Page 149 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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Careful.

Gentle.

I tense anyway.

“Relax,” she says softly.

“Not my thing.”

“I noticed.”

There’s a hint of a smile in her voice.

And that?

That’s dangerous.

I look down at her.

She’s focused on the wound.

Not on me.

Not on the space between us.

But I am.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

“Yes.”

She pauses.

Glances up at me.

“Do you want something for it?”

“No.”

She sighs.

“Of course you don’t.”

I almost smirk.

Because she’s already figured me out.

And that’s… not great.

She finishes rewrapping the bandage.

Her hand lingers for half a second longer than it should.

Then she pulls back.

Distance.

Needed.

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