by Sam JD Hunt
“Penelope, take my hand,” he said, reaching a long arm down toward me. “Straightaway, my dear, I need you to reach up,” he said as if nothing were amiss. My foot slid again, and I had no choice. I reached up and grabbed Luther’s extended hand, praying that he wouldn’t drop me.
“That is a good girl,” he said as if addressing a pet. He raised me up, the strength in his lean right arm so powerful it was almost unnatural. He didn’t drag me up; he lifted me to the edge of the cliff with one arm.
“Penny! Oh my God!” I heard as I rose above the deadly cliff. It was Nate, with Amber running behind him.
“She is fine,” Luther said flatly, his green eyes boring into mine. “Are you not?”
I was shaking as Nate’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me into him.
“Holy shit, Pen, what happened?” Nate asked, checking me over to make sure I was all in one piece.
“Um, I-I don’t know. I think…”
“What did happen, Penelope?” Luther asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I think I slid,” I said after a few confused moments.
Luther gave me a quick smile, as if I’d passed the test. Nate pulled me forward, supporting my wounded ankle as we made our way away from the cliff.
“Isn’t camp that way?” I asked, pointing back toward the east.
“Uh no, it’s this way, babe,” Nate answered.
Luther was leading me in the right direction, I thought, did I just slip?
“I shall bid you adieu, then, my friends. Penelope has discovered the whereabouts of wild boar, and I promised Rex that I would return with dinner.” Luther took one last long look into my eyes before turning away. I was confused, questioning everything, as he disappeared into the jungle.
I hobbled back to camp, with Nate holding me close as we turned a corner and saw the fire near the tents. Rex was busy boiling water as we walked up.
“What happened?” he said, rushing over to me as Nate sat me on down on a log.
“I slid in the mud—almost fell off a cliff. Earlier, I hurt my ankle when a boar charged at me,” I explained as Rex knelt down to take my boot off.
“At least Luther was there to rescue her,” Nate said as he sat down next to me on the log.
“Luther?” Rex asked.
“Yeah, um, Penny made a quick side trip to grab some fruit and got a little turned around. Luther came up as she was hanging off the ledge,” Nate said confidently.
I said nothing as Rex wrapped and treated my ankle. Nate’s version of events wasn’t exactly how I remembered it, but I was grateful that he downplayed the fact that the whole thing was caused by my stubbornness.
“So where’s the fruit?” Rex teased after my ankle was wrapped and elevated. I playfully shot him my middle finger as he leaned in to kiss me. “I’m glad you’re okay, Princess,” he said softly. “We’ll work a little harder on those compass skills tomorrow.”
It was an hour before Luther returned. In his right hand, he held up a large wild boar. He flopped it on a flat rock and looked to Rex for approval, as usual. “I am glad to see you recovering, Penelope,” he said to me as he put his backpack on the ground. He pulled a long knife from it, then a handful of the sweet, green fruit I’d been looking for when I got lost. “These are for you,” he said, his pale green eyes warm and sincere. Was he a nice guy or is he apologizing? My thoughts went all over the place, and I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore about Luther. This strange man was a complete mystery. He swiped his lips with Carmex before turning his attention to the arduous task of helping Rex clean the boar for dinner.
Amber used her seasonings and made the wild meat taste better than any I’d ever had. She would be a truly talented chef someday. After dinner and drinks by the fire, Rex, Nate and I were finally alone in our tent, and we sat in our tiny shelter sharing a flask of whiskey. We were going over what happened out in the jungle that afternoon as I struggled to remember every detail.
“Penny, I saw the whole thing,” Nate argued. I looked to Rex, his hand on my leg. He’d wrapped my ankle in a bandage and determined the sprain was minor. After two aspirin, the pain was somewhat better and I’d tried to tell them, privately, what I thought happened.
“I’m just saying that I’m not sure, that’s all. The whole thing was weird. Something bumped into me, like on purpose, and knocked me. Also, when he found me, he acted really weird.”
Rex looked from me to Nate, who threw his hands up in the air. “Okay, I turned the corner and you were falling. Luther was at least five feet away, and bolting toward you. He reached his hands down to you and pulled you up.”
