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Chapter Nineteen

AVA

A shriek woke me from a dream where I was surrounded by tables of Isla’s baked goods. Apparently, reconstituted eggs and canned beans were not holding me. Normally, I didn’t mind the food at camp. It was never delicious, but as long as it satisfied my hunger and gave me energy, I never minded how flavorless it was, but knowing that Isla’s bakery was up and running made the powdered breakfast eggs far less appetizing.

The shriek repeated, so it wasn’t just part of a dream. I pulled on my shorts and boots. Jack and Evan stumbled out of their hut at the same time. We all headed in the direction of the third shriek. Pam was standing on the picnic table inside the mess tent, staring down at something beneath the canned food shelf. The neon green skin made the parrot snake easy to spot as it lay perfectly still beneath the cans. There was a lump in the middle of its belly indicating it had probably just done us a favor by taking care of a rodent in the pantry area.

“It’s one thing for them to be out there in nature, but when they come inside—” Pam’s voice was shaky. “I can’t do this for two weeks.” Tears started to fall. “I thought I could, but nope. The bugs, the spiders, the snakes, the heat, the horrid food—I can’t do it.”

I looked at Jack. “You want to take this, or shall I?”

“If I get rid of the snake, will you take it and then not give me too much grief about chickening out?” Jack asked.

“Fine. But make sure you put the snake far enough away that he doesn’t slither right back inside. According to his belly, he’s found himself a nice little rodent paradise.” I walked to the table and held out my hand. “It’s not poisonous. In fact, it’s the kind of snake you want in your camp because they eat rodents.”

Pam was shaking her head as she took my hand and climbed down from the table. “I’ll take a cute little mouse anytime.”

“Cute little mice can destroy the contents of a pantry in days. Let’s go back to the hut. The men can cook breakfast this morning.”

Pam was quite shaken. Snakes were notorious for leaving people shaken to the core, even the harmless ones like our visitor this morning.

“There must be a way out of here. Maybe Evan and Ian could walk me back to the station. I’ll stay there until it’s time to leave. I just can’t stay here in the jungle any longer.”

It wouldn’t be the first time someone on a scientific expedition realized they weren’t cut out for it. “Tell you what, Pam. Spend the day here in the hut. Read or rest and get through the whole day and night. If you wake tomorrow and still feel strongly about leaving, I’ll get hold of Harold on the two-way radio and see if he can help us out. You’ve had a shock. Most snakes get a bad rap because of the venomous species.”

“And because everything about them is creepy. That snake’s tongue kept flicking out of its mouth.”

“Yes, unfortunately for them, nature made them startling in appearance. Jack—Professor Sinclair—is taking the snake out into the jungle. Give it one day, and we’ll see how you feel tomorrow.” Sometimes, after the shock of a snake sighting wore off, it was easy to push the fear aside. I wasn’t so sure my theory would work this time. It wasn’t just the snake but the whole camping in the wild thing that wasn’t working for her, and considering she was hoping for nice accommodations and discovered there were literally no accommodations, I wasn’t holding much hope that she’d change her mind in the morning.

Pam had retired to her cot for the day, and the rest of us continued our research. But it seemed the rough start to the morning was only the beginning of our bad luck. Even Nonna’s necklace wasn’t strong enough against the gremlins determined to ruin the trip.

I plucked a Cookeina speciosa, more poetically known as a pink champagne mushroom, another edible fungi, from the loamy soil and dropped it in my basket.

Evan came hurrying over with a massive indigo milk cap. “It’s so blue. It’s so cool seeing and holding these specimens instead of just looking at them in pictures.” He returned to his work area. Jack and Milo had gone off on their own to search for some guava, rambutan or star apples, something other than the dried banana and coconut we had in the mess tent. We hoped some fresh fruit would help persuade Pam that things weren’t so bad here.

I was busy lifting fallen logs and other debris, hoping that I would stumble on a mushroom that was rare enough to be considered a new find, when Jack and Milo returned. Jack cleared his throat behind me.

