A POSSIBILITY OF LOVE?

AUTHOR’S POV

The lower ravine was worse than Elena had expected.

The old maintenance path narrowed as it approached the damaged section, with loose stones scattered across the ground. A section of the hillside had shifted, pulling several pipes from their supports and leaving one length of the main line exposed.

Water had carved a muddy channel through the earth beneath it.

Elena crouched beside the damaged pipe.

"There's the problem."

Garrick joined her.

"That section is almost completely disconnected."

"We need to secure the upper support first. If we reconnect the pipe before stabilizing the ground, the pressure could pull it loose again."

One of the hunters examined the slope.

"We'll need another support beam. The old one has cracked."

"I saw some usable timber near the maintenance shed," Garrick said. "I'll send someone back for it."

"No," Elena replied. "We can use the spare beam from the lower platform, provided it's still intact."

She looked toward Kaiden.

"Can you help Garrick check the platform? We need to make sure the supports are strong enough before moving anything."

Kaiden nodded.

For once, he did not argue.

The four of them divided the work. Garrick and one hunter went to inspect the lower platform, while Elena examined the pipe and cleared away the loose stones around the connection.

Kaiden remained nearby, checking the ground for signs of further movement.

For several minutes, they worked in silence.

It was strange, Elena thought, to be so close to him without the immediate need to defend herself against his words. He was capable when he focused on a task. He noticed the cracks in the retaining wall before she did, and when one of the wooden supports shifted, he braced it with his shoulder until Garrick could secure it.

She had always known Kaiden was strong.

That had never been the problem.

The problem had been what he believed his strength entitled him to do.

"Elena."

She looked up.

Kaiden was standing near the exposed pipe, studying a section of ground that had broken away from the hillside.

"Don't step there."

She glanced down.

The soil looked damp, but otherwise ordinary.

"Why?"

"Because the ground beneath it is hollow."

She frowned and shifted her weight backward.

"How can you tell?"

He pointed toward a thin crack running beneath the surface.

"The edge is separating from the rest of the slope. If you put your weight there, it could give way."

Elena studied the crack.

He was right.

"Thank you," she said reluctantly.

Something flickered across his face, as though he had not expected her to acknowledge his observation.

Before he could respond, Garrick called from the lower platform.

"We found a support beam! It should hold if we reinforce the base!"

Elena turned toward him.

"Bring it over. We'll secure the upper section first, then reconnect the pipe."

Garrick and the hunter carried the timber toward them.

Elena moved to the opposite side of the damaged line to check whether the connection could be repositioned. She was reaching for a loose metal clamp when she heard a sharp crack beneath her boot.

The ground shifted.

Her foot sank into the softened earth, and the edge of the slope broke away.

For one terrifying instant, she felt herself falling.

A hand closed around her arm.

Kaiden pulled her backward with such force that she stumbled against his chest. His other hand caught her around the waist, keeping her away from the collapsing edge.

Loose stones tumbled into the ravine.

Elena heard them strike the rocks below.

Then everything went still.

She was pressed against Kaiden, one hand gripping the front of his shirt while his arm remained locked around her waist.

His breathing was harsh against her hair.

"Are you insane?" he demanded.

Elena barely heard him.

Because something had just happened.

The instant his fingers closed around her arm, a sudden pulse of warmth had surged through her body.

It was not ordinary warmth.

It moved through her like a current of electricity, beginning at the place where his hand touched her skin and spreading rapidly through her chest, her shoulders, and the center of her back.

Her breath caught. Kaiden went rigid.

His hand tightened around her arm.

For one impossible second, the ravine disappeared.

Elena felt fear.

Not her own fear of falling, though that was there too.

This was something deeper, something that seemed to rise from beneath her skin. It was sharp and suffocating, filled with the terror of watching someone disappear beyond reach.

She saw darkness.