13
The next day, after lazing around in bed with Chase for the better part of the morning, Larke found herself in the middle of the woods. Instead of the thunderclouds she remembered from her last venture inside woodlands, there was nothing but golden rays of sunshine brightening the sky.
“So this is prime hunting ground?” she asked, listening carefully for wild animals.
“You could say that.” Chase turned to her, one brow raised. “From the way you say it, I’m guessing you don’t agree with hunting.”
Didn’t she? Larke shrugged. “When I hear the word hunting I have to be honest. It sounds a bit awful. Whether I agree or disagree. I can’t really say because I don’t know enough. I don’t know anyone apart from you who does that.”
“I was out hunting that day I saw you,” he said, watching her closely. “I’d heard there was a wild hog roaming those woods. I sneaked out of the house while my folks were arguing, got my knife and thought I could find it and take it down by myself.”
“Are you serious?”
He nodded with a wry grin. “Yep. Couple of weeks after what happened to you and me, I heard one of the guys was out walking his dog close to that area. He got hurt seriously. That same boar attacked and punctured his lung. The worst is, he was twice my size, a grown man. Even the dog couldn’t help him.”
“Oh my God, Chase. That’s horrible. Did he survive?”
“Yeah. He healed up just fine. But the thing is–if I hadn’t seen you that day, I would’ve gone deeper into the woods. If I’d tried to take down that hog he probably would’ve ripped me to pieces. After everything that happened there, I didn’t go anywhere near those woods for a while. The next time I went hunting, was a year later when I was twelve. I had to. Things were getting rough. We barely had any money. Gramps said the government stole most of it to hand out to minorities and was scaring new people from joining.”
Larke thought about asking him if he really believed that but thought better of it. Deep down Chase had to know it wasn’t a simple matter of favoring minorities. But what could she say? He chose to confide in her, trust her to hear him out and that meant so much right now. She wouldn’t risk losing his confidence.
“Did you have to go hunting for food?” She prayed with all her heart that wasn’t the case.
He chuckled low. The sound was harsh, devoid of any trace of humor. “I had to. It became every man for himself.”
“But you weren’t a man,” she pointed out. “You were a child and I thought you’d lived with your mother and stepfather. They should’ve made sure you were taken care of.” The more she learned about his family the more she despised them, even without the racism factor.
Chase shook his head. “I went back and forth staying with my grandfather and stepfather. Louise, my mother ran off while I was stuck in the sinkhole with you. Trevor had left to go looking for me–must have needed me to do something-and I guess she got fed up and decided to haul ass. Always said as much as she hated Jews and ni–black people, that she’d rather risk being around them than being holed up in Lee’s Fortress catering to grown men.”
Amid her heartbreak for the boy he’d been, Larke suddenly felt stupid. For some reason, she’d imagined it was only the males in Chase’s life who were the hardcore white supremacists. But his mother? Lord. The woman must have been feeding him with hate since before he could talk. The thought made her blood boil and heart bleed.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” she cried, unable to hold her anger at bay. “You never should’ve had to go out and hunt for food if you had adults who were supposed to love and take care of you.”
He gave her a sideways grin. “Maybe in your family, angel. Not mine. I stayed by myself for weeks at a time, so hunting was simply a new part of all that. Pretty much from that point on, I only hunted what I planned to eat. Don’t see how it’s any different than getting meat at the store or butcher?”
Larke nodded, although her mind was no longer on the topic of hunting. Not after everything he’d revealed. She cleared her throat, trying not to dwell on the bleakness of his childhood before he picked up on her sadness and confused it for pity. Never pity.
“Do you ever take anyone hunting with you?”
He looked over at her as they went down a slope. “You mean if I’ve ever taken a female hunting. That’s what you’re asking, right?”
Her cheeks heated.Found out. “Since you put it out there like that, yes. I’m referring to other women.”
“No. Can’t say that I have. Never even thought about inviting anyone, to be honest.”
“Hmm.”
He grasped her hand where the slope got slippery, helping her to jump over a patch of mud. “What hmm? Are you trying to tell me you’re interested?”
“I don’t know. I’m notnotinterested.”
He stared at her hard. “So you’re interested?”
She squinted her eye at him. The man was so rational. “You’re dragging things out of me, Chase Hudson. Making it hard for me to play coy. Since there’s no beating around the bush with you, I’ll be honest. Yes, I would like to tag along and hunt with you. I like meat.”
He stopped in mid-stride, facing her with his features tense and brows raised. “You’re not doing this to judge me?”
“No,” she answered firmly. It was enough that one of them had issues with judging people. “I wouldn’t do that.” She gazed at him, deciding to test her limits. “It’s not a good feeling believing someone is judging you, is it?”
