Luke wiped his face with the towel from the pocket in his cutoff jeans, and then slid it back. "Great writing, though." He fell silent, thinking America was now experiencing it firsthand and knew she was too.
"Alright, enough of this," Luke said, "Let's do something." He was pulling on his running shoes, trying not to stare at the long legs her dark shorts allowed him to see. "I'll skip the run and we can play some cards or something."
He paused, looking around the neatly-cleaned cabin. No carpet on the wooden floor, two recliners, a table, two beds, two doors, four walls, white curtains she'd sewn, a three drawer stand he'd made for her things, all of it dusted, washed, and made up. They were inside too much. She needed to get out there again if she was going to recover. What had helped him when he'd first come here?
"Hey. We could work on my garden."
That got Kendle's attention and she smiled eagerly, forgetting how loud the ocean was outside the safety of his small cabin. The only time she was alone was to get a shower or relieve herself and she liked it that the small generator would come on anytime they used water in the M*A*S*H-style shower and outhouse set up because it drowned out the noise that tormented her.
"Now?"
Warm breeze blowing on his skin, Luke shrugged, trying to remember the last time he'd broken his exercise routine, but couldn't. Making her happy here was important, and sometimes, like when they were sitting in his leather recliners, reading, listening to his records, it was hard to remember how quiet (lonely) his life had been before she came. "After lunch. We'll have grilled salmon hoagies and then play in the dirt."
Kendle's spirits picked up a bit, adventurous soul long since bored. She was looking forward to having work to do, instead of just staring at him when he wasn't looking her way, and staring at the walls when he was.
2
Hearing albatrosses and seagulls fighting over a beach full of small, red crab hatchlings and the dull roar of an upset, unhealthy ocean, Kendle's eyes were wide as she looked over the terribly tangled vines and sticker bushes. They were at least five feet high and so thick, she was unable to determine where the brambles ended and the jungle began or how big the area behind the cabin was.
"When's the last time you came out here?"
"Couple years. Planted a big garden when I first came, spent a lot of time letting the earth soak into me. It seemed to help." Luke let out a sigh. "Then the ocean took it back."