Nimue spun, heart slamming against her ribs. Liam filled the doorway, broad frame backlit by afternoon sun, blue eyes locked on her. How had she not heard his Bronco pull up?
“Nim, put him on,” Emberly said.
Nimue hesitated, then extended the phone, her hands trembling. His eyes never left hers as he listened to Emberly, his jaw tightening, the lines deepening around his blue eyes.
“Consider it done.” He handed back the phone. “Pack light. We’re going hiking.”
Nimue stared at him, mind reeling. “Liam, you don’t understand. This isn’t just?—”
“I understand enough.” He stepped closer, presence solid and unwavering. “Someone’s threatening you. I’m not letting you handle it alone. Pack. I’ve got gear in the Bronco. Ten minutes.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but something in his expression—the fierceness that had returned, along with something immovable—silenced her protests. She nodded, throat tight.
Liam headed for his truck.
She grabbed her go bag from under the bunk, scanning its contents. Change of clothes, knife, first aid kit. She added extra layers and the sat phone.
She’d tried convincing herself Liam was just a distraction, a temporary connection. But watching him stay calm while her world imploded, remembering the way he’d looked at her by the campfire—something had cracked open in her chest, something she’d kept locked since her mother’s death.
Hope.
It might be the death of her.
Liam reappeared, pack secured, arms crossed. She grabbed her water bottle, filled it, and followed him out.
“Where are we going?”
“The only place I know better than they do.” He pointed toward the canyon. “Over the edge.”
Professional. Clinical. Detached.Those words used to define Dr. Meg Lewis perfectly. The human body was anatomy, physiology, systems to diagnose and repair. So why did the memory of walking her fingers down the taut muscles of Noah Wilde’s back refuse to fade after a week? Meg yanked on her lab coat as she scanned her afternoon patient list.
“Nothing too serious. Should be a slow day.” Sarah tapped at her laptop at the reception desk. “Want to see Noah again?”
“What?” Meg’s spine went rigid, voice sharper than intended. “Why would I want to see Noah?”
Sarah paused, one eyebrow arching as she fixed Meg with a knowing stare. “His back-injury follow-up?”
“Right.” Meg’s cheeks flamed, and she glued her eyes to the laptop screen, willing the heat to subside. “No, unless he reports additional pain. He’s fine.” She glanced up to find Sarah grinning. “What?”
“After two years, has Dr. Meg finally fallen for Hottie-Hiker Noah Wilde?”
“Hottie-Hiker? Seriously?” Meg’s tone was dry, but her pulse betrayed her, thudding hard.
“That’s what the girls call him. You can’t pretend you haven’t noticed.”
Noticed? Meg would’ve needed to be carved from granite not to notice Noah. His broad shoulders and athletic frame commanded every space he entered—ranger strength forged by years on unforgiving trails. Those brown eyes pierced straight through pretense, seeing depths she’d rather keep hidden. That first summer, his sun-bleached hair had been a wild tangle, paired with rare dimpled smiles that lifted the shadows clinging to him. Three years later, his hair had grown into an unruly mop, thick beard hiding those dimples, but his eyes remained unchanged—searching, vulnerable in unguarded moments. Like last week, when he’d looked at her with an openness that cracked her carefully constructed walls.
Samson, indeed.
“I’ll take that blush as confirmation that you’ve noticed.” Sarah extended a pen and clipboard. “Sign this…then ask him out.”
Meg scrawled her signature with slightly trembling fingers. “Don’t you have more pressing concerns than my love life?”
“What love life? Nuns date more than you.” Sarah took the clipboard, offering another form.
“Hilarious.” Maybe Meg hadn’t dated since arriving at the North Rim, but the choice was deliberate. She’d fled here to escape, to put distance between herself and potential heartbreak. Dating meant risk she couldn’t afford.
“I can’t believe you two haven’t gotten together yet.” Sarah waggled her eyebrows.