“Now that Dorian is gone,” Eli said seconds after he left. “Tell me what happened between you and Alec.”

I sighed as dread pooled through my stomach. I’d foolishly thought he’d forget. “I told you, I sent him a text that was supposed to go to you. I forgot he messaged me earlier this morning, and I hadn’t closed out of the thread. For whatever reason, I thought it was your thread open on my phone.”

“What did he message you earlier?” A slight level of jealousy reflected in his words. It was cute.

I licked my lips, trying to keep a smirk from forming. “He wanted to know if we could still be friends. He said that he still wanted me in his life.”

“Really?” He folded his arms over his chest. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. I didn’t know what to say. It’s weird he knows what I am and doesn’t seem to care.”

“I know. It seems suspicious.”

“Oh, please,” I scoffed. “You’ve been suspicious of him since day one, don’t pretend.”

“True.” Eli grinned. “This all makes me even more suspicious of him, though.”

“Whatever.”

“What was the text you sent him that was supposed to go to me?”

“I already told you. I said Shane might be on his way to visit Peter and that you should probably warn Dorian or Tate, whoever is guarding him.”

The space between Eli’s brows bunched up. “What was his response?”

“He wanted to know why it would matter if Shane went to visit his brother. He also wanted to know why Peter was being guarded. He asked if we were holding him captive, or helping protect him from something.”

“What did you say?”

I hated this back and forth. It almost made me want to hand my cell to him so he could read the damn conversation himself.

I leaned against the kitchen counter. “I didn’t say much because I know there’s not a lot I can say. Basically, he said he’d take Shane fishing for the day. He wanted to know if Peter was okay. I told him he was, for the time being. That was pretty much the end our conversation. It was a lot of me not saying anything and him repeatedly asking the same questions or sending me question marks.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you didn’t say much.” Eli moved to the fridge. I watched him as he grabbed two bottles of water and shoved them into a backpack I hadn’t noticed on the counter. “The less he knows, the better for everyone. It is decent of him to distract Shane for us for the day, though. That’s all we need—one full day.”

“I know.” I nodded toward the backpack. “What’s that for?”

Was it for tonight? Something for in case he had to stay away from home for a while?

It was probably a good idea. I didn’t think we’d be able to take down Regina in one night. With as much anger as there was coursing through my veins, you never knew, though. Stranger things had happened.

Eli shifted to face me. A cheeky grin spread onto his face. “You’ll see. You should probably head home and change out of those flip-flops. Put some sneakers or boots on instead.”

“I don’t own any boots.” I did, but I didn’t think they would work for whenever he had planned.

“Then put on some sneakers. You’re going to need them where we’re going.”

Excitement buzzed through me because I knew we had to be doing something outdoors. God, I loved being outdoors.

“Be back in a minute.” I started toward his front door.

It didn’t take me long to change shoes at my place and then I was back, eager to see what Eli had planned. It seemed like it might be a hike. I hoped it was. I hadn’t been on a good hike in forever. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time. Walking through the woods to get to the lake didn’t count. It was more like strolling through my backyard.

“That was fast.” Eli chuckled when I let myself into his trailer.

“It’s barely a two-minute walk from your trailer to mine. How long were you thinking it would take me?”

“I don’t know.” Eli shrugged. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah. Where are we going?”

“Like I said…you’ll see.” He winked as he hoisted the backpack over his shoulder.

* * *

Almost forty minutes later, we pulled up to my absolute favorite hike of all-time. Whiteside Mountain. It wasn’t the longest hike, about two miles round-trip, but the views were stunning. It was the first hike my mom had ever taken me on. I’d been ten. Gracie was five, and I remembered her complaining the entire time. I didn’t complain. I’d found the hike soothing. Refreshing. Soul-charging. Something about the trail felt magical. It wasn’t just the scenery; it was the mountain itself. A healing vibration pulsed from it that touched my soul.

Dad had complained during that hike too. Hiking wasn’t his thing either. Mom and I, we loved it. In fact, for my eleventh birthday all I wanted was to hike it again. Mom took me herself. We had so much fun that day. We repeated it on my twelfth birthday. Somehow, it had become a thing Mom and I did for our birthdays.

Whiteside Mountain was ours.

