He’d meant the world to her once upon a time, but now she realized that no, she’d never loved him more than her park, and she could see how that must have hurt him to come in second place to a…place.

Much like it had gutted her that Xavier prioritized his job over hers, and they weren’t even in love like she and Kevin had been.

But now she knew why Xavier had prioritized his job, and he’d been right. She did understand. It had never been about his job or her job at all.

It had been about preventing a massacre of epic proportions.

He hadn’t been able to tell her the truth, the reason it mattered so much. She didn’t feel the need to judge him for his decisions now that they at least made sense. He’d done, if not the right thing, then the only possible thing.

She stared at the map, mentally planning each step she would take, climbing over logs and burrowing through branches draped with moss, wading through tall ferns.

In the flatter areas, the ferns had been tamped down by snowfall, but the steeper hillsides hadn’t collected snow, and the green fronds remained perky. In the summer, they grew so high, one could take cover from the rain under the thick overlapping plants.

The edges of her vision darkened as she focused on the black line George had drawn on the map, and the men’s conversation around her faded into meaningless chatter. Like birds.

A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. So odd. She’d been warm since she entered the lodge and had even removed her damp coat before she accosted George with a hug.

But now chills settled in and her vision continued to narrow. She wobbled on her feet and made an incoherent noise as she realized she was about to faint.

Strong arms gripped her, and the buzzing voices took shape again. Xavier. Asking if she was okay.

Supporting her.

She shook her head, causing her vision to swim. Like mixing paint, the dim light of the room transformed everything to swirling shades of gray.

She could not lose consciousness. She forced herself to take a deep breath. She had to shake off the dizzy spell that had wrapped around her without warning.

“I’m…I’m fine. Just. I just. I…need to eat. I think.”

“You aren’t up to this hike,” Xavier said. “We’ll send someone else.”

“No. I can do it. I haven’t eaten in hours. Add to that an adrenaline crash. I was assaulted not too long ago. All the stress… I think my body’s saying it’s safe to take a break, so I should get to it.”