Page 24 of Return to Me Always

"We should put more arnica on your back," Tyler said.

"Sure." Absolutely, of course. We could do that as often as he'd like.

As he rubbed the medicine along my spine, I started to feel warm. Almost too warm. The way his strong hands felt on my skin... well, it was pure heaven.

I tried not to get too excited and attempted to calm my breathing. The last thing I needed was for Tyler to see how much he affected me with just a little medicine on my back.

Cool your jets, Kat.

Before long, he was done, and I heaved a sigh of relief that I hadn't embarrassed myself too much.

After we finished cleaning up and dousing the fire, we started getting ready for bed, even brushing our teeth since Tyler had thought to actually bring toothpaste and toothbrushes.

Tyler adjusted the beds in the tent, which included some kind of heated pad and self-inflating air mattresses, making me incredibly grateful for his experience. I figured we wouldn't freeze this night even though it was getting colder every minute.

He gestured for me to go first into the tent, and I snuggled down into my sleeping bag which was surprisingly warm. I felt Tyler settle in beside me in the darkness, taking his place by the tent opening which he now zipped close. The tent was so small, though, I could feel his body right next to mine.

It was a strange feeling being this close to him, the man that had haunted my dreams for so long. Without him, I would have been completely lost right now, and a feeling of gratitude swelled up in my chest.

"Hey, Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want to thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping me. For picking me up in your car in the first place. For staying up all night and getting us here. You could have just left me on my own to deal with this all. But you didn't."

He didn't say anything. And soon, I heard his slow, even breathing that told me he was asleep, causing me to wonder if he had heard anything I had said.

I'd tell him again another time just in case.

***

The darkness in the forest threatened to close in on me.

Fear hounded me and made my heart pound, made me jump at every little noise, even a leaf falling.

He turned toward me and said, "Almost there."

Just as the sky began to lighten, a loud crack shattered the hush of the woods. A second later, a man burst through the trees, sword held high, and rushed toward us.

It was Malcolm!

I gasped, sitting up, fighting for air.

"What is it?" Tyler asked, worry in his voice.

He sat up also and shined a flashlight in the tent. I was too freaked out to say anything and still fought for my breath. Always before in my dreams, I had just seen Tyler's face. No one else. And now...

How did Malcolm become part of my reoccurring dreams? And what could I say to Tyler? I couldn't tell him the details because he would think I was insane.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Tyler asked, surprising me.

"Yeah," I whispered. "It was pretty realistic."

"Not surprising after everything you've been through these past few days."

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