Absently, the man brushed dust from his white cotton shirt, black riding trousers, and tall black boots. His arms and chest visible beneath his shirt, unbuttoned at the throat, revealed a healthy tan. He was a trim man, trim, yet sturdy. A stray lock of black hair, slightly faded from the sun, fell across his forehead.
He strode toward the house, stopped directly in front of the window, and stared up at her. The man held her gaze for a moment before his clear, intense eyes slowly slid down the length of her. A shiver tingled up her spine as the wind brushed a stray wisp of hair against her cheek.
A frown briefly crossed his features and he ran a hand through his hair, sweeping it off his forehead. He blinked and his eyes came back to hers; his lips slowly tipped up in an arrogant smile. Despite the arrogance, he was ruggedly handsome. Bowing slightly, he started toward the front of the house.
The contact was broken with a jolt. Erika's heart raced and her body trembled. She took a deep breath, commanding herself to be calm and in control. It had always worked in veterinary school.
It didn't work. She couldn't slow her racing pulse. She was at a loss to explain her trembling hands and light-headed feeling at the bold perusal of this man. This stranger who seemed familiar somehow.
What was happening to her? Did she know him? Of course not. He wasn't the kind of man a girl would easily forget.
Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her ears, blocking out the steady ticking of the grandfather clock. She leaned against the window frame and closed her eyes.
The feeling of light-headedness swept over her once again and then was gone. The silence of the house rang in her ears.
A door opened downstairs, jarring her back to her senses. She hurried down the stairs and turned just in time to see Mable step through the back door with her purse and raincoat. At least she and Jonathan would be left alone until morning.
Erika sighed in frustration and turned around to check the time. She stood face to face with the silent grandfather clock.
The clock!
Jonathan had asked her to wind it, but she hadn't.
She squeezed her eyes shut and thought back through the last several minutes. It had definitely been ticking. She knew the sound as well as she knew the voice in her own head. Reaching into her pocket, she squeezed the clock’s key.
Suddenly she felt very tired. Maybe she shouldn't have taken on teaching that zoology class at the community college, but with just one more semester of internship before becoming a licensed veterinarian, she had decided not to pass up the school's offer. It was good experience.
This Thanksgiving holiday was the first time off she'd had since Vaughn's accident. All the hard work would pay off next summer when she could finally open her own clinic. She looked forward to specializing in cute, cuddly pets, not the large farm animals her employer catered to.
Trying to keep her thoughts focused, she wandered into the parlor and found herself in front of the arrangement of portraits displayed on the wall. Jonathan and Vaughn were there as well as her mother and father. She and Bradley were the last ones added to the group. At the far end were William and Abigail, the ones who built the house in the early 1800s. Scanning the row of faces, she paused somewhere near the center.
Feeling a tingle at the base of her spine, she focused on the man's familiar face. A face was far too familiar – yet shouldn’t have been.
Of course it was familiar, she thought, frustrated with herself. She had seen these paintings hundreds of times. She used to come here as a child and study them. Then why did this one stand out now?
She warmed her cool fingertips against her palms.
Suddenly fear and disbelief collided in her mind.
It was him! It was the man on the horse. This painting was well over a hundred and fifty years old. How could she have just seen him, living and breathing?
Disconcerted, she went back up to the landing and stood in front of the now closed window. Wondering briefly who had closed it, she realized that if the rider had entered the house, she would have seen him. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the heavy curtain aside and peeked out.
Her grip on the soft fabric tightened and her breathing came in shallow, quivering gasps. Where were the rows of cotton that had been there minutes ago? Familiar pine seedlings and briars had taken over the fields that had been neatly plowed only moments before. One of the two remaining outbuildings had caved in and was no more than a heap of rotten lumber.
The child was gone, too, and there was no sign of the cat or the doll. But, the oak tree... The tree the girl had been sitting beneath was no longer a young sapling. It was a full grown tree with its limbs stretching skyward.
She turned and numbly continued to the top of the stairs. A breeze stirred and cooled her sweaty palms. It was like someone had flipped a switch and for a moment she had seen a page of history. Perhaps she had wished for things to be the way they had been when Vaughn was alive so much that she had hallucinated. She shook her head. Impossible. Her imagination was much too vivid.
At the top of the stairs, she stopped with one hand clutching the rail. Her vision wavered and she blinked, trying to regain focus. Her entire world careened in front of her and she grabbed the rail with both hands.
Then the world righted itself and was still.
A soft ticking sound drifted from downstairs.
It can't be the clock.
She had the key. In a panic, she reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the small, silver key.
"Excuse me, Miss? You must have come in while I was out."
Erika whirled around, startled. A tall, heavy set man in a black cloak and hat towered over her. In a state of confusion, she studied his kind honest face and tried to block out the clock's incessant ticking.
With an embarrassed chuckle and a grin that flashed his white teeth, he swept the hat from his head. "I'm sorry, Miss. I just came in from the smoke house. We didn't expect you so soon."
This was not her imagination. She swallowed and closed her mouth, dry with the onset of panic.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice cracking in mid-sentence.
A flicker of hurt swept over his face. "Don't you remember Villars? But of course, you're wore out from the trip. I'll show you to your room so you can rest."
The clock began to chime the half hour. Erika started and nearly tumbled down the stairs. Grabbing her elbow, Villars caught her as her left foot slipped off the top step.
