Chapter 6: Will you?

Lee kept the fire going near the meat all night long. She let Jay sleep, all the while thinking what she'd like to say him in the morning. Fool Ass Man.

"Well I saw him shot." Jay said in the very early morning. "Hit him, but not where I wanted to. He sprang out and ran maybe 30 yards before he turned to look at the arrow sticking out of his ass." Jay chuckled, now eating his dinner from last night. "Blood was dripping over his ... well, anyway." Jay caught the look on Lee's face and decided to leave out the details. "I pulled and let fly again. This one caught him good. It went in just behind his front shoulder. He dropped."

Jay held out his bowl for more. He felt like he was starving. Once she filled it and handed it back, he continued.

"I ran up to him, stood about 10 yards away or so, arrow notched and ready." He took a huge spoonful of stew. "He didn't move, not even a twitch. I yelled at it, thinking if it was alive, it would at least twitch." Jay smiled at Lee in humor. "It didn't. I lowered the bow and walked up with the knife. I went to hold it with my left hand and slice its ... well." Jay put the bowl down to show the moves he had made. "Anyway, it wasn't fully dead. Its hooves shot out and its body jerked, catching my arm. Since the knife was in place..." Jay shrugged, leaving it at that.

"And here I pictured you taking it down with one shot, and coming home with it already wrapped in waxed paper," Lee tried to joke.

Jay smiled, "Hunting is not that ... neat. It's heavy as a..." Jay shrugged. "Even field dressed, it's still heavy. But it's small, young, I'd guess. If not, I'd never been able to carry it. As it was, I had to stop several times."

"Is that what took so long?"

"Yeah," Jay smiled, "among other things." He wasn't going to explain how long it took to remove its head, saving him some weight, with just what he had on him, nor...

"More?"

"No, think I've overdone it now," Jay patted his stomach.

"How's the arm?" Lee asked, sitting down next his side and yawning.

"Sore, but it will do." Jay wrapped his right arm around her and rested his head on hers. "Worried, were you?"

"More than I'll ever tell you," Lee smiled, keeping her head down, out of his sight.

"Go to bed now, I'm up." He kissed her hair and patted her on the back. Lee didn't argue but crawled into the tent and was sound asleep.

The sun was well up by the time Lee was awake again. Jay was in the very spot she'd left him. She smiled. Good, he'd taken it easy, but...

Jay grinned. He'd made it back. He'd told her he'd take it easy and wanted to appear innocent when she woke up. In reality, he'd only just sat back down, and was covered in sweat, dirt and blood. He'd been working on the carcass.

"Jay- I told you to take it easy."

"Ah, I've been caught."

"How could you not be?" Lee took in his appearance again. "How is your arm?"

"Just fine," he lied. The arm burned. He'd been using muscles he shouldn't have been and now it was swollen and throbbing. Yet he figured it was well worth it. The pig no longer looked like an animal but meat. "We do need to change the dressings."

"And clean it again no doubt." Lee came over right away to begin the task, angry at him for causing himself more pain. "If you get this infected..."

"We'll worry about that when it happens."

"When?"

"Fine, if," Jay was trying to keep his mind off of the alcohol that he knew was coming.

"Don't snap at me. You're the dumb ass..." Lee stopped fighting with him while she peeled off the gauze. He'd been bleeding, but not much. The blood dried and made the bandage sticky. Her anger at him made it easy for her clean and take care of him. She wrapped it up again with fresh clean gauze and taped it in place. "You know the next step is to make a sling. It's swollen."

He was pale again, sweating. His eyes were closed and his head was back. She stopped scolding him and pet his hair.

"We should leave. Go to the hospital and have it looked at."

"No. It's only cuz you were right." He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What is this? I was right? Is that what you said?" Lee teased him.

"Yeah, yeah, I should have listened to you and took it easy. You were right." Jay looked so sweet, like a little boy. "And if it doesn't improve tomorrow, we'll leave, ok?"

Knowing he never was one to let something medical go unattended for long, she relaxed and took him at his word. "Ok, you're forgiven."