by Natalie Ann
“No, I can’t let go, Noah. I don’t want to lose you in a public rest area. There are way too many kids in there.”
“Daddy, Daddy.” Noah bent, tugging at his father’s hand. “Look at the kitty.” His son pointed at a kitten mewing at the door leading to the food court. The tiny animal took a few steps toward them and rubbed against Noah’s leg. “He’s so cute.” His hand still in his dad’s firm grip, Noah crouched to peek at the black furball. “Please, Daddy, I wanna hold him. Please, just for a little bit.”
Unable to resist his son’s pleading eyes, Daniel released the little hand, and Noah collected the kitten in his arms and caressed his back. The kitten purred, and Noah giggled. “Can I keep him, Daddy, please?”
“Absolutely not.” Daniel certainly didn’t need a cat in his house. Not when he worked long hours as a lawyer and had enough trouble managing his job and single dad status.
“But Daddy…” His son’s pout announced a coming tantrum.
Daniel hastened to add, “We can’t just take him. He probably belongs to someone. Besides, he’s so small, he must have a mommy cat looking for him.”
With his new friend in his arms, Noah spun and dashed to the counter of the first fast food restaurant, behind which several food attendants worked on customers’ transactions. “Is this your kitten?”
“No, that’s an abandoned kitten. His mother left him and four other kittens,” A young man answered.
“Where are the others?”
“Some of our customers decided to adopt them.”
“You see, Daddy.” Noah turned to Daniel, who’d followed, trying to keep track of the little boy navigating between human columns. “My kitten has no mom. Just like me. I’ll be his daddy.”
Daniel’s heart squeezed with pain at the mention of his beloved wife snatched from life too soon by a drunk driver. Still, he couldn’t let Noah further complicate their already complicated lives with a newborn kitten.
“Come. Let’s get your favorite meal. Chicken nuggets, fries, and a chocolate milkshake, right?” he recited, hoping that the enticing smell of french fries wafting toward them would stir his son’s appetite and distract him from his obsession with the kitten.
But Noah’s interest had focused on a little girl in an orange jacket, her hair the pale yellow of a field of grain, about an inch shorter than him.
“You adopted the last orphan kitty,” she chirped with an approving bob of her head, her arms wrapped around herself, her long curls twirling around her.
“Not sure yet.” Noah’s eyes flitted from his daddy to the pretty girl.
“Noah, come with me,” Daniel said. “We have to get our food.”
“My mommy is getting my nuggets. I have to wait here for her.” The girl took two steps back and sat on the seat at the last empty table, where a cup of coffee and a milkshake carton indicated the table was occupied. “You can wait with me.” She scooted aside to make room for Noah. “I’m Lizzie. I’m four. What’s your name?” Assertive and displaying social graces that seemed to impress Noah, Lizzie smiled.
“Noah. I’m five and a half.” Noah tried to match the confident tone of his new friend. “And he’s my daddy.”
“I don’t have a dad. Only a mommy.”
“Where’s your mom, Lizzie?” Daniel asked.
“There. In line.” As if he could distinguish her mother among the dozen women bustling around the counter. “Mommy said I should wait here. I am a big girl.”
“And I’m a big boy,” Noah snapped with an angry tone.
Daniel sighed. Against his better judgment, he said, “Okay, wait for me here, next to Lizzie. I’ll get our meal.” He moved away toward the throng of people — mostly women, putting in or getting their orders — turning every few seconds to glance at the table with the young patrons.
***
“You’re keeping the kitty, right?” Lizzie asked.
“Daddy doesn’t want to.” Noah pouted.
“Look.” Lizzie opened her jacket a tad.
“You took one too?” Noah grinned at the sight of the golden fur ball cuddled inside Lizzie’s jacket. “Your mom agreed?”
“She doesn’t know yet. The kitty was shivering. So I picked her up and put her against me, under my jacket. Now she’s warm. I called her Wendy.” Lizzie crossed her arms around herself again.
“How do you know it’s a girl kitty?”
Lizzie gave an impatient shrug and tilted her head. “I’m a girl. So...my kitty is a girl like me, of course.”
