Page 25 of Last Chance Cowboy
There were certain things that he had worked through with the army psychologist. Because hell, sanding the edges off his PTSD had seemed a decent enough idea.
But he had never really seen the point of getting rid of this part of it.
It was the only thing that really made him feel connected to emotion.
Wanting to keep other people safe.
Sometimes it got a little bit intense, but oh well.
He could help her. He could keep her safe. So why not?
“Well, maybe after my ankle heals.”
“Yeah. After your ankle heals, we can do a little crash course in wilderness safety. By the time all is said and done, you’ll be an expert.”
Something about that seemed to spark something within her. “Yeah.… I would like that, actually. I’d like to be an expert.”
“All right then. Once you’re off those crutches, I’m going to turn you into a survivalist.”
Chapter Five
Marlowe came over mid-morning, which was very nice of her, and seemed to indicate that she knew Cara would be about ready to chew her arm off, not to free herself from anything, just because she was bored and getting destructive.
Yet again, as she made herself her fourth cup of coffee, she thought about Zane’s offer.
She was trying to ignore the fact that when he had asked her if she wanted to learn survival skills from him, it had made her whole body light up inside. She was trying to focus on the fact that the best part of it was that he was offering her a real path to learning a new skill. To change. She had been feeling helpless. Like she didn’t know how to get out of her own rut, and then her attempt at it had been kind of disastrous.
She had been feeling depressed about that. Not just the little bit of time she would be taking away from work, but just that the whole attempt had failed in general.
That she was lagging behind Marlowe, on this trip that was supposed to be Cara’s grand adventure, too.
But this felt like getting a big hand up.
“How are you feeling?” Marlowe asked her as she broughther coffee back into the living room and sat down on the couch. “I would’ve made that for you.”
“I know,” Cara said, “but I’m bored. And I can only sit still for so long.”
“Sitting still is kind of the whole point.”
“Well, now you sound like Zane.”
She hadn’t really meant to say that.
“Do I?” Marlowe asked. “I actually meant to ask how that went. I felt kind of bad sending him to check on you. Oh, did he invite you for dinner?”
“He did. And he was fine. He lectured me on my lack of preparedness, and then also on the fact that I wasn’t resting.”
“Well, I’m going to go ahead and agree with him on some of this.”
“Rude. Anyway, he’s going to teach me some survival skills once I’m recovered.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
“I just… I don’t want to be boring.”
“What do you mean by boring?”
“You’ve done so much since we moved here.”