I thought about what Nate said, unsure of my own recollection of what happened. “Um, maybe,” I said, “but I felt like he was going to step on my fingers.” I was confused, it all happened so fast.
“Babe, the whole thing lasted seconds. Luther was right there to pull you up,” Nate said, rubbing my knee.
“Yeah,” I conceded, “I’m sure you’re right.”
Chapter Twelve
“Penny,” Rex whispered as he ran his fingertip down my spine. “Penny,” he said a little louder, shaking me gently awake.
“Hm,” I yawned, my eyes straining to focus in the dark tent.
“About Luther, uh, are you sure?” His question was tentative, as if it pained him to ask it.
“Sure about what?” I asked, rolling into him, wanting to be left alone so I could fall back asleep. Every muscle in my body was fatigued; my mind was exhausted. He took a deep breath and braced himself to ask the hard question.
“Are you sure he didn’t try to harm you? I mean, what Nate said makes sense, but…” he trailed off.
“But what?” I prompted, my brain screaming for me to wake up and pay attention.
“You haven’t liked him from the beginning, but you aren’t the kind of person to just jump to that conclusion. I’m confused—questioning everything right now.”
I kissed him on the neck while I pondered his words. “It’s true I don’t like him, but I’m not sure if it’s rational or not. Part of me thinks I’m just jealous—jealous that he’s gotten to know you for so long, that you care about him. And now I see Nate getting close to him, and it scares me,” I said, fighting to stay awake. “Maybe I should give him a chance, get to know him better myself,” I admitted with a yawn. “I’m not sure, baby girl. Stay close to me, okay? Don’t be alone with Luther for now. Something about today has me second guessing everything.”
It was barely dawn when I woke up; my bladder so full I felt like it was a water balloon about to burst. Rex was next to me, sound sleep, with Nate’s cheek on his chest, their limbs entwined. My ankle felt much better, and I didn’t want to wake them—they were too beautiful to disturb. But, I had to pee. I grabbed my machete, laced up my boots, and limped out into the cool, wet air. I poked my head into Amber’s tiny tent. She was awake, so I asked her to go with me.
Minutes later, our bladders relieved, we turned a corner to see Luther standing nearby. He was waiting for us, at a respectable distance, but he was standing between us and camp.
“Morning, ladies,” he said. Amber lit up, excited to see him. Luther stood with his legs in a wide V, the canvas pants he’d borrowed from Rex hanging from his slender waist. A wide brown belt, borrowed from Nate, held them up, but the faint shadow of a line of dark hair crept up whenever his thin t-shirt rose up. “I would like to request your assistance, fair ladies. Come, please,” he said, turning and walking past us down the rugged trail. “It is not far,” he called back when we didn’t follow.
“Uh, I don’t think so,” I whispered to Amber, unsure what to do.
“He’s so damn sexy,” she whispered to me, then said, “I’m coming Luther,” as she chased after him.
“I need you both,” he called back to me through the thick foliage.
“Shit,” I said out loud before scrambling on my sore ankle to catch up with them. At least I have a really large knife if he tries anything fu
nky, I thought as we walked. To my relief, we didn’t walk far. Luther stopped in front of a dense group of low trees, and pointed up.
“I am going to get some eggs for breakfast. I need your help to catch them.”
“Of course we’ll help,” Amber answered with a nudge to my arm.
“We shall need to stay peaceful, my dears. I do not want to alert mother that I am lightening her nest,” Luther said with a quick swipe of Carmex to his pink lips. He set his backpack on the ground, and much to Amber’s delight, took off his shirt. Her eyes never left him as he climbed the first tree.
“A guy like that would protect me from that asshole I married,” Amber said, looking up the narrow tree at Luther. He’d scaled the tree like a monkey, his shirt and shoes discarded at the base of the trunk. His lean thighs wrapped around the girth of the tree as he pulled with his strong arms, quietly and slowly until he was in the canopy of the lush leaves. Making as little noise as possible, his agile bare feet crept down the longest branch like a high-wire walker in the circus. As he approached the first nest, his arms went down to his sides. He looked down to me, and held up his right index finger. Nervously, unsure of my catching skills, I cupped my hands and waited. Within seconds, he’d snatched an egg from the nest and with a quick underhand, tossed it directly into my waiting palms with the skill of a major-league pitcher. I showed him the intact egg, and he nodded before moving further down the branch.
