章 78: CHAPTER 78 Take It Like a Man

　　~ JESSE ~

　　The next morning I lay in the meadow just beyond the cave entrance, in the grass, watching the clouds drift lazily overhead. It was bright, but the sun wasn't quite hot enough to remove the chill from the breeze.

　　Kind of like Cazz's desire, I thought dryly. Plenty of blaze, but it doesn't quite beat back the shadows.

　　When I had woken this morning-alone-it was to a messenger sent by Maya saying that she had to undertake healer duties and we would have to wait until the following day to meet, so I'd suddenly found myself with freetime.

　　After the day-and night-before, I decided that was a sign. I was still fortifying the chinks in my armor after the roller coaster with Cazz.

　　As they had every few minutes since I woke up, my thoughts turned to memories of the night before and that familiar tug of war began in my chest-so I pushed those thoughts away.

　　I wasn't here to wallow. Wallowing was weak. I was here to plan.