Brushing her bangs away from her eyes, Zoey adjusted her glasses up on her nose. “Do you want me to go get Easton?”
Yes. Absolutely. But as she watched the remainder of the paparazzi lingering in the hallway, ignoring the staff’s requests to leave, she knew that he’d hated one camera in his face. This…it was too much to ask of him.
“I’m okay. He’s probably going to want to steer clear from these guys for a while.”
There was no point in dragging him deeper into her world. They both knew she’d be leaving his soon anyway.
• • •
When River decided to talk to the press without him there at her side, Easton respected her decision. He didn’t like it, but he respected it.
He also couldn’t stand waiting in a private room down the hall, door closed, knowing she was being surrounded fifty feet away from him. Pacing the room didn’t help, and neither did sitting still. The result was standing up and sitting down at irregular intervals, trying and failing to be patient as River went through her interrogation session down the hall.
Graham had made himself comfortable, stretched out on a clean hospital bed with one foot kicked up on the rail. Right arm folded behind his head and left making liberal use of the remote control, Graham was not the supportive, calming presence he claimed to be.
If Easton had to hear his best friend crunch through one more mouthful of ice chips, he wasn’t going to be responsible for his actions.
“She’s fine, man. River’s a tough cookie. Besides, if she needs anything, Zoey will let us know.”
They’d planted Graham’s fiancée in the room, not that it helped Easton feel more comfortable at all. “What’s she going to be able to do if they crowd her too much?”
Graham seemed utterly unconcerned. “Zo will handle it.”
Easton dropped back down into his seat. “Aren’t you worried about her too?”
“Nope.” Graham scooped up another handful of ice chips, crunching them so loudly, Easton couldn’t believe his teeth didn’t hurt. “Zoey has something neither of us are equipped with: perspective. She’ll know if we’re needed.”
“Where did you get those anyway?” Easton grumped.
“Some nice nurse got them for me. Duncan, I think his name was?”
The door opened, a nose and a pair of glasses popping inside the crack. “She got through the interview fine,” Zoey promised, slipping in the door and closing it behind her. “But there’s still paparazzi out there, so she said to tell you to hide out for a while longer. They’ll clear out soon enough.”
Graham hooked an arm around Zoey’s waist, pulling her giggling into the bed with him. The pair were officially the last thing Easton could handle. He pushed to his feet.
“I’m not staying in here anymore.”
“Okeydokey. Have fun, buddy.”
Easton could still hear Graham chuckling as he left the room, whispering to Zoey. “Five bucks he hits someone.”
“Graham, that’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny…”
“Tell Duncan not to give Graham anything else,” Easton said as he went past the nurses’ station. “He’s a pain in the ass.”
Muscles strung tight with strangers-induced tension, Easton strode down the hallway. Sure enough, there were stragglers in the hallway outside her room, trying and failing to look innocent as they lingered. When the closest cameraman noticed him, his face brightened with renewed zeal.
“Easton,” he said, sticking a camera in his face. “What can you tell us about—”
Easton didn’t give the guy a chance to finish the question. One hand on the camera, he pushed it down, staring at the cameraman.
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t do anything. He just stared.
With a cleared throat, the cameraman stepped aside, giving Easton access to River’s room. “Sorry, man.”
Easton closed her door behind him, then pulled the privacy blinds. He grabbed the room’s recliner and dragged it in front of the door, wedging it beneath the handle.
“Wow. I thought you were going to eat that guy.”
Easton didn’t reply to her teasing tone.
“Come here.” When he didn’t move, she flapped her hands at him. “Come on. Sit over here with me.”
“You look pretty,” he muttered, dropping down to sit on the edge of her bed.
“That almost sounded like a compliment. It’s hard to tell, though, because your beard is glaring at me.”
“Don’t let it get to your head. I’m still mad you let all of them in here and kicked me out.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to make it up to you.”
Hmm. That was a lot better idea than anything Easton had been considering. A hand pressed against his chest, stopping him from leaning down and kissing her.
“Easton, we need to talk.” Her voice was quiet and too serious. “They’re releasing me tomorrow. The doctor came in before the press briefing. I guess I’m keeping my toe after all.”
The toe was great news, but Easton’s heart squeezed down so tight, he wondered if it was possible to feel it ripping in half. He knew what she was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear any of this.
“Our original plane flight was scheduled for tonight. Bree and Jessie are going to leave on it, but I rescheduled mine for tomorrow.”
And just like that, what was left of his hope crumbled like dust. Sitting back in his seat, Easton tried not to look as devastated as he felt. “You’re leaving tomorrow.”
River had never sounded so sad. “Would you rather me stay and drag this out?” she whispered. “String you along until we both hate each other? Ruin the last couple of weeks?”
Yes. But…no. Hell, he didn’t know. Everything was moving so fast. Ripping a bandage off a wound might hurt less, but his heart was telling him to slap that sucker back on. In the end, Easton didn’t reply. There was nothing he could say.
“The way I see it, we can leave things where they’re at. What happened on the mountain can stay on the mountain.” River offered him a sad look. “Easton, I love it here, because you’re here. But my life—my career—it’s not in Moose Springs.”