“Okay, this is pretty damn cool,” I had to admit as I watched him navigate the tangle of tree limbs, one thin branch sagging low and creaking from his weight. He dipped down again, this time holding up two fingers and signaling for both of us to catch.
“You first,” Amber said.
I looked up to Luther and outstretched my palms to him. The same gentle underhand pitch landed it securely in my grasp, and I added that egg to the other in a front pocket of my backpack.
“What if I miss? I’ll be so embarrassed, you catch again, please?” Amber begged.
“Okay,” I answered, “but his aim is so precise all you have to do is keep still and let the egg land gently.”
I raised my palms again to Luther, but he pointed to Amber. She blushed and shook her head no, but he nodded at her, gesturing for her to open her hands. The pitched egg would have landed in her hands, just as it had mine, but at the last second she impatiently reached for it. I thought she was going to cry as the thin eggshell shattered against her skin.
Her lip quivered as she said up to Luther, “I suck at this kind of thing.” He gave her the “just a minute” gesture, and crept down the branch. It dipped dangerously low, and I was worried how much weight the branch would take before Luther came crashing down to the jungle floor below. After steadying himself, the branch only a couple of inches across, he grabbed another egg. He raised an index finger, indicating there was one egg on its way to us. I opened my palms toward the sky, but he waved his finger at me and pointed to Amber.
She walked up next to me, her teeth sunk into her lower lip. “I can’t,” she begged, her eyes fixed on his. He nodded at her and mouthed the words “you can” as he showed her the egg in his fingers. Amber raised her open palms to him, and this time, she closed her eyes. The egg, the largest one yet, floated into her hands effortlessly. Her eyes sprang open as she felt it there. “I did it!” she said a little too loudly. Luther smiled, his finger at his lips reminding her to be quiet. He nodded at her with the thumbs up sign. I gave her a quick squeeze before placing her egg securely with the others. Despite my distrust of Luther, it did warm my heart to see him give Amber that small boost of confidence that day—she certainly needed it.
After gathering fifteen more eggs from three long branches, not including the four that broke on descent, Luther began his careful climb down the slippery tree trunk. His skin was glistening when he reached the bottom. He slid his shirt over his tattooed shoulders and looked toward my backpack.
“Are the eggs safe, Penelope? Rex will be hungry when we return.”
I did one last check of them and nodded before we began down the path toward camp.
“Thanks so much for encouraging me, Luther,” Amber said as they walked side by side in front of me.
“Amber, you can accomplish amazing things if you believe in yourself.”
“I know, it’s just, well, I guess when you’ve been beaten down, it’s hard to feel worthy again,” she said sadly.
Luther stopped so abruptly I almost ran into his back. “You should never be hurt by someone you love, Amber, never.” His fingers grasped her chin as he spoke, his green eyes locked on her hazel ones. “It is unacceptable, do you understand?”
Her expression changed as she absorbed his words, a look of revelation lighting her eyes. She nodded, and he released her chin, turned forward, and continued walking. That morning, walking back to camp with eggs, I had to admit to myself that I’d been wrong about Luther. He was a truly decent guy after all.
We were laughing as we turned the corner into our campsite—Luther was in the middle of telling us a story about a witch doctor in Africa who was convinced Luther was some god incarnate. Luther froze mid-sentence as we saw them, but he continued walking. Nate was sitting on a log in front of a blazing fire, and Rex was shaving him with a blade. Just as we saw them, seconds before, Rex had leaned in to kiss Nate playfully, the suds from Nate’s face smearing across Rex’s nose.
“Ah, my lovebirds at play,” I joked, warmed by the sight of my two lovers so enrapt in one another. Luther was silent as we approached. I suspected he still wasn’t comfortable with an open display of affection from two men. “Luther got eggs!” I said, pulling the backpack off and unzipping the pocket that held the eggs. “Hey, they made it!” I said to Luther.
