She processed that. How could he go back out there after his time here, with no one shooting at him, good food to eat, good water pressure in a warm shower? It felt like they should let him and his men go home permanently and maybe send someone else back.

“So, you’re going back into the jungle?”

His smile didn’t meet his eyes. “Doctor Myers, I cannot discuss that with you.” Then he winked and asked, “What’s next for you?”

She didn’t feel chastised, though a few days ago she would have bitten back with something mean and sarcastic. She wondered what had changed. “I don’t know. My father is trying to get me to go back to the States. That was what our breakfast was about.”

“That would certainly be safer.”

“Of course it would. That’s not why I’m here though, is it? Safety is not my motivation.” She ran her thumbnail down the waxy coating of her cup. “Two weeks from tomorrow I’m supposed to go to Yambuli and get on a boat that will spend the next month floating down the river. It’s a rather large vessel that has a dentist office, a pediatrics facility, and a pharmacy. Medical professional volunteers from all over the United States are going to come and begin the slow float down the river to hit village after village, cleaning teeth, immunizing children, and meeting basic medical needs.” She took another sip of coffee. “That’s why I’m here. Safety has nothing to do with it.”

“But it does now, doesn’t it?” He drank some coffee, then looked into the cup instead of at her. “Now that people know who you are, those who would use you, threaten you for political gain—don’t you think that would interfere with your mission?”

“Of course it would.” She sighed. “I can change my name. I can dye my hair. This is a big jungle. There’s no reason for me to leave.”

He smiled. “I imagine your father has different opinions.”

“My father,” she said, crossing her arms on the tabletop and leaning forward, “basically told me to choose to leave or he would force me to do it. And since I’m thirty-two years old, I can’t imagine how he’ll force me. It’s not like he can take away my car keys.”

With a chuckle he said, “I bet you were a fun teenager.”

“Like he would know. Unless he conferred with the headmistress of my boarding school.” She huffed out a breath and sat back again. “Sorry. I’m not going to keep ranting about my father. I actually love him very much.”

“It’s hardly ranting.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, then Cynthia said, “Bill asked me to intervene on his behalf. Can you help me do that?”

His face grew serious. “Intervene?”