She was way too sure of herself for Noah to argue. “You think my kitty is a boy kitty, like me?”
Lizzie smiled and nodded. “Sure. Why don’t you warm him under your jacket?”
“Ah, okay.” Lizzie was full of good ideas.
“The kitty will be warm and comfy. And no one will know you have it.”
“Sure.” Noah unzipped his jacket and slid his tiny pet against his heart. How he wished he could remain friends with Lizzie. She was way smarter than his other friends. “Where do you live?”
“In Mo-gom-ry,” she articulated with effort.
“Me too. So we can see each other.”
“And our kitties will see each other. They’re brother and sister. What’s your baby’s name?”
“Huh...” Noah hadn’t had time to pick a name. Especially when Daddy refused to keep his baby.
“Call him Taco.”
“Why Taco?”
“See.” Lizzie pointed at the neon sign of a fast food restaurant. “This is Wendy’s, and the next one is Taco Bell. So they will always know where they came from.”
“Ah.” He smiled, convinced.
A woman approached them with two brown bags. “Lizzie, we don’t have time to sit and eat. The buses are leaving.” She took Lizzie’s hand and pulled her out of the seat.
“Coming, Mommy. Wait a second.” Her mom had already walked ahead, almost dragging Lizzie. Her free hand pressed on her jacket, Lizzie spun and whispered, “Come with us. We all live in Mo-gom-ry. Wendy and Taco need to be together.”
Noah raised his head and scanned his surroundings, but couldn’t locate his dad. Not to worry. Daddy always found him. He had last month when Noah ran to feed the ducks and got lost in the park.
Lizzie was right. Wendy and Taco had to stay together. Besides, Noah would feel better if Lizzie was with him when Dad discovered that Taco had arrived home under Noah’s jacket.
Without hesitation, Noah slipped out of the seat and rushed behind Lizzie and her mother. They climbed into a school bus full of kids. And Noah climbed in too. Lizzie signaled with her finger to go all the way to the back, and Noah proceeded to the last seat on the bus and settled near the window. A woman moved slowly, counting the kids. Lizzie stood up on her seat and mouthed, “Down. Go down,” and pointed down with her hand and head. Noah glided to the floor and stayed there until the woman turned and strolled back to the front.
The bus moved. Relieved to have Taco with him and terrified at the enormity of leaving his dad behind, Noah scrunched his eyes shut.
A few minutes later, a little voice cheered beside him, “Yeah, we did it. We took our babies. You can sit now. I’ll sit with you. I told Mommy I want to sit in the back. She said okay.”
Hopefully, Lizzie’s presence might help curb his daddy’s anger.
Chapter One
Bewildered by the sudden silence, Daniel collected his two paper bags and turned around. The place had emptied. “Everybody’s gone,” he muttered, relieved to be rid of the claustrophobic feeling caused by too many women, some hundred kids of all ages, and scarcely any men.
“Yeah, all gone,” a food attendant commented with a big sigh. “We can take a few minutes’ break.”
“Exactly.” Daniel would enjoy a quiet dinner with his son. But... He spun his head right and left, searching. Damn it, where was Noah?
With long, purposeful strides, Daniel hurried back to the table where he’d left the boy with his new friend. The seats were empty. And so were the
five tables in this area. His heart sinking, he zigzagged between the tables, scanning the seats, chairs, under the tables, any corners... He checked the restrooms, asked the food attendants at the three other fast food places, and let out a string of curses when he couldn’t locate his little boy.
Only last month, Noah had disappeared in the park while Daniel was watching him jump on a trampoline and play on the monkey bars. After a few agonizing minutes, Daniel had found him leaning on the pebbled shore of the nearby pond, watching a family of geese that he’d apparently followed. His heart gnawing with angst, Daniel had scolded himself for a minute of inattention, but hugged his son and explained he should never leave Daddy’s side.
Here he was again, cursing and admonishing himself, his insides twisting with worry. This was no small park with a playground for children, but a rest area off the highway.
