Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

A manda picked up her tote bag and did a last quick check of her classroom. The bean seedlings in a neat row on the windowsill had all been watered. Hammy the hamster's food and water dispensers were full and he had clean litter. The brightly colored spring flowers her third graders had made from tissue paper were arranged in a colorful bouquet. She gave a satisfied nod, then closed the door behind her.

Everything would be in good shape when she returned after spring break.

Not that it feels much like spring , she thought with a shiver as she stepped out into the empty school grounds. The sky was dark and overcast, and the cold breeze made her tug her scarf closer around her neck, half regretting that she had chosen to walk today. But her small house was less than ten minutes from the school and unless it was raining or she was bringing in project materials, she tried to walk most days.

She crossed the road into the park, almost deserted since the cold weather had driven the children inside. Except for one. Her heart ached as she recognized the small figure on one of the swings.

"Hi, Billy," she said, sitting down on the swing next to him. "What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged, scuffing his feet in the ruts beneath the swing. "Nothing much."

Despite his attempt to sound casual, his thin shoulders were hunched defensively beneath a too-thin sweater.

"What happened to your coat?" she asked gently. She had made arrangements to buy him a new one as a Christmas present.

He shrugged again. "Jeanine said Ronnie needed it more ‘cause he's littler than me."

She did her best to hide her frustration. Jeanine, Billy's foster mother, showed an obvious preference for her own son, but Amanda hadn't thought she would go as far as taking away Billy's clothes.

"I could get you a new one," she suggested.

He immediately straightened his shoulders and gave her a defiant glare. "I don't need no charity."

"I know you don't, but it was a gift for you, not for Ronnie."

His fierce scowl didn't change, and she was afraid he was going to refuse, but finally his face softened. "Yeah, I guess."

"Good," she said, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

What was it about this one child that tugged so much on her heartstrings? He had an untidy shock of red hair and a pale, thin face covered with freckles. His whole body was composed of sharp angles, from his pointed nose to his bony elbows. He was prickly and defiant and already labeled as a disciplinary problem. But she could see the bright, loving, creative child behind the fa?ade and she longed with all her heart to nurture him.

"I suppose I'd better be getting home," she said finally. "And you should too—it's getting colder."

"Jeanine told me to stay out until suppertime."

She bit back an angry protest. "Why would she do that?"

"Ronnie's at his grandma's, and she had a… friend coming over."

She could guess what he meant by friend . This was a small town, and Jeanine's interest in the opposite sex wasn't much of a secret.

Amanda had tried raising the issue with Mrs. Dublin, Billy's caseworker. The older woman had sighed, looking at her over the top of her glasses.

"I know, dear. But they are only rumors. She met all of the requirements to be a foster parent and she has passed all of her home checks."

"Billy needs more than someone who's just making sure the boxes are ticked."

"I agree with you, but until you're certified, the only other choice would be to send him back to a larger home in the city. And I moved him here to get him away from that environment."

"I remember." When Mrs. Dublin met with her to let her know that Billy would be in her class, the caseworker had shared enough of his background to make her blood run cold.

The more she had gotten to know Billy, the more she had come to care for the little boy. In less than a month, she had been determined to provide a better home for him. She had applied to become a foster parent, but it wasn't a fast process. All she could do was to wait as patiently as possible until she was certified.

Looking at Billy now didn't make it any easier.

"Do you want me to take you home? I can talk to Jeanine."

"Nah. I don't wanna be there anyway when Dave's there. I don't like him."

She couldn't blame him—she didn't think much of Dave Roberts either. A big man with a loud voice and a mean temper, he had no respect for anyone smaller or weaker than him.

"In that case, why don't you come home with me instead? I was going to make cookies, and I could use an expert taster."

For a moment, she thought his pride would cause him to refuse, but then his gap-toothed grin split his face. "I reckon I could do that."

