After a long hesitation, she finally said, “I’d better rent a convertible. That way you can fly into the backseat and get dressed if I leave some clothes on the floor.” A small smile tried to make its way across her face.
“Actually, a convertible isn’t a bad idea. You can see a lot more that way.” Jayce leaned back, stretched out his legs, and crossed them at the ankle, resting his feet on the coffee table.
Kristine pointed to his feet. “Now there’s a bad habit you didn’t tell me about when we were breaking up. You put your feet on the coffee table.”
Jayce yanked his feet off the table and put them on the floor. “Sorry. I didn’t know there was a rule against that in your home.”
“There isn’t. I was just heckling you.”
Jayce was actually happy she was teasing him again. He sprang to his feet and said, “Let’s go. You rent a car, and I’ll meet you there. If I go now, I might spot the Coast Guard before they leave the area, which would narrow our search.”
“So we’ll concentrate on the area of Long Island facing open sea?”
“Yes. I can swoop low and look in windows after we meet up. Rent a convertible. I should be able to spot you if you take the route that runs right along the Atlantic side.”
“How do you know there is one?”
Jayce laughed. “There’s always a road right along the coast in populated areas.” He handed her the phone he had caught after she threw it.
Kristine nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll grab your sweats. They’ll be faster to get in and out of. Let’s see where I can rent a convertible. I’m sure I can get a Long Island map from the rental agency.”
He didn’t wait for her to dial to set out on his journey. It might be fruitless. The chances of them happening upon her mother were almost nil. But Jayce knew they couldn’t just sit around and wait. They both needed to feel like they were doing something that could possibly help.
Jayce jogged up to the roof while Kristine locked the door and ran down the stairs to the sidewalk. He rolled his tail feathers in the dirt, happy he didn’t have bright-red and yellow markings on his wings, which would require muddying them too. Flying would’ve been more difficult…not impossible, since he was stronger than an ordinary bird, but tiring nonetheless.
He took off and sailed on the wind.
Even though they weren’t supposed to, shifting and taking to the air and then floating on the wind currents was something he and his brothers enjoyed doing from time to time. That was why he owned a fishing boat. When they got far enough out to sea, where no one would see them, they took turns shifting and dive-bombing the water to catch fish in their beaks. It was a lot of fun on a hot summer day.
In bird form they aged more quickly, even faster in flight, so they had to be careful how often they did this. If their father found out, they’d be in trouble. But even knowing the risks, the joy and freedom of flying were worth it.
Jayce wondered how much he was aging on this trip. The flight last night took a few hours, from New York to Boston then back to New York, and there was some flight-time while creating the black sheet camouflage flight with his brothers. Then shifting this morning and watching over Kristine as she went to the park and back—well, that wasn’t much.
Now he might spend all day in this form flying around Long Island looking for a redheaded actress. Fortunately Kristine had several pictures of her mother. There was a clear headshot of her lovely face. A few full-body pictures, some of her onstage. And even one in a bathing suit, looking curvaceous and supposedly alluring. Kristine’s body was more to his liking. Athletic.
Jayce tried to avoid buildings as much as possible. They messed up the winds and made it more challenging to fly where he wanted to. So he soared over rooftops and water towers, enjoying a nice bird’s-eye view of the city.
This meditation gave him time to reflect on his relationship with Kristine. He had never felt this way about a woman before. He was willing to do whatever was necessary to keep her safe—hang the consequences to himself. Most other women he’d dated appealed to him physically, but this connection was not just physical.
They were both firefighters, concerned about the safety of the citizens of their beloved cities—which were three hours apart as the Acela train flies, dammit. But the point was they had similar values, and that meant a lot. She was concerned about her mother, just as he was loyal to his family. Another double-edged sword.
The fact that he had already showed her his alternate form and she had shown him hers seemed to mean they werealmostmeant to be. While he was home for the emergency family meeting, he’d told his parents. They were shocked he’d already revealed himself to Kristine. But when he’d said that she had a secret too and hinted it was like Chloe’s special gift, they both relaxed immediately. They adored Chloe, even though she’d taken Ryan to Ireland to live. His brother was deliriously happy, and that, in the end, was what everybody wanted.
When Kristine described the background she had seen on the Skype call, it sounded as if her mother could have been in a very expensive home. Chances were the place was not in a crowded neighborhood, but a place with some privacy. If he could hear the waves lapping but no other sounds in the background but seagulls and one other guy, he imagined the place would be off by itself.
He swooped low over every estate within earshot of the beach and, trying not to attract attention, flew by large windows facing the ocean. When he saw women inside but couldn’t get a good look at their hair color, he found a low branch to sit on until he was able to rule them out. If there was a possibility it might be Kristine’s mother, he would fly in front of Kristine’s windshield to grab her attention…when he found her car. Yeesh. He’d better move his tail.
At last he spotted her. While Kristine was halted at a stop sign, he flew down and rested on top of her windshield for a moment. That was his signal for “find a private spot and pull over to the side of the road.” They probably should’ve talked about it sooner, but fortunately, she understood. When she pulled into a dirt road lined with trees, it looked like they were alone. He hopped into the backseat, then shifted and dressed.
“Did you find anything?” she asked anxiously.
“Not much. I saw the Coast Guard speeding away from what looked like a small cargo ship when I first got here. If that’s the scene the guy was talking about, we’re close.”
“Good. Let’s check out the homes with ocean views. I’ll study the places from the street side, and you examine the beach side. If there’s nothing right here, we can widen the search.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Jayce kissed her, shifted back into phoenix form, and rolled his tail feathers in some roadside dirt. Then he took to the sky again.
They spent hours combing the Hamptons and Montauk, which had the kind of oceanfront homes where Jayce thought Kristine’s mother might be held. Eventually he had to change back. He had probably aged months in those few hours.
