It took Joel a few minutes of hugging her and checking her over, just to be sure she was all in one piece before he finally stepped back from her. He stayed in arm's reach of her to be sure, but he was for the moment satisfied that she was safe.
"What do you mean a few months? You were just standing next to me..." He brought a hand up and rubbed at the back of his neck. It sounded impossible, but she was clearly dressed differently, and the weather was very different. "July huh?" He sighed and shook his head. "That's gonna take some time to get used to." Which he was sure was the understatement of the year.
He gave a non-committal grunt at the mention of Matt. "Yeah, we'll have to see about that then." He was sure the man was trustworthy if Ellie said he was, but that didn't mean a thing. She was HIS responsibility, and no one was going to keep him from making sure she was okay.
He rested a hand on his hip and looked back the way she'd come. "Where were you coming from then?"