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Trekking back across the plantation field was a lot harder the second time around. Gone were sprawling, well-manicured lawns. Everything was disgustingly overgrown. Vines and brambles pulled at Melody’s bare feet.
“There,” she said as they neared the edge of the taller tree-line. “Right where I left it!”
The silver gate looked the same as it did when she’d entered. Without the mist hanging over everything, it was easy to spot.
“Listen,” she told Lucus as she swung it wide. “We’ll probably need to hitch a ride back into town.”
“Hitch?”
Oh man, she thought. This is going to be crazy for him.
She hadn’t actually thought about it until just now. There just hadn’t been time.
He’s 18th or 19th century! How’s he going to be able to adjust?
There was so many things Lucus needed to see. So much about the world — the bright, brand new world — he didn’t know anything about. Everything would be fascinating. Everything would be new. Rather than pity him, she actually envied him.
At first it’s going to be overwhelming.
She smiled back at the blacksmith. She’d show him. And it would be fun too.
“Through here,” Melody said, picking her way along the wooded path. The oppressive heat was back again, full force. So were the insects. Already her dress was nearly soaked through. “The road should be right up this way, and—”
She stopped mid-stride. Confused, Lucus fell in next to her.
Her car was still there!
The long black sedan sat idling quietly on the side of the road, exactly where it had been when she left it three days ago.
Lucus’s mouth dropped open. “What the—”
“It’s a car,” she said, just a little too slowly. Melody made a mental note to try not to sound condescending, or like an adult explaining something to a small child. “It’s… sort of like a carriage.”
“A carriage?”
“Yeah, but no horses,” Melody smiled. “This is our ride.”
Eventually Lucus nodded. Though wary, he seemed alright with it.
She wiped her brow dry with the back of one arm and led him toward the sedan. Laying one hand on the door handle, Melody chuckled.
“Just wait until you get a load of air conditioning…”
Lucus glanced back at her three separate times before climbing into the back of the car. Eventually she convinced him it was okay, and that he should scoot over to make room for her.
Melody sighed as she sank gratefully into the soft leather seat. Closing the door against the constant drone of buzzing insects, she shut her eyes for a second to let the cool air wash over her.
It was absolute heaven.
“Is everything alright, Ms. Larson?”
There was more than a little concern in the driver’s voice. She opened one eye, and saw that the partition was already down. The man behind the steering wheel had one hand inside his jacket, resting on something heavy. She knew without seeing it what it was.
“Everything is totally fine,” Melody said insistently. She nodded in the direction of his coat. “Please stop. No need for that.”
Slowly the man took his hand from his jacket. He was still looking Lucus up and down, though.
“This man is a guest,” she said loudly. “In fact, he saved my life!”
