Page 172 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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72

Aspen

My hands won’t stop shaking.

I hate that.

I don’t shake.

I don’t lose control.

I don’t—

He almost didn’t make it back.

The thought slams into me again.

Harder this time.

“You’re not okay,” I say, even as I work.

“I’ve been better.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

I press harder on the bandage.

He sucks in a breath.

“Good,” I mutter.

“Stay with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he says.

Something in me snaps.

“Don’t say that like you get to decide!” I fire back.

He goes still.

“I watched them bring you in covered in blood,” I continue, my voice breaking now. “I listened to you over the radio thinking—thinking—”

I stop.

Because I can’t finish it.

Because if I do—

I’ll fall apart. Silence stretches between us.

Heavy.

Raw.

“You don’t get to act like this doesn’t matter,” I say finally, quieter now. “Like you don’t matter.”

His eyes lock onto mine.

And something shifts.

Deep.

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