“What’s the likelihood of that?”
“The Veil is a cauldron of pure evil,” Ben told them cheerfully. “It’s more likely than you think.”
Collectively, they cringed. Easton aimed an exasperated look at Ben. “Don’t tell them that.”
“You told me that.”
Easton gave River’s waist a gentle squeeze before dropping his arm and shouldering his pack. He started to hand her a radio, but before she could take it, Easton tilted it back.
“Under no circumstances, no matter what, are you to go into the Veil after us. I mean it, River. The ground is swiss cheese with crevasses, and visibility is next to zero. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll never come back out again. Promise me.”
She didn’t promise. Instead, River pushed up her goggles, holding his eyes. “I’m going to be pissed if you get hurt.”
The look he gave her didn’t make her knees weak…it set her on fire. “The feeling is mutual. I’m on channel four, same as last time. Try not to cause too much trouble while I’m gone.”
“Does that sound like me?”
“That sounds exactly like you.” Easton dropped a quick kiss to her forehead, in front of everyone. Bree was smirking at her as the pair headed out of the camp. River watched as they picked a trail, hiking steadily up the ridge until they disappeared out of sight.
River turned to her crew. “Does it bother anyone else that they left us here, possibly never to be seen again?”
“On a mountainside somewhere below a shrieking banshee of epic proportions? Nah, I’m good.” Jessie shrugged. “So, what are we doing first? Filming or setting camp?”
“Setting camp,” River replied immediately. “You never know when the weather’s going to turn. We need to have shelter.”
At this point, they could have set up camp with their eyes closed. Bree stuck close to her side, sharing in the tasks that one of them could have handled alone. Even though they had all been on top of one another since they’d stepped into Alaska, River appreciated her friend’s company.
Finally indulging the part of her unable to stop worrying, River turned to Bree. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“In the cauldron of pure evil?” Bree grinned. “Have you considered they could be headed down the mountain right now just to get rid of us?”
River had to laugh at the mental image. “Watch the whole Veil thing be an elaborate ruse to get a running head start.”
They finished setting camp, then went about heating up food at the edge of the dining tent. The marmot must have tried to follow the two guides, but whatever the Veil was had forced it to turn back. Returning to camp, it sat next to Easton’s tent, making high-pitched barking noises as it scolded them. Even though Easton had said not to, Bree snuck it a couple of bites of a granola bar.
“If it chokes on a peanut, you’re the one giving mouth-to-mouth,” River warned her. “It doesn’t like me.”
“You’re direct competition.” Tossing another chunk of granola between them, Bree added, “All’s fair in love and marmot war.”
“Well, we might as well film something,” River decided. “Unless you want to rest, Jessie.”
“I can’t sleep with them out there.” Covering his face with an arm, he yawned. “Yeah, let’s get this going.”
“Do you want a mirror?” Bree asked her.
“Is that a nice way of saying I need a mirror?” River joked.
“You said it, not me. And yes. You really do.”
The glass on the miniature compact kept fogging over every time she wiped it clear, so River settled on letting Bree and Jessie poke and prod her into respectability.
“No one expects me to be at my best, right?” Turning to the cameras as they started filming, River put her actress face in place.
“Speak for yourself,” Jessie said. “I look great for not being able to feel my feet.”
“You can’t feel your feet?” Bree’s head snapped up, filming forgotten. “Take your boots off. We need to check you for frostbite.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have frostbite.”
“Jessie, we’re not kidding around.” River aimed her best in-charge look. “Take off your boots.”
“No way.”
What resulted afterward wasn’t River’s finest hour, but between her and Bree, they managed to convince Jessie that taking off his boots was more important to his health and happiness than continuing filming. Some tackling and threatening might have been involved.
“See?” he grumped as he pulled his socks back on. “I’m fine.”
“I’m worried about how cold your skin felt. I’ll ask Easton to check you when he comes back.”
Jessie grumbled about that, but when River settled herself back in front of the camera, she grinned at him. “We never turned off the camera. Do you think all the future viewers could hear your squeaks of resistance?”
“I didn’t squeak. And I didn’t want to shove over a week’s worth of stinky feet in your faces.”
“It was rancid,” Bree agreed. “We still love you, but we’ll never look at you the same.”
Nodding emphatically, River added, “I’ve got to go with Bree on this one.”
“Enough about me. Focus, ladies. River. You’re not a professional climber, but you do have climbing experience. If you were talking to an amateur who wanted to come up here solo, what would you say?”
“I would say they’re crazy,” River joked. Then she sighed with contentment. “I’d say, I get it. The longer I’m up here, the more I understand. It’s like…” Hesitating, River closed her eyes. “At first, you want to see if you can. But the longer you’re up here, it’s not about if you can. It becomes this primal need to reach the top. I’m supposed to be focusing on the documentary. But when I close my eyes, all I see is the summit.”
Turning back to the camera, she exhaled softly. “To be honest, I’ve never wanted anything this much in my entire life.”
“Even Easton?” Bree teased.
Feeling a flush of heat in her cheeks, River still grinned. “Okay, that’s getting cut. What about the rest of it? How did I do? We can start over if you want.”
“We’re good. I’ve got what I need.” Jessie shared a look with Bree, who failed to hide the triumph on her face.