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“He worked hard on those directions. If I had asked for clarification I would have offended him,” I said with a tight-lipped smile. “Anyway, they’re from a bird’s-eye view. They don’t think of things the way we do, so of course they don’t describe them that way, either.”

“I can’t wait to eat the good fries!” Paisley chimed in, making me giggle.

But Charles still appeared quite frazzled.“Is she even in Katahdin at all? Do we know for sure?”

“Bravo said she was, but this isn’t anywhere near his flock’s territories, so I doubt he knows the actual boundaries.”

“Right, so it’s a wild goose chase—er, a wild seagull chase—for me. But it’ll be fine. I can figure this out. I just have to think like the witness, put myself in his… wings, I guess. I’ve got this, babe. Enjoy your downtime. Call if you need me, and I’ll come straight back.”

“Thank you. I love you,” I called after him. I really needed this. Of course, I wasn’t properly on my own, thanks to the pets.

Octo-Cat had already fallen asleep on the pillow at the head of his bed while Paisley wagged her tail and licked between my fingers.“What now, Mommy?” she asked.

I had to think fast to come up with a valid excuse to be on my own, otherwise her feelings would be deeply hurt. I glanced around the room, landing on the door to the en suite bathroom.“Um, I’m just going to take a nice bubble bath.”

“Okay, Mommy! What will I do?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Why don’t you curl up and take a nap with Octo-Cat?” I said, picking her up as I stood and then setting her onto the other bed beside the crabby tabby. When he woke up, he was going to be livid. Luckily, I’d already be locked safely away in the next room—provided that lock worked at all.Just to be safe, I crept back into the main room and grabbed my cell phone and bathrobe. That way I’d be prepared if I got stuck and needed to get someone to help me out.

Back in the bedroom, dear, sweet Paisley had wrapped herself around Octo-Cat so that he was the little spoon and she was the big spoon. Never mind that he was more than twice her size. It made for a comical picture, and I snapped a quick photo on my phone before leaving the pets to themselves and retreating to the bathroom to draw my bath.

What an adventure this was shaping up to be already. And no matter how things turned out with my long-lost grandmother, I doubted I’d ever be able to forget even the slightest bit of our