Until my mom disappeared.

People say the number thirteen is unlucky. I’d never believed them until my thirteenth birthday. It was the worst. I didn’t go hiking. I didn’t ask for anything. I didn’t even want to celebrate my birthday because she was gone. It didn’t seem right. It didn’t seem fair. And now that I knew it wasn’t her doing—that she hadn’t ran away—everything about that birthday seemed gloomier.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I remember you coming here at least two birthdays in a row when you were a kid,” Eli said surprising me.

“How did you know that?” I didn’t think anybody knew. I’d always thought it was something only my family knew. A secret we shared.

“There isn’t much about you I don’t know, Mina. I mean, we have lived next to each other our entire lives.”

“Right. I did hike this trail two birthdays in a row. With my mom…” My throat closed up, unwilling to allow another word to slip free.

Eli placed a hand on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I remember that too. If you don’t want to be here, say the word and we’ll leave, but I thought it might be nice to come back. I know how much you loved this place.”

I pulled in a deep breath and glanced out the window, watching as people with backpacks and water bottles walked past the trail sign. Whether they were just starting the trail or finishing it, they seemed happy. Relaxed. Sure of where they were and what they were doing.

I wanted to feel that. My soul needed it. In fact, it craved it.

“No. I want to stay. Let’s go,” I said as I popped open the passenger door and slipped out.

We were here. There was no way I could leave without stepping foot on that magical mountain, especially not with the way my night was about to go.

“Okay, then,” Eli said. He climbed out of his truck, grabbing the backpack as he went. “I’ve never hiked this one before so it’s an entirely new experience for me.”

“Are you serious? You’ve never hiked Whiteside Mountain before?” I balked. How could a person live so close to a place as beautiful as this and never experience it up close?

Eli shook his head. “Nope. You have to take it easy on me. I’m not a very experienced hiker either.”

“Experience has nothing to do with it. All you do is put one foot in front of the other.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Eli pointed to a guy coming down the stone steps at the trailhead. He was breathing hard and sweating profusely. “That guy makes it look tough as shit.”

I laughed. “It’s only because he’s older than dirt and out of shape. You are neither.” I walked to where he was and trailed my fingertips along his rock-hard abs, proving my point.

“We shall see,” Eli said as he snaked his arm around my middle and pulled me close. “I have to say, it’s good to see you smiling so big. I know you’ve been happy lately, but I haven’t seen you smile like this in a while.”

“What do you mean? I smile like this all the time.”

“No. Not like you are right now,” Eli said, his eyes narrowing on me. “There’s something about you being in nature; it makes you glow.”

I glanced away from him, tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, and started for the stone steps at the trailhead. “I do love being in nature. Always have.”

“Wait a minute,” Eli insisted as he brought us to a standstill. “Pause at the sign. I want to get your picture in front of it.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. Eli didn’t strike me as the type of guy who took pictures of much of anything.

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason,” I said as I moved to stand in front of the sign.

“Move over a bit. I want to get the name of the trail in the picture behind you,” Eli said. “Now, say cheese.”

“Cheese,” I said without moving my lips, hoping my smile came off as authentic and natural. I wasn’t one for pictures. Today I could be though. Hiking Whiteside Mountain for the first time in years with Eli at my side seemed pretty damn picture-worthy. “Okay, now why don’t you get a picture with me?”

Eli’s face scrunched up. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on. I let you take one of me. Now let’s take one together,” I insisted. “Here, use my phone.” I pulled my cell from my back pocket, opened the camera app, and handed it to him.

“Just one.”

“Just one. It better be a good one, though. No cheesy faces.”

“Aw, but those make for the best pictures.” He chuckled.

“Want to take two, then? One cheesy and one serious?”

“Nope, I’ll be serious,” he said as he draped his free arm over my shoulder and extended the arm with my cell in front of us. “Say cheese.”

“Cheese,” I said again, this time with a real smile stretched across my face. I knew without looking at the picture it was one I wanted printed and framed.

“All right, enough with the pictures,” Eli said as he handed me my phone. “Let’s get this hiking thing started.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to pause for a picture in the first place. Don’t act like it was me.”

He rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

We started up the stone steps side-by-side again. They weren’t as far apart as I remembered. Of course that could be because I’d grown a foot and a half since the last time I’d been here. The trees still seemed super tall, though. I tipped my head back and glanced up at their long branches and leaves. Sunlight filtered through them making them a beautiful shade of green. My favorite color.

Once we made it to the top of the stairs, we came to a fork in the road. To my right was a steep incline cut up with sharp rocks and unearthed roots. To the left was another incline, but it was free of rocks or roots and instead smooth.

“Which way do we take?” Eli asked. “Is there one that’s got a better view than the other?”

“They both have the same view. Actually, this entire trail is one big loop. It doesn’t matter which way we take because both circle back to here,” I said as I started toward the pathway to my left.

“Why are you heading that way, then? If both paths circle back to here, why don’t we start with the easy way?”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “You never start with the easiest way first. That’s not how life works. You always start with the bumpiest, jagged, roughest path possible to get to any place beautiful.”

“Wow. Listen to you sounding all philosophical and fortune cookie like.”

“Not really, that was just something my mom said to me the first time she brought me here. It’s always stuck with me. I think it’s pretty damn good advice that can be applied to a lot of different situations.”

“It is,” Eli insisted as he caught up to me.

A couple in their thirties walking a large white and brown pit bull passed us. They were dripping in sweat and their dog’s tongue hung out of its mouth as it struggled to breathe in the thick, humid air. It had to have the longest tongue I’d ever seen. Even though the couple was sweating, they looked invigorated. I couldn’t wait to have that feeling. Suddenly, my body craved to feel the sensation of standing on the edge of the world.

I pulled in a deep breath and tried to enjoy where I was in the hike. The warm sun beating down on me. The gentle breeze caressing my face. The bumpy ground beneath my sneakers. Birds and bugs singing to one another in the distance.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” I said, unable to contain the amount of gratitude I felt toward Eli. He’d known exactly what I needed to calm myself and feel whole again before tonight.

He glanced at me as he shifted around the weight of the backpack he’d brought. “You don’t have to thank me. Besides, the day isn’t over yet. I still have another surprise for you.”

“You do?” Normally I didn’t do well with surprises, but if all of Eli’s were like this, I was positive I’d enjoy them.

“Oh yeah.” He nodded as a big grin spread across his face. “This isn’t even the best one.”

I couldn’t imagine anything better, but I was eager to find out what else he had in store.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t involve dinner,” I said, remembering I’d forgotten to tell him about Gran’s dinner plans. “Gran wants you to come to dinner tonight.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “It’s at six. Does that mess with anything you’ve planned for us?”

“No. Should be fine.”

“Good,” I said as I stepped out of the way so a large group of people could pass. “She specifically said she wanted you to be there too.”

“I’m touched. Truly.”

“You should be. She even called you family.”

Eli’s eyes widened. “Wow.”

“I know. You’ve officially been integrated into our lives now, Eli Vargas.”

“About damn time,” he said as he pulled me close and plastered a big, wet kiss on my cheek.

I melted into his side as we continued up the steep incline toward the top of the mountain. I hadn’t remembered this section of the trail being so steep, but I still loved the way my thighs burned. Once we reached the top, it was another ten to fifteen minutes before we reached the first scenic overlook. While it wasn’t as breathtaking as the area at the top of the trail, it was still stunning.

“Holy shit. This is beautiful.” Eli gasped as he stepped over some large rocks, heading to the area marked off by a wire fence. “I can’t believe how high up we are.”

I followed him and tucked myself into his side. “This isn’t even the best view on the trail. Just wait until we get to the top.”

“I can’t imagine anything more beautiful than this.”

I glanced at him, wanting to make a mental note of his expression. There was something so boyish and innocent about the way he stared out at the mountains and greenery spread before us. I wanted to freeze time so I could remain in this moment forever. Eli got it. He understood what this place made me feel, because he felt it in that moment too.

I pulled my cell from my back pocket and opened the camera app. The moment by the sign we’d captured had been one I thought I wanted to keep forever, and it was, but this one was so much better. It was Eli’s first time seeing the place we lived with new eyes. His first time seeing such earthly beauty. His first time climbing a mountain, and I wanted to take as many pictures as I could so it would always be remembered with clarity.