“Do I get another option?” he asked quietly.
“The other option is what happened on the mountain doesn’t stay on the mountain. But that’s going to be short, messy, and complicated. I won’t ruin us, Easton. Tomorrow, I’m getting on that plane, no matter how much I wish I weren’t.”
“River, every single minute I’ve spent with you has been messy and complicated. I wouldn’t trade any of it. Not for anything. Whatever this is, let’s see it to the end. Even if that’s only twenty-four hours from now.”
“Summit or bust?” she asked, slender fingers tugging at his hair, drawing him back to her.
“Summit or bust,” he breathed against her lips.
Chapter 20
Since they were releasing her tomorrow, River had one more night in the hospital room. It seriously sucked.
At least she was wearing her normal clothes again.
River’s back was to the door, and the constant footsteps in the hall caused her to stop paying attention to unexpected noises. Which might have been why River was completely unprepared to turn her head and find a border collie in a three-piece suit in her room, a thornless long stem rose held carefully in between his teeth.
At first, River stared. This was no normal canine outfit. Someone had gone to a lot of effort to tailor the suit for the adorable, floppy-eared dog. Not only was it tailored, it was also pinstriped, with matching bow tie and pocket square.
A fedora had been secured between those ears, tilted jauntily.
“Hey there,” she cooed, earning herself a vigorously wagging tail. Only when River scooted off the bed to kneel next to him did she realize the dog had a thick film over his eyes, in
dicating his blindness. “Puppy, who lost you?”
“I didn’t lose him.” Graham Barnett’s voice spoke up right next to her, making River jump. “Like I would ever lose my best friend. Jake, can you believe that?”
Jake—the well-dressed border collie—barked in mutual offended agreement, accidentally dropping the rose. He sniffed the ground, then picked it back up again, the flowered end closer to his teeth and the long stem drooping out the other side of his mouth. It was officially the cutest thing River had ever seen, and she’d seen Easton cuddle a marmot.
“Graham, where are—?” River started to say, then she noticed the baby monitor tucked into the breast pocket of Jake’s suit. “Oh. Very sneaky, Overwatch.”
“Jake has been asked to escort you to an evening of wonder and romance, courtesy of someone who has never successfully pulled off either,” Graham informed her cheerfully. “Jake, give the nice lady her flower.”
A wet nose snuffed her hands, then Jake set the slightly slobbered-on rose in her fingers. Unable to contain her sheer delight, River spent a solid minute ignoring the man on the monitor in favor of telling Jake how perfect he was, petting those floppy ears, and taking multiple selfies.
“Wow, and I thought Zoey had it bad. Jake, you’re such a ladies’ man. Now, if you don’t mind changing, we’re on a deadline here. Jake, give the lady some privacy.”
“I’m wearing clothes,” River said as the border collie politely turned around and sat with his back to her. “For a disembodied event organizer, you’re dropping the ball here.”
“Hey, I’m doing this blind. Can’t a guy catch a break?”
“Give me that.” Ash’s voice came over the line, sounding annoyed. “He always has to make everything about himself. River, come outside, okay? Head to the back parking lot, and you’ll see where to go.”
River put on her shoes, careful not to tie them too tight over her still bandaged toes, and dutifully took Jake’s leash. She kept the rose in her free hand, trying to sneak both past the curious eyes of the nursing station. The entire trip through the hospital, River had the feeling Zoey was lurking in the background, but she could never quite catch her, not even when she ducked an extra corner or two.
Easton’s truck was parked in the back of the hospital, on the very far side of the parking lot, where the woods butted up to the asphalt. Someone had set an empty pizza box in the back of the truck, with a much neater handwriting than River’s own.
“Don’t stop,” she read, chuckling at the arrow pointing to the trail hidden behind the truck’s bulk. “No film crews allowed. Private event.”
Graham’s voice came back over Jake’s monitor. “This is where you’re on your own. Please leave the handsome devil on your left in the bed of the truck and continue on the trail.”
“Okay, now whose getting led into the woods by a crazy person?” she joked, scratching Jake beneath the chin. “Thanks for the escort, Jake.”
“He says you’re welcome. Oh, and, River?”
“Yes, Graham?”
“Thanks for taking care of my buddy out there.” In a kind voice, Graham added, “I hope you have a nice evening.”
Okay, so maybe Zoey was right, and Graham wasn’t all bad. Leaving Jake was tough, because who really wanted to leave a dog in a fedora? But River did as directed, tying Jake safe and sound in the bed of the truck with the duo of puppet masters still hiding in the cab, sneakily watching her through the side mirrors.
Following the indicated trail, River had to squeeze through closely grown branches. The trail stayed tight for the first several yards, then it opened up as the trees grew higher and farther apart. Even though they were so close to the hospital, River felt like she was back in the bush again.
It was harder to know where the natural trail was anymore, but someone had already taken care of that. Every few yards, a glow stick was suspended from a branch at face height, showing her the way. She followed the glow sticks around a corner and then stopped in her tracks.
