“How much could a new well fucking cost?” he asked, patting down his pockets and finding his cigarettes.
“Usually not much, it's getting the equipment here that will cost a pretty penny,” she sighed, then she clucked her tongue at him as he lit up. “You're bad, Dr. Edenhoff, no smoking in a hospital.”
But her voice was teasing and she made no move to stop him as he took a deep drag.
“I think second hand smoke is the least of their problems,” he replied, glancing back over all the beds. Glancing back at Tori, he saw she was now squatting next to a child who was heaving his guts out into a bucket.
“Excellent point. You know, I actually had an idea,” Amie started slowly, so he turned back to face her. “I think if maybe a doctor could really fully explain just how bad this strain of Cholera is, it would really help.”
“It probably would. Want me to write a letter?” he guessed. She shook her head.
“No, I have to go into Bangkok today for a face-to-face meeting with some potential donors. I think it would be great if you came with me. You'd be the perfect face for what we're doing out here.”
“Me?” he barked out a laugh, then he tapped his ashes onto the floor in front of them. “Honey, you don't know me very well. I'm not a good face for anything.”
“Oh, c'mon. Handsome doctor risking his life in the jungle to save poor people, you're perfect,” she insisted. “It'll take a couple hours, we'll probably get the money we need for the well, and then we can go to a real restaurant to celebrate.”
Landon gave zero shits about eating in a “real restaurant” but he did care about that well. She was right, if something didn't happen soon, most of the village's working force would be out of commission. That was bad news on so many different levels, he didn't even want to think about it.
“Just a day?” he checked. “We'll be back tonight, right?”
“Oh for sure. I was just about to head out, we can be back by like eight.”
“Sounds good. Let me change and I'll meet you out front?”
“It's a date,” she laughed, then she skipped away.
He went to stride down to Tori, but she'd disappeared. The child was back in bed and the blonde-ish bombshell was nowhere to be seen. He walked the whole length of the hospital and still didn't see her, so he finally grabbed the guy she'd been yelling at earlier and asked if he knew where she'd gone.
“I think she's at breakfast, doctor.”
He groaned and made some quick decisions. He jogged back to their tent and got changed into some relatively clean clothing. Then he scribbled out a quick note, just in case he couldn't find her. Finally, he made his way down to the mess hall. It was basically a covered area full of banquet tables and people shouting. He scanned everyone's heads, but still didn't see her.
A note would just have to do, he guessed. With any luck, she would get caught up in an emergency and never know he was even gone. Nodding to himself, he started heading back towards the field hospital, but then he found her.
She was behind the trailer where they prepped the meals, leaning against its back wall. She was laughing and talking to a man. One of the senior nurses, a guy named Max. Landon had a loose acquaintance with him just from working together so much over the past couple days. He hadn't realized, though, that Tori also would've worked with the guy. With the tall, smart, charming, young guy.
It was stupid. She was just talking to the guy, it didn't mean anything. Landon didn't think she was about to go off and blow the guy behind the compost pile. But still ... it upset him. Seeing her with a guy who was a lot better suited for her. A man who hadn't lost his temper once under pressure, and who'd certainly never threatened her with speculum-abuse. A guy who didn't do any kinds of drugs just to get through the day, and most likely didn't also try to subconsciously ruin good things when they happened for him.
Tori turned at that moment and saw him staring at her. Scowling at her. She smiled big and waved at him, then turned back to Max. When it was obvious she was making her goodbyes, Landon frowned deeper and hurried away from the area. He could see Amie waiting in her Jeep, so he strode up to the passenger side and climbed in.
“Ready to go?” she asked. He glanced in the side view and could see Tori standing a ways back, looking in his direction. Then Max stepped into the reflection, saying something to her.
“Ready. Let's get this over with.”
TEN O'CLOCK AT NIGHT and still no Landon. Tori was starting to feel frantic. The generator had long since been locked down, so she had several fat candles burning around the tent. They helped to light up the path she wearing into the floor as she paced back and forth.
She'd seen him getting into Amie's Jeep around nine in the morning. Not terribly unusual, she often drove different people all over the camp or down into the village. When they weren't back by lunch, though, Tori had started getting curious. She knew Max and Amie had slept together, so she went right to him, figuring he'd know where they'd went.
“Bangkok. Meeting some donors. Won't be back till around seven or so.”
The news had made her feel sick to her stomach. Amie wanted Landon, it was obvious to anyone with eyeballs. And while Tori trusted they hadn't done anything together, she was still nervous. He was a coke head who was on an all-day trek to the original City of Sin with a busty redhead who wanted his johnson.
Not good.
Seven o'clock came and went. Tori went back to their tent and found some shitty note from Landon which only said he was going to Bangkok, not why, and that she shouldn't wait up for him.
By ten o'clock she wasn't even jealous anymore, she was just worried. He wasn't answering text messages, didn't even seem to be checking them. What if something had happened? Bangkok was also a dangerous city, and the drive back could be treacherous.
God, if anything happened to him, she didn't know what she'd do. She'd gotten used to sleeping next to him at night. Dishing back the bullshit he served her. Making him laugh, just to prove to him he could still smile. Touching him, just to let him know someone cared. If anything happened to him ...
