Easton’s eyes crinkled with humor. “I’m glad you didn’t murder me when I picked up a hitchhiker.”
“I wasn’t hitchhiking—” River started to protest, indignation making her wrinkle her nose at him. Easton took her face in his hands and kissed her. A long, slow kiss that made the wind and the cold and the effort of this climb disappear into white fluffy clouds shaped like unicorns.
With a contented sigh, she snuggled in. “If this were a commercial, I’d have bubble heart emojis floating over my head.”
Easton’s beard twitched on one side. “My thought process. Point A.” He touched his thumb to her breastbone. “Point B.” Then to her lower lip. “Point C.” This time it was a chaste, soft kiss.
“Your thought process.” Easton placed his thumb back to her breastbone. “Point A. Point—let’s go over here. And over here. And what’s over there?”
As he teased her, Easton drew random patterns back and forth over her torso, fingers tickling into sensitive parts. Dissolving into giggles, River wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back in. Easton was more than willing to indulge her.
At some point, she needed to try to sleep, but River was lost, tangled up in his arms, coming completely undone.
“River! Easton!”
Even in their tent, River could hear Jessie yelling. She’d never seen Easton move so fast as he hoisted himself to his feet and jerked his boots and jacket on. River was still scrambling to catch up when Easton unzipped the tent. Face as white as the snow around them, Jessie rushed over, breathless from his sprint through the thick powder.
“Breathe slower,” Easton instructed, putting a hand to Jessie’s shoulder to steady him. Ben hustled over as River finished getting on her gloves. “What happened?”
“Bree…we were filming out on that outcrop…she slipped…”
“How far did she fall?” Ben demanded as alarm filled River.
“I’m not sure, but I think she’s hurt. I told her not to move, that I’d get help.”
When Easton told River to stay at camp, he should have known she’d ignore him. One of her people was hurt; she wasn’t going to stand around and wait. Instead, she stayed hot on his heels as Easton followed Jessie away from camp. To River’s horror, he led them straight to an outcropping beyond the area Easton had said was safe to film.
“What the hell were you two doing over here?” With a snarl, Easton scaled down the rock. “There’s a reason I didn’t want us on this path. It’s too steep. You have to stay tethered to each other.”
Jessie didn’t answer, face strained as he descended behind Ben and River. She caught a flash of a brightly colored snow jacket on the ground, then the rest of Bree curled up in a ball. River’s heart leapt into her throat at the sight of her friend not moving. Despite how fast Easton and River were climbing, Ben reached her first.
“Hey there,” Ben said as he swept the snow off her nose and mouth, her eyes blinking away the powder in them.
“Well, that was interesting,” Bree managed to pant. “I think I learned to fly.”
“I think you learned the opposite.” River took Ben’s position by Bree’s head, supporting her neck as they worked to clear her. “What were you thinking coming all this way out here?”
“We got up and wanted to get some shots,” she wheezed. “Knew Easton had us on a tight schedule, so we went out here alone. We should have said something.”
Yes, they absolutely should have said something to someone. But River wasn’t going to kick her while she was down and clearly in pain.
“Hey, Bree,” Ben said as he checked her neck for injury. “In case you were wondering, I’m still waiting for you to ask me out on a date.” He flashed Bree a flirtatious look to distract her.
“Hey, Ben, you’re probably going to be waiting for a while,” Bree quipped back, but her face was ashen. When they were sure it was safe for her to move, Bree sat up slowly, hunched sideways and arm tight against her side.
“I think I banged my ribs up.” Bree leaned into River’s shoulder.
“Don’t be too tough,” River told her, wrapping her arm around Bree’s waist to support her upright. “If it hurts, tell us.”
“It hurts.” Closing her eyes, Bree drew in a hard breath.
“I’ve got her, River.”
Ben might not have been Bree’s type, but she sure had a hold on him. Even at the elevation and the exertion of fighting through the powdery snow, Ben still bent over and took over for River. Careful not to put pressure on Bree’s rib cage, he lifted her into his arms, carrying her back to their camp. It was a long trek, but Ben was strong. Still, despite how gentle he was being, Bree yelped as he laid her down on a blanket in the dining tent.
“East, my pack.” But Easton already had it, having anticipated what Ben would be asking for. Easton pulled a small metal tank out of his pack and a hose attachment. He placed the face mask of the hose over Bree’s mouth and nose.
“She needs oxygen,” Easton explained to River. “It’ll help her warm up.”
As Easton and River wrapped every spare sleeping bag around Bree, Jessie hovered, an expression of worry on his face. “Is she going to be okay?”
“We won’t know for a while.” Ben frowned, eyeing Jessie. “Why don’t you sit down, man? You’re looking wobbly.”
Jessie ignored him, visibly shaking as he pulled Bree into a hug.
“Be careful of her ribs,” Ben admonished gently, sharing a look with Easton.
Bree pulled the oxygen away from her mouth, turning to River. “What happened to my camera?”
“It’s gone,” Jessie told her. “When you fell, it did too. Unlike you, it didn’t stop.”
River’s heart instantly sank. But as upset as she was at losing the camera, it was better to lose a camera than her friend. Bree must not have felt the same. She let out a string of curses, only pausing when she needed to take a breath of oxygen.
“The tripod too?” Bree asked.
At his reluctant nod, Bree unleashed a second round of curses more creative than the first.
“Well, you’re not dying,” Ben murmured in appreciation before catching her eye. “Bree, Easton and I need to check you for injuries. Do you want River to stay with you? If not, we’re too crowded in here.”
She tried to be patient and not interrupt Ben and Easton, but the best River could do was pace outside the dining tent, listening for any scrap of info drifting her way. Shaken from the accident, Jessie joined her.