I grab Nick’s hands and try to pull him up, but he collapses again and grimaces. Huh. I would think he would be a bit more of a baby.

“It’s broken.” I state.

“Yeah, I gathered that.” He manages to smile. That surprises me as well. He’s not even sarcastic.

“Let me help you up.”

Through a slow process of grimaces and quick breaths, I manage to get him to his good foot.

“I’ll lead you back to my car.”

And then the biggest surprise of all escapes my own lips. “My cabin’s close by. I’ll lead you there.”

My cabin. My hideaway, which no other human has seen since I moved in. Had I eaten something that was messing with my head?

An hour later, he’s sitting on my rocking chair with his foot elevated, a cold cloth upon it.

“Wow,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to be so hospitable. You seem like a hermit to me.”

“The idiot can reason!”

“You are a hermit?”

“Yessir.”

He laughs. “So am I the first person you’ve taken here?”

I glare at him. He’s not a threat. He’s lame.

“Yes.”