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protect you. The Call will lead you back to
me when you are ready to follow it.”
    He would
always disappear, and she would wake up and stare at the ceiling, wondering if
it was truly just her subconscious speaking, or if he was somehow able to speak
to her through her dreams. The only way to find out for certain was if she
asked him, and since that would require going back into the woods, it wasn’t an
option.
    One day,
shortly before noon, Jake showed up at her doorstep with a picnic basket looped
over one of his sturdy arms. “I’m terribly sorry to show up unannounced,” he
told her aunt with a cheeky grin that belied his statement, “but I was hoping
to surprise her. Would you mind terribly if I took your niece out for a
picnic?”
    If she’d
still been living amongst the gentry, and had one of those proper, highborn
mothers who were sticklers for the rules, Jake would have been shooed away instantly
for the idea. A young man escorting a lady for an afternoon alone in the
countryside, without a single servant or chaperone in attendance? It was the
stuff scandals were made of. But out here it was normal, almost expected even,
and so her Aunt Sylvia simply smiled, looking very pleased.
    “I’m sure
Kyra would love to go.”
    “Are you
certain?” Kyra asked, stepping forward. “I know you’d planned to have me help
with the wash today.”
    Her Aunt
shook her head briskly. “Nonsense, child. I’ve been doing the wash by myself
longer than you’ve been alive. I assure you I can make it through the day
without your help, as much as I do love your company.” She pinched Kyra’s cheek
affectionately. “Now hurry and get your bonnet and shoes. I’m sure Jake doesn’t
want to be kept waiting long.”
    Shaking her
head, Kyra did as she was told, though she couldn’t help the smile on her face.
“I do believe my aunt is doing her best to see I spend as much time with you as
possible,” she said after her Aunt had shut the door, hooking her arm around
his as they walked through the grass.
    “Well, good,”
Jake said, squeezing her arm affectionately.
    “Oh, you,”
Kyra began, then stopped at the sight of the fully-saddled workhorse standing a
few feet away. His nose was buried in the grass as he munched, his long tail
swishing lazily, and his black coat gleamed in the sunlight. “You brought
Ahern?”
    “The place I
had in mind is a little far for a walk,” Jake admitted. “I hope you don’t
mind.”
    Kyra shook
her head. “It’s been a few months since I’ve last been in the saddle,” she said
as he mounted. “It will be nice to feel horseflesh beneath me again.”
    She allowed
him to pull her up and settle her between his legs, and though it was a little
uncomfortable sitting sideways without a sidesaddle, she was able to lean
against his chest, which more than made up for it. Cradling the picnic basket
in her hands, she listened to his heartbeat as they trotted through the fields
and down a dirt path. His chest was warm and sturdy beneath her cheek, and he smelled
like sweet hay and the freshly baked bread from his mother’s kitchen.
    With a little
sigh of contentment, she watched the tall grass waving lazily in the summer
breeze, listened to the birds twittering and the sound of small animals
scampering about. Closing her eyes, she allowed peace to envelope her.
    “We’re here,
sleeping beauty.”
    She jerked up
with a start, nearly hitting the top of her head against Jake’s chin. They were
standing near the base of a hill, overlooking a small pond tucked against a gathering
of apple trees and blackberry bushes. The sweetness of the berries, which were
about ripe to bursting at this time of year, wafted to her on the warm breeze,
and the sunlight sparkled off the clear water.
    “It’s
beautiful,” she murmured, and then recalled his words. “Did I really fall
asleep?”
    “You did.”
Jake helped her dismount, then slid smoothly to the ground himself. “Snored all
the way