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“Go do that and tell him I said hi.”
“That alone will make his night.”
Isla smiled. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Ditto. Stay safe.”
“You too.”
Isla ended the call and placed the phone on the table. She looked around the kitchen, trying to find something that could occupy her mind. If she just stayed home, she could be going through more cabinets and closets, but she was here now.
There had to be something she could do. She moved from the counter and went to the living room. A loud crackling noise broke through the wind, and the house was consumed by the darkness.
Isla felt her way to the kitchen to grab a flashlight. She didn’t want to use her the one on her phone, afraid to waste the battery. Pain radiated up her shin as she walked right into a chair. She winced at the pain, but kept going until the flashlight was in her hand.
What the hell was she supposed to do now? Sit here and wait to hear from Nolan? Wait for him to show up? She told Harper to do just that, but Harper’s brain wasn’t having an all-out field day. The things that Isla was thinking were tearing at her gut and making her sick with fear.
What if Nolan was hurt? In a ditch on the side of the road with no one in sight to help? What if he was trying to call for help, but his phone wasn’t working? What if a tree crashed through the windshield of the truck and impaled him… Oh God, why the hell did she even think that? She mentally slapped herself. Not that it stopped the thoughts from forming. It was more like lifting a latch as one horrible thought after another filled her mind.
She’d be an idiot to go out there, especially since she had no idea where Nolan was at this moment. She knew where he was meeting milo, but what if they weren’t there anymore? She couldn’t just drive up and down the streets…
She peered out the window; the tops of the trees bent toward the ground, the power lines swung haphazardly, and one at the far left of the property had snapped away from the rest and flailed in the wind.
Could that electrocute her? Not like she was going to go out there and touch a live wire. But what if it touched the ground? It couldn’t hurt her from all the way over there, could it?
What if Nolan and Milo were trapped behind power lines? Not like she could save them if they were, but maybe she could go for help. She picked up her keys.
“Don’t be stupid.” The words came from her mouth, but it was as if they came out on their own accord. She was right, though. Going out there was dangerous and stupid. She put the keys down and found her way to the couch.
She sent up a silent prayer and did the only thing she could do.
She waited.
Chapter 22
3 Years Ago
Isla sat at the kitchen table, staring at her phone. Nolan should have been home from work an hour ago. They had plans to go out for dinner, yet he wasn’t home, and he hadn’t even called. She’d texted him three times, but he hadn’t responded to those either. He never kept her waiting, always kept in touch, and she had no idea what the heck was going on lately.
Mom came into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Have you heard from him yet?”
“No!” Isla snapped, then quickly changed her tone. It wasn’t Mom’s fault Nolan was MIA. “He hasn’t answered any of my texts yet.”
“Maybe he got stuck in a meeting. It wouldn’t be the first time.” Mom placed a head of lettuce on the counter and grabbed a knife. “Though he could have at least texted back. That phone is practically attached to him.”
That’s exactly what Isla was thinking. With the demand of his job, and his determination to get a promotion, he kept his phone with him at all times. He would never miss an email, so why was he not responding to her?
She let out a sigh and stood. “Do you need help?”
“If you want to grab the tomatoes and cucumbers and get to slicing, that would be great.”
Isla went into the fridge and retrieved the vegetables. She glanced at her phone again and still nothing. She got a knife and cutting board and got to work. Her eyes kept drifting to her phone then her mind wandered to the segment she heard on the radio that morning.
It was a segment she’d heard before. It was pretty popular in the tri-state area. If a person suspected their significant other was cheating, they’d call the radio station and the radio station would call the suspected cheater and tell them they won a dozen roses, and ask who they should send them to. If the suspected cheater gave a different name than their significant other, they were caught.
This morning’s episode featured a couple who had been together since middle school. The husband had been working a ton of overtime, and when he was home, he was on his phone constantly. Sure enough, when they called him about the flowers, he gave another woman’s name.
Isla couldn’t believe for a second that Nolan would cheat on her, but he checked all the boxes. On his phone constantly. Check. Working overtime. Check. Cancelling plans because he had to have drinks with clients. Check. Being more distant than usual. Check. Not answering her calls or texts. Double check.
