“You fell then decided to take a nap. It’s getting ridiculously cold, and I had to get you down before you turned into a Popsicle.”

Blinking in surprise, Easton looked at her. “You carried me?”

“It was more like a dog mushing situation.”

Easton sat up, wincing as he touched his forehead. “Must’ve knocked my head on something.”

Tougher than most, Easton staggered to his feet. He turned, waiting for her.

“Go. I’m right behind you.”

“I’m pretty sure I used that line on you.” Despite his wobbly legs, Easton bent down and took her arm, helping her up.

Together they crossed the remaining distance to the tent, climbing inside. Easton sat down, pressing a hand to his head. “How long was I in and out?”

“Hours.” She crawled to him, then lay down.

“River.”

“I know.” Even as she said it, River didn’t know what she was insisting she knew.

“River, don’t fall asleep.”

Why would he ask her to do something so cruel? Hadn’t she saved his bacon? “You must have a brain bleed. A guy without a brain bleed would be giving me thank-you kisses instead of bugging me to stay awake.”

“Take slow, steady breaths for me, River.”

Even though he was injured, River couldn’t fight Easton as he put a mask over her face, opening the second small portable oxygen tank they had. Within moments, her head cleared, when she hadn’t even realized how fuzzy everything had gotten. As focused as she was on getting him to camp and getting into the tent, River hadn’t noticed she hadn’t taken her boots off. She wasn’t on the sleeping pad either. Instead of the extra layer of protection from the frozen ground, she was lying next to the side of the tent.

Hooking an arm beneath her, Easton muscled her over to the sleeping pad. One more breath of the oxygen and River pushed at the mask.

“Your turn.”

He didn’t fight her, instead taking several long, slow breaths of his own. Then Easton closed the tank, setting it aside.

“How cold is it?” Easton asked.

“The last I knew, it was negative thirty-four.” It hadn’t occurred to her to check the sensor since talking to Ben.

“It’s too cold to be out there. We have to stay here.”

“After lugging your solid self from halfway down the summit, I’m not going anywhere.”

“It shouldn’t have dropped this low,” Easton told her as they lay together, body heat no longer heating the air between them. “Not for another couple of weeks.”

“It’s not your fault,” River promised him, pressing her face to his armpit in an attempt to find somewhere warmer. “Stupid climate change. Tell me why I dragged us up here again.”