CHAPTER 43

Piper knelt down next to the wet, orange tiger cat that had followed them into Sailor’s kitchen. “Who is this?” she asked in surprise. The cat pushed his head into Piper’s hand and closed his eyes in contentment.

“I don’t know who he is, but he keeps showing up and sauntering in here like he owns the place. I’ve been meaning to make posters for him, too. I even took his picture, but I haven’t gotten around to printing flyers. His family is probably worried sick.”

“He doesn’t have a collar so maybe he doesn’t have a family.”

Sailor shook her head. “I think he has a home.”

“He thinks he has a home, too,” Piper teased, “and it’s right here, isn’t it, sweetie?” The cat stretched out on the floor, purring loudly, loving all the attention.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Sailor warned as she unwrapped the takeout dinner they’d picked up at Arnold’s. She pulled a little piece of lobster out of one of the rolls, knelt down, and offered it to him—and he sniffed it curiously and then gulped it down. “I guess you are hungry,” she said, standing up to get him another piece.

“Do you really think you’re going to get him to leave when you’re feeding him lobster?! And, by the way, he told me he likes it dipped in butter.”

Sailor chuckled and stood up. “Would you like a glass of wine?”

“Nah, I better not,” Piper said. “Mike filled our glasses to the brim when we were waiting for our food, and now I can hardly stay awake.”

Sailor took a bottle out of the fridge and poured herself a glass. “Iced tea?” she asked, surveying the contents of the fridge.

“No, that’ll keep me awake.”

“Water?”

“You want me to have to get up in the middle of the night, don’t you?”

“My goodness, you do have problems,” Sailor teased. “Don’t worry,” she added, laughing. “I have all the same problems myself.”

Piper laughed as she poured melted butter over her lobster. “Like Mom used to say, ‘It’s no fun getting old.’ ”

“It definitely isn’t,” Sailor agreed. She took a sip of her wine. “How do you think Remy’s doing?” she asked.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Piper said, taking a bite of her lobster roll. “I’m so glad she went. I kept expecting her to back out, didn’t you?”

Sailor nodded. “I thought for sure she’d call on Thursday and tell me she’d changed her mind.”

“Well, I’m glad she didn’t. It’s good that she’s getting out of the house and doing something fun ... and I’m glad John went, too. That whole thing is such a hoot!”

“It is a hoot!” Sailor agreed, leaning down to give the cat the last bite of her lobster. “I never saw it coming!”

Piper shook her head. “Me, neither!”

Sailor took another sip of her wine. “Oh!” she said, motioning for Piper to follow her. “I want to show you something.”

Piper and the cat followed her into her studio and Sailor turned on the light over her desk. “Ta-da!” she said, motioning to the pictures.

“Wow!” Piper said, crossing her arms. “Wow! Wow! Wow!” She stepped back, taking in the entire wall, and then stepped closer to study each photo. “It’s so cool to see them all hung together. . . and to see how we’ve changed—it’s like having your whole life in front of you.” She pointed to the very first photo David had taken. “Look how young we were,” she said, smiling. “Do you remember how young and handsome David was when we first met him? When he and Birdie first started dating? I had such a crush on him.” She paused. “It’s funny—he isn’t in any of the pictures . . . but seeing them conjures up images of how he looked when he took them.”

Sailor nodded. “You’re right. I never thought of that before, but in every one of these pictures, we were looking at him.” She smiled. “He was . . . and still is . . . very handsome. And he has captured us all growing old through the lens of his camera.”

Piper studied each photo. “Look at this one,” she said, pointing to one in which they all looked like they were in their thirties. “Birdie looks like she might even smile.”

Sailor nodded. “That was right before her last miscarriage. She was about eight weeks along.”

“That’s right,” Piper said, remembering how devastated her sister and David had been after losing their fourth baby. She shook her head sadly. “I hope they find Bailey. I can’t stop thinking about her being out in the rain and the dark—she must be so scared and hungry. . . .”

Piper’s words hung in the air as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” started playing in Sailor’s pocket. She pulled her phone out, looked at the screen, and frowned. “I don’t recognize this number. I don’t even recognize the two-oh-three area code. . . .” She shook her head and started to slip her phone back into her pocket.

“What are you doing?” Piper asked. “You need to answer it!”

“Oh, right!” Sailor said, suddenly remembering that her number was on some of the posters now. “Hello?”

Piper listened, her heart pounding as her sister spoke. “You did?! Is she okay? Where? Oh my goodness, thank you,” she murmured, tears of relief spilling down her cheeks. Piper continued to listen wide-eyed, her own eyes filling with tears. “She was limping? . . . Is she okay?” Sailor nodded. “Well, thank goodness your sons were out running.” She nodded again. “We’re in Truro. . . . No, she’s not from Truro, but we . . . we’ll be right down. What’s the address?” She reached for a pen and scribbled down the address on a scrap of paper. “Five Bridge Road. I know where that is. Yes, we’ll be there in twenty minutes. Thank you so much!” She hung up the phone, smiling and crying all at the same time.

“Where is she?” Piper asked, her heart pounding.

“Right in Orleans,” Sailor said. “A family that is renting a house on Bridge Road found her. The man said his sons were out running and saw her limping along the side of the road. They’d just passed a poster on a telephone pole and they couldn’t believe it was the same dog.”

“I can’t believe it, either!” Piper exclaimed, following Sailor back to the kitchen. She looked down at the cat curled up on the new chair in the living room. “I think your new pal plans to spend the night.”

Sailor looked over. “Okay,” she said to him, “but only because it’s raining.”

“Don’t worry,” Piper whispered as she stroked his ears. “I’m sure she’ll let you stay as long as you like.”

Sailor eyed her sister suspiciously. “What did you tell him?”

“Oh, nothing,” Piper teased as she closed the door.