Page 51 of Return to Me Always

"I still can't tell you," he said so quietly I almost didn't hear him. But his eyes were pleading, with a look in them I'd never seen before. But it disappeared, his eyes steel now, making me wonder if I'd imagined it. "Come on. We have to meet Ben."

He hefted his bag on his shoulders, picked up Ben's stuff, and started off down the path, leaving me scrambling to get my own backpack on and follow. Again. To God knew where.

Still fuming, I decided it was pointless to ask him anything more. So I stayed quiet and kept to myself. And he did as well, no words passing between us, only silence as we trudged on through a wet glen.

We soon ran into Ben, a bright face in my crappy morning. "Morning, Kit Kat. You're looking a wee bit peely-wally. Feeling all right?"

I couldn't help but smile at him. "Honestly? I could use a Kit Kat bar right about now."

Ben let out a loud chuckle. "Well, you're in luck. I don't have exactly that, but I do have chocolate. Thought you might need it today."

He held out his hand to give me a Snickers bar which instantly cheered me. "Seriously, my favorite. How did you know?"

"Just a lucky guess," he said with a shrug and his usual grin.

Tyler was already heading down the path, so we fell in behind him while Ben pointed out some mountain ranges in the distance. Although the morning had been clear so far, dark clouds dotted the sky ahead of us, making me dread the coming downpour.

Growing up in the desert, I loved the rain, just not hiking in it all the freaking time. I refrained from saying anything, however, because these two guys right here were literally risking their lives trying to help me. Even though I was still upset with Tyler, I refused to be that whiny high-maintenance girl that held them back.

What was I more upset about, though, I had to wonder. The fact that Tyler was still keeping me in the dark about our journey? Or the fact that I had been an idiot and told him I was falling for him after only knowing him for such a short time?

But I couldn't help it, especially because it felt like I had known him forever. The dreams had been with me as long as I could remember—his face, his voice, his everything. I had already been halfway in love with him just from the dreams alone. And after actually knowing him, it hadn't taken long to fall the rest of the way. The dreams had to be some sort of fate pushing us together, telling me that he was "the one." Right?

Interrupting my internal whirlwind, the rain started pouring down on us. And not only that, Ben and Tyler seemed in a hurry, and they were talking more than usual.

"What's going on, guys?" I asked, catching up to them.

"Just crossing the River Loyne up ahead," Ben said. "With all this rain, the water can move really fast."

Yikes. That didn't sound very good. "Is it dangerous?"

"Not with us, lass. You'll be fine," Ben assured me.

"I'm not worried about me," I said, making light of the situation. "Just worried that you two can't handle it."

Ben laughed, but Tyler only smiled. "Are you a swimmer, Kat?" Ben asked.

"Actually, yes." Swimming was huge in Arizona, and I practically lived in the water, especially in the summer. "I've been on a swim team since I was eight."

"Really?" Ben's eyebrows shot up. "High school too?"

I nodded. "Yep. We went to the state championships last year."

"Wow. That explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" I asked, beyond curious about that little remark.

But he didn't answer me because we had reached the water, and the sound of the gushing river along with the rain coming down in sheets drowned us out. Holy shit! The water went up to my waist. At least.

"Stay here," Tyler ordered as he went upstream and Ben went downstream.

The water rushed past as I thought about undercurrents. Yeah, I was a good swimmer, but pools didn't have slippery rocks, freezing cold water, and undertows. I couldn't believe it, but I was actually wishing for a wire bridge here too.

Once I had thoroughly psyched myself out, they both returned and discussed the best place to cross. We followed Tyler for a few minutes to a spot that didn't look quite as deep then paused to roll up our pants as much as possible. My shoes were already wet, but I wondered how my socks would fare.

"We're going to link up elbows to get across," Tyler said, loosening the straps on our packs.

They stood on either side of me which made me realize I was going to be the one in the middle. "You guys think I'm the weakest link, huh?"

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