Chapter Twelve

“How are the children, Mary and Todd?” Savannah asked.

Dr. Smith beamed. “They’re good. Todd is still at Yale and Mary is getting ready to graduate high school.”

“Time really flies, doesn’t it? Is Mary following in her brother’s footsteps into architecture?”

“Oh, no. Mary is thinking about going into fashion design.”

“Oh, how fun! She and her mom must have really enjoyed that trip to New York. She must have caught the fashion bug.”

“I think maybe she already had a touch of it. Do you have a medication to treat the fashion bug?”

Savannah laughed. “If I had a drug for that, I’d take it myself.”

“What about you? How have you been?”

“I’ve been good,” she said.

“Still single?”

“Yeah.”

“My wife’s cousin is coming into town next week.”

“Oh,” she said, “that will be nice.”

“You know she’s been talking about this for awhile.”

Savannah knew exactly what he was talking about. She’d had dinner with Dr. Smith and his wife, and they had offered to set Savannah up with Mrs. Smith’s cousin.

Savannah had never given a direct answer. She didn’t want to offend either the doctor or his wife. Besides, she’d seen a picture of the cousin and he wasn’t bad to look at.

“Do you want me to have my wife call you to arrange a dinner meeting?”

“You know what, I’m actually seeing someone.”

“Oh, good for you. Is it serious?”

“Well, it’s actually kind of new. But yes, I think it might be.”

“My wife will be disappointed, but I’m happy for you. It’s been a long time for you.”

Savannah had a propensity to keep her social life separate from her work life. However, in an attempt to establish rapport, especially with good clients, like Dr. Smith and his wife whom she occasionally met socially, she disclosed certain personal information. She considered it to be part of the job. Considered them to be work friends. It was times like this, however, that she regretted the need to blur those boundaries.

After the meeting, she sat in her car and jotted down a few notes regarding the meeting. It was helpful to keep notes to remind her of details. She firmly believed that her attention to detail was one of the things that made her successful at her job.

She checked her phone.

No message from Noah.

Reminded herself that he was working. He’d dropped her off at her house and then dashed off to catch a flight home to Fort. Worth so he could work the next day.

“Twelve hours.” He’d told her that was his personal rule. It meant no alcohol twelve hours before flying, but it also meant he needed to be asleep twelve hours before take off.

But it had been four days, and she hadn’t heard from him.

He had sent her a couple of quick text messages while they’d been on Mackinac, so she knew he had put her phone number in his phone correctly.

Her thoughts wandered back to those days they’d spent together, and a smile played about her lips. It had been like old times, only better.

Then his words came back to her. The words he’d spoken before they left. “No strings attached.”

He recanted after she’d inadvertently started crying, but the words were there. It seemed he’d meant it.

She admonished herself for thinking that things would be different this time. That they would have something serious.

It would be a long time before she would be ready to spend time with another guy.

Being with Noah had reawakened feelings in her that had lain dormant for twenty years, but there they were, back again.

An old wound, it seemed, was the hardest to heal.

She checked the calendar on her phone. This was her last meeting for the day. Friday afternoons had gotten progressively more and more empty over the past few years as offices started closing early for the weekend. She really didn’t mind.

She put her phone away and started the two-hour drive home.

As she pulled into her driveway, it became evident how she would spend her afternoon.

She dragged her computer bag out of the trunk of her BMW. The house was quiet and seemed a little empty. She tossed a load of clothes into the washer and then changed into a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt.

There were occasions when she paid the neighbor’s son to clean the yard, but there were also days when she felt the need to do the work herself – to clear her mind. This was one of those days.

She took a rake from the tool shed in her back yard and, after picking up stray limbs from a recent storm, she began raking leaves from the pine trees that shaded her house.

Two hours later, she had several large piles of pine straw around the yard. With November around the corner, this was just the first round of required raking.

Exhausted now, she decided that she could bag the straw tomorrow. Going inside and upstairs, she ran a bubble bath in her garden tub, which overlooked the backyard below, using the gardenia scent that she always found soothing.

She checked her phone for messages, turned on the volume, and set it on the stool next to the tub.

