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She laughed huskily. “Hon, half the people here are Nonnas. I need a last name.”

She waited.

I didn’t know if Nonna was on Tate’s mom’s side or his dad’s. But I guess there was a fifty percent chance either way.

I swallowed. “Greenwood?”

I was almost certain I got it wrong. I just wasn’t that lucky.

“Room twelve,” she said. The phone rang and she picked it up and waved me off.

I breathed a sigh of relief and moved down the hall.

Then I hit my second roadblock. What if the door was locked?

I hadn’t even thought of it.

I remembered Tate just walking in the day we visited. But what if the door was locked now? And then if I did find Christmas, how was I going to get her out of here? I couldn’t walk her past the desk because the receptionist would notice. And what about cameras? Yes, I was stealing my own cat, but I was breaking into someone’s apartment to do it.

I could get in trouble for this. I might even get arrested. If I did, would I be able to get my medical lab technician certification if I had this on my record? Would any hospital take me after that?

So much of this plan was not a plan at all.

I had the deepest sense of preemptive loss. I was never going to get Christmas back. Too many things could go wrong.

But when I got to the door, it wasn’t locked.

And when I opened it, Tate’s grandmother was sitting in the living room.

15

RHIANNON

THE OLD WOMAN WAS in her recliner, in a pink floral robe and compression socks. “Hello?” she said. “Can I help you?”

I didn’t know what to do. Run? Keep acting? See if I could talk my way through this like I had at the front desk? I was still debating when I heard it.

Meowing.

It was coming from the other room. I’d know that sound anywhere. Christmas was here.

I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. Of all the options, I chose the truth. “Hi,” I said. “I don’t know if you remember me? My name is Rhiannon. I’m Tate’s ex-girlfriend.”

The old woman blinked at me.

“That cat in there.” I looked over my shoulder toward the sound of mewing. “She’s mine. Tate took her.” I looked back at the woman. “I just want my baby back. Please. I’ll pay you for her. I’ll do anything. I just can’t leave without her.”

She lowered the footrest of her recliner and leaned forward in her seat. “Any chance you’ll take Tate too?”

16

MATTY

I GLANCED AT THE wall clock at the back of the rec room.

I’d been here almost an hour. Time to wrap it up.

I had no idea if one of the old ladies here was Tate’s grandma. I had no idea if Rhiannon found Christmas, if she was already out in the car waiting for me, or if the whole thing bombed. The only thing I knew with certainty was that I was never eating another pancake again.