Chap 5
When he awoke in the morning, the sun was up and so was Susie. She was cooking some oatmeal and coffee on the propane stove.
"Good morning Sunshine," he remarked cheerfully. As he stood up to put his clothes on, he noticed she continued facing the stove.
"Good morning yourself. It's already 0630," she remonstrated.
"I didn't know you'd be up with the sun or I would have set the alarm. What's cooking?" he asked.
"I found some oatmeal. I want to have a good breakfast before we go traipsing back to the body," Susie said seriously.
"I suppose you can't get it out of your mind," he said.
"I would have been up all night if it wasn't for you know what," she said mischieveously.
She took the oatmeal off the stove, filled a couple large bowls to near overflowing, and set them on the table along with some powdered milk and brown sugar. She then poured a couple mugs of coffee from the pot and set them on the table.
"Sugar or creamer?" she asked.
"No, just black for me," he replied. "I believe there's no point in drinking coffee if it's not all coffee."
"Same for me," she said and they sat down to breakfast.
The oatmeal was wet, not thick, so the powdered milk mixed in easily. They both spooned some brown sugar on top and started in hungrily.
"You know oatmeal's very good to eat," she commented. "It lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease. It reduces the risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. It's all natural and has a lot of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and is a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates, and iron," she recited with passion.
"Wow, you sound like a commercial," he said smiling at her.
"It's one commercial I really believe. Can we get out of here in a few minutes?"
"What's the hurry. We've got all day," he said cautiously.
"I have a bad feeling about what happened out there last night, that's all," she said reflectively.
"Well, give me ten minutes to take care of business and I'll be ready to go," he said as he headed to the bathroom.
Susie cleaned up the bowls and cups and was also ready to go in ten minutes. As they headed out the door, they didn't notice the figure furtively watching them from the treeline. John and his dad and brother had spent considerable time preparing and maintaining the fire defensible space 100 feet around the house.