Page 19 of In Too Deep
But Noah couldn’t shake the ghosts.It was too much like Ezra all over again—the cave, the darkness, the responsibility.
Lives weren’t worth some dusty bars.
Yet the gut feeling persisted and whispered that ignoring it would only invite more chaos.More fights.More collapses.More deaths like Lydia’s.
How long until the next call came in and pulled Meg back into the fray?Back into danger he couldn’t control?
He couldn’t protect her from afar, couldn’t shield her from every disaster.But chasing the gold would break his promise—and maybe break them both in the process.
He pulled up to the clinic and spotted her through the window with her dark hair pulled back, focused on paperwork at the counter.So beautiful that it made his chest ache.
He steeled himself and stepped out, the ridiculous sweatshirt twisted around his waist.
Good idea or not, he was about to see Meg.
And lucky him.He got to go see her dressed like an old woman.
With sparkles.
She’d become a doctor to heal, not to manage stupidity.
Meg yanked the final cactus spine from Mr.Howell’s leg with her tweezers.It hit the silver tray with a sharp clink.The scent of antiseptic barely masked the red canyon dust that infiltrated everything.Sweat beaded at her hairline despite the ancient swamp cooler rattling in the window.
“That’s the last of them, Mr.Howell.The nurse will bandage you up.But do us both a favor—no more sitting on cacti.”
Mr.Howell’s head remained buried in the exam table.“The guy pushed me.”
Meg straightened, wiping her hands on a sterile cloth.“I know.And I’m sure he said you cheated at poker.But let’s remember, this isn’t the Wild West anymore.”
“It’ll be worth it if I find that gold.”
We need to find that gold to stop this.Until then it’ll only get worse.Noah’s words from last week echoed in her mind.The memory of the boxlike corner in the cave tugged at her.
Telling Noah would send him back into danger.Promise or no promise.
He wouldn’t chase the gold for greed but to end this madness, to protect people.But right now, she couldn’t think beyond keeping him safe.
She drew the curtain open with a sharp tug and peeled off her gloves.“Sarah will give you an antibiotic salve.If the area gets redder, come back or see another doctor.”
As she reached for her tablet, Sarah appeared holding up a sticky note.“You have a call on line two.Dr.Donavan Jacobs.”
A stone dropped through her.“I’ll take it in my office.”
She’d called him back and had an interview yesterday, but the more she turned it over, the more it made her feel sick.
This North Rim community—rough, chaotic, alive—had become her anchor.
Noah had too.The way he’d held her last week in his Jeep, his heartbeat solid beneath her ear, had grounded her in a way she hadn’t expected—a quiet strength she couldn’t imagine leaving behind.
Her office was barely bigger than a closet, with dark brown paneled walls that made it feel even smaller.She picked up the phone.“Dr.Jacobs, thank you for following up.I’m not sure?—”
“Before you decide, hear me out.”He outlined a job offer that made her pulse stutter.A salary triple what she made now.Benefits that actually covered things.And research—everything she’d once dreamed of in med school.
A younger Meg would have leaped at the chance, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to go.She wasn’t the best trauma doctor, but she was improving.
Her fingers toyed with the latest strange note.She’d gotten three now.All in green ink, the same precise block letters.All with obscure messages.
She flipped it open.