The cookie making was a success. Billy ate so much of the raw dough that she was afraid he was going to be sick, but he devoured the finished product with undiminished enthusiasm. He even helped her clean up the kitchen before she walked him home, proudly carrying his share of the cookies.

Jeanine met them at the door, flushed and smiling, and Amanda couldn't help the tiniest pang of jealousy. How long had it been since she'd had an afternoon encounter? Or any encounter for that matter? There weren't a lot of prospects in their small town, and her teaching position made casual pickups a bad idea.

Then Jeanine grabbed the bag of cookies and ordered Billy off to the bedroom to do his homework, and Amanda's jealousy disappeared under a tide of annoyance.

"No homework today," Amanda said as patiently as possible, as Billy's face tightened and he slouched away. "It's the beginning of spring break."

"Oh, God. That means I'm going to be stuck in the house all day." Jeanine gave her a shrewd look. "What are you going to be doing? Heading south for some fun?"

The other woman laughed at her own question, obviously convinced that Amanda was incapable of fun.

"No, I have some painting to do."

Painting she hoped would transform her second bedroom into a welcoming environment for an eight-year-old boy. She had casually questioned Billy about his interests while they were baking and decided to abandon her original plan for a cowboy theme and replace it with spaceships. His face had glowed when they talked about space.

"Better you than me." Jeanine giggled. "I always get one of my friends to help me with that sort of thing. They'll do anything for me."

She swallowed a sarcastic response before it could escape. The other woman was probably right. No matter what Amanda thought of her parenting skills, Jeanine was cute and bubbly and knew how to use her charms to get what she wanted.

"I thought I would get Billy another coat," she said, changing the subject.

Jeanine didn't even flinch.

"Why bother?" The other woman shrugged casually. "Spring is already here, and he'll outgrow it by next year anyway."

"Because it's still cold," she said through clenched teeth.

"Not that cold." Jeanine gestured at the low-cut tank top and cutoff denim shorts she was wearing. "I'm already in my summer clothes."

"But you're inside."

Bright red lips curved into a pout that Jeanine's friends would no doubt have found irresistible. Amanda wasn't moved.

"He needs a coat when he goes out," she insisted.

"Fine. I'll see if he can wear one of Ronnie's next time. Now I have things to do." With a disgruntled huff, Jeanine slammed the door.

Amanda fumed all the way home. After calling Mrs. Dublin to report the events of the afternoon, she buried her frustration by taping the bedroom walls in preparation for starting to paint the next day.

But when she settled down in her bed that night, she found herself too restless to sleep. She kept remembering the look of lazy satisfaction on Jeanine's face when she first opened the door.

Maybe I should have tried harder to work it out with Eric, she thought. But he'd wanted to get married and she hadn't been ready to give up her independent life. She had been raised by a single mother, one who had seemed quite content on her own, and she had taught Amanda to be equally self-sufficient.

No, not marrying Eric had been the right decision. She had her house and a job she loved, and soon, she would be able to give Billy a real home.

But sometimes, like tonight, her bed seemed awfully empty.

When she finally fell into a troubled sleep, she dreamed of strong arms holding her close and eyes that looked at her as if she were the only woman on Earth.

Sunlight slanting into her eyes woke her after what felt like far too little sleep. Damn. She could have sworn she closed the curtains. Eyes still half-closed against the brightness, she started to sit up, intending to pull them tight and see if she could squeeze out another hour's worth of sleep. But her feet landed on dirt, rather the wooden planks of her bedroom floor.

Her eyes flew open.

Her cozy bedroom had disappeared. Instead of her comfortable mattress, she was perched—naked—on a rough slab of variegated pink stone. Instead of pale yellow walls and white curtains, a vast expanse of pink desert stretched towards a distant mountain range. When she whirled around, all she could see were more slabs of stone leading up into a set of barren, rocky hills. Absolutely nothing about this place was familiar. Her heart beat so fast that she felt sick.

