Stripped down to his Under Armour, he slid into the double sleeping bag beside her. They were side by side in the small tent, only a dim red light providing relief from unrelenting darkness as rain pattered on the moss and leaves that covered the rainfly.

Bodies at rest at last. He switched off the light.

“I—I need to eat,” she said. “The crackers and cheese I grabbed from the Baldwins should do it.”

Guilt stabbed him. He should have thought of that. They’d been hiking in the cold rain for hours. Not to mention that fear drained energy fast. She needed fuel.

He snapped the light back on and reached for his pack, then pulled out the requested items. He handed her a sleeve of crackers, then plucked his knife from its sheath and cut into the brick of cheese, splitting the plastic and slicing a one-inch chunk in one stroke. He handed her the slice before cutting a piece for himself.

She ate several saltines in a hurry before taking a bite of cheese, eating as if cheddar were an antidote to a poison she’d just ingested. Catching his gaze, she wiped cracker crumbs from her lips, then covered her mouth with a hand and spoke as she chewed. “I hope you aren’t the kind of guy to kick a girl out of bed for eating crackers.”

He gave a half-hearted laugh. “If I ever was that guy, then it’s not who I am now.”

“So I can have cookies too?”

“You can have all the crumbly things you want as long as you’re in my bed.” The words were out of his mouth before he thought about what he was saying.

“You sure about that, Frogman?”

He deserved the bitter tinge to her tone. He cut off another slice of cheese and offered it to her. “Yes.” Might as well go full honest. “I will always want you in my bed.”

She ignored his response and ate the cheese along with more crackers, then reached into the food supplies and grabbed a salami log. She peeled back the plastic wrapping and bit into it instead of waiting for him to slice it. When she was done, she let out a soft sigh as if eating had been a relief. She offered him the salami. “Want some?”

He took it from her and took a bite from the end as she had. He’d needed a protein hit too.

She took a long drink from her water bottle, then said, “Did you ever…consider…what it would do to me? The pain your actions would trigger?”

He cleared his suddenly dry throat and wished he’d taken a sip of water when he had the chance. “Yes. Every step of the way.”

“But you did it anyway.”

Nothing but honesty. “I did it anyway.”