Chapter Six

Savannah’s phone vibrated. She glanced at it. Groaned. “It’s my mom,” she said.

“Answer it,” Noah said, slathering marmalade on a slice of toast.

“I’ll call her back,” Savannah said. “How can you eat all that sugar?” she asked, picking up a cluster of grapes, pulling one off, and popping it into her mouth.

“You should really try it,” he said, breaking off a piece of toast and handing it to her.

She took it and tasted it. “Too sweet,” she said.

“I don’t see how you do it. I could never live without sugar.”

“If,” she began but picked up her phone. It was her mother again. Twice in a row. “Hello.”

“Savannah,” her mother said, her voice shaky.

“What is it?” Savannah said, turning, walking toward the balcony, her heart racing.

“The house was robbed.”

“What? What do you mean? Are you hurt?”

“No, I wasn’t home. I came home, and the front door was open.”

“Thank God you weren’t hurt.”

“Savannah,” her mother sniffed. “Whiskers is gone.”

Savannah had watched her mother bury her father. Her eyes red from crying. Other than that one time, never, not once had she heard her mother upset like this.

“What do you mean he’s gone?”

“The front door was open, and I can’t find him anywhere.”

Whiskers was her mother’s fifteen-year-old cat. Whiskers had never been allowed outside.

“Did you look everywhere? Maybe he’s hiding.”

“He’s not here. I looked everywhere.”

“You’ll find him, Mom.”

“I called and called. The police looked for him, too. When are you coming home?”

“My flight doesn’t leave until 9:00 in the morning. Where’s Charlotte?”

“Your sister went somewhere with the school on a bus. She can’t come.”

“Mom, I’m in New York.”

“I know. I just don’t know what else to do.”

Savannah had to do something. She couldn’t bear to see her mother like this. “Did you check with the neighbors?”

“I checked with everyone. I’m only calling you because I don’t know what else to do.”

Savannah put the phone away from her ear, looked back at Noah. He’d stood up and was watching her.

“Can I help?” he asked.

“My mom’s house was robbed, and the cat got out. She can’t find him.” She put the phone back to her ear.

Her mother was sobbing. “I can’t lose Whiskers. Your father and I raised him from a little kitten.”

“I know, Mom. Let me call the airline. I’ll see if I can get back sooner. I’ll call you back. Just hold on, OK. We’ll find him.”

She hung up and paced for a moment before turning around. “It’s funny, huh? I can handle almost any crisis except when it comes to my family.”

“Seems normal to me,” he said, going to her. He pulled her against him, hugged her, and released her.

“You need to get home,” he said.

She nodded. “I have to call the airline.”

“Wait,” he said. “I can. . . um. I have some pull. I can get you home.”

“All right.”

“How soon can you be packed and ready?”

She had showered and dressed before he came to her room for breakfast. She was used to packing, so it never took her long to get out of a hotel. “I need thirty minutes,” she said.

“Good,” he said. “I’ll make a call, grab my things, and be back here in thirty.”

As he headed out the door, Savannah called her mother back and assured her that she was on her way. Her mother sounded a little calmer now. Having heard her mother in a hysterical state only one other time, it was almost Savannah’s undoing. “I don’t know how I can help,” she said, putting her mother on speaker while she tossed her clothes into her suitcase and gathered her things from the bathroom.

“Just get here and help me look for him.”

“I’ll call you when I know my ETA.”

After hanging up, she scanned the room, stood her luggage next to the door, and went to stand in front of the dresser, where the roses sat. She pulled out the single rose with the white ribbon tied around it. Dried it with a towel, and took it with her.

They hadn’t time to wait for a bellhop, so when Noah returned, he had a luggage cart with him. She had no idea how he had gotten to his room and back, packed, arranged a flight, and located a cart, all in thirty minutes. It didn’t matter. He was here, and she was grateful.

He stacked their luggage on the cart, and they made their way out to a taxi.

“How is she?” he asked once they were loaded into the vehicle and on their way to the airport.

“Hysterical.”

