I think he would have laughed if it didn’t hurt him to do so. He popped the pills into his mouth and drank his water greedily. I tried not to stare —and failed— at the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he did.

“What are you doing up so early?” I whispered, not wanting to disturb the stillness of the morning air.

Jesse glanced at his wristwatch. “Oh. I haven’t gone to bed yet.”

I gawked. “All this talk about eating tofu and being healthy, but you haven’t slept yet?”

“Lost track of time.”

“What are you working on?”

“Organizing a cleanup crew. I’m sending a couple of my guys...