Chapter 460
[ 499 words ]
Chapter 460:
He didn’t pull his hand away, but he didn’t respond either. After a long moment, his thumb moved, tracing a slow, absentminded circle on the back of her hand.
“I can’t just do nothing,” she continued, trying to make him understand. “I can’t just lie there and listen to people suffering when I know I can help.”
He finally spoke, his voice still cold and flat. “Then help yourself first.”
The words were harsh, but he wasn’t ordering her back to the tent. For him, that was a monumental concession.
𝗦𝘩a𝘳𝗲 yo𝘶𝗿 fa𝘷𝗼𝘳іt𝖾ѕ 𝘧rо𝗺 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗇o𝘷еlѕ.cо𝗆
The midday lull arrived, and the frantic pace in the medical tent slowed as staff began to break for lunch. Evelyn Reed walked over, her expression much warmer now that the Colonel’s immediate fury had subsided.
“A few of us are heading to the mess tent,” she said to Caroline. “Sal made some kind of hot stew. You should come.”
Caroline looked at Jarrod, an unspoken question in her eyes.
He stood up, his tall frame casting a long shadow over her cot. “You’ll wait here,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I’ll bring you something.”
She wanted to argue, to say she could walk, that she wanted to go with him. But one look at the hard, unyielding set of his jaw told her it was a battle she wouldn’t win. She nodded in submission.
After he left, Evelyn sat on the stool he had vacated, a wide, knowing grin on her face. “You have him completely wrapped around your little finger.”
Caroline managed a weak, wry smile. “It doesn’t feel like it. I just don’t want to make him more anxious than he already is.”
They chatted quietly, the conversation light and easy. Evelyn told her about the camp gossip, the latest rumors about when they might get reinforcements. But as the minutes ticked by, a small knot of unease began to form in Caroline’s stomach.
Five minutes became ten. Ten became fifteen. It didn’t take twenty minutes to walk to the mess tent and back.
She started to sit up. “Something’s wrong. I’m going to go look for him.”
Evelyn placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Hey, relax. He’s the commander of this entire operation. He probably got pulled into a briefing or stopped by a dozen people on the way. It’s normal. Don’t worry.”
The explanation was perfectly logical. It made complete sense. Caroline sank back against the pillows, the knot of worry loosening slightly. Of course. He was busy. He had a thousand responsibilities more important than bringing her lunch.
She would just wait a little longer.
Jarrod moved through the noisy, crowded mess tent with a singular purpose. The sea of soldiers and medical staff parted before him, an unconscious reaction to the cold, unapproachable aura he projected. He went straight to the serving line, his eyes scanning the vats of food.
“Two bowls of the stew,” he said to the tired-looking cook, Sal Jankowski. “And extra bread with one of them. Pack it in a carrier. I can’t manage a tray.”
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