As an afterthought, she turned up the volume and the sounds of Taylor Swift drifted through the air. After twisting her hair up and securing it to the top of her head, she stepped into the hot water and relaxed against the back of the tub.

Her thoughts were instantly filled with Noah. Seeing him across the hotel lobby in New York, handsome in his tuxedo. Sitting in his plane wearing his headset, deftly maneuvering them through the air. Holding her hand as they rode side by side in the carriage on Mackinac Island.

His kisses. Ah, his kisses. She closed her eyes and allowed the memory of the sensations to envelope her.

His words whispered in her ear as they snuggled on a bench looking out over the water, watching the sunset. I missed you, he had said.

I miss you now. Where are you Noah? Was that just a fling for old times’ sake?

She’d never gotten over him. It was a hard thing to admit.

I need to let him go.

How many times had she wished for just one more night with him?

She had gotten a whole week. I should be happy.

Shoring up her resolve to be happy, she stepped out of the tub and got into her cozy fleece robe.

She went to the refrigerator, opened the door, and sighed. She should have gone to the market instead of heading home to rake the yard. Nothing in the freezer, either.

She picked up her phone and located the number to the pizza parlor and called in a Hawaiian pizza.

She poured a glass of cabernet and sat on the sofa while she waited. Checked her phone. Clicked on the Weather Channel. There was a band of storms across the Fort Worth area. Was Noah home? Or was he flying across the country right now?

It would have been decent for him to call.

She opened the photo album on her phone and found the selfie they had taken on the porch of the Grand Hotel.

One hand holding the camera, the other arm pulling her against him, their cheeks pressed together, both of them grinning from ear to ear. She pressed the picture, bringing it to animation. He’d captured a perfect photo. In the three seconds captured in the live photo, he had turned, kissed her on the cheek, and grinned back at the camera.

She’d watched it a thousand times. Every time, it brought a smile to her face.

But tonight it brought tears to her eyes. A tear landed on her hand just as the doorbell rang. Her pizza was here, and she’d lost her appetite.

The pizza turned out to be better than she had expected. With a full stomach and a glass of wine, she decided to turn in early. By the time her head hit the pillow around nine o’clock, she was sound asleep.

Her phone alarm went off at five.

Savannah checked her phone. How had her alarm been set to five o’clock?

After making sure it was off, she rolled over and closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

Five minutes later, her eyes were wide open. She sighed.

And reluctantly rolled out of bed.

This getting up early was getting to be a bad habit.

She put on her fleece robe and made a latte with vanilla syrup and creamer, her only indulgence of sweetness. Out of habit, she sat at her little writing desk and turned on her Mac computer.

But instead of pulling up her e-mail, she paced a bit, her coffee mug in her hands.

She felt restless.

She sat back down, checked her e-mail - mostly deleted e-mails – and scanned the headlines. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

After putting on her running skort, running top, and sneakers, she got on the treadmill and took a five-mile run in her living room via Norway - according to her iFit program.

She chugged a bottle of water and felt somewhat better.

She had no yogurt and no fruit. A trip to the market was definitely on the list today. So, she scrambled an egg, added some cheese, and toasted two slices of bread she had found in the freezer. She ate her egg and cheese sandwich while watching Fox News.

The sun was up now and she needed to bag the pine straw she had piled around the yard.

It was a bit chilly outside, so she pulled on a pair of old sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She grabbed some big garbage bags from the pantry and went outside to start cleaning the yard.

By the time she had two bags stuffed and dragged to the curb, she was sweating.

She had about three bags to go. One more and she had to trade in her sweatshirt for a T-shirt. After the fourth, she was ready for a break. She dragged it to the curb and left it along with the others.

A dark-blue sedan pulled up to her driveway. She watched as it turned in, pulled up to her garage door, and stopped. Since she was on the other side, she couldn’t see the driver. A little spurt of anxiety shot through her. The car was between her and the door of her house. She considered her options. She could run to the neighbor’s house and call the police. The nearest neighbor was behind a grove of trees and it would take her about three minutes to jog to their front door. She held her breath as the driver turned off the motor and opened the door.

And Noah stepped out.

A rush of emotions shot through her. Relief that it was someone she knew, but more importantly her heart did a little summersault at seeing him, and the blood rushed to her cheeks.

That was followed by a dash of panic. She’d run five miles and then gotten even hotter and sweatier bagging leaves. She badly needed a shower.

He stood on the other side of the car, watching her over it. Even from where she stood, she could see his smile.

Her feet were glued to the ground. He started toward her. She clutched the rake as he slowly approached.

He stopped three feet in front of her, still smiling.

She smiled back, her heart tripping dangerously in her chest. Did she have that effect on him?

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“You’ve been busy,” he said.

He looked good. He had tucked his sunshades in his collar as he walked toward her. He had on faded jeans and a light-blue oxford shirt, and was wearing loafers.

Her eyes widened. This was not how she wanted him to see her. “I’m a mess,” she said.

His smile widened. “Then this is a good thing.”

“How could this possibly be a good thing?”

“I’ve seen you at your worst, and I still think you’re gorgeous.”

She licked her lips, unsure how to respond. Did she look that bad?

“But since I know you, I’ll make you a deal. You go shower, and I’ll bag up that last one over there.”

“I look that bad?”

“Not in the least.”

“You don’t want to get dirty.”

He nodded toward the car. “I brought extra clothes. That is if you’ll let me use your shower.”

“You brought old clothes?”

He glanced down. “These are old clothes.”

She frowned. “Seriously?”

“Yep.”

She really wanted to shower. He did, indeed, know her well. “OK,” she relented.

He held out his hand. She put her hand in his. “I was reaching for the rake, but this is better.” He pulled her into a hug.

“All right, shower for you,” he said, taking the rake.

She laughed. “I warned you.”

Giving up the rake, she took off toward the house, smiling now that he wasn’t looking at her.

Inside the house, she sprinted upstairs and turned on the shower. What to wear?

She stood for a moment, contemplating. The first order of business was to get clean. She stripped and hopped into the shower.

Noah was here! At her house. And he had brought extra clothes. Did that mean he was staying overnight?

Her mind raced. Was the guest room clean enough? Her sister had stayed there last. She had no food in the kitchen.

Thank goodness she’d washed her dishes from breakfast. Why hadn’t he called first? Why hadn’t he called at all?

Noah always had been a show up kind of guy. He liked the element of surprise. But he had a cell phone. A text only took a second.

She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and gave up.

He was here.

She was happy.

No strings.

As the words came back, her good mood dissipated somewhat, but so did some of her anxiety.

No strings meant she really had nothing to lose.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in her big, cozy towel. Then she went to the bedroom window and peeked outside to the side yard, where she’d left the other stack of pine straw.

Noah was there, his sleeves rolled up, raking an area she hadn’t gotten to. He was giving her plenty of time to make herself presentable.

She felt a little twinge of guilt having him outside working in her yard. She bit her lip and told herself he could have called first, and she would have been up and presentable for him.

Something nagged at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

She went back to her bathroom and washed her face, combed out her hair, took out her hair dryer, and began to blow-dry her hair.

Lost in her thoughts, she jumped and turned off the hair dryer when she spotted Noah standing behind her with a goofy grin on his face.

“Sorry,” he said.

“It’s OK. I’m not used to anyone else being in my house,” she admitted.

“That’s good to know.”

“Yeah,” she said. “You took a leap of faith.”

“You did say you weren’t in a relationship.”

She smiled and picked up her hairbrush. “I suppose I did.”

He stepped forward, put both hands on her face, and kissed her. Really kissed her. And all logical thought evaporated from her mind.

“I’m just gonna be out back,” he said, “finishing up the raking. Then I’ll take you up on that shower.”

“OK,” she said, and watched as he turned. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Thank you.”

A smile spread slowly across her face as she listened to his footsteps going down her stairs.

Noah had just enough cockiness to make him charming.

She finished drying her hair, confident now that they would figure out what to do next. What to do if her house wasn’t exactly guest ready. What to do about her having nothing to eat. What to do about their no-strings relationship.

She put on some basic makeup and went back into her bedroom to pick out something to wear.