“I don’t remember your mother being the hysterical type.”

“Exactly. That’s what’s so disconcerting about the whole thing.”

“What did they take?”

“The robbers? She didn’t even say. I don’t think she cares. All they had to do was close the door behind them. And not let the cat out.”

“She’s had this cat a long time.”

“Fifteen years. He’s part of the family. He’s a cool cat, though. He talks.”

“Is that so? That is special.”

She laughed and felt her eyes tearing up. “Poor little guy.”

Noah took her hand. She held it a moment but had too much nervous energy. “When does my flight leave?”

“Our flight leaves when we get to the airport.”

“Our?”

“I’m going with you.”

“No,” she said, but felt her phone vibrating. “I’m on my way to the airport, Mom.”

“Thank God. I’m going to go sit out back and wait. In case he comes home.”

“What did they take?”

“I don’t know. Nothing important.”

“I’m glad you weren’t home.”

“If I’d been home, Whiskers wouldn’t be out there.”

“Mom?”

“What?”

“Never mind. I have to hang up now, but I’ll call you when I land.” She hung up the phone. “I hope they didn’t take Whiskers.”

“I take it your mom hasn’t thought of that.”

“Apparently not. God help them if she finds out who did this. Especially if they hurt her cat.”

“No kidding.”

“You don’t have to go with me,” she said.

His lips curved into an odd smile. “I kind of do have to.”

She kind of didn’t understand why he thought so, but her mind was preoccupied, so she let it go.

The taxi driver didn’t stop at any of the gates. “Which airline are we flying?” she asked.

He shook his head.

Savannah began ticking off in her head what she could do when she got to her mother’s house. They could make signs with Whiskers’ picture on them and plaster them around the neighborhood. She scrolled through her photos looking for a picture of Whiskers. She was fairly certain Whiskers had a locater chip. They needed to call the local vets to alert them. Especially if he was stolen, they needed to be on the lookout.

Noah spoke briefly on the phone, but she tuned him out as he spoke flight jargon.

Her mind preoccupied, focused on her phone, she followed him out of the taxi and waited while their luggage was unloaded. Her suitcase rolling alongside her, she finally looked up and squinted in the sunlight.

“We have to walk a little,” Noah said.

Savannah looked around and followed him toward a small jet sitting alone on the runway.

“You hired a private jet?” she asked, stopping to stare at him.

“No,” he said. “I’m a pilot, remember?”

“They let you use planes whenever you want?” Truly, there was so much about the aviation industry that she was clueless about.

“Something like that,” he said. “Come on, we’re cleared to get on the runway.”

The flight assistant took their luggage and tucked it away. Noah helped Savannah up the stairs into the plane.

The plane smelled new. Like a new car.

She turned right to go into the cabin. There was no one else on board.

“You can sit back there,” he said. She stopped and looked at him. He nodded toward the back of the plane. “Or you can sit up here,” he said, turning his head toward the cockpit.

She frowned. Why would she want to do that?

“With me,” he said.

Her feet were glued to the floor. She wasn’t sure which way to go.

Her gaze locked onto his. On the pleased smile on his face.

And everything she knew about Noah clicked into place.

His passion for flying.

The story he’d told her about his father.

Her face broke into a wide smile. “This is your plane.”

His expression was not what she expected. It was more like a deer in headlights.

“But you didn’t want me to know that.”

He squared his shoulders, shook his head, and returned her smile. “Nothing gets past you, Savannah Richards. Come on.” He held out his hand.

If not for her mother’s plight, Savannah’s excitement would have been uncontrollable. She sat down in the co-pilot’s seat, took the headset from him, and nearly bounced in her chair. “It looks a lot different than it used to look,” she said. The cockpit was all glass, providing a clean view of everything. Gone were the old round dials and gauges. Everything was displayed on what looked like three large computer screens.

“That was a long time ago,” he said after she pointed that out to him, “and this is a much better plane.” The pride in his voice was evident.

“It is yours then?”

He winked at her as he put his own headset on. “All mine.”