The camp was quiet when Gabriella drove up. They must be out on a call or a training exercise, she reasoned.
She wandered over towards the barracks, thinking that if Bode was here it was probably the best place to find him.
The whole facility reminded her more of an old summer camp than a prison. The old wooden buildings looked like they had been painted a hundred times with the same dark brown stain.
As she approached, she caught sight of Bode. Through the window of the bunkroom, she could see clear to the end of the room and into the open door of the showers. Bode was leaning over the bathroom counter. Shirtless. It looked like he was trying to adjust one of his bandages.
She stopped in her tracks and took the sight of him in. His physique was as she had imagined… not that his tight orange shirt had left much room for imagination. Every muscle in his back, shoulders and torso was well defined. From all the work the inmates did outdoors, his arms and neck had a darker tan than his chest and back.
The extent of his injuries was more of a surprise. Beyond the bandages from the surgical incisions and the tension bandages around his ribs, his back was covered in dark bruises. She gulped, seeing the damage that he'd taken… for her.
She slowly walked up the stairs to the small porch of the bunkhouse and knocked on the door.
"Just a second," she heard Bode yell from the other side of the door.
He opened the door slowly and smiled when he caught sight of his visitor. His orange shirt was only half on.
"Hey you," he said with a friendly grunt as he struggled with his shirt.
Gabriella gave him a smile, "do you need some help with that?"
"If you wouldn't mind," he replied gratefully, walking through the doorway toward her on the porch.
"The Captain wouldn't be happy to know his daughter was alone in the bunkhouse with an inmate. I'm trying to stay on his good side," he said with a sarcastic smile.
Gabriella stood inches from him. He'd gotten his shirt on one arm and over his head. She found the other sleeve in the material bunched around his neck and gently pulled it down, stretching it as much as she could so he could get his arm in without him having to lift it too much.
"You might want to ask for a bigger shirt," she joked with a wink.
With his arm in, she pulled the bottom of the shirt down over his torso, the backs of her fingers brushing his skin as she got it into place.
She heard his breath catch.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" she asked with concern in her voice, as she looked up into this eyes.
"No, I'm fine," Bode replied with a small embarrassed smile. "It's just been a long time since I've been touched by… well… anyone. I mean… other than my mom," he finished with an awkward laugh, avoiding her eyes.
"Right…. Of course… I'm so sorry," Gabriella stammered, biting her lower lip apologetically.
"What are you doing here, anyway? Your dad won't be back until tonight. They are out clearing in the woods by Barrier Creek."
"I came to see you. To thank you. To make sure you were okay. They wouldn't let me see you in the hospital…You saved my life. I wouldn't have made it without you." The words that she'd been holding in for weeks came pouring out of her like a waterfall. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Bode took her hands in his and she stopped talking.
She looked down at how small her hands looked in his, then looked up and met his gaze.
"I'm going to be fine. I did what anyone on your team would have done. I'm a little banged up… but I'll be okay in no time," he said, trying to reassure her.
"You know you shouldn't be here," he continued softly, scolding her jokingly.
"I know," she agreed. A tear escaped down her cheek.
Bode brought his hand to her cheek and gently wiped it away with his thumb.
"You're going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. It was a big fire. A really big fire. It would be weirder if it hadn't rattled you," he said gently.
He dropped his hand from her cheek and stepped back from her.
"Now get out of here, before your dad sees you and we both end up in the dog house," he said with a smile, as he nodded toward her car.
Reluctantly, she stepped back down the stairs and walked toward her car.
She couldn't help but look back as she walked away. Their eyes met and the intensity of the look told her that he felt the energy between them too.
Shit. She was never going to get him out of her head now.
