A tempting offer. But…he could be a rapist, a maniac who went around killing women with a shovel. “No thanks.”
“Where will you sleep?” he asked.
She looked around. There was nothing but trees. She thought she saw a movement within the trunks. What…
“Miss. You will die if you do not find shelter.”
She looked at the guy again. “You said you have a sister. Bring her here.”
He hesitated for a moment and then turned and hurried away.
Aria watched him go. Should she go home with him? Was she crazy even considering going home with some stranger? She was a New Yorker. Trust no one.
While she waited, she played over and over in her head what had happened. She was talking and walking with Mrs. B. They’d left the building, and Aria had turned to lock…the key. The key. The more she thought about it, the more it warmed her…hand. She looked down at it still in her palm. Had it brought her to some field within a forest in England? She should laugh. It was impossible. Then she heard something. Aria turned her chattering teeth and frozen toes to the trees. Could it be a bear? Her mouth went dry and her heart pounded again. There it was again! The slightest movement deep in the shadows, then a flash of red! She narrowed her eyes on the shadows. “Hello?”
Only silence met her ears. A twig cracked, booming in the wind.
Should she run?
She wiped the cold sweat from her brow and narrowed her eyes on the forest. Seconds passed with her searching, ready to flee.
“Miss? Here’s my sister, Sarah.”
Aria turned, her heart still racing, and faced the man who had returned with a younger woman with dark chestnut hair, like her alleged brother’s. Hers was long and braided down her back. Her smile was shy.
“You can come home with us and get warm. Will will not hurt you.”
“Will?”
“My brother,” Sarah let her know, motioning to him.
Aria sighed with deep relief and looked over her shoulder again where she’d seen…something. Finally, she nodded and took a step closer to the girl.
“By the way?” Aria asked them as they walked in the snow. “What kind of clothes are you wearing? They don’t look anything like what I’ve seen where I live.”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Sarah admitted with a shy smile. “You must be freezing without an overcoat.”
“It was sum—I wasn’t prepared for this.”
Will flashed his smile at her. She looked away. There was a reason she was single at twenty-three without a guy for miles. Oh, there were plenty around her, but no one appealed to her. Mrs. B. used to say it was because the right man hadn’t come into her life yet. When he did, Aria would know it.
And then what was she supposed to do? Date someone who made her belly flip for a second—until she got to know him better. Men, especially the few dancers she knew, were basically alike, dead, dispassionate, wet fish who knew nothing about real love.
“You mentioned New York earlier,” Will brought up. “Where is that?”
“In America.”
Will and Sarah stopped.
“You come from the colonies?”
“Is that not where all the miscreants are sent?” Sarah asked, bringing her hands to her chest.
Will put his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “I am sure this lady is no miscreant.”
How did he know? How could he make such a declaration? “You’re right, I’m not.”
“How did you get here?” Sarah asked.