I stood up from my crouch and turned around. “Good news and bad news.” Jack said. He held up two beautiful fruits. “We found a guava tree. And now for the bad news.” Milo stepped out from behind Jack with a rash that made my knees buckle some in shock. There were red splotches all over his face and arms, and he looked miserable. “It seems Milo is allergic to guava.”

“You poor thing. Quick, let’s get you back to camp for some antihistamines. Is everyone all right? We’re taking Milo back to camp. Head back soon for lunch.”

Jack and I walked Milo back to the camp. “I want to throw myself in the river to stop the itching,” Milo said.

“You’ll be fine with the antihistamine,” I said. “I take it you’ve never tasted guava.”

Milo was quiet. I looked over at him.

“I had a reaction like this to something I tried as a kid, but I honestly couldn’t remember what kind of fruit it was.”

“Well, I think you’ve solved that childhood mystery,” Jack quipped. “He was still enjoying the first bite when I noticed something odd happening to his face.”

We reached the mess tent. Milo took some antihistamine and went to his cot to rest and allow the allergy medicine to do its thing. Jack and I decided to get lunch started. My students, namely Robyn, had worked hard on our chore chart, but a few days in we realized it was easiest just to pitch in when the opportunity arose. And since our assigned cook, Pam, wanted nothing to do with kitchen duties, it was easier to take her place.

“I guess since you risked life and limb to find the guava, the least I can do is cut it.” I reached blindly behind me to the knife on the counter, and somehow miscalculated how close it was to the edge of the counter. My thumb slid across the sharp blade. “Ouch.” I pulled my hand forward. The cut was long and deep enough that it instantly dripped blood.

“Starting to think that guava tree was cursed.” Jack hopped into action. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my hand. “Hold it up above your heart to slow the bleeding while I get the first aid kit.”

I sat at the table holding my hastily wrapped hand up in the air and feeling entirely embarrassed by my clumsiness. Jack returned with the first aid box. He sat down with a serious brow. “Now, my medical expertise is mostly limited to skinned knees and twisted ankles, but let’s see what we’ve got.” He was being facetious, but it was actually kind of cute.

“You’re always much more likeable when you’re—well, I guess—when you’re not being Professor Sinclair.”

Jack looked up at me. “I’m literally Professor Sinclair. How can I not be him?” He shook his head. “Never mind. You’ve had an accident, and you’re in shock, so I won’t take anything you say too seriously.”

“See, there’s the ole professor. Stuffy and less charming.” As soon as I said it, I knew it was a mistake.

His dark brow arched cockily. “You think I’m charming?”

“I just said you were less charming—relative to your usual level of charm, which is abysmal at best.”

“Probably not the smartest decision to insult the medic before he’s about to stitch up a cut.”

I held my swaddled hand out of reach. “There will be no stitching.”

“Let the doctor decide that.” A glimmer of a teasing smile appeared as Jack took gentle hold of my wrist. I had no idea why, and it was entirely unexpected, but when his fingers wrapped around my arm, a breath caught in my chest. I blamed it on not knowing how bad the cut would be. It bled so fast, I didn’t get a good look at it before Jack wrapped it.

We both stared down as he unwrapped the towel. There was a good amount of blood, but that was usual with cut fingers. Jack scrunched his brows together and lifted my arm. His touch was gentle and warm. “Doesn’t look too bad. Guess I won’t have an excuse to test my stitching skills.”

“Glad to hear it, Doc.”

Jack fished around in the first aid kit and pulled out a small plain bottle. “I’m going to assume since someone took the time to write antiseptic on this bottle with marker that it is indeed antiseptic.” He held it up to get my approval. “It’s either this or a splash of whiskey.”

I sat up straighter. “Do you have some whiskey?”

He laughed. “Only in my dreams, but I think after this trip I might start keeping a bottle within reach.” He shook his head. “Did not see that end coming after our triumphant hunt for fruit. Poor guy.”