Daniel returned to the food attendant. “Have you seen a five-year-old boy in a blue rain jacket?”
The attendant opened his hands. “I saw so many in blue jackets. All ages and all sizes. They’re gone in the two school buses.”
“Gone in the buses? Oh, God. What school was that?”
“Not sure, sir. Let me call my friend. Hey, Heidi. This man has a question.”
“I can’t find my little boy. He was sitting here next to a little girl in an orange jacket.”
“Yes, I noticed the cute girl in orange. I saw her mom dragging her out, and a boy following them. They took one of the buses. The mom told me they were returning from Kings Island. It was a field day for the All Saints parochial school.”
“Ah, so the buses are heading back to All Saints school? The one in Montgomery?”
“I don’t know if it’s in Montgomery, sir.”
“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.” He gave her a good tip and rushed to his SUV.
Connie, my love, help me find him.
Huffing and sighing, he started the engine and took off, hoping he could catch up with the buses. Focusing on the traffic ahead and on the rearview mirror, Daniel drove over the speed limit and passed cars, then slowed when he caught a glimpse of a police car stationed at the curb. Finally a yellow bus appeared within his view, shifting to the right lane and veering onto the exit.
“Yes! The Montgomery exit.” Daniel exhaled in relief and followed Montgomery Road all the way to the big church where he and Connie had attended the Mass every Sunday, until three years ago.
By the time he entered the parking lot of the school, parked his car, and ran to the bus, the kids were exiting. With a notepad in hand, a chaperone checked the names of the children jumping off the bus.
The little girl came out last with a blond woman. The chaperone checked the last names and left. His insides gnawing with angst, Daniel wondered about his son and approached, just as Lizzie poked her head inside again.
And Noah jumped out of the bus.
“Noah!” Daniel grabbed his little boy and lifted him into his arms for a fierce hug, debating if he should permanently bind him to his waist, or carry him in a child carrier on his back the way he had when Noah was a toddler.
“Daddy, I knew you’d find me.” Noah’s beaming smile soothed his worry right away.
“Was this boy on the bus?” Lizzie’s mother exclaimed, her eyes widening in stunned horror, as Noah scooted close to his new friend.
“How could you do that, Noah?” Daniel admonished. “You scared me out of my wits.”
“But you always find me, Daddy.” His son’s confident smile melted his heart.
“What if I can’t find you, buddy? What if someone harms you? You should never, never go far from me. Why did you leave your seat?”
“I followed my friend Lizzie. Her mom pulled her away, and Lizzie told me to come.”
“Lizzie, you told him to come with us? Without permission?” the mom scolded.
The little girl scowled and pouted. “It was the only way to save Wendy and Taco, and keep them together.”
“To save who?” The young woman’s voice echoed Daniel’s.
Noah and Lizzie held hands in a show of mutual support.
Daniel crouched in front of his son and held his shoulders. “Who are Wendy and Taco?”
“Oh my God... Are there two other kids still...on the bus?” The mother’s voice wobbled.
Lizzie giggled. “No, Mommy. No other kids on the bus.”
Noah looked at her and laughed. “Wendy and Taco are here. With us.”
“We have to show them,” Lizzie said with a big sigh.
“Daddy, d’you promise to be a nice daddy?”
Daniel was about to promise a memorable punishment, but the young woman said, “Yes, yes, Lizzie. Show us.”
The children exchanged another look and unzipped their jackets.
Daniel’s eyes rounded. “You brought that cat after I strictly forbade you?”
“But Daddy, he could have died. He was so cold and shivering. Lizzie warmed her kitty under her jacket and saved him. And I did the same.”
“Lizzie, I never allowed you—”
“Mommy, if you’re not with me, would you like someone to let me die of cold?” the little girl blasted, fists on her waist, a bundle of fury.
Her mother crossed her arms, ready to challenge. “No, Miss Lizzie, it’s not the same. You’re not supposed to be on your own, ever. And I don’t have time to deal with a pet.”
Lizzie burst into tears. “You can’t return Wendy. She has no mommy and no daddy. Please, Mommy, I’ll do anything you want.” She sniffled and added, “I’ll even eat green veggies.”
