She’d come all this way—hiked for hours, crossed a wash on Noah’s back, pushed through every fear—just to stay outside and hold a rock down.This was exactly why going to Pennsylvania was the right move.This was proof she didn’t belong here.
Now she had to admit to Noah that she was too weak to go in.Too broken to be fixed.
The failure was complete.
Eight
In and out, no injuries.
They’d done it before.They could do it again.
Noah slipped on his headlamp and pulled on his gloves.He stood at the mouth of the cave, its narrow crevice cutting into the canyon’s red rock wall.
The storm had stopped, the rain finally letting up.For now.
But the mud-slicked trails would make climbing back out of the canyon difficult.If they took the path Liam had mentioned that led west to avoid crossing the wash a second time, it should go more smoothly.
He glanced at Meg, his gaze drawn to her automatically.
She sat on a rock, body hunched, her medic bag still strapped to her back.Her face had gone pale, her blue eyes too wide as she stared at the cave’s dark entrance.
Her breathing had quickened and become shallow.He could see it in the rise and fall of her shoulders.In the way her fingers gripped the straps of her bag like they were the only things keeping her grounded.
Everything in him wanted to step closer.To ease the worry that pinched her brow.
But he held his ground.
He waited.
Liam’s words echoed in his mind.Trust Meg…She knows her own mind.And she’s a good medic—a great medic.
Meg slid off her pack with shaking hands.She stared at the cave entrance for a long moment, her chest rising and falling with deliberate breaths—the kind you took when you were trying to stave off panic.
“I just can’t.”Her voice came out tight.Barely above a whisper.She met Noah’s gaze.
He saw it all there.The shame burning in her cheeks.The fear darkening her eyes.The crushing weight of failure she was placing on herself.
“I’m sorry.I thought I could, but I can’t go back in there.”
Relief flooded through Noah so quickly it nearly knocked the breath from his lungs.He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them.“Don’t apologize.You’re making the right call.”
“But if someone’s hurt?—”
“There are no reported injuries.Probably just more kids looking around for the gold.”He kept his voice firm.“If someone is injured, we can call you in.But, Meg—” He waited until she looked up at him.“You staying out here is the smart decision.Not the coward’s way out.The smart decision.”
Some of the tension eased from her posture.She nodded, swallowed hard.
Liam stepped up beside them.His expression was understanding.“I’ll stay out here with Meg, keep the radio clear in case you need to relay anything to Eden.”
Teague pulled the transverter from his pack and handed it to Liam.“In case you can’t reach us on VHF frequency.”
Noah nodded.“Good thinking.”Where was his head?With Meg, that’s where.
Noah met Liam’s eyes and held the gaze, grateful that he’d be with her.Then he turned back to Meg and lowered his voice.“You’ve got this.”
She managed a small nod.Her grip on her bag loosened slightly.
Noah adjusted his headlamp and clicked through the brightness settings.Its beam cut through the dampness that seeped from the cave entrance.He turned to Teague, who stood waiting near the mouth of the cave.