River’s breath caught in her throat.
Of all the impromptu picnics or surprise dates in her lifetime, this was by far her favorite. The campsite Easton had picked was perfect. A tiny fire had been built and carefully circled with rocks in the center of a small clearing, the crackling of the burning wood almost lost beneath the softly babbling brook skirting the edge of the camp. River didn’t recognize the tent in front of her, but the man waiting for her was burned into her soul.
The first time River had seen him, Easton had been wearing a dark T-shirt and worn blue jeans. Maybe he knew how good that particular combination looked on him, because he’d never looked as gorgeous as he did right then, biceps flexing with dangerous appeal just from his hands being stuffed into his pockets. Even from this far away, River could tell he was going both shoulders on her. And it worked too, because she wanted to be pressed against that tall, strong body, those arms around her.
“What’s all this for?” she asked, inhaling the deep, luxurious scent of evergreens and cedar wood.
Easton cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m not all that great with this stuff. Thought about taking you out for a nice meal, but you’ve been kicked out of pretty much everywhere in town.”
“Har har,” River said, rolling her eyes at him. “I’m only technically not allowed back at the resort.”
“I didn’t want to share you.” This time, Easton’s voice was stronger, surer. “I know they all want to see you, but I want you the most.”
River closed the distance between them, and only then did she realize his beard had been trimmed down neatly, leaving his smile visible to see. Reaching up to brush her fingertips along his jaw, she knew she didn’t want to share him either. And in a couple of hours, she was going to have to give him up completely.
“You’re very handsome, Easton Lockett. I know why the reporter gave you such a hard time. You probably broke her heart.”
Those kind brown eyes gazed down at her, the usual warmth replaced with a heat that River could feel down to her toes.
“Was the walk too rough?” he asked in a low voice, hands finding her hips.
She shook her head, because she would have hopped on one foot to get to him, to have this night with him. “No, it was perfect,” she promised, unable to keep her palms from sliding up his chest.
“Are you hungry?”
“Definitely.” At first, she misunderstood, reaching for him and drawing him down to her. Easton bent his head willingly, his arm wrapping around her waist and lifting her up on her good toes. When they pulled away to catch their breath, he smiled against her lips.
“I meant actual food,” he told her. “Come on.”
River let him draw her to the campfire, where their dinner waited. Upon seeing what he’d prepared, River slipped her hand into his, delighted.
“You ordered pizza. Pepperoni and pineapple. I can’t believe you remembered that.”
Easton’s fingers threaded with hers. “Not much I’m going to forget about you, sweetheart.”
They ate their pizza cuddled together by the fire. Because he was Easton, he made sure to put the pizza box in a bear-proof trash can back at the hospital, leaving her a couple of minutes of solitude to soak up the crackling fire as she relaxed in front of the tent. It wasn’t the same one they’d left on the mountain—that would have to stay there until it was safe to go back next season and retrieve it. But the tent was nice and smelled fresh and clean when she slipped inside.
The handheld had gone with Bree and Jessie, but River didn’t need a video camera to remember tonight. The little pillow he’d brought for them because she’d never loved sleeping without one on the mountain. The simple tin cup to share the bottle of Fireball whisky he’d set next to the sleeping bag. A collapsible sink in the corner of the tent to make her laugh. She’d remember it all.
When Easton ducked back in
the tent, River was seated on the sleeping bag with the bottle open.
“What’s the risk of furry animals interrupting us, deep crevasses swallowing us, or freezing cold weather taking us by surprise?” She poured him a shot into the tin cup.
“The cold front passed, or I wouldn’t have you out here,” he murmured, running a thumb over the top of her injured foot as he sat next to her on the bedding.
“Don’t want to lose any more digits?” She waggled her fingers at him playfully. His hand slid up her leg, briefly squeezing her knee before he accepted the drink.
“Trust me, the only interruptions we’re getting are the ones we decide for ourselves.” Easton swallowed the liquor, then slipped his arm around her, drawing her down to lie with him. “River, this doesn’t have to be anything. No pressure. But we started out beneath the stars and I thought…”
He drifted off.
“I know,” River whispered. “It’s a good thought. You should keep thinking it because I’m thinking it too.”
“I don’t want to say goodbye,” he told her. “But since we have to…”
“Might as well make it good?” River gazed at him, chest rising and falling as she breathed deeply, drinking in the air and Alaska and him. He murmured his agreement, eyes drifting.
“I’m up here,” she teased him, even though she didn’t mind one bit. She wanted to see that smile again.
“You’re everywhere,” Easton rumbled softly, dipping his mouth to her ear. “You’ve completely taken me over.”
River knew exactly what he meant, but she didn’t have the right to say it, not when she was the one leaving. Instead, she whispered she loved him, pulling him to her. The alcohol lingered on her tongue, sweetness and fire as his hands traced a different fire over her skin.
“Are you sure?” River asked Easton, because she had absolutely no doubts. And when he repeated what he’d said on the summit of Mount Veil again, voice rough with unapologetic emotion, that was all the answer River needed.
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