Summerset Abbey by T. J. Brown

see whether he was still breathing. Once she ascertained that he was, she checked the rest of his body to see whether he was bleeding, but apart from a small gash on the side of his head, he seemed to be intact. More worrisome was the red and blue knot swelling above his right eye.
    She took off her riding jacket and rolled it up, placing it underneath his head. Then she sat back on her heels, cursing herself for not knowing how to help more.
    He moaned and she looked anxiously for signs that he was waking up. Though his eyelids fluttered, they didn’t open and she wondered what she should do next. Obviously he needed help, but she didn’t want to leave him. Perhaps someone else had seen the crash and would come looking for him. Or maybe someone was waiting for him to come back and would sound an alarm.
    He moaned again and she took his hand. “Hush, now. Everything will be all right,” she told him softly. She took care not to disturb him as she settled herself beside him and searched desperately for some indication of what do to next.
    The pilot looked no older than herself. Red-gold strands of hair escaped from under his leather hood, which meant he wore it as long as aesthetes do. Though none of the aesthetes she knew would be interested in piloting a plane. They were more interested in writing poetry and contemplating art. His lips were thin but well formed, and his jawline square and strong. She wondered what kind of a daredevil he would have to be to fly one of these newfangled aeroplanes into the wide blue sky. She wondered what it would feel like to be untethered from the earth.
    A groan came from his lips and his eyes fluttered open. Theywere a clear blue against his windburned face. He looked around, confused, before his eyes focused on her.
    He blinked, but his eyes never left hers. “You’re not Douglas.”
    His voice was thready and weak. She shook her head. “No. I’m not.”
    His eyes searched her face. “You must be my guardian angel. You have no idea how much I need a guardian angel right now. Please don’t leave me, all right?”
    Rowena’s breath caught as his hand searched for hers. She slipped her hand into his and he gripped it as if he would never let it go. Their palms melded and their fingers curled together so naturally, as if this was the hand hers had been waiting for.
    He broke eye contact with her and she felt a sudden emptiness in her chest, as if she had just lost something of great value. He glanced around without moving his head, and Rowena had a feeling he had taken in everything, the trees, the bits of broken plane, and the waning light, in the seconds before his eyes swept back to her. She wondered how his head felt. He seemed very careful not to move it.
    “Where am I?” he asked.
    “Near Briar Hill.”
    He nodded and then winced.
    She bent closer in panic. “Oh, no. Please. I don’t think you should move.”
    His lips twitched. “Then you expect to spend the night out here?”
    She looked around. Unless someone knew where to look for them, they wouldn’t be found. “Surely someone will come looking for you.”
    He nodded and then grimaced at the movement. “Yes. How about you?”
    She thought a moment. Yes. They would start to look for her, but not until dark. She wondered whether Victoria would feel bad about their quarrel if she didn’t come home. “Eventually.”
    His eyes glanced over her and she felt her skin grow warm. “Eventually,” he murmured.
    Then his eyes fluttered shut. Rowena leaned closer, wondering what she should do. “Are you going to be all right?”
    His eyes opened again, and the blue of the heavens was a mere inches from her face. “I’ll be fine.” They drifted shut and then he murmured, “Just don’t leave me.?”
    She gave the hand she still held a squeeze to reassure him and then on impulse leaned forward and laid a soft kiss just above the bruise on his temple
    His eyes widened and seemed to glow as he looked at her for just a