Jane swallowed down the fear lodged in her throat. She tramped through the underbrush in the attempt to find a path, but there was none this far from the more popular areas. The dark pressed in on her while the sounds of nocturnal birds sent her heartbeat soaring. The scurrying of rodent feet ramped the fear brewing in her belly. Oh, she hated the dark! So many creeping, crawling things were abroad that gooseflesh raced over her skin.
When she reached the spot where she’d last seen Finn, her heart sank to find only barren grass. The annoying man had left! “Finn?” She followed the bank of the Serpentine. He couldn’t have gone far. The ground was wet and muddy in spots; the tracks of his wheels clear evidence of his passing. “Finn, where are you?”
Oh, why did it need be so dark out here?
When an owl hooted nearby, she jumped and emitted a tiny squeal of alarm. She hastened her steps, and as she rounded the curve of the lake, she spotted him behind a grouping of shrubbery and small trees. “Thank God.” For the moment, he sat in his chair.
“Go away. I don’t wish to see you.”
Well, too damn bad.“And I don’t wish to leave things as they are between us. We’re going to talk.” Though fear wrapped its icy fingers around her heart, she slowly approached him. “I refuse to lose you this way.”
Nothing else except bringing him home and securing his promise was acceptable.