Milo lowered his voice. “Oops. I better go. Anyway, thanks again.” The line went dead.
Before she could break into loud gasping sobs, wink or even put her phone back in her pocket, it vibrated with another call.
Ruby let it ring as she shook off her melancholy, and looked at the caller ID to determine if she should even take the call. A surprise caller. One she wouldn’t have expected.
“Hello?”
The caller was very excited, talking so quickly that words piled on top of one another until she barely understood any of them.
“Slow down,” Ruby broke in. “And say that again. I only caught every fifth word.”
The caller started out again more slowly, but sped up after only a sentence. Ruby stood up when she realized what the caller was trying to tell her. Her eyes widened. Something had been bothering her. She hadn’t known what until now. She cleared her throat, trying to keep her emotions steady.
“Okay. Calm down. I’ll be right there.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ruby stood quietly in her hiding place at the Nocturne Falls airport, determined not to waste another second on regrets or wishing things had turned out differently.
It is what it is.
Filled with nervous excitement, she felt like if she flapped her arms fast enough she’d be able to take flight. That was such a fanciful picture she almost laughed out loud.
Settle down. It’s almost time.
She watched for her cue, staying hidden until everyone was in place. As soon as the nod was given, Ruby took a deep breath and headed into the ticketing area. She marched straight up to Uncle Milo and Max where they stood in line waiting for their turn to get their boarding passes and check in their luggage.
Sheriff Merrow had graciously radioed ahead to stall them if needed. However, a large family ahead of them in line provided ample chaos and distraction until Ruby reached them.
“Max,” she said, tapping him on the shoulder.
He spun around so fast he almost tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. Milo also turned, his expression filled with surprise.
“What are you doing here?” Milo asked.
“I needed closure.”
“Closure,” Max echoed with a touch of venom in his tone.
“Don’t you love me anymore, Max? Even a little?”
Max rubbed a finger several times on his upper lip as if trying to think of a response to her angst-filled, possibly drama-inducing question.
Milo smiled fondly at Max. “That’s funny. My valet Hayward does that.”
“Does what?” Ruby asked, although she knew the answer.
“He rubs his upper lip whenever he gets nervous.”
“WhereisHayward?” Ruby asked, never taking her eyes off Max’s face. “I would justloveto meet him.”
“Oh, he left already. He usually leaves a day or two ahead of me, but there was only one earlier flight and he took that.”
“Huh. Interesting.” Ruby glanced up at the bucket hat perched on Max’s head. Behind his ear she could see a very slender strand of red hair. “Why are you wearing that hat, Max? Most people remove them when indoors.”
He frowned. “I’m cold.” His surly gaze darted between Milo and Ruby before he turned his back on her, like a pouting child pretending you don’t exist if they don’t look directly at you.