"Be careful, Miss Sierra," he warned as he steadied her.
Erika leaned against the banister. The color drained from her face.
Sierra?
"Are you feeling all right, Miss Sierra?"
Erika looked up into that unknown face and fear suddenly grabbed at her heart. He had set out to confuse her in order to rob them or murder them - or both. She took a step backwards.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm the butler, Miss," he said with a puzzled expression.
"Sure." She took another step backwards. "You're no more a butler than I'm Sierra."
"Please, Miss. Let me send some vittles up to you. We have some fresh bouillabaisse."
Erika turned and ran like a fleeing rabbit to her grandfather's room. Instinctively she wanted to protect him from this intruder. She slammed the door behind her and frantically turned the lock.
Leaning against the cool wood, she listened to her erratic heartbeat pounding in her ears.
She feared for them both. She had to warn Jonathan and call the police. Taking a deep breath, she turned with an explanation on her lips.
Her mind soundlessly screamed.
The bed was neatly made up. Jonathan was not in the room and there was no sign that he ever had been. She felt like she'd fallen into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Loosening her grip on the door knob, she walked to the bed and sat down. What had the man done with Jonathan? Could he really be a butler? She didn't know what to think anymore. Her life had somehow cras
hed and lay crumbled at her feet, ripping reality to shreds in the process.
She looked out the bedroom window at the setting sun. There was the garden, then a row of frame shacks. The cotton fields spread as far as she could see. She definitely wasn't where she'd started when she arrived not much more than an hour ago.
She couldn't stay here in this room forever. She had to confront Villars - and whatever was happening to her.
Steeling herself, she went to the door and unlocked it. Villars stood where she had left him.
"Who lives here?" she asked, keeping one foot safely inside the bedroom.
Understanding dawned on Villars' face. "I'm sorry, Miss Sierra. I forgot you hadn't been here since you were a child. There's Mister Richard, and Mistress Rebecca, and Miss Andrea, and Mister Charles. You've never met Miss Andrea, but you remember Mister Charles, don't you?"
Glancing down at her sweater and jeans, she ran her hand along the fabric, convincing herself that they, at least, were real. Trying to appear casual, she stepped out into the hallway.
"What year is this?" she asked hesitantly.
"I believe it's 1837. But it could be 1836. I don't rightly know."
Erika had the fleeting thought that she had died. She glanced toward the bottom of the stairs, and released her breath in a jagged rush when she didn't see her body crumpled on the pale cream rug.
KEEP READING Twist of Fate…
Also by Kathryn Kaleigh
For a full and up-to-date list of Kathryn Kaleigh’s books, visit www.kathrynkaleigh.com
Time Spells Beckon
Sweet, Time Travel Romance
Twist of Fate
When the Stars Align
Once in a Blue Moon
Once Upon a Christmas
A Wish Upon a Star
Storm Spells Beckon
Sweet, Time Travel Romance
When Lightning Strikes
Storm of Time
Midnight Storm
When the Moon Falls
Falling Through to Forever
HISTORICAL WESTERN ROMANCE
Sweet, American Historical Romance
Finding Natalie
Promising Samantha
Falling for Allyson
Saving Savannah
Claiming Charlie
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Sweet American Historical Romance
Jasmine Kisses
Magnolia Kisses
Gardenia Kisses
Love Always
Beyond Enemy Lines
Hearts Under Siege
Hearts Under Fire
Wait for Me
Take Me Home
Keep Me Safe
Away Down South in Dixie
The Reluctant Bride
CUPID’S KISS ROMANCE
Sweet, Wholesome Contemporary
Begin Again
Love Again
Falling Again
Just Happened
Just Maybe
Just Pretend
Just Because
Just Us
Just Once
Just Stay
Just Chance
Just Believe
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE COLLECTION
Serenity
Lost and Found
Courting Alley Cat
All I Want for Christmas
FATED MATES SEXY ROMANCE
Riley’s Mate
Aiden’s Mate
Brayden’s Mate
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
100 Short Stories in 3 Volumes
* * *
Kissing Tales Volume One
Kissing Tales Volume Two
Kissing Tales Volume Three
* * *
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Did you love When the Moon Falls? Then you should read Twist of Fate by Kathryn Kaleigh!
Their love defied time…
A modern woman, Erika Becquerel returns home to find her grandfather's life in danger. But she soon finds herself in a world that could not exist. A Harvest Moon Ball in her grandfather's home?
A colonial man, Charles Becquerel faces a life already laid out for him by his family. But when Erika appears in his life, he senses an unexpected change. An inevitable change?
The silent grandfather clock chimes the hour. A dangerous thunderstorm rages outside while the world inside turns upside down.
Trapped between two timelines, Erika faces an impossible choice. Lives hang in the balance. She must choose…
A love story that defies the boundaries of time. A suspenseful American historical time travel romance novel. First in a standalone time travel series that follows the Becquerel family through time.
Read more at Kathryn Kaleigh’s site.
About the Author
Kathryn Kaleigh is the bestselling author of enchanting time travel romance, heartwarming historical romance, and sweet wholesome contemporary romance with romantic happily ever afters.
For sneak peeks, exclusive short stories, and lots of book news, sign up for Kathryn's newsletter:
www.kathrynkaleigh.com Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3dXz4gl
Read more at Kathryn Kaleigh’s site.
When the Moon Falls Page 11