“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.

“How’s Bree?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” River shook her head. “I’m still waiting for them to come out and tell me.”

When they’d started all this, River had never truly considered what would happen if things went wrong. Now, with the Old Man’s summit looming over her, reminding her of her smallness, her insignificance in comparison, River felt her heart shrinking in her chest.

Jessie and Bree were her responsibility.

Closing her eyes, River tried to take a deep, steadying breath. She couldn’t stay there any longer, so River walked to the edge of camp, staring out into the panoramic scenery and for once not appreciating the view.

A heavy arm wrapped across River’s collarbone, drawing her back into a strong form.

“I dated this guy before coming here,” River murmured. “He told me that I was driven to the point of recklessness. Both professionally and in my own personal life.”

“What did you tell him?”

“To kiss my ass. I am who I am, and I wasn’t going to apologize or change for anyone.”

Warm breath against her temple was the only thing warm about her anymore. “Sounds like he didn’t get you at all.”

River rested her chin on his arm. “For a long time, I didn’t think anyone got me. But Bree and Jessie have been the closest. I never thought twice before pitching this project to them. And they never thought twice before saying yes. I barely got the words out before they agreed to be a part of it. And now…”