Page 52 of Return to Me Always

"I'm the one who usually falls," Ben admitted. "Maybe I'm the one who should be in the center."

Doubtful, but it was nice of him to say so.

Without giving me much time to ponder it, Tyler looked down at me and said, "Ready?"

I gulped down a big breath. "Let's do this."

Ben laughed, and we all moved forward as one. Damn it, the water was so cold, my breath caught in my lungs. The rocks below my feet were incredibly slick, the freezing water rushing around us, the constant swirling making me dizzy.

"Don't look down so much," Tyler said.

Glancing back up to the shore, I realized that helped, and being linked together really did make a difference.

All the sudden, I felt a tug on my left arm as Ben swore. Tyler tightened his grip on my elbow to the point where I thought my arm might get torn off.

"Bloody hell, Ben! You're going to take us all down, ya numpty."

"Sorry about that," Ben apologized with a laugh. "Wouldn't be the first time."

I'd have to ask about that story later. But for now, I needed to focus on getting across this damn river with calves that were turning numb. Somehow, miraculously, my feet kept moving. Maybe it wasn't so much me as it was Tyler's unending strength propelling us all forward.

When we were more than halfway across, my foot slid on a rock, but with Tyler's hold on me, I barely even wobbled. Thank God. I didn't want to even think about how it would feel to go down in this freezing water. In my mind, I had a running debate about which was worse—this or the wire bridge. But there was no clear answer.

Finally, we made it to the far bank, relief washing over me as Tyler squeezed my arm before letting go. "Nice job, Ryder. But, Ben..."

"Hey, we made it," Ben said, defending himself. "No cold wet arses today."

I had to laugh at that lovely image while we attempted to dry our legs. The rain still in our faces, we soon continued on, happy that the river was now behind us. After that fun, crossing through boggy glens didn't seem quite as challenging. Or it was just something I was getting used to with the constant wet weather.

As we hiked, the fog began to descend on us, getting so low I could barely see what was in front of me. We were practically swimming in the clouds. Although I was only a few feet behind Tyler, I could barely glimpse him through the denseness.

How on earth did he even know where to go? There was no trail here. It was all just a slushy mess.

When Tyler stopped, I almost stumbled into him, but I was able to catch my balance in time.

"All right there?" he asked.

I barely managed a nod, feeling extra tired today and not like myself at all.

Brow furrowed, he studied me for a moment. "Ready to take a break and eat?"

"Always."

As Tyler dug through his pack and handed me some food, Ben caught up to us. "We sure seem to have snacks a lot more often than I remember, mate."

Tyler hesitated a beat before speaking. "Well, I've discovered that Ryder here needs lots of snacks or she gets, er, cranky."

Was he serious? I was busy chewing a protein bar, so I couldn't defend myself.

Of course, Ben had to chime in. "Oh, so she gets crazy hangry, is that it?"

One look at his ridiculous expression, and I couldn't help but laugh, nearly choking in the process.

"Better hope we don't run out of food," Ben continued. "Wouldn't want to be around Kat in case she turns into the Hulk."

Between my giggles, I really did wonder if we were running low. "Is that a possibility?" I asked. "Do we need more?"

They both cracked up laughing. "We're fine," Ben said. "Even if we did run out, we'd find a way to get more."

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