“Me? Isn’t this your thing?”

His laugh sounded a little rusty as if it hadn’t been used in a while. “Sweetie,

we’re in your head, and until you have a clearer idea of your surroundings, we’re

all going to be floating around in a fog. Picture your favorite spot.”

Favorite spot?

The fog shifted and realigned itself. Wind-shaped trees twisted above a small

creek that meandered through a narrow, red canyon. Large, flat rocks offered sitting spots that jutted out into the creek. As the details became clearer, I recognized it for a well-hidden spot I discovered a couple years back near my cabin in Sedona. The quiet gurgle of water over rocks and the slight song of wind winding through the leaves brought a wistful smile to my face. My last visit had been with Kelsey. We spent the day hiking and had rested here before

heading home. The faint sounds of her familiar laughter drifted to me.

A low whistle of appreciation brought my attention back. In front of me, Wolf gazed around as he sat on one of the rocks that was a bit higher than mine.

“Nice.”

“This place is gorgeous.” Kayden’s voice vibrated along my spine, and I

realized I was sitting in front of him, his legs on either side of me, my back to his chest. One of his arms was casually wrapped around my waist.

The intimacy of his hold brought heat to my face. I cleared my throat.

“Thanks. What do I do next?”

Wolf turned away from the surroundings. “Now comes the fun part. We need

to work our way backward through your memories. Chances are good we’ll hit some blocks, but we’ll poke around and see how far we can get.”

He rose to his feet, only to hop down to the rock Kayden and I shared. He offered his hand. “Ready?”

I took it and scrambled up until I was standing between the two men. “We aren’t staying here?”

Wolf shook his head. “Your mind is trying to make sense of what we’re

doing, so it’s giving us a physical representation of our actions.”

Physical representation? Puzzled, I studied our surroundings, thinking it through. To uncover the memories, we would have to travel backward. Where the trees backed up to the cliffs a hiking trail appeared. I pointed it out. “Guess

we’re hiking.”

“Looks like it,” Wolf said.

“Right, then.” I took the lead, Kayden falling in behind me, and Wolf

bringing up the rear. “What am I looking for?”

“You’ll know it when you see it,” Kayden answered.

I shot him a look over my shoulder. “That’s helpful.”

He just grinned.

The trail seemed fairly straight forward, as it took us farther from the gurgling sounds of the small creek and deeper into the canyon. An easy silence

fell between the three of us, broken only by the sound of rocks shifting underfoot, wind teasing through the trees, and birds calling back and forth. I set

a brisk pace and soon found myself falling into a familiar meditative state.

Hiking was one of life’s simplest pleasures. Discovering new trails and

hidden pockets where technology didn’t touch brought me a sense of peace I couldn’t find in my normal, everyday life. As much as I enjoyed being on my own, I had even more fun once I convinced Kelsey to tag along. It was always

amusing to watch the city-girl Kelsey fade away, to be replaced by the younger,

more carefree version I grew up with. We spent hours exploring the areas around

our cabin.

Now her feminine laughter curled on the breeze, faint and hauntingly

familiar, causing a wistful ache in my heart. I tucked away the treasured

memories, only then realizing the light had faded and the shadows had deepened.

Ahead, the trail began to cant upward, but I could see where it ended in front of

a sprawling, heavy growth of trees. I stopped and considered what lay before us.

Kayden and Wolf drew up on either side of me.

Kayden spoke first. “What’s up?”

I waved a hand at the old-growth forest stretched in front of us. “That shouldn’t be there, and our path is gone.”

“It’s your mind, Cyn,” Wolf said. “If we need a path, make one.”

“With what?” The woods left me uneasy, and short of grabbing an ax and

making like a woodcutter, getting through that kind of growth would be difficult.

A weight settled in my hands, and I looked down, stunned to find a hefty ax.

“You have to be kidding me.”

Wolf’s cough sounded suspiciously close to a laugh. “Got anything a little less work intensive?”