Oh my god. Have I seriously fallen for Landon fucking Edenhoff!?
When she heard a familiar engine rattling through the calm over half an hour later, relief made her so weak, she actually sat down. Pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she jumped out of the chair and stormed towards the entrance of the tent, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
What she saw when she held back the canvas flap, though, stopped her in her tracks. Amie's Jeep was parked maybe fifty or so feet away. A large, orange flood flight was almost directly in front of it, illuminating the car.
It was hard to tell exactly what was going on, but one thing was clear – the driver was no longer sitting upright behind the wheel. No, the seductive redhead was now leaning over the seat next to her, blocking her passenger from view. And though it was shadowy inside the all terrain vehicle, Tori was pretty positive the passenger had his arm around the driver's shoulders.
She stepped back inside the tent, letting the flap fall from her numb fingers. Then she kept walking backwards, clear till she bumped into the cot. Then she sat down. Stared across the room for a moment. Then she laid down, curling into the fetal position, facing away from the entrance.
He never asked me to come here. I shouldn't have come here. He never promised me anything. This isn't his fault. Don't get mad at him.
Unfortunately for Tori's conscience, she was already very, very mad.
15
“What the fuck is up with this lock?” Landon grumbled, struggling with the door to Amie's Jeep. It had been giving him problems all day, and as if that wasn't bad enough, the air conditioning had broken down somewhere in Bangkok. A three hour ride in the stifling heat hadn't done anything to improve his mood.
“I told you, you need to be gentle,” Amie teased, then next thing he knew, she was stretching across his lap and fiddling with the handle. “Sometimes all y
ou need is a woman's touch.”
“Or you could just fucking get it fixed,” he suggested.
“Gee, Dr. Edenhoff, hadn't thought – oh!”
The startled exclamation happened after her hand slipped off the gear shift. She face planted in his lap and he rolled his eyes. Games weren't his style, if someone wanted to fuck, he'd prefer they just have the balls to say it.
Tori would never pull shit like this.
“Jesus,” he grunted as she squashed his nuts while she propped herself up.
“I am so sorry,” she was laughing while she used her free hand to push her hair out of her face.
“And not exactly subtle,” he commented, wrapping an arm around her and trying to lift some of her weight off his testicles.
“Oh my god!” she gasped. “I didn't ... did I just? I'm so embarrassed.”
“It's fine, it's whatever, but I'm not -”
“It's just,” she interrupted him with a sigh. “Ever since you got here, I've felt this ... connection. I feel like you've been through a lot, and so have I, and maybe we should explore all that together.”
“Uh huh,” he said. “And by 'explore' you mean 'fuck', correct?”
“I love a man who cuts to the point.”
Her little hand-in-crotch move had caught him off guard, but when she kissed him, it really stunned him. For just a moment, he was lost, and he held still. Two weeks ago and he would've already had her over the gear shift, straddling his lap. Hell, maybe even a week ago. But now? Now all he could think about was how he would feel if he witnessed this exact moment happening between Tori and Max-the-nurse.
I would fucking kill both of them.
“No,” he stated after he'd yanked her away. She fell awkwardly back into her seat.
“What's wrong?” she asked, glancing around.
“Nothing. You're ... very fuckable, I promise,” he grumbled, running his hand down his face. She gave an indignant snort, but he kept going. “But you seem to have forgotten I'm kind of here with somebody.”
“That chick? Your assistant?” she seemed surprised.
“Yeah, my 'assistant' who also happens to be even more fuckable than you. Good night, Amie.”
He climbed out of the Jeep but before he could shut the door, she was leaning back across the seats and grabbing his arm.
“Look, I'm sorry. I've been here for over a year now, we don't see a lot of new people. Let's not make it weird, okay?” she asked. He scowled for a moment, then nodded and shook loose from her.
“I totally get it, but next time, find someone else to drag across the country,” he suggested. She looked chastised, but she nodded her head.
“I'm sorry for wasting your time, doctor.”
He shut the door and she drove off, leaving him standing under a flood light. He stared at his tent, at his and Tori's “home”, and thought about what had just happened. He'd just turned down free sex. New pussy. An easy lay. Where was Landon Edenhoff, and what had Tori done with him!?
Fuuuuuck, I have to tell her what happened, and she's gonna be a fucking girl about it, and FUCK.
With a sigh, he trudged across the ground and made his way into the tent. He was a little surprised at first to see Tori asleep in bed, then he glanced at his watch and frowned. It was almost eleven, he hadn't realized the time at all. Amie had taken her sweet fucking time driving home, probably hoping he'd suggest pulling off the road somewhere to hop into the back seat.
He tied shut the tent flaps, then kicked off his shoes and took off his dress shirt before sitting down on the edge of the bed. He took out his cigarettes and while he was patting around for his lighter, he realized there were candles lit. He glanced up and down the space, seeing six flickering flames. They'd been there for five days and had settled into somewhat of a routine. Whoever came home and passed out first would douse all the candles – better to leave a dark room for the second person than to burn the whole place down.
