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Training was going well. I was learning a lot and enjoying being in the woods. Minor medical issues within the group were used as teaching opportunities. We were half way through our week and a sprained ankle and blisters were the only things we had to deal with.
On the morning of day four, we learned how to make a stretcher from two tree limbs and whatever we could find for the cross pieces. One team used shirts between the two poles, one used vines, and my group used duct tape. Each team had three people. We had to build the stretcher and haul the largest member of our team to the tree line on the other side of camp. It was chilly, but the sun was bright and I warmed up working on our stretcher, so I pushed my fleece shirt sleeves partway up my arms.
"Did you get hurt?" Shara asked, pointing at the bandage.
"Not here," I said.
"What happened?"
"I got shot," I said. It was the truth, and I tried not to make it sound like a big deal.
"Shot," she yelled. Everyone turned our way.
"When? How?" Chuck, our other teammate, asked.
"What's going on over here?" Dr. Troy asked as he walked up to inspect our stretcher.
"Everly was shot," Shara said, pointing at my arm.
Eyes darted around the clearing where we'd been working. "Not now," I said. "Days ago."
Troy came over and took hold of my arm. He carefully peeled back the bandage and looked at the stitches. "Did this happen in the wilderness too?"
"Yes."
Everyone gathered around. "I guess you want to know what happened," I said. I took a minute to think about what I didn't want to share about the events that led to my getting shot. "My sister was kidnapped. In helping to free her, I was shot."
They all just stood and stared at me. Even Dr. Troy seemed at a lost as to how to respond. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, he said, "It's healing nicely. Just don't do anything to pull the stitches. OK, people. Let's get back to work."
After that, my fellow campers seemed unsure how to deal with me. I think they wondered what kind of person got involved in kidnappings and shootings, and they didn't even know the half of it.
XXX
We were all back at the lodge that was the home base for the Wilderness Medical School. Training was complete, and we were having dinner together before everyone returned to their normal lives. Troy handed out our certificates and t-shirts. "It was a good week. You all did well, and we had no major incidents. Congratulations," he said as he walked around our table.
As the night wore on, some of them asked for more details about the situations that led me to the training. I shared what I could.
"I feel like we should all get shirts that say 'I survived a week in the wilderness with Everly Mason,'" one of guys suggested.
"I should have thought to bring some for you," I said, trying to take their teasing in stride.
XXX
Chance Munroe is my future. There. I said it. In the sky somewhere over the southwestern US, I finally admitted that I wanted to build a life with Chance. He'd been on board with that idea from the day we met. It took a while for me to realize I was in love with him. Now, I felt like the last bit of hesitancy was gone. We were building a life together. I might not tell him that though. I wasn't sure if he'd be pleased that I was on board or pissed that I'd been just going through the motions for the past couple of months.
I spied Chance from the escalator that led to the arrivals waiting area of the El Paso International Airport. I smiled when I saw him towering over the crowd of people waiting to welcome their loved ones. I ran into his arms and reveled in my new-found confidence in our relationship.
After an embarrassingly hot kiss that made me feel like I was melting into him, he took a step back. "Something's different," he said.
One of the things that drives me crazy about our relationship is that Chance can read me like an open book. He knows everything I'm feeling, even the things I try to keep from him. Not that I want to keep secrets from him, but it would be nice not to have to discuss all my insecurities. I couldn't imagine Chance ever feeling insecure about anything.
"I'm so glad you're here," he said, holding my hand, as we took the escalator downstairs to baggage claim.
"How was your hunt?" I asked as we waited for my luggage.
"It was good, but I couldn't stop thinking about what comes next."
My lack of understanding must have been obvious on my face. "What do you mean?"
"Us. Our life together. The museum. The cafe. Everything. We're making some big changes. Now that we're together again, we can do more planning."
"It's really cool that you're so excited about all of this, but it's a little scary too."
"Aren't you excited?"
"Of course, but it's overwhelming. We really haven't taken anything off our plates yet. Even the BFFam isn't completely done."
"Speaking of that," he said, picking up my bag when it came around on the carousel. "Mr. Meecham wants to have a meeting to wrap up loose ends so we need to add that to the list."
"Are we staying in El Paso tonight?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said, as we walked to the parking lot across from the terminal. "We pick up our clients here tomorrow. Let's go enjoy the time we have together."