Crow let out his breath in relief when Penelope said she wasn’t mad at him. He wished he hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable around him, but at least she seemed to understand that he hadn’t been in his right mind when he was flirting with her. He wondered halfheartedly if she would ever take him seriously if he made an earnest attempt to flirt with her. After what happened the night before, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she thought it was a joke. [i]Not that it matters,[/i] he reminded himself. [i]I’m never going to be with her, so there’s no point in trying.[/i]

He offered her a sheepish smile, “I wish I didn’t remember either, but unfortunately, I wasn’t drunk enough to forget.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m just glad there are no hard feelings.”

“I got the water!” Hartley’s voice rang out, causing Crow to flinch. The boy stepped into the room, hanging in the doorway as he looked from Crow to Penelope. His eyes narrowed as he seemed to put something together in his mind. “Here,” he handed the canteen off to Penelope. “Are we all ready to go?”

Crow cast one last fleeting glance at Penelope before he began to gather his bag and bedroll from the floor, “Seems like it.” He shouldered the supplies and looked back at the others. “Let’s get our food and keep going.”