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CHAPTER NINETEEN
Roberta poured kibbleinto the dogs’ dishes for their breakfast as her cell phone rang with an unknown incoming phone number, nearly a week later, on Friday. With the memory of the last strange call when Taylor was injured still fresh in her mind, she answered immediately, heart picking up speed as she did.
“Hello?” Roberta answered quickly.
“Hello. Is this Roberta Kove?” an unfamiliar female voice asked over the poor connection.
“Yes, who may I ask is calling?”
“Sylvia Tanner with the Tanner Water Company. I’m calling to tell you there’s a problem with the water at your house. We had a report filed this morning with our company.” The older woman’s voice sounded steady and authoritative as she rattled off the address.
“Water company? Who called you? Was it my house sitter, Erica Hardy?”
“The message doesn’t say who called, only that there’s a water problem at the residence. But the homeowner must be present at the time of inspection.”
“I’m sorry, I’m out of the state on a work assignment now. The earliest I can get back is tomorrow morning.” Roberta said, already making a mental checklist of things to do before getting to Branfield on the morning flight.
“Give us a call when you are back in town, and we will come right over to investigate the problem.”
After disconnecting the call with Sylvia Tanner, Roberta tried to contact Erica but could not reach her. She was probably getting ready for class or driving. Roberta left a voice message saying she was on the way and would likely arrive tomorrow to take care of the water problem.
She made a flurry of calls over her lunch break and booked a flight for early the following day. Sara’s assistant at Dogs-A-Walking agreed to stay with Goober and Tucker until she could return.
All that remained to do was tell Taylor if she could catch him. The morning after their night together, she found him standing at her window, watching his mother leave in the Escalade. Since that night, he’d been scarce. Leaving her to think his time with her may have had as much to do with distracting her from her manuscript demand as it was to show his mom who was in charge, and far less than in actually feeling something for her. Roberta blushed hotly, remembering waking up together and her presumption of a real relationship developing between them.
When she got home from work, she chose the chicken route: a phone call. Roberta never called him while she knew he was on set, but today’s message was important. He was unlikely to answer while filming was in progress. Nonetheless, she paced as her dogs investigated the backyard. To her surprise, he answered immediately instead of letting it roll to voicemail.
“Hey. How are ya?” he asked in a surprised tone. Talking in the background was loud and made it hard for Roberta to hear him.
“Y-yeah. Okay,” she stuttered. “I just wanted to let you know I’m flying home tomorrow morning to deal with a water problem. I hope to be back Sunday night.” Her anxiety about calling him accelerated.Keep the tone light, breezy.
Silence pervaded the line for a few too many seconds before he responded. “So, you need me to take care of the dogs?”
Roberta toed the grass where a mole had raised a tunnel. “No, no. I have the dog sitter’s assistant staying with them. I didn’t want you scaring the daylights out of her, you know, knocking on the back door,” she fumbled her answer. Roberta closed her eyes and rolled her head back, waiting for a response that did not come. Opening her eyes, she stomped on the tunnel, following it across the yard, wondering what she’d done to deserve the silent treatment. It only took a moment to remember the ugly scene with his mother and the revelation Sara had elicited.
Over the phone, in the background, she could hear his name being called. “Got to go. I’ll call later,” he said before clicking off.
Roberta shook her head and let her chin drop to her chest. “Oookay. So much for that.”There would not be a phone call later. She was right.
Torrential rain beat at her car all the way to Pittsburgh International Airport, matching her mood. Still trusting the flight would depart as scheduled, Roberta went through security and headed to the gate. Picking up a stray newspaper, she perused it while waiting to board. Legs crossed and dangling foot jiggling, she tried to be calm. A sense of foreboding had her nerves on edge. It didn’t help that Taylor had never called back.
“Miss Roberta Kove, please report to the gate agent. Miss Roberta Kove, please report to the gate agent,” requested a friendly, authoritative voice over the intercom.
Roberta startled, glancing up at the ceiling of the terminal building.What for?She approached the agent at the gate ticket counter.
“Hello, I’m Roberta Kove,” she said as the woman smiled back at her. Roberta took it as a good sign that the woman was smiling.
“May I have your boarding pass, please, Ms. Kove?” The agent held out her hand.
She handed over her ticket, which the woman, still smiling, tore in two.
Jolted alert, Roberta stammered, “M-m-my ticket!”
The agent smiled and held up another. “New boarding pass, Ms. Kove. Would you follow me, please?” She turned on her heels, electronically checked in a ticket under the barcode scanner, and led Roberta down the jetway to the plane. Roberta followed, struggling with two carry-ons.
Halfway down the jetway, the agent turned and waited for Roberta to catch up with her.
Roberta couldn’t take the suspense. “Um, could you tell me what’s going on, please?” She huffed as she struggled to lug her overnight tote and a heavy laptop case serving double duty as her handbag and laptop holder.
