His throat clogged.
He resisted the urge to thrust Joshua at Amelia. She could barely stand up straight after their daylong hike through the jungle and now along the beach. Carrying the kid would slow her down even farther as she trudged through the sandy earth.
Intellectually, he knew this. That still didn’t help the cold knot in his chest or memories of hiking trips with Tilly in a kid carrier on his back, her tiny fists holding on to his ears as she whispered, “Love you, Daddy.” Her tight grip hurt like hell and was the sweetest thing he’d ever known.
He glanced back over his shoulder. Joshua babbled nonsensically, all gums and six tiny teeth, and so damn cute.
Hugh tripped over a root.
He regained his balance just shy of slamming into a coconut tree.
God, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t go there again, even for a few hours of pretend parenting. And while Joshua already had a mom and dad, after watching Amelia, he could see clearly she was meant to be a mother. She’d obviously wanted that during her marriage to the rat bastard.
Not that this kid liked him much. His tiny body went stiff when Hugh reached to take him out of Amelia’s arms. Now Joshua had relented enough to hold on to his shirt in fists still sticky from downing a banana. Joshua had to be tired. His head even bobbled every now and again, but the stinker held tough about not resting his head on Hugh’s shoulder as the sound of crashing waves lulled him.
Amelia swatted her way past fronds poking out of the jungle. She jabbed and poked ahead, checking for the snakes he knew terrified her, but she just kept jab-jab-jabbing. He couldn’t bring himself to mention that one could fall out of a tree on top of her.
She would edge closer to the water and get fried by the sun beating down on the beach.
Jab, jab. She walked ahead, branches snagging on her scrubs and shoelaces. “Are you sure I can’t carry him for a while? You both look rather, uh, uncomfortable.”
“If you get tired, you’ll slow us down, and that’s not good for the kid.” He studied her fair complexion, already turning pink. He needed to start keeping an eye out for aloe plants.
“That Superman thing again.” She laughed hoarsely. “You’ve got the most endurance, the fitness required, an extra twenty pounds wouldn’t faze you. And you’re right. I’m sounding like a wheezing asthmatic, which just proves your point.”
“You should drink some water,” he said, even knowing she would ignore him. Again.
A rustle sounded in the underbrush. Amelia tensed. A raccoon-like creature scampered past and she exhaled hard. “How far do you think it will take us to get back or at least find people?”
“I’m hoping before dark.” He scanned the horizon, frustrated as hell that they still hadn’t come across some signs of civilization. “But if we do have to stay out here in the wild, I have the training to build us adequate shelter.”
“Does that training have any tips on how to fashion a diaper in the wild?”
“We’ll make this work.” Yeah, he already had a warm wet spot in the middle of his back, but he’d mucked through a helluva lot worse. “You’re doing good, hanging tough.”
Better than he would have expected, even though he’d already learned not to underestimate this woman. Still, she and the boy had been through too much.
Eyes watching the trail for wild boars, he spotted a pigeon plum hanging low. He tugged it free and polished it on his pants leg. The dark fruit offered a natural cure for diarrhea. The kid hadn’t shown signs of any such problem, but that wasn’t a risk Hugh was willing to take.
He started to pass the plum back to Joshua—then stopped. He cut the fruit in half, pried out the pit so the toddler wouldn’t choke on it, then gave him both halves.
Old parenting skills returned in a snap, bringing too many memories rolling back. All the more motivation to haul his butt out of here as fast as possible.
Amelia gripped a walking stick she’d started using about two miles ago. “I’m not going to let you down. I will hold up my end of things.”
“I believe you.” And he really did.
“I’ve never failed at anything in my life, you know. I made straight As. I behaved in school, always did my homework.” She stabbed the sand with the stick again and again. “The only time I ever got a detention was for reading a romance novel behind my history textbook in class. I already had an A in the class.”
“Of course you did.” A smile tugged through his frustration. The sound of Joshua’s contented chewing even felt right, despite the fruit juice dribbling on his neck.
“I brushed my teeth four times a day no matter what—well, except for that earthquake incident and today. Do you happen to have toothpaste in that vest of yours?”
“I have gum.” He reached into one of the pockets on his vest, glad he could do something to help this stubborn woman.
“I would kill for a piece of it.”
“No need. It’s yours for free.” He tossed her the pack.