Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

J anet clutched the steering wheel so tightly that her hands ached as she tried to peer through the windshield. Heavy, wet snow was falling faster than the wipers could remove it. The small section through which she could see was little help – the road was barely visible in the swirling cloud of white.

"Damn you, Rick," she muttered.

If her ex had been even the slightest bit more responsible, she wouldn't have had to make this treacherous journey. Unfortunately, it was too late to turn back now. She was twice as far from town as she was from the isolated cabin she had inherited from her father. If she could just make it there - and if the pipes hadn't already frozen - it was equipped with enough supplies for her to wait out the storm.

Normally she enjoyed the drive through the rugged scenery, but this was terrifying rather than exhilarating.

"God, I'm such an idiot."

No .

She refused to take responsibility for the fact that he was a worthless bastard. Unfortunately, that seemed to be her type. She always fell for a smooth talker with a charming grin – and a complete lack of morals, apparently.

Rick hadn't even been ashamed when she caught him with the blonde bimbo. He'd just shrugged, not a hint of remorse on his good-looking face.

"I guess I'm not cut out to be a one-woman man, babe."

She had refused to show him how much he had devastated her. The fact that the blonde bimbo was her complete opposite only added salt to the wound. Darlene was tall and voluptuous, built like the proverbial brick house, whereas Janet was small and slim and had barely more curves than a twelve-year-old boy. They were both blondes, but her short curls were nothing like the other woman's mane of smooth golden waves.

"Whatever." She had managed to keep her voice cool and dismissive. "Just give me back the keys to the cabin."

The cabin was the reason she had discovered the two of them. Rick loved the cabin as much as she did, but the last time he had wanted to go, she hadn't been able to get off work. She'd sent him off with a fishing buddy instead, but he'd seemed so disappointed that she felt guilty. She had decided to surprise him with a trip for the two of them. Instead, she had found him in bed with the bimbo.

She hadn't had the heart to go up that weekend after all. And she wouldn't be going now except that when the weather report indicated temperatures would be below freezing, she had called Rick to make sure that he had followed her instructions and drained the pipes when he left.

Of course he hadn't, just as he hadn't followed any of her other instructions for closing up the cabin. He started on his usual list of excuses, but she just hung up. It wasn't even worth the time and energy to swear at him.

Her boss Alice, a practical older woman with a gruff manner that concealed a loving heart, hadn't rebuked Janet when she explained why she needed the time off.

"Don't worry about it. This is our slow season anyway." she peered at Janet from under thick gray brows. "Why don't you take the whole weekend? You need a break."

"I need to work," Janet protested.

"You have been working. Not that I object, but maybe you need a little time to get your head together. Think about your choices."

"You mean like Rick?"

"And Steven. And Alex," Alice said dryly.

"I know, I know. I have shit taste in men."

"So do something about it. You're a smart woman – too smart to keep making bad decisions."

The worst of it was that Alice was right. She was too smart to be making such terrible decisions. As the snow grew even thicker and her pace dropped to a crawl, her thoughts kept returning to the subject, probing at it like a sore tooth. Why did she always go for the losers?

Was it because she hadn't always had the best relationship with her father? Being raised by a single dad after her mother died hadn't been easy, and her teenage years had consisted of one battle after another. She had headed off to college, and then a job in the city, without a backwards glance.

The two of them had reconciled when she came home to nurse him through his final illness. After he died, she'd been content to remain in her small hometown.

But Cedar Springs wasn't exactly overflowing with eligible bachelors. She got tired of her own company, and maybe that made her an easy victim for the next man with a smooth smile and a hint of the devil in his eyes.

She was so lost in her thoughts that when a massive deer appeared out of the swirling snow in front of her, she didn't react with her usual caution. Instead, she instinctively stomped on the brakes. As soon as the rear end of the truck started to slide out from under her, she realized her mistake and tried to steer into the skid, but it was too late.

The truck slid rapidly towards the bank of the road, gathering speed as it went. The last thing she saw was the oncoming tree. And then everything went dark.

Janet's hand felt like it was burning, the sensation penetrating her unconscious and startling her awake. Confused memories of the truck crashing filled her mind. Her whole body felt hot. Was the truck on fire?

She forced her eyes open, then blinked as bright sunlight blinded her. Squinting against the light, she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. The snow had disappeared, and so had the truck. She was lying at the bottom of a tall pillar of rock, while in front of her stretched miles of open desert. The sand was cotton candy pink, with gold particles that sparkled under the brilliant sun.

Her hand burned, and she realized that it was not under the shadow of the rocks but exposed to the full heat of the sun. She hastily snatched it into the shade – the very small amount of shade.

Where the hell was she?

And where were her clothes?

Her jeans and down coat, her thermal layer, even her underwear had disappeared. She instinctively put her arm across her breasts, peering around to see if there was anyone nearby.

There were no signs of life at all, only the wind whispering across the sand.

The heat of the sun reached her bare foot, and the practical need to find more shade was a welcome respite from the questions swirling through her mind. Feeling ridiculously exposed despite the empty surroundings, she pushed herself to her feet and started to edge along the rock.

Her foot immediately snagged on something. The long strap of a crudely woven bag was wrapped around her ankle. She snatched it up eagerly, hoping it would provide some type of answer.

To her vast disappointment, it only contained two items. The first was a sheet of some kind of plastic, covered with symbols that made no sense to her. The second was a small silver square that seemed equally useless.

With a muttered oath, she stuffed them back into the bag, then resumed her trek along the rock wall. It ended abruptly, revealing a small pocket of space between several more of the wide stone pillars. The area was open to the sky, but the rock was tall enough to block most of the sun. She slipped into the larger patch of shade with a grateful sigh. It even seemed cooler here.

But where was here , exactly?

She frowned at the sand still clinging to her fingers. She had heard of pink sand, of course, but she had always thought it was only found on a few beaches. There were no beaches anywhere in sight – just that endless expanse of desert.

And even the rocks, striped in pink and gold and purple, were like nothing she had ever seen before. It almost felt as if… as if she wasn't on Earth anymore.

Don't be ridiculous , she told herself. You've seen too many science fiction movies.

She just needed to find some sort of civilization. And water. Her mouth already felt parched and dry.

But the sun was far too intense for her to brave the desert now. She would have to wait until it was much lower on the horizon. In the meantime, she should rest and conserve her energy. She sat down in the deepest pocket of shade with her back against the rock and prepared to wait.

Coming up with a plan, even a minimal one, gave her courage, but as the minutes ticked by, there was nothing else for her to think about but where she was and why she was here. None of it made any sense.

A squawk sounded from overhead, and she looked up to see a small bird watching her from atop one of the rock columns. Except… it wasn't a bird.

The creature looking down at her from sharp yellow eyes had wings all right, but they weren't made of feathers. Instead, an intricate pattern of pink and purple covered thin membranes that looked more like bat wings.

A cold shiver swept over her body despite the heat. She was certain that such an animal didn't exist on Earth.

"I haven't been watching too much sci-fi. This isn't Earth, is it?"

The answering squawk sounded almost like agreement, then the little creature spread its wings and flew away.

Tears threatened but she refused to give in to them. She had learned a long time ago that crying didn't solve anything. She hadn't cried for Rick, and she wasn't going to cry now.

Despite her resolution, her mouth quivered as she wrapped her arms around her knees. She pressed her lips together to stop them trembling. Her plan hadn't changed, except now she would head in the direction in which the bird creature had disappeared. Then she would find whoever brought her here and make them take her back.