“I know what a topographic map is. What’s this overlay?” She pointed to a feature on the map unlike any she was used to seeing, with several teardrop-shaped demarcations.

Easton dropped one foot down to the floor, turning so River could access the materials in front of him more readily. “It’s an avalanche map of the region.” With his index finger, he traced two of the shapes. “These are from last year. The third is from this spring.”

It was one thing to know these mountains had the risk of avalanches. It was another to have that risk right there in front of her. Maybe he caught on to the sudden increase in her heart rate, because Easton patted his hand down on the map, covering the forms from view.

“There’s not a mountain out there with snowpack that doesn’t have the potential of avalanches. Some mountain towns have controlled avalanches to keep the danger of a natural slide down. The resort does it.”

“Isn’t that dangerous for the town if something goes wrong?”

Easton shrugged. “I suppose they think it’s better to risk the townsfolk than risk losing a batch of tourists. Don’t know why. The tourists keep coming back.”

Not teasing him was impossible. “Ooh, harsh. Tourist party of three over here.”

“Yeah, but you’re not as annoying as most,” Easton said before adding, “You’re worse, actually.”

“You love us. We’re like cheap take-out food. Once you get used to us, you’ll always want us around.”

He chuckled, a lower, deeper rumble than his normal voice. “I’ll take your word for it.”

They shared an almost comfortable moment of silence. Almost. Easton cleared his throat.

“I checked the weather report. Winds are gusting on the mountain until noon tomorrow. It isn’t safe for Ash to fly in there to drop off the supplies until later, and we’re too much weight to all go at the same time. We’ll get a start first thing the day after. You have some time tomorrow if you need to shoot anything else.”

“I think the guys are pretty set,” River admitted. “But I’ll ask them. We would have loved to get some more interviews about the area, but no one wants to talk to us.”

“It’s not personal. When you have so many people rotating in and out of your town, you start to avoid the faces you don’t recognize. We’re nice, but a lot of the resort’s clientele are…”

Easton hesitated.

“Rich, entitled, won’t lift a finger for themselves?” River shrugged. “Yeah, I know the type. I know lots of great people in LA, but once in a while, someone is a real stinker.”