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This place I’ve found is not hidden,
But trails and peaks are a given.
Remember your roots so you might find
A heart that’s full of peace of mind.
Ending where it all began is a must,
But beginning where it ended might be your first stand.
There might be fire,
And there might be water,
But trails to follow are surely shallow.
Ask for help, don’t be afraid
And in the end you’ll surely find
A peaceful heart and a blessed mind.
I’m quiet as Cori finishes the poem, then looks at me as if I have any answers as to what it means. “I really don’t know.”
“Is there a special place around here that might trigger a memory?”
Most of the special places I can think of at the ranch are connected to Cori, but again, that isn’t something this poem in this random game can know anything about. I’m lost. Maybe it has to do with places I’ve been with my brothers. It might not have anything at all to do with Cori even if her name was on the paper.
“Let’s look at the rest of the items and maybe I’ll get a clue,” I tell her.
We do and over the next few hours, we study the map, the poem, and some miscellaneous papers. None of it makes much sense. But one place is coming to mind as I search through it.
“Maybe it has something to do with places you and I visited ten years ago,” I suggest. I don’t know that I want to take a walk in the past with Cori. I’m not sure of anything right now, though. “We could start tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow won’t work for me. I have classes all week. We can go on the weekend.” I don’t want to let her leave. I want her to stay here in the cabin with me, just as we did ten years ago. This journey is going to put me through hell... yet I’m notstopping it. I’m not only not stopping it, but I’m excited about it. I might not want to be excited, but I am. This might be my biggest adventure of all time.
“Okay, we’ll get started Saturday morning.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she says after a long pause. “But this might be nothing more than a wild goose chase.” I look at her for a long moment, wondering if that’s exactly what it is. It doesn’t matter because it isn’t something I can turn away from.
“I know.” It probably is, but I’m committed and there’s no stopping it.
I’m unable to do much more talking after this. Even after Cori leaves and I’m alone with my thoughts, I have no answers as to what this is about. Who was that woman fifteen years ago, and what does it have to do with me now? And why in the hell is Cori tied into it all? There’s only one way to find the answers. Let the game begin.
Chapter Sixteen
Courtney
I need to continue breathing in and out. If I take this project one day at a time instead of looking at it as one long adventure, I’ll do much better. Telling myself this doesn’t help. Being in the same room with Blaze for long periods of time messes with my head and heart in a way I didn’t realize was still possible. And I don’t like it one bit. I’ve barely been able to concentrate during my classes, and somehow, my mind wanders, missing Blaze. It’s ridiculous.
Exhaustion fills me as I stroll into an old restaurant I once ate at with Blaze. Being with Blaze isn’t easy on my emotions. And now instead of looking at places I went to in the last ten years without the man, I’m looking at them through my eyes as an eighteen-year-old. I was free, I was happy, and I was in love. But this is the here and now, and as I look up and see my friend standing at the hostess station, I force my smile.
“Hi, Aimee,” I say, my nerves already lighter.
“It’s about time you got here, Cori,” she says, then lets out a squeal and runs to me. “You’ve been missing in action.” Aimee throws her arms around me and we hug, ignoring the people waiting nearby with curious looks on their faces.
“I know. This semester has been awful,” I tell her, feeling bad. There’s nothing worse than not seeing your best friend.
