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That evening, Matt sent a text to Sady, asking if she passed. She sent back a frowning face, and said the instructor was disappointed, and she'd need special tutoring to qualify for a permit. Sady smiled as she imagined the look on his face.
"How can you fail the class part of the course? Some of the biggest idiots I know are legal to carry a weapon!" was his reply.
"Does that include you?"
"What happened?"
"I couldn't focus. I was so upset over my broken engagement... Just kidding. Of course, I passed. Do you think I want to sit another five hours in a classroom? I haven't been so bored since Juliette Winters sang opera at a pageant right before I quit. She had a terrible voice. It was amusing, but boring."
"Are you home?"
"No, I'm out tying one on with the guys from class. They felt bad that I got dumped. Of course, they don't know I'm pregnant or they'd come beat you up... Yes, I'm home."
"Good. I have something for you. Come over."
"Is it safe? Emily didn't leave a booby trap, did she?"
"Very funny, Sady. Just get over here." He was waiting and opened the door before she could knock. She sniffed the air before entering. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the hall.
"Just checking," she said with a smile. "You might be used to the stink, or maybe your sense of smell has burned out. I'm just playing it safe."
"Does it smell bad?" he asked.
"Nope, it smells like Chinese. Is that for me?"
"It's for us. Be nice and bring a couple beers, will you? Don't say it," he responded before she could make a joke.
"Sorry," she lied. "It will take me a couple weeks to stop the one-liners from running through my head."
As they ate, Matt filled her in on the details she'd missed after leaving Daisy's.
"I'm so glad this one is finished. I'll probably have nightmares about her chasing me, begging for more money," Sady said with a shudder.
"Maybe this will help," he said, sitting her down on the couch. He put his laptop on the coffee table in front of her.
"What's this?"
"Old news articles from Chicago. You remember the shooting you saw?" She nodded, and he said, "Read the article, Sady."
It was quiet while she read the page, then she asked, "So the guy who fell down didn't get shot?"
"No, he dropped to the ground when the robber aimed at him. Sady, no one was shot, or even hurt. If you had been around for another few minutes, you'd have seen the second guy get up, and the police close in on the robber."
"Well, how do you like that? All those nightmares over nothing," she complained.
"I think you're missing the point," he said.
"I doubt it," she replied. "Because there was this other time in New Jersey..."
"Open the other tab," he told her with a grin she didn't trust.
"Why?"
"Just open it." She opened the other tab on his screen and closed her eyes.
"You had to do it, didn't you?" she asked with a scowl.
"I couldn't resist," he grinned. "Who could? This article popped up during my search." He ignored the look of disbelief she sent his way. "Look at little Sandy-Sue Morrow. She took the crown at that pageant. Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?" he teased.
"Don't make me call the guys from my class," she threatened.
"Go ahead. They'd agree with me, I'm sure," he said. "How old were you, anyway? The article doesn't say."
Sady refused to answer, so he continued. "I'm thinking of printing this picture. Look at that smile. I didn't know you could still win a crown when you're missing your front teeth."
"I had an exceptional talent act," she replied.
"You still do," he laughed.
"Between this and the insults at Daisy's, Karma's going to catch up with you, Matt Meadows," she threatened. "She's going to knock you down and leave you flattened."
He was still laughing when his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. He read the text, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Sady with suspicion. She lifted a brow and asked, "Is that Karma reaching out to you?"
He didn't answer, so she made a grab for his phone and read the message. It was from her Uncle John, reminding Matt that the name "John" was a Morrow family tradition, going back several generations. It was a fine name for a baby boy. He also wanted to know why he hadn't received his wedding invitation.
"You did this on purpose," he accused, while she laughed.
Holding up her hand, she said, "I swear, I had nothing to do with this. You can probably blame it on Emily. She's the only one, besides Louise, who didn't know this was just part of the job."
Matt's looked around his apartment, worried. "I bet he has me bugged now," he hissed. "He probably has hidden cameras as well. I wonder if he sent Emily to spy and plant those things... Maybe you'd better leave." He pulled her to her feet and dragged her to the door.
"Maybe you should have checked all those piles. Uncle John would have used the dog to plant spy-ware, not Emily. You're being paranoid, Matt," she teased.
"Am I?" He shoved her shoes into her hands, opened the door, and pushed her into the hall.
"That's it?" she asked. "Not even a 'wham, bam, thank you, ma'am'?"
"Will you shut up?" he asked. "I don't need him hearing that kind of language coming from your mouth. He'll blame it on me!"
"And he'll be right," Sady replied. He closed the door in her face.
She knocked until he opened it. "What?"
"I need my bag. Without it I'm locked out and doomed to ride the elevator until..." He threw the bag at her and shut the door.
She knocked again. He flung open his door and growled. "I didn't get a chance to finish my beer," she said. A few seconds later she was holding a half-empty beer bottle, facing the closed door. With a smile, she put her beer and bag on the hall floor and knocked again.
"I'm not opening this door, Sady."
"I just forgot one last thing. I promise." She could almost hear the hesitation.
"This is the last time?"
"That's what I said, didn't I?"
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't. Now stop acting like a frightened girl and open your door."
He threw open his door with a glare. He wasn't prepared when Sady launched herself at him and pinned him against his own door. She wrapped herself around him and hugged him so tight he could barely breathe. With a smile she said, "Thanks for the engagement, even though it wasn't real. I haven't belonged to anyone in a long time."
He stood with a surprised look on his face, and she yelled into his apartment, "Don't worry, Uncle John. I'm leaving now."
"Wait, come back," he pleaded breathlessly. She left him propped against his door and smiled as she went home. It was good to have a family again.