Chapter One
SOFIA
As Sofia Reyes trudged through the snow, she remembered why she didn’t like hiking, especially in the winter. A bit of the cold white substance that blanketed the ground had slipped inside her left boot, leaving her sock wet and her skin clammy. But she had an obligation to hike the trail through the woods on New Year’s Eve. It was tradition, so she would suffer through.
The onslaught of snow had continued to fall since Christmas, and Sofia was hiking on packed powder that had to be three feet deep. She gave a little sigh, trying not to dream of spring. Snow was magical on Christmas, of course, but beyond that, she could do without it.
Snow meant shoveling her driveway. It meant helping her best friend, Ash, salt the walkways at the Emerald House. Snow meant road closures, trapping her in her little town of Emerald Hollow instead of giving her the freedom to shop in nearby cities. It meant no garden or blossoming flowers that lit her world with fragrance.
Flowers had been on her mind a lot lately, and she couldn’t fully understand why. On Christmas Eve, a week ago, she’d had a dream that she was struggling to shake. It had felt sodifferent from her other dreams, somehow more vivid despite her memories of it being unclear.
The Christmas Eve dream had involved flowers and jewelry, and though she couldn’t quite remember the details, she’d woken up with a strong urge to take her jewelry business to the next level in the new year. Since then, she’d been tossing around ideas for a new collection, but nothing had stuck.
Her mind returned to the task at hand as her boots loudly crunched across the firm white ground. Sofia was nearly there. She would take in the view, say a few words of remembrance, then turn right back around for the comfort of the little electric fireplace in her living room.
Sofia’s thoughts were broken when she spotted something on the path ahead, and she narrowed her eyes while reaching for the pepper spray clipped to her backpack.
“Oh my god,” she breathed as a gray-and-blue lump, which was in stark contrast to the snow, came into focus. A man lay sprawled across the path.
Sofia’s pulse pounded in her ears, and she ran to him and knelt to check for signs of bleeding. She didn’t see any, but he appeared to be unconscious. She leaned her ear toward his mouth and listened to hear if he was breathing then watched for a rise and fall of his chest. Relieved, she let out a breath when she saw his jacket moving steadily up and down.
Thoughts bombarded her.Okay, he’s breathing. How long has he been out here lying in the snow? He seems to be dressed warmly enough, but hypothermia can set in quickly in these conditions.
She shook him a little, and he jerked upright. The man looked around, his eyes wild.
Sofia stood and took a few steps back. “Sir, are you all right?”
He turned as if he was just seeing her, and his forehead crinkled in confusion. “Where am I?” His voice was deep andsmooth, but his face signaled something between uncertainty and fear.
“You’re in the woods outside of Emerald Hollow.”
“Emerald Hollow?”
Sofia’s brow pinched. “You haven’t heard of it?”
“I… I don’t think so.”
Sofia tried not to bite the inside of her lip. While he seemed okay physically, something was clearly off. She stealthily pulled out her phone and sent Ash a quick text.
“Do you remember going out for a hike this morning? Where did you set out from?” Sofia was still keeping her distance. She’d put the pepper spray away when she saw that he was truly unconscious, but she was ready to grab it again if needed.
The man’s forehead tightened again as if he was trying to remember. “I set out from… from…” He looked up at her then, and their eyes met. His were the palest brown, and they seemed to be searching for something as he looked at her. “I don’t remember,” he said at last.
As if on cue, thick, wet snow began to fall again. She tried not to roll her eyes at the circumstances, despite her concern and wariness.This darned snow.It was like something in a movie.
At the feel of a vibration, she checked her phone and relaxed a little. At least Ash had seen her text.
“Okay. I think you fell on your hike today, and you may have a concussion. We need to get you out of this cold. Are you okay to walk back? It’s about a mile to the parking area.”
How long was this man hiking?She hadn’t seen any other cars when she’d parked, and the next natural entry point to the trail would have been five miles south. Every sense in Sofia’s body was heightened, and a slight crackle in the distance, likely from a squirrel, made her jump.
The man slowly rose, and he seemed steady on his feet. Sofia finally realized how tall he was. Everyone was tall compared toher, but he had to be well over six feet. His blue hiking coat fit snugly on his trim frame.
“Yeah, I think so. I feel fine physically. I just don’t…” He looked around again then reached near his shoulders as if feeling for something that should have been there. “I could have sworn I was wearing a backpack.”
Oh good. He remembers something.“I’ll follow you,” Sofia said, stepping slightly off the trail so that he could pass her. If they were going to walk back together, she would at least be able to keep her eyes on him the whole way. Six years in the military had taught her something about basic situational awareness.
To her relief, he nodded and walked by her, shaking his arms and legs out a little to get the blood flowing. Sofia started walking a few paces behind him then turned her head to glance up toward the top of the hill. Guilt tugged at her chest like a thread of a sweater snagging on the back of a chair.