Where the hell was she?

And what had happened to her clothes?

This had to be some type of sick joke. Or maybe one of those reality shows. She looked around again, frantically searching for some evidence of a camera, but there was nothing. A cool breeze whispered past and she shivered, hugging herself.

There had to be some sort of rational explanation. There had to be.

She started to stand up, and as she did, her foot brushed against a woven bag. As the sight of something so obviously man made in this wilderness, relief rushed over her. Surely it had been left there for a purpose.

Hoping for some kind of explanation, she snatched it up, but the contents were almost as inexplicable as her surroundings. The only two items inside were a sheet of flexible plastic covered with unfamiliar symbols and a flat metal disk perhaps five inches in diameter. She picked it up cautiously and shook it, watching in amazement as it expanded into a small container with a lid and a thin handle. A cup? A pot of some kind?

She supposed she could use it to carry water—which looking at her barren surroundings seemed unlikely. Or possibly to cook something—if she had a way to make a fire. Useless.

Sighing, she went back to the plastic sheet. Could it be some kind of code?

No, the symbols didn't seem to be arranged in any type of logical order. As she examined it, a surprisingly cool breeze wafted by, and she looked up, wondering if it had come from the distant mountains. Mountains.

When she glanced back down, she was sure that the line of symbols on the edge of the sheet mirrored the line of the mountains. And with a little imagination, the area with the wavy lines in front of them might represent the desert. Could it be a map?

She pored over it with growing excitement. There was a small symbol at what she thought was her current location on the edge of the desert. It looked rather like a snowman—not exactly the most flattering image, but it could represent a person.

The symbol appeared again in another location, close to what appeared to be a river. A blue and white dot with an oddly familiar design was located next to the symbol.

Could the patterned dot be intended to represent Earth? And why in that one location? A horrible suspicion popped into her mind. What if I'm not on Earth any longer?

No. It was absurd. Just because her surroundings were unfamiliar didn't mean she was on an alien planet. Did it?

As if in response to her question, a creature hopped out of the rocks, then froze at the sight of her. About the size of a rabbit, it had sleek, rose-patterned pink fur. The back feet were big and bunny-like, but its small front paws were almost like hands. Wide blue eyes watched her from a rounded skull that sloped back to a soft point. She had never seen anything like it before.

"You're not from Earth, are you?" she whispered.

At the sound of her voice, it sat back on its haunches and tilted its head. They stared at each other, then it suddenly hopped over and jumped up on the rock next to her.

"Umm, hello?"

The sound it made in return sounded a lot like a purr, and it rubbed its head against her arm. A little cautiously, she ran a finger over the soft fur covering its odd-shaped head. It purred again and nestled closer. When she stopped stroking it, it nudged her hand with its head. In spite of everything, she smiled.

"You're as demanding as Hammy."

The thought made a lump appear in her throat. Would Mr. Hobbs, the janitor, remember to check on the hamster?

And what about Billy?

She didn't realize she was crying until a wet drop landed on her companion's head.

"He needs me, Hammy. I've got to get back to him."

If she wasn't currently on Earth, perhaps the symbol on the map indicated a way to return. It wasn't much, but at least it was a starting place. She checked her bearings, then stood up. The little creature looked up at her expectantly.

"I have to go now. You'd better get back to your… family."

Her voice broke on the last word, and she quickly turned away, feeling oddly bereft. It's for the best, she told herself. But she'd only taken a few steps before she couldn't resist a peek over her shoulder. The rock slab was empty.

Her eyes filled with tears again, but then she felt soft fur against her ankle. When she looked down, her new friend was looking up at her hopefully.

"Does this mean you're alone too?"

She suspected she should shoo him away, but what if he needed her? And as much as she prided herself on her independence, the presence of another living being in this desolate landscape was a huge comfort. "All right, Hammy, we'll go together."

Her heart inexplicably lighter, she set off once more, her new companion at her side.