If the candles are lit, then she was just awake. Meaning she's probably not asleep. Fuck.
“Tor,” he barked her name out around his cigarette. There was no response, so he glanced over his shoulder. Saw that she was still wearing her shoes. “I know you're awake.”
“I'm tired,” she replied in a husky voice.
“Me, too. Get up.”
She didn't argue. Didn't ask what was going on. Just slowly pushed herself upright and swung her legs off her side of the bed. They were sitting back to back, the tension suddenly so thick between them, he could taste it.
“It's been a long day, Landon,” she sighed. “Can we do this tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow will be a long day, too,” he pointed out. “And the day after that. And then your week is up and you go home.”
“And then I go home,” she repeated in a soft voice. He frowned and pulled his unlit cigarette out of his mouth. Rolled it between his fingers for a second before tossing it onto the desk.
“You want to go home?” he checked, turning his head to the side. All he could see was her hair, still swept up into a bun on top of her head, but looking neater than it had earlier.
“I don't think I was cut out for this,” she finally answered.
“Could've fooled me, because you've been kicking ass at volunteering.”
There was another long pause.
“I wasn't talking about volunteering.”
These were the moments Landon hated. Why he didn't date or get close to people. A Talk was always lurking just around the corner. Something else he'd fucked up, or something stupid they'd done, and they'd have to talk about it, and fight about it, and cry over it. It would end with him yelling and her crying and suddenly they'd be right back where they were three weeks ago – basically strangers. What was the point of it all, why even bother in the first place?
Being alone is so much easier because then I don't have to be good enough for anybody. It's so much work being a good guy.
“Stand up,” he snapped, surging to his feet and going around the bed. He didn't give her a chance to comply, just grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.
“What are you doing?” she demanded as she was dragged into the center of the tent, the only place where he could stand to his full height.
“We're gonna get this over with right now,” he stated, folding his arms across his chest.
“Get what over with?”
“This,” he stressed, gesturing between them. “Whatever bullshit you're upset about, whatever bullshit I did. Call me some names so I can call you some names so you can threaten to walk out so I can stop you so we can get to the make up sex.”
Tori's eyes flared open wide and he was pretty sure actual steam came out of her ears.
Hmmm, maybe too blunt ...
“Bullshit!?” she yelled. “Bullshit is me fucking worrying all goddamn night about you, texting you, hearing nothing from you, and then the first thing I see when you get back? Big Red sticking her fucking tongue down into your GI tract!”
“I knew you weren't sleeping,” he groaned. “And that's all exactly what I said – bullshit.”
“You treat me like an after thought. Like I'm here for your fucking amusement. And you wanna know why? Because you're a pussy. Always have been. You're scared to actually admit you like me, because if you admit you like me, then you also have to admit you could possibly lose me. Why are you so scared of everything!?” she demanded.
“You think I'm scared? Tori, I spend all day in a hospital full of diseased people. I threatened a drug dealer last week. I'm not scared of anything,” he spat back.
“Okay, fine, you go ahead and tell yourself whatever you need to help you sleep at night. Oh wait, you don't sleep at night. How could you do something like that? After everything we've been through together? I haven't asked for anything from you, but I did expect at least a little respect,” she told him.
I do respect you, and I do like you, and I can't sleep at night because I'm terrified that if I do, I'll wake up and you'll be
gone and this will have all been a dream.
Landon took a deep, deep breath and pulled out his cigarettes.
“You're right,” he said in a low voice. “We haven't asked for anything from each other, so we don't owe anything, either.”
“That's all you have to say?” she squeaked out, her eyes wide and glassy as she stared at him while he lit up.
“I don't have to say anything else.”
He'd barely puffed out a cloud of smoke before she let out a disgruntled growl, startling him. Then she had her hands on his undershirt, twisting and yanking and shoving him out of the way.
“You're an awful fucking human being, you know that?” she yelled, circling him once before heading towards the exit. “And you were right – you ruin everything. You bitch about your family treating you like the messiah? Well, it's probably because you act like it! Holier than thou, ever suffering, ever worthy of pity. It's actually really kind of sad.”
“Where the fuck do you think you're going?” he asked, moving and standing in her way when she went to walk outside.
“Move,” she commanded, trying to side step him. He kept matching her step for step.
“No. What are you gonna do, hitch hike to Bangkok? Can the theatrics, Tor, we can get you a ride in the morning.”
He said it calmly and casually, but it seemed to have the worst effect of anything he'd said yet.
“Get fucked, Edenhoff,” she swore. “And get the fuck out of my way.”
“No. We're finishing this.”
“We already finished. We never even started. Move.”
“Sweetheart, you walk out the door, and we'll never be finished.”
“God!” she suddenly yelled, her hands going to her head. “I swear, what is wrong with me? Did my ancestors smite yours? What on earth did I do to deserve the Edenhoffs?”
“Hey, don't lump me in with my brother,” he said, taking another drag on his cigarette.
“You're right, how rude of me. How could I possibly even think of lumping you in with someone who's so much better than you.”
Neighborhood Watch Page 14
