The Time Rip Read Online Free

lived practically on top of the M4, she hadn’t a clue.
    Perhaps it was having a service or something, but why didn’t he have a mobile? Even if he had no landline installed, he should have a mobile. If he had he would have said, wouldn’t he?
    He would probably give her a lift to the nearest town, but she could not reconcile herself to the idea of asking him. What if he thought of her as just another dumb blond for getting into this mess or, worse still, thought she was making a pass at him. After that kiss it was entirely possible that he would see her plea for help as something more, and she wasn’t ready for that, despite her earlier feelings.
    No. She was definitely not going there.
    After some thought, she decided to seek out the motorway. There would be breakdown recovery phones even if she had to walk a few miles to find one. She could report the loss of her vehicle and arrange transport home at the same time.
    With a sigh, she began to trudge up the road. It might be a long walk and an uncomfortable night, but it was infinitely better than pouring out her troubles to a virtual stranger, no matter how attractive she found him.
    Besides, it was humiliating to have her van stolen. As though it were somehow her fault: abandoning her van when wiser souls would not have done so. They would shake their heads knowingly as though she was some helpless woman with no sense. That last fuelled her determination not to go back to Jeremy.
    She had already fainted in front of him and melted in his arms over a brief kiss. She cringed as she remembered it. She did not need to compound the image he had of her with this incident.
    Three hours later it was pitch dark and Freya still hadn’t found the motorway or, in fact, any A road. She had found where she was sure she had turned off onto the track, but although there was a much wider dirt road, there was no sign of any tarmac.
    Unbelievable. There was no traffic noise, yet she knew the motorway must be close. Weariness set in and replaced any panic of being lost in the dark. She had long since gone past feeling tearful over the injustice fate had thrown at her. The chaos of the situation sucked away any intelligent thought over direction, and she plodded on, convinced she would find her way soon.
    A further two hours of trudging around lanes and Freya admitted she was done. The fields of sweet smelling grass were looking increasingly inviting, and it was now three in the morning. Freya finally gave in, curled up a few feet into the nearest meadow, and was asleep in minutes.
    She had time to regret her decision when it began to get light, an hour or so later. The birds singing loudly, along with the hard ground and worry that returned, made further sleep impossible.
    Freya lay still, looking up at the sky. It was a clear blue, with one or two cloud formations scratching an intricate pattern up high. She was cold and ached with stiffness when she tried to move. She realised her clothes were damp and wondered why she was not shivering.
    It was going to be another hot day, and somehow she had to find the road and her way home. She was thirsty and hungry, and now that some of her exhaustion had left her, she began to feel panicked again. Supposing she was lost around these lanes for days? Gradually a sound began to impinge on her chaotic thoughts. A horse and cart.
    Freya sprang up, oblivious to everything but the prospect of help after her fears of being alone. She scrambled out of the meadow onto the dirt road, jarring muscles and ripping the stitching in her skirt. As the vehicle came into sight, she began to half limp half run towards it.
    Joseph Wilson was a skinny old man. Seventy-six this year and still going strong, he thought approvingly. He nodded at the greenery all around, absently enjoying the bird song. Empty milk churns clanked in the back of the trap, and his thoughts turned to his latest customer.
    That Jeremy Sanders. Well mannered, well looking and well educated too.