“Noted.How do you feel about ‘Sweetheart’ or ‘Sweetie’?”
“Fine.”
“‘Hunny-bunny’?‘Angel’?‘Cupcake’?‘Boo?’”
“Maybe we should keep it simple.”
I feel the low rumble of his laugh through the many layers of cold weather gear.
“And how about you, Evander?”
“Hey, hey, now.”
“I’ve given this topica lotof thought.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“Everyone within a five-hundred-mile radius knows we’re not allowed to use of ‘Ev’ or ‘Van’ or ‘Der’, but how about ‘Evan’?”
“You already tried that.Please, no.”
“‘Vander’?Or maybe just ‘Ander’?How about ‘And’ or ‘E.V.’?”
“How about we decide on ‘Evander’ because that’s my name and then we just move on?Have you ever had a nickname?”
“Yeah.My brothers call me ‘Pea’.”
“Imma need the spelling for that.”
“P-e-a, like the little, round vegetable.Mason called me that because he couldn’t pronounce my name.He was just eighteen months old when I was born.It’s stuck.”
“Is Mason the baseball player?”
“No.Mason’s the MMA fighter.Bo’s the baseball catcher.”
“Right.”
“Jake still calls me ‘Pea’ almost all the time.”I swallow hard after hearing myself say his name out loud.A wave of sorrow washes over me.Four days!My poor family.
I feel Evander’s arm pull me tight to him.I can’t help but glance down at his forearm.
“You’ve got to let me take a look at that,” I say.“I’m serious.”
I feel the air release from his lungs in surrender.“Fine.”
CHAPTER 46
Evander
I turn away from the burn on my arm.Not because I don’t want to see it, but because I don’t want to see the concern etched across Phoebe’s face.
I’d prefer that she doesn’t worry about me.Ever.It wouldn’t be right.I never want to be a burden to another person.And I have no interest in lugging around someone else’s unease about where I am or whether I’m safe.
But I peek down at her small, skilled fingers, and how she’s bent over me in concentration, and decide that what I prefer no longer matters.
In the last few days, Phoebe and I have carried one another.We’ve taken on the responsibility for the other’s welfare and comfort.And pleasure.
I feel her capable hands on me.She did her best to wash off the burn with snow melted over our pitiful fire, all the while lecturing me on the dangers of cleaning a burn with water that’s either too cold or too warm.
