allie. “Ready to go?”
She took a step toward him and the bikes then went still for a moment, an odd look on her face. “Actually, I have to go to the bathroom.”
“That’s a good idea,” he said, handing her a strip from their precious roll of toilet paper.
She took it. “But I need a little privacy.”
“Um, sure.” Cam suppressed the urge to ask why, reminding himself that it was easier to feel “private” when the other person was in a truck and out of your line of sight.
He looked around them. “But take your knife, and don’t go too far.
Like, you should still be able to see me, okay? I won’t look.”
“Okay,” she said. Her voice sounded strained. “Give me a minute.” She turned and busied herself with something then crouched down again for a moment.
He moved toward her, concern crowding out his confusion. “Allie, are you feeling all right?”
“Fine,” she said, standing again. “Just need to go.”
He nodded. She can take care of her own tummy troubles.
He scanned their perimeter. Clear so far, although they were heading into a wooded area with more hills.
Damn it, he should have installed those motors, or at least Allie’s.
After a moment’s debate, he pulled out one of the solar motors.
It could probably wait until they stopped for the night—even if he installed it now, perfectly, with no problems, it would still take a bit to charge up, and they’d be mostly in the shade.
But he remembered the agony on her face just before they stopped to rest, so he started organizing the pieces of the motor. It was worth a try. Anything to help make this a little easier for her.
Later, Cam would reflect that if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with the motor, he would likely have paid more attention to where Allie had gone when she left. He would also probably have noticed that she took her knife and the strip of toilet paper, yes, but also her gun and her machete.
If he’d noticed those things, it might have changed the way things played out.
But maybe not.