Page 319 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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I step closer.

Close enough that nothing else exists.

“If you’re out there with me… you’re a target,” I say. “If you’re here…”

A beat.

“You’re something I can protect.”

Silence.

Her breath shakes.

“You can’t protect me from everything,” she whispers.

No.

I can’t.

But I’ll try.

Every damn time.

“I can try,” I say.

And that’s the truth.

Raw.

Real.

Unfiltered.

Her eyes fill slightly.

Not breaking.

But close.

“And what if something happens to you?” she asks.

That hits.

Hard.

But I don’t let it show.

“It won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No,” I admit. “But I know this—”

I reach up.

Brush my thumb gently along her cheek.

Grounding her.

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