Page 11 of Into the Fall

Connor tried to wriggle free, but he let me drag him back. “I know what I’m doing.”

“No, you don’t!” I tried to control my anger at the idiot who was asking mother nature to swallow him whole.

“You get back!” He shoved me.

I saw red.

“I’msupposedto be on the fucking edge!” I shouted,with no real logic. There was no wayanyoneshould be this close to a crumbling hillside. “You’re a civilian!”

We pushed and shoved at each other until we reached a more stable area where the others worked. They didn’t even look at us, focusing on the shifting ground as the storm eased up and the rain slowed.

“Blood!” I gestured at Connor’s head in the glow of the flashlight.

“I couldn’t get to Quinn,” Levi said, devastated. “Connor got him. We sent Quinn back down, but Connor won’t leave.”

Of course, he wouldn’t. I gestured at his face. “You need to see a medic.”

In return, he wiped at the blood and examined it before picking up a handful of mud and packing it on the forehead wound.

“It’s not a fucking war zone!” I yelled, and he glanced around us.

As he turned to go back to the others, I grabbed his arm again, pulling him close enough he could hear me over the storm. “And be careful, dammit.”

He gave me a half-smile that threw me off-balance. “You too,Sheriff.”

I watched him go, then turned my attention back to the task at hand and pitched in, picking up the nearest dislodged stone—half the weight of the one that Connor hefted, the asshole. There was a lot to do, but with everyone working together, we had a fighting chance to stop the bank on this side from breaking.

We were buffeted and soaked through but determined.

The relentless downpour became a steady drizzle. Theearth stopped sliding, and the water, while still bubbling and hissing at speed, had settled into a more predictable path. The immediate danger seemed to be over enough that we canceled the firefighters, who wouldn’t have been able to make it up here anyway, but the damage was done. The mountain’s weight had carved into the soft mud, creating a new, precarious landscape.

Everyone worked tirelessly to stabilize the area as the storm began to ease up and I took a moment to survey the scene, trying to plan my next steps.

Micah approached me, his face smeared with mud, but his eyes were sharp and focused. “It’s looking better, but we’ll set up a watch rotation tonight. Make sure nothing shifts unexpectedly.”

“Okay.”

Connor moved close. “I’ll take the first watch.”

“You don’t know what you’re looking for,” I said.

He pointed at the water. “Mud. Slip. Boulders. The big hole getting bigger. It’s not rocket science.”

“You’re not a rancher.” He raised an eyebrow, and I glanced at the head wound that was covered in mud but had stopped bleeding. “You could have a concussion.”

“I’ve had worse.”

Not that shit again. I wanted to argue, to tell him he needed rest, but I knew better than to offend the former SEAL, who would probably take it as a slight against his manhood, then beat his manly fucking chest. “Fine. But you’re not doing it alone.”

Connor’s smile widened just a bit. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Are you volunteering to hold my hand?”

“I have to go back down to town...” I stopped when Irealized I’d engaged with him, as if I wanted to stay, and was pissed I had to leave.

How did he do this to me? I wanted to shove him away and pull him close all at the same time. How did he tie me in knots?

“I’ll take the first shift with you,” Micah said, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “We’ve done what we can for now. Let’s get everyone down to the house and dry off, then Connor and I will come back up.”

We made our way down the hill, the ground still unstable but no longer shifting. The ranch house was a beacon of warmth and safety, and as we reached the porch, I felt a wave of relief that I hadn’t been here to file anything worse than whatever had happened to Connor’s forehead.

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