Rex didn’t look happy. His dark eyes scanned me, and then Amber. “Is everyone okay?” he asked oddly.
“Uh, of course,” I said with a shrug.
“I didn’t realize you two had gone out with Luther, you should have asked me first,” he said, his eyes angry.
I didn’t want to fight after the nice morning I’d had, so I tried to appease Rex’s domineering side. “I’m sorry,” I said, walking toward him with kissy lips, planting my palms on his broad chest. I reached up and wiped the foamy suds from his nose and pulled my body into his. His strong arms went around my back, holding me close.
“Don’t leave my sight again,” he whispered into my ear, softening the command with a quick nip to my earlobe.
“Either we’re about to get a room, or it’s time to cook up some eggs,” Nate said from his perch on a log by the fire. I looked over to Luther—he was standing off to himself, the eggs in his hands.
“I gathered these for you, Rex. I know how much you love them, and I wanted you to have the protein for breakfast,” he said, his voice soft and apologetic. “I never intended to alarm you.”
“I already gave him some protein for breakfast,” Nate joked, but no one laughed. The mood had become tense, strange.
Rex broke the silence with a nudge to Nate’s shoulder and the single word, “Later.” He walked over to Luther and reached for the eggs. “Thanks bro, it’s cool. These are the shit. I was just worried about the wound. How did it feel when you were climbing? Any pressure?”
Luther’s face seemed to glow from the attention from Rex. They walked together toward the fire and pulled out our one cooking pot.
“It was a little sore, but otherwise I think it is okay, Doc.”
“Good. These are a nice surprise, but no more climbing trees until you’re completely healed.”
They scrambled the eggs together while I made coffee. Amber’s eyes rarely left Luther—she was enamored with him. We ate together, chatting about life in general, as we enjoyed our breakfast.
Afterward, Rex stood up and said, “Luther gathered breakfast, I think Nate and I will fish for lunch. Amber, how’d you like to learn some fishing skills?”
Amber looked around the sparse camp. “Do we have poles?” she asked.
I looked at Rex—I knew how he fished. Amber was the only one surprised when he pulled out a small metal Altoid container from his pocket.
“Line and a hook, that’s all we need. Penny, I need you, too. Luther, can you hold down the fort here?” Luther’s eyes darkened, but he nodded slowly in obedience.
“Whatever you would like, Doc,” Luther said with a swipe of his signature Carmex to his lips. His words were agreeable, but disappointment oozed from him.
Amber stood up, her hand on her forehead, “Oh no, I think I feel a migraine coming on. I’d better stay here and rest a little.” Her act was so thin we could all see through it.
“Go rest then, sis,” Nate said, hopping to his feet, “we’ll be back soon.”
Rex wasn’t nearly as thrilled at leaving Amber behind, but short of dragging her with us, there wasn’t much he could do.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Rex went off. “Listen, Princess, I thought I made myself clear last night. Don’t be alone with Luther, and then bam, you’re off in the jungle with him again?”
I spun around to face him. “Wait a minute. First of all, Amber and I were out there peeing, together—not alone. Luther showed up as we were walking back and pretty much insisted we help. Catching eggs together didn’t seem all that alarming.”
Rex sighed and continued walking. “Okay, but can you just not be away from the two of us until we get home?”
Nate looked to us in confusion. “Is this about the cliff thing? Penny slipping?”
Rex kept walking, pointing toward the river ahead. “Yes, but there’s more. Can we talk out there, in the water?” He glanced back toward camp and hurried us along.
Nate gathered long sticks as I hunted the clay-like mud for bait. “When I first met you, baby, I couldn’t imagine someday you’d be out here with me digging those fine nails in the dirt to find worms. I did see something, though. Strength in there, a fight,” Rex said to me. I looked over at him. His shirt was off and wrapped around his wide shoulders, his worn jeans hung low and were tucked into his signature combat boots. He had three fishing lines, from his Altoid container, tied onto hooks ready for the makeshift fishing poles Nate was bringing over.