Page 22 of Reign or Shine

I needed to push that aside though. Grabbing the first aid kit I had found with the duct tape, I pulled the kitchen chair over and angled myself so that I could easily reach her bad ankle.

“You should have said something earlier.”

“Well, a lot was happening earlier.”

Upon opening the kit, the first item I went for was the bottle of ibuprofen. I shook two pills out and handed them to her before grabbing my water bottle. Without protesting Ellie threw back the pills with a gulp of water.

I give her a nod of approval. She gives me a glare.

Loving the attitude she’s throwing at me, I shake my head with a satisfied smirk.

Next, I go for the hot-cold pack. I snap it in half to activate the liquid inside and place the quickly heating pack on her ankle.

“Go get cleaned up.” She waves me away once I get the pack balanced on her leg.

I think about it and decide she’s right. I am uncomfortable in these wet clothes, and I can’t do much for her while the pack is heating her ankle.

With a quick “Fine,” I grab the extra clothes that I thought would fit my frame and head to the bathroom.

By the time I’m changed and as clean as I can get, the hot-cold pack has lost its effect. Ellie doesn’t say anything, just gives me a knowing smile when I pull out the roll of gauze next. Unrolling the end, I meet Ellie’s eyes and she takes a deep breath before silently giving me her consent.

As carefully as I can, I lift her foot just enough so I can get under it and begin wrapping her ankle. I go a bit overboard, using the whole roll, but I don’t care. I’d rather her ankle be overly supported than have her be in any discomfort.

I’ll unwrap and help her ice the area again later with the last hot-cold pack, but for now, we’ll rest and wait for her pain meds to kick in.

“Thank you.”

Running two fingers gently down her shin and hovering along her ankle, I then unroll the leg of her sweatpants again so that she doesn’t catch a chill.

“No problem, sunshine.”

“Are, um, you going to join me up here?”

“Definitely.” I grin at her, closing the first aid kit. “Just going to put this away and grab us some snacks. That sound good to you?”

“Yeah, real good.”

I like her answer. It gives me hope that the bond we began developing the first time we met and throughout today was still there and going strong. This may not be how I saw the day ending, but I was being given more time with the woman who fascinated me.

I grab the snacks I had packed for the day and the half-dozen granola bars that I found buried at the bottom of Ellie’s backpack. There’s a crate of water bottles at the far end of the cabin and some canned goods, but I’m going to try to go through our stuff first before eating the ranger’s food.

I pass over her refilled water bottle with the small filtered nozzle and throw all my snack bags plus the sandwich container up onto the bed.

“Did you really pack gummy bears?” Ellie asks, trying to claw for the bag but not able to reach it.

“Absolutely. Gummy bears are the best. I’m addicted.”

“Addicted?” she snorts. “There’s no way you can be addicted to gummy bears and still look like you do.”

“There’s a compliment in there somewhere,” I tease back, failing to act offended.

“I mean,” she begins as I crawl onto the bed and work my way up to the headboard. I expect her to continue but the silence continues.

Flipping myself over, I sit back and twist my head to her. She’s staring at me in a strange way.

“Are you going to finish that sentence?” She shakes her head, eyes lingering down my body. “Are you okay?”

“Did…did you pick those sweatpants on purpose?”

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