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Can’t today babe, going wedding dress shopping! xx

Iris’ mood dipped even further. She started to put her phone away when it chimed a second time.

Hope you’re doing ok. Love you.

She smiled, sliding her phone into the pocket of her violet coat. At least one of them was enjoying the day. She did wish that Audrey had invited her to go dress shopping, though. It was the sort of thing best friends were supposed to do together.

After a few minutes, Iris crossed over a small bridge, the brook beneath gurgling with melting snow. Baskets overflowing with holly and winter fauna were slung over each of the white-painted railings, adding a festive touch. She leaned over the edge, inhaling deep lungfuls of crisp air as she watched water race over the stones in rivulets, the brook winding in a curved path through the trees.

The day was chilly, but the sky was a bright, cloudless blue, and she had an entirely free afternoon. She could see that as a negative, or she could make the most of it.

Something clanged against her side as she hoisted the tote bag further up her shoulder and a thrill of anticipation shot through her. She had forgotten that she’d left pruning shears in the bag from the last time she’d collected items for Gabriel’s Christmas project. Here was her chance to work on it without the risk of ruining the surprise.

Buoyed by a renewed sense of purpose, Iris edged down the steep embankment until she stood level with the brook. She took a moment to admire the way the glimmering snow draped across the trees like icing on a cake. Snowflakes dripped from their sugar-frosted limbs to melt in her hair as she stepped into the forest.

Iris froze at the sound of crunching leaves behind her. She prayed she wasn’t about to encounter some kind of rabid animal.

Glancing over her shoulder, her gaze clashed with a pair of mist-gray eyes. Iris dithered, her mind buzzing with Gabriel’s words. There was something strange about that man. I could sense it.

…What if he was right?

The young man smiled nervously. He wore a large brown coat over a turtleneck sweater. His boots were scuffed and muddy, his long wavy hair slipping out of a low ponytail. “Hi,” he said with a vague wave.

“Hi.” Iris had no idea what to say to him, and she couldn’t begin to imagine what he was doing there. Could he be following her? “Cold today, isn’t it?” she asked, wincing at how stilted she sounded.

The stranger bounced on his heels as he stopped a few feet away from her. “It is,” he said, his breath visible in the still air. She noticed that his cheeks were exceptionally pink, as though he had been outside for hours.

Iris smiled politely, sliding her hands up into her coat sleeves. “I don’t think I ever got your name.”

He glanced away for an awkward moment, as though she’d just requested his social security number. “It’s Blair.”

“Do you live around here?” she asked, already guessing the answer. If he did live nearby, surely she or Gabriel would have encountered him long before now.

“I’m new to town.”

“Where are you from?”

He shrugged, looking genuinely uncertain. “I don’t know the exact coordinates.”

Iris nodded, faint worry creasing her brow. “Where are you headed?”

“Nowhere. Everywhere.” He offered her a small smile, his eyes on his boots. “How about you?”

She bit her lip, wondering if she should abandon her current plan and head into town after all. After a moment’s consideration, she held out her bag. “I need to collect some berries and plant materials for a project I’m working on.”

Iris hesitated, her mind whirring like an overheated computer fan. She considered how upset Gabriel would be if she were to invite a stranger he mistrusted to walk with her in the woods, but she closed a lid over her anxiety. She always carried pepper spray in her coat pocket thanks to Gabriel’s insistence. What was the worst that could happen?

“Do you want to join me?”

Blair nodded shyly. “I’d like that.”

Snow and twigs crunched beneath their boots as Iris led the way deeper into the woods, their steps overlapping with deer hoof marks, the tell-tale prints of passing rabbits, and tracks from a fox’s cat-like paws.

“What were you doing down by the bridge?” Iris asked eventually, falling back to walk at Blair’s side.

He looked up at her for the briefest moment before his gaze fell back to his shoes. “You really want to know?”

She hesitated. “Yes.”