“I’ll check on him as soon as we’re done here. I can’t believe I did this, and to my right hand.”

Jack held up the bottle again. “Ready? I’m not sure if this is the old stuff we used to get sprayed on a scraped knee, the stuff that made us howl, or the new, gentler version made especially for today’s soft and coddled youth.”

I nodded. “Go for it. After all, I was raised on the hard stuff.” I flinched as he poured it on the cut.

Jack lifted the bottle and looked truly sorry.

I laughed. “Gotcha.”

“Sure, sure, as if I haven’t already had a trying enough day with the guava disaster.”

I laughed again. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

Jack reached into the box and pulled out a square of sterile gauze and a roll of surgical tape.

“That seems like overkill,” I said. “Is there a bandage?”

He reached in and held up a tiny bandage, the kind you might put on a pimple or a bug bite. “Don’t think this is big enough.”

“Fine. But try to make it unobtrusive.”

He set my hand on the table and unwrapped the gauze. “You don’t like to appear weak or vulnerable, do ya, Lo?”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess not.”

“You make me sound like an egomaniac.” I was back on defense. He always put me on defense.

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. Never mind. I’ve got to concentrate because if I don’t get this right the patient will surely complain and let me know I did an inferior job.”

“Just give me the gauze.” I tried to pull my hand away, but he caught it. His grasp this time was firm, but there was still a gentleness to it that I had to admit I liked.

“I know you’re talented at many things, Lo, but there’s no way you can properly wrap this finger with your left hand. I promise no more conversation, just medical attention.”

I rested my hand palm up on the table. Jack carefully positioned the gauze around my thumb. His own fingers grazed my palm and my other fingers many times, leaving trails of warmth that seemed to radiate all the way up my arm. His face was so close to mine I could see a tiny scar right next to his left eye. He pulled off the tape and wrapped it around the gauze.

“Too tight?” he asked. “We want to keep enough pressure on the cut to stop the blood.”

I found myself inexplicably breathless about the entire thing. “It’s fine.”

“Good.” He wrapped a second piece around the gauze. “You’ll need to keep this dry, and no digging around in dirt,” he added with a confident nod. “Didn’t even need a medical degree for that one.” He leaned back to admire his handiwork. “I think I missed my calling.”

“Thank you for doing this. It would have been hard to manage with my left hand.”

“Anytime, Lo.”

“I sure hope this is the last calamity of the day.” The second I said it, the two-way radio started clicking. Jack was confused by the sound. “That’s the radio, and here goes that inkling thing again. You want to get it this time? After all, I’ve just suffered blood loss.”

Jack smiled as he stood up. “I really am a jack of all trades today. See what I did there?”

“Yep.” I got up and followed him to the radio. He sat at the desk and picked up the microphone. “Always love using these things. Makes me feel like a naval captain.”

Harold’s voice came through a few seconds of crackle. “Biological station to base camp one. Over.”

Jack pressed the button. “This is base camp one. Over.” He looked up at me with a beaming grin. I hated to admit it but when he was in a good mood, he was very attractive … and likeable.

“Oh good, glad you’re there. We’ve got an update on the storm. It will make landfall tomorrow and be in our area by midafternoon. It’s hard to say yet what kind of impact it will have. We’ll know more later this afternoon if we need to evacuate. Over.”

His voice faded in and out, and there was enough static in between the words that Jack looked back at me to double check the message. “He did say possible evacuation, right?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Right.” Jack pushed the button. “We’ll wait for your update and then prepare next steps once we know more. Over.”

“I’ll contact you as soon as I hear from the weather service. Over and out.”

“Right. Got it. Over and out.” He put down the microphone. “Did I sound good? Cuz it felt like I sounded good. Very official and all that.”

“You really need to get out of that university office more, Sinclair.” I lifted my injured hand as I headed out. “Thanks again for the first aid.”