If River’s headache hadn’t responded to the painkillers, Easton would have stayed in place one more day. Acute mountain sickness could strike even lower than where they were at, and even though Easton always made sure to ascend slowly enough for his clients to acclimate to the lower oxygen levels, it was nothing to take lightly. He’d seen his fair share of great climbers taken down unexpectedly. But she wasn’t, so he didn’t.

In fact, once River had gotten a thermos of coffee in her, she’d been full of energy and raring to go. Still, Easton kept one eye on her as they packed up their gear and started off. The Veil was within a day’s hike, but instead of taking them higher in elevation, he decided he wanted to take her somewhere off the direct path. Somewhere worth filming and only slightly higher elevation than their current camp.

He kept telling himself he would have done the same with any other client, but even Easton knew he was lying to himself. River was…different. And until he was certain she was in the clear, Easton wasn’t taking her one step higher on this mountain than he had to.

Ben never called him out on his indirect path, seeming content to follow Jessie and Bree and pause when they wanted something from the extra filming supplies Ben had on his pack. Every time the film crew grew distracted, Easton obliged his clients by stopping so they could shoot, which was constantly. Even though he knew it was killing their progress, every pause gave him the opportunity to evaluate River, to make sure she wasn’t getting another headache or starting to lag behind in pace. But to her credit, the woman was solid as the rock they were standing on.

She never faltered a step.

The marmot had decided to continue accompanying the expedition, and unlike the rest of them, the fresh snow didn’t hinder it. Able to stay on the crust of the snowpack, the marmot scurried along at Easton’s side, pausing every so often to gaze at him with shiny, fervent eyes. Its particular suffocating brand of love should have been annoying, but for some reason, the furball was growing on him.

Cuddling up during a storm tended to do that for a guy and his marmot.

Eventually, they reached the location Easton had intended on taking his clients to, but not without Easton finally having to nudge the film crew along. This was one of his favorite locations on the mountain. The glacier beneath them was starting to crack, like candy coating on an ice cream cone. The result was a far more interesting series of vertical ascents on the ice. Beautiful and more challenging.

He’d really wanted River to see it, hopeful she’d enjoy the challenge too.