Page 16 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

As River made her way back up to the lodge to continue her work for the day, she tried to push down the guilt stirring in her stomach.

How could she have kissed Cade like that?

It was one thing to have a crush, but to actually do something about it?

That was something else entirely. If he hadn’t pulled back the way he had, she knew she would have wanted to go further.

She would have gone all the way, and that would have tied her to him even more than she already felt now.

No matter how much she wanted to be with him, she knew she could not allow that to happen.

She had a plan and she needed to stick to it.

Even if her heart wished things could be different.

She had to keep moving forward. She had to find Haven in New York and make sure her family was safe, make sure they had been able to leave behind the nightmare they had escaped for good.

And that wasn’t going to happen if she found excuses to hang around the lodge and pretend like she didn’t have a life outside of this place. Regardless of how tempting it might be, she had to get herself and her feelings under control. No more flirtation, no more making out, no more nothing.

She was going to throw herself into her work for the rest of the day and keep herself as busy as she could.

Hopefully, Cade would be asleep by the time she got back to their cabin later and they wouldn’t have to talk about what had happened between them.

It was going to be over and done with, forgotten.

Nothing more than a crazy mistake neither of them would mention again.

At least, she hoped so.

She arrived at the lodge and paused by the water fountain to fill up her bottle.

A few people passed by her, but she didn’t recognize any of them.

She knew a few new guests had recently checked in to work on their recovery, but the new faces no longer bothered her like they did when she first arrived.

She would catch herself hesitating slightly when several new people were around, but nothing like before, when she used to freeze in fear or hide until she was alone.

She still found it best to stay out of the way, not to get distracted and focus on her work.

She dumped her bag on the floor to get her water bottle out, and it landed with a slight bang . Beside her, one of the men passing by froze on the spot, and then crumpled to the ground.

She recognized it at once, the way he reacted—the sound of her water bottle hitting the floor had brought a memory or experience to the surface so terrible that it caused him to physically react. She wasn’t a doctor, but she’d seen PTSD before, and this looked like he was having a flashback.

He lifted his arms up to his head, clamping them around his ears as he balled up on the floor beside her.

She felt horrible for causing his reaction.

She glanced around, checking to see if anyone was coming to help him.

When she didn’t see anyone, she took a deep breath.

Well, she wasn’t going to leave him to deal with this alone. If she had to step in, so be it.

“Hey,” she murmured, dropping down beside him.

She knew that touching him could make it worse or cause him to unintentionally hurt himself or her, so she kept a small distance between them.

The best she could do was to try to bring him back to the present instead of staying in whatever nightmare the sound of her bag clattering on the ground had caused him.

He didn’t react to her, but she didn’t get up. He needed to know that he was safe and that someone was here to help him, not hurt him.

“I don’t know where you think you are right now,” she continued, speaking slowly but firmly. “But the reality is that you’re at the Warrior Peak Sanctuary, with me. My name is River and I work here. That sound you heard was my water bottle hitting the ground. I’m really sorry about that.”

When he didn’t react to her words, she decided to switch tactics. “You can feel the floor underneath you, right?”

He didn’t reply for a moment, but he lifted his head. His eyes seemed glazed and distant, but he wasn’t hiding from her anymore.

“Yeah, there you go,” she continued. “You’re here, right? Now, take a deep breath, feel the air go into your lungs. Now exhale. You’re doing great.”

He followed her guidance, and she talked him through his panic as best she could.

Slowly, he began to unfurl from the ball he had pulled himself into.

She coaxed him upright again, and she guided him to lean up against the wall as he breathed deep.

She grabbed a paper cup and filled it with cold water and gave it to him to sip while he continued to calm down.

Grabbing her bag, she was about to continue to fill up her bottle when she heard a voice behind her.

“Hey, there.”

She turned to see a middle-aged woman with glasses standing behind her, smiling at her warmly.

“Hi,” River muttered.

She was sure she was about to get told off for interfering with one of the guests.

