Rick watched Doctor Myers slip her medical bag over her head as she prepared to disembark. For the last hour, he’d surreptitiously observed her. He admired her tenacity. Going under the trees clearly frightened her, as if she expected a snake to drop on her head at any moment. A month ago, he’d had the same concern. Since arriving in the country, he’d killed two different species of water cobra. The knowledge of how easily their heads came off their bodies under the blade of his machete had removed the last of his trepidation about them.

He could tell that passing near crocodiles made her uncomfortable, and he wondered how much stemmed from understanding what they could do and how much stemmed from an irrational fear. He imagined that she’d heard stories and possibly even treated victims of the large reptiles. He personally hoped he’d never get on the bad side of one, but he had a feeling they’d leave him alone if he left them alone. His larger concern was annoying some hippopotamus. Hippos would just as soon kill you as leave you be.

Despite all of that, Doctor Myers never uttered a word of complaint—though she clearly wanted to—and his respect for her grew.

On the beach, secured by the overhanging tree, they removed their flotation vests. Rick got out of the raft, then turned and helped Doctor Myers over the side. The water came up to his knees. Walking slowly and carefully, they stepped up onto the beach and into the jungle.

Once the foliage closed in around them, he stopped and turned toward her. She looked up at him in curiosity. “You okay, Doc?” he asked.

Her eyes widened, and she looked down at her torso and examined her arms. “All appears to be in working order, sir.” Then her face relaxed into a rare smile that caused the breath to catch in the back of his throat. “I’m sorry. I have a bad habit of defaulting to inappropriate humor whenever I find myself in stressful situations.”

He hadn’t seen a lot of humor from her, but the statement made him grin anyway. “Good job keeping your sense of humor to yourself until now.”

She tapped her temple. “I think the thoughts. I just don’t always say the words.” She ran her fingers through her hair and lifted it off her neck. “Anyway, I’m fine. I realize you’re escorting me to the embassy because it’s your job and those are your orders. I just want you to know that I’m only going along with it because your men need constant medical attention, and the rest of your team have other things to worry about besides their injured comrades.”