Daniel stifled a smile and noticed the strong resemblance between the young woman and her little girl, not only in the lovely features and fair coloring, but also in the combative stance. Somehow this young woman looked familiar, the facial bones delicately carved, the full mouth... He wondered if they’d met before.
“Daddy,” Noah shook his dad’s hand, “if you let me keep Taco, I promise I’ll never get lost again.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes at his son. “Word of honor?”
“Word of honor.” Noah touched his chest as he’d learned in his Cub Scouts meetings.
Her full attention on Noah, Lizzie tilted her head.
Daniel nodded. “All right—”
“Me too, word of honor, Mommy,” Lizzie hastened to say.
Defeated, the young mom sighed. Daniel caught her gaze—gorgeous dark blue eyes he could swear he’d seen before.
He chuckled and said, “I guess we have no choice. By the way, I’m Daniel O’Malley.” He held out his hand, and she shook it.
A soft gasp escaped her. “Dany O from St. Mary High School in Columbus? No way. I’m Meredith.”
“Meredith Kandel? No wonder you looked familiar.” The prettiest girl in junior class. Now a gorgeous woman with a confident allure she’d never had back then.
“Meredith Kandel Homer.”
“We need to catch up on the past. I live in Montgomery, not far from here.”
“Me too. On Storybook Lane, off Pfeiffer Road.”
“I know where it is. We’re five minutes away from you, on Trailwind Drive. Would you mind stopping by for a cup of coffee? We need to decide how to handle our new pets.”
“All right. My car is parked behind the school. We’ll follow you.”
“We’re going to your house, Noah.” Lizzie giggled and clapped a high-five on Noah’s hand.
***
Meredith focused on the silver SUV maintaining a reasonably slow speed in front of her. To think Dany O, as they used to call him in junior year, was living only five minutes away from her. The lanky nerd who’d been her first boyfriend. They’d dated for two to three months and then things had turned messy. Later, she’d dated Jeremy Dodd, the macho football star of the school. And lived to regret her foolishness.
Daniel drove his SUV into the garage of an imposing two-story brick house. Apparently, he’d done well for himself. Meredith pulled into the driveway.
&nbs
p; “Can I get out?” Lizzie unbuckled her seatbelt at the sight of Noah running toward them. Meredith opened the back door and Lizzie jumped out, her kitten still pressed against her.
“Come to the kitchen, Lizzie. We’ll give them milk.” Noah urged her into the garage.
Behind Noah, they entered a laundry room with white shelves and a big closet, where they hung their jackets.
Daniel brought a basket filled with newspaper and topped with soil from the backyard. “Noah, put the kittens here. They have to learn to use the right place to pee and poo. In a moment, I’ll go buy two litter boxes.”
Meredith lifted a hand. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll buy the supplies for my daughter’s cat.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you, Daddy. You’re the best.”
“Remember, you promised to always hold my hand and stay by my side.”
“Yes, Daddy, word of honor. Lizzie, keep an eye on the kitties. I’ll get them milk.”
Meredith listened to the exchange, pleased that her daughter was getting friendly with Noah.
The kids watched their pets lap milk from two small bowls, then put them in the basket and stroked them.
“Bring your basket and come to the kitchen, children,” Daniel said. “I have to talk to you before buying the litter boxes.”
Daniel ushered them to a large ultra-modern kitchen, a symphony of gray, stainless steel, and granite, with a square isle in the middle. A bar separated the kitchen from a family room furnished in black leather with a huge television set against the wall. An alcove off the family room harbored a round dining table with black leather chairs. A warm scent of potpourri drifted from the silver-lined crystal bowl adorning the center of the table.
Quite impressed with the decor, Meredith followed silently. She knew Daniel had grown up in wealth. Back in high school, he’d told her that he and his brothers had lost their mother at a young age and had been raised by an older sister married to a congressman.
This beautiful house and its elegant furnishing hinted at a feminine touch, yet Daniel and Noah had never mentioned the little boy’s mother.
