Elmer patted his stomach.“Gotta take care of this.See you in the morning, then.”He strolled into the kitchen.
Abbi had already tiptoed to the stairs and was sneaking up them, pausing to listen to whatever it was Card was doing up there.
Lu touched my arm and started down the hall.“You think we’re actually going to fall asleep?”
“No.Worth trying, though.”A huge yawn ruined my statement.
The shower at the end of the hall was locker room style with three shower stalls and clean towels folded on the open shelf.
I locked the door, and Lu started the shower.
“More than one shower.”I pulled off my boot, unlaced the other.
“We only need one.”She eased out of her overshirt, then unbuckled her belt.She stowed the knives while I stripped out of shirt and pants.
Lula’s gaze took in every inch of my body, her scrutiny clinical.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Bruised.”She pointed to my thigh, my low back, my shoulder, my wrist.
“Still fine.You’re bruised too, love.”
She shrugged but glanced at her body.“Not as bad as you.”
“Well,” I walked toward the water which was radiating steam now, “I don’t heal as fast as you.”
I ducked under the stream and moaned.The water pressurewaswonderful, the temperature perfect.Lula ran her hand down my back.I shivered at her touch, and turned, welcoming her into the spray.
We stood there for a long time, savoring the sensation, the comfort, the safety of being in each other’s arms, water falling over us, and washing us clean.
Eventually, Lula reached for the soap, and then we set to the business of scrubbing the dirt, blood, and sweat down the drain.
While our touches were gentle and loving, neither of us had the energy to take it further than that.
I regretfully turned off the spigot, and we dried ourselves, then wrapped into the robes folded next to the towels.
I shuffled into the bedroom, rubbing my eyes and yawning.
Lula handed me a clean pair of shorts.She slipped into a tank and loose pants.
“Go ahead.”She pressed her hand against my hip to encourage me to the bed.“I’ll lock the door and turn out the light.”
I aimed toward the bed and dropped into it like a rock.
The light flicked off, filling the room with calm and dark.
Lula slipped onto the bed, drawing the blankets up and turning toward me.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said.
“I know.”We were both lying, but the comfort behind the words was real.
“Brogan,” she said after a moment.
I dragged myself back from the edge of sleep.“Mmmm?”
“It isn’t…it’s harder than I thought.”