She had only been trying to help, but she really didn’t have any idea what she was doing.

She didn’t want to cause any harm, but she couldn’t leave that man on the floor in the middle of a crisis without at least trying to help. Especially since it was her fault.

The woman walked over next to the man, asking him a few questions to make sure he was okay. He assured her that he was doing better and she told him to come to her office later that afternoon so they could talk. When he nodded his agreement, she turned back to River.

“I’m Sarah,” the woman introduced herself to River, extending her hand. “I’m the counselor here.”

“River.” She shook Sarah’s outstretched hand. “I’m sorry about that, I didn’t mean to… I mean, I was just trying to help him.”

“No, no, you did a really good job,” Sarah said. “You clearly knew what you were doing. Where did you train?”

River stared at her for a moment, shocked, and then shook her head.

“I, uh, I didn’t train for anything,” she muttered, feeling a little embarrassed to admit it. She was sure a woman like Sarah had probably gone through years of training, and here she was, standing in front of her, with hardly a clue of how to handle herself without looking like a total fool.

Sarah shook her head. “Wow,” she replied in surprise. “You have incredible instincts, then. Have you ever thought about training as a therapist?”

“Uh, no,” River answered. “I just… I’ve seen people act like that before and I just wanted to help. It was my fault after all. I dropped my bag and the noise startled him.”

River tried to turn and walk away, but Sarah stopped her before she could get too far. River tensed up slightly, not sure exactly how this interaction was supposed to go, but deciding to see it through either way. She couldn’t keep running from everything.

“You really did an amazing job with him,” Sarah remarked, as the man turned in the opposite direction of them and continued on his way. “I’ve seen plenty of specially trained PTSD therapists who don’t have the instincts you do, River.”

“Thanks,” River replied with a slight blush staining her cheeks. Was that a compliment? It felt like one. The way Sarah was smiling at her, it seemed like she was truly impressed with what River had done.

“If you’re ever looking for something else to do around here,” Sarah continued, “you come by my office, I could always use some help.”

“Your office?” River replied, confused.

“Yes, to help out with some of my clients,” she continued. “In a peer-mentoring type setting, since you don’t have any formal training. But I think you could do a lot of good with people who are dealing with flashbacks.”

River stared at her for a moment, trying to wrap her head around the offer that was being laid out in front of her.

There was a part of her that was flattered that someone like Sarah, who clearly knew what she was doing, would see potential in someone like her.

But could she really risk creating any more connections to this place and the people here than she already had?

The more ties she put down at the lodge, the harder it was going to be for her to leave when the time came.

River offered her a smile. “I’ll think about it.”

Sarah grinned back. “Wonderful,” she replied. “Well, I hope I’ll be seeing more of you, River. You did something really important with that man today. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

River felt her face heat under the other woman’s praise.

She wasn’t used to being complimented, and having a professional like Sarah tell her she had done something worthwhile made her chest warm in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

This place, it was full of people who seemed to see her differently than she saw herself.

They saw more, even, than she knew she was capable of.

They looked at her and didn’t see a failure or a pathetic loser with no job skills to her name.

They saw someone who was actually worth something.

As Sarah turned and walked away, River filled up her water bottle and pondered the offer.

Maybe it would do her good, going outside of her comfort zone to help others who needed it.

She didn’t really know what she was doing, but it had felt good to help that man through his crisis.

Heck, maybe she could even pick up some skills to navigate the pain she carried herself.

The offer was something she wanted to give serious consideration, but only if she stayed.

She could not think of making this detour on her journey permanent right now. She had other priorities to see to first—her family and all their safety. But maybe in the future, it would be something for her to consider. For now, she needed to remember her purpose for being here.

She arrived at the room off the lobby, where she’d been working. She appreciated Xavier letting her use this space instead of having to stay in the basement. River loved having a window to look outside. As soon as she stepped through the door, she felt her heart skip several beats in her chest.

Because she wasn’t the only one there. No, someone else was in the room, inspecting her work like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

It was Cade.