“Love you, Josie,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to her head.
Josie nuzzles at my chest with a small sigh and replies, “Love you, too.”
We stand like that for a little while, taking the time to enjoy the closeness before the water starts to run cold and we have to hurry through our shower.
When we’re done, I wrap Josie in a towel and tell her, “Wait here, baby, I’ll go grab us some clothes. Noni sent a bag over yesterday.”
Going back into our room, I find Jett standing there, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrow raised, and a disapproving look on his face. Smirking at him, I swipe up our bag, saying over my shoulder, “We’ll be out shortly, and you can give me as much of a hard time then. Let me get Josie sorted first.”
Jett waves his hands at me in a shooing gesture before throwing them up in the air and slumping into one of the visitor chairs, saying, “Fine, fine. I’m just your doctor. What do I know about keeping you all safe?”
Laughing at his dramatics, I open the bathroom door and slip back in. “Was that Jett out there?” Josie wants to know.
“It was,” I answer, taking a pair of her panties from the bag and kneeling so that she can step into them, sliding them up her legs and over her hips before settling them there. Planting a kiss on her small, firm belly, which now seems larger than it did a few days ago. Leaning over, I take the shorts Noni sent for Josie and do the same as I did for her panties, only standing once I’m done helping her. I give her the bra to put on because while I can remove them, putting them on is a different story. Once she’s settled the straps on her shoulders, I hand her a T-shirt. Only once she’s dressed do I get myself dressed so that we can go and see what Jett has to tell us.
We walk out of the bathroom together to find Shadrack waiting with Jett. I’m glad he’s here. I wanted to find out how his guys were and why the leopard had attacked us.
Shadrack greets us as we walk into the room. I walk over and shake his hand, pulling him into a back-slapping hug. “Good to see you, brother,” I tell him. “How are your guys?” I ask, letting him go with one last tap on the shoulder and joining Josie sitting on her bed.
“They’re okay thanks to Josie,” Shadrack replies with a nod towards Josie. “The one with the broken leg had surgery and will make a recovery, even though he’ll need to do some physio. The doctors are impressed by how cleanly Josie treated the leopard attack victim’s wounds, especially given our location, and he’s doing well. They’re both on strong antibiotics to combat any infections, but they will both make full recoveries.”
“That’s fantastic news,” Josie responds with a relieved smile. “Any idea why the leopard attacked?”
“Yeah,” Shadrack answers with a resigned sigh, and when he tells us why, I understand his despondence. “At some point, a snare caught her, but she managed to get free. She was old, injured, and hurting. I think it was her that attacked the buffalo, and when she couldn’t bring it down, she then went for the offal we dragged away but couldn’t get past the scavengers to feed, so she came back to where the buffalo was and found us instead. She stalked us for quite a while, which is why Skinny and I felt like we were being watched. I know I saved Skinny by shooting her, but it breaks my heart,” Shadrack murmurs before shaking off his melancholy and continuing, “Anyway, I wanted to say goodbye and thank you for all your help before I leave. I’m going to work with the Sanctuary guys to clear the bush where we broke down and get rid of any snares we find.”
He holds out his hand to Josie, enfolding her one hand with both of his and thanking her again. “Thank you for all you did last night.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiles at him before reminding him, “And don’t forget to come to us when you’re ready to be a guide; we could do with someone who is as knowledgeable as you are.”
Smiling, he promises, “I won’t forget.”
Turning towards me, he shakes my hand and is gone to make good on his word to rid that part of the bush of any snares they can find and maybe put a dent in the poaching in that area.
Once he’s gone, Jett turns towards us, passing an assessing eye over both of us.
“Let me have a quick look at you both, although neither of you seems worse for wear. Then we’ll get you down to maternity so that we can have a look at the baby and you can both go home. I’m sure you’re ready for your own bed.”
“Very ready,” Josie agrees fervently.
“Well then,” Jett says, standing up and taking a small torch from out of his pocket. “Let’s check on the concussion patient and then get you out of here.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re following him down a passage towards the maternity ward.
Josie squeezes my hand, and I look down at her as she worries her lip.
“What’s wrong, sweets?” I ask.
“What happens if something’s wrong?” she asks worriedly, her eyes filling with tears.
Stopping, I turn and wrap her up in my arms, “Hey, nothing’s going to be wrong, but if by chance there is, then we’ll deal with it like we deal with everything. Together, and we’ll lean on our family while we do that.”
Josie tilts her head back, chin resting on my chest, damp eyes searching mine. Cupping her cheeks, I wipe at a tear. “Okay?” I urge.
“Okay,” she agrees with a wobbly smile.
“Everything okay?” Jett calls to us.
Turning towards him, I take Josie’s hand and pull her along with me. “Everything’s fine. Well, it will be once we have a look at our baby to put Josie’s mind at rest.”
