Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.
~ Omar Khayyam
As they left the warehouse, Brianna didn’t let go of Steven’s hand. She’d had a gun shoved in her rib cage, a heavy foot pressed into her spine, and been tied up at gunpoint. In Steven’s passionate eyes she saw life, hope, dreams. All the things she wanted. She didn’t want to let her newfound resolve for life or him slip out of her grasp—ever again. Life would be different going forward. Better.
She and Steven were safe. Begley and Edwin were under arrest. The GBI closed Restful Oaks during their investigation, but they’d said she could open it again once she had her director’s license.
“Let us give you a ride home,” Piper said. “It’s the least we can do.”
Suddenly she remembered. “Where’s Plato? Did anyone find him? Get Begley’s niece?”
Now that things were looking up, she didn’t want the day to end with her dog getting killed.
“I was so busy chasing after you,” Steven said. “Does he have tags on his collar? Or a microchip?”
“Yes, but we should still look for him.” Her stomach cramped. Plato, where are you? He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t.
A soft breeze blew, carrying music through the trees and into her ears. She pressed her fingers to her ears, opening and closing them. The music continued, but it wasn’t violins. It was...Elvis? Singing “a hunka hunka burnin’ love”?
She glanced upward where the words seemed to come from. Sitting on a large oak limb was Bobby Ray Canters’s ghost.
“Bobby Ray?”
Steven grasped her hand tighter. “Are you okay?”
“Give me a second,” Brianna said. “Bobby Ray? Is that you?”
“Yes, ma’am. I just wanted to tell you that Plato’s in the City Market. He’s fine. That’s where you’ll find him.”
An Elvis-impersonator ghost was telling her where her dog was. After the month she’d had, this didn’t seem strange. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”
“No, ma’am. Thank you, thank you very much.”
Brianna chuckled, and her laughter blended into the breeze as Bobby Ray faded from sight.
“Who were you talking to?” Steven asked.
She turned to face him. “Plato’s in the City Market. He’s fine.”
With narrowed eyes, Steven said, “Listen, we can search for Plato in every corner of Savannah. But I think we have to remain pragmatic—”
“You are more like James than you think.” She smiled at him.
Steven’s eyes went wide with horror. “What?”
“Trust me. Plato’s in City Market.”
“Hop in,” Piper said. “We’ll take you there.”
During the five-minute drive, Steven didn’t say much. Guess she’d taken him aback with the comment about James, but he’d looked so adorable—just as James did. Both men, both pragmatic, yet both wanting their own dreams in life. She didn’t find it surprising that they’d clashed on numerous occasions.
“City Market is on the right,” Piper said. She pulled over the sedan. “I’ll be in touch soon for an in-depth interview, plus the coverage during Begley’s trial. Meanwhile, his arrest will make the six o’clock news.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Brianna said. “Thank you again for all your help.”
“Yes, thanks,” Steven added, and he clasped Brianna’s hand in his. “So, where do we look first? City Market covers four blocks.”
Brianna scanned the crowds. There were cart vendors selling flowers, water, and snacks. Shops and alfresco eateries lined the pedestrian-only streets. Near one of the hamburger eateries, she saw a gaggle of ten-year-old girls. They wore red corkscrew-style wigs, green sequined outfits with shamrocks on the chests, and clogging shoes.
“There.”
Steven’s eyebrows shot upward. “The cloggers? Strange. It’s not St. Patrick’s Day yet.”
“They must’ve performed at the festival,” Brianna said. “Savannah is doused in Irish culture, remember?”
He smiled, seeming to relax a little more. “I remember.”
“It’s Lassie,” one of the girls said.
Steven arched an eyebrow.
“People always mistake Plato for a small Lassie,” Brianna said. “C’mon. I have a feeling Plato is being his usual attention-hungry self.”
When they approached, Brianna laughed so hard that she hiccupped. There, in the center of these curly-haired girls with rouge on their cheeks, laid Plato, flat on his back and begging for tummy rubs from anyone and everyone.
She squeezed Steven’s hand. “I told you Plato was here.”
Steven winked. “Guess I should believe you more often.”
“Yes, yes you should.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Come on, let’s get him before he gets too spoiled.”
Steven pulled her into him for a long kiss. “I don’t know if that’s possible. I intend to spoil you and Plato for a long, long time.”
Her pulse raced and she couldn’t stop herself from grinning ear to ear. “I’ll hold you to that. C’mon.”
“Plato?” Brianna called, using her high-pitched voice.
Plato scrambled to stand up, his nails clicking against the cobblestones. When he saw her, his legs ran in place before ever moving. The eagerness in his wiggling body made her heart smile. There was nothing like a dog’s expression when he’s happy to see his human. He bolted out of the circle and sprinted to her legs.
“Is the Lassie dog yours?” one girl asked.
“Yes, I lost him this morning.” She snapped on the leash she’d kept in her purse. “Thank you so much for taking care of him for me.”
Another girl with red freckles stepped forward. “He was hungry, so we all pitched in and got him some food. He really likes hamburgers.”
Steven chuckled. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
After several minutes of petting Plato to his full satisfaction, she glanced into Steven’s eyes. “Come to the house with me. There’s something I want to do.”