“Mommy!” Jumping up from the log he’d been sitting on, Eddie ran over to her, dried leaves and pine needles sticking to the bottoms of his socks. “Buzz was just telling me about a R-M-S-A-R guy who jumped out of a helicopter and rescued a lady from the side of a mountain!”
Because she couldn’t resist, she knelt and pulled him into her arms. “Sounds like the same guy that fished you out of the river today, puppy face.”
He giggled. “I’m not a puppy face.”
God, she loved it when he smiled like that. She loved everything about this beautiful child, and she felt like the luckiest woman in the world every time she held him in her arms. “You’ll always be my little puppy face.”
“Even when I’m a hundred years old?”
“Especially when you’re a hundred years old.”
Pulling away from her, he mimicked the sound of a helicopter and circled around her, his arms stretched out like wings. “I’m going to learn how to fly a chopter!” He flew over to Buzz. “I’m going to be just like Buzz when I grow up!”
Kelly felt herself recoil. She knew he was just a little boy sounding off, but the words hit close to home, made her think of another little boy with a bad case of hero worship who hadn’t lived to see his twenty-first birthday.
“I set up the tent for you and Eddie.”
Buzz’s voice jerked her from her reverie. Kelly felt herself flush, then looked down at her hands. “Oh. Good. Thank you.”
“It’s a one-man tent. Pretty small, but the two of you ought to be able to sleep comf—” His voice cut off abruptly. The next thing she knew he was staring at her hands, reaching for her. “What happened to your hands?” he demanded.
Kelly looked dumbly down at her raw and oozing palms. “I was holding the rope when you slid down the ravine. It slipped through my hands. The rope must have burned me.”
He turned her hands over and grimaced. “Those are serious rope burns. Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”
This was the closest she’d been to him all day, and she was keenly aware of her heart beating too fast. Even though it was chilly, sweat broke out on the back of her neck. “I was just…preoccupied with Eddie.” She didn’t think it was a very good idea to tell him she’d been avoiding getting too close because she didn’t like the way she was reacting to him. There were too many complicated emotions zinging between them. Too many topics left undiscussed, and every single one of them was as volatile as a land mine—and twice as dangerous.
“Sit down,” he said. “I’ll get those burns cleaned and some antibiotic ointment on them.”
“Wait, Buzz.”
He stopped, then turned and looked at her over his shoulder.
“I’d like to get Eddie fed and bedded down for the night first,” she said. “He’s exhausted and hungry.”
He nodded. “I’ve got some jerky and a few protein bars.” He walked over to his backpack and pulled out several individually wrapped packages. “It’s not much, but it’ll hold us over until morning.”
“I don’t need anything,” Kelly began, “I just want Eddie—”
“Kel, there’s plenty for all three of us.”
Feeling awkward, she walked over to one of the logs Buzz had placed near the fire and sat. He joined her a moment later with the first-aid kit in one hand, the packages of food in the other.
She glanced over at Eddie who was amusing himself by swinging a length of kindling through the air. “Eddie, honey, come on over here and have something to eat.”
Eddie trotted over to where Kelly was sitting. “I’m starved,” he said, eyeing the packages in her hand.
“Jerky first, then you can have one of these protein bars.”
“Aw, Mom…”
“No arguments.” She unwrapped a small package of jerky and handed it to him. “Peanut butter or chocolate chip?”
Eddie considered the question with the seriousness of a doctor choosing a surgical instrument. “Chocolate chip.”
She handed him one of the bars. “And be sure to thank Mr. Malone.”
“He said I could call him Buzz.”
Kelly felt Buzz’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look up. Instead she concentrated on opening her own package of jerky, praying the subject of Buzz’s relationship with Eddie didn’t come up. She didn’t know what to say. Exhaustion had a way of magnifying emotions, and she was feeling downright fragile inside at the moment. “Just make sure you thank him for the food, all right?”
Grinning at Buzz with adoration in his eyes, Eddie bit into the jerky and tore off a piece with his straight little teeth. “Thanks.”
Buzz smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“This’ll make me strong, won’t it, Buzz?”
“As long as you eat the jerky first.” Walking over to his backpack, he bent. “I almost forgot to give this to you, Eddie.”