Wounded (a mystery and a sweet romance)

Wounded: Chapter 15

Tara turned off all of the lamps except for the one on his side of the bed, then she removed her shoes and socks and slipped between the comforter and the sheets. She figured it would be appropriate to have some sort of barrier between her and Malcolm if they were going to share a bed. She doubted he would fling off his pants and sleep naked with her a few inches away, but if he wished to do so, she wouldn’t make him feel weird about it. She wondered if he would think her weird for not taking a shower. She had been tramping around almost as much as he had all night. But she didn’t have any fresh clothes to change into and would be reluctant to don her grimy old ones again. Maybe she should sleep naked. She snorted at the notion. What would he think of that? Or maybe he would think nothing of it. She still had no idea if he found her the vaguest bit attractive or if this was like rooming with a sister for him.

The bathroom door opened amidst a cloud of steam.

Tara was lying on her back and she closed her eyes, though she wouldn’t, she promised herself, pretend to be asleep. That never fooled anyone. She ought to simply go to sleep—Lord knew it was late enough.

She found one of her eyelids creeping open though. Malcolm had padded barefoot out of the shower. He was cleaner and his hair was damper, but he wasn’t dressed in any fewer clothes than when he went into the bathroom, so her concern that he might climb into bed naked with her was an unfounded one. That was a relief. Sort of.

Malcolm tugged on his boots and slipped outside.

Tara opened her other eye and lifted her head. “Must be going shirt hunting.”

She flopped back onto the pillow, reminding herself how late it was. Since Malcolm was determined to come to bed decent, she might as well get some rest. Despite the resolution, she hadn’t nodded off yet when he returned. She kept her eyes closed and listened to him taking off his boots. A moment later, a soft scrape at her nightstand made her look up. Malcolm had deposited a granola bar along with a fold-up toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste.

“For your demanding teeth,” he said when he saw her awake.

“Thank you.”

He padded past a T.V. stand where he had left the petri dish and her car keys earlier. He put his wallet down on a little table in front of the window and pulled out his phone, poking at the display a few times. It illuminated his face in the dark room. He didn’t look as tired as Tara felt, though there was a tension about his mouth and eyes. She wondered if he regretted running. Even if they had been successful in finding the mushroom-hunting culprit who had been mutilating the village’s livestock, his choice tonight might leave him in trouble regardless. He thumbed off the phone and gazed toward the window. The curtains were shut, so he couldn’t be looking at anything outside.

“No shirts in the vending machine?” Tara asked, hoping to draw him back from whatever dark thoughts occupied him.

“Not unless I wanted to get creative with the floss.”

“Did you check the news?” Tara nodded toward his phone. “Anything about us?”

“There’s not much news being reported overnight.” Malcolm walked around the end of the bed and climbed in on his side. “That said, I have a feeling I should be sleeping in the woods until we resolve this. Roaming around town is asking to be recognized.”

“I doubt there are many people out searching for wrongfully accused criminals at two in the morning.”

His grunt lacked conviction.

“Why aren’t you sleeping in the woods then?” Tara asked.

“If I end up getting arrested tomorrow and sent away to jail for a year, I’d rather have spent my last night in bed with a woman than on the soggy forest floor with a root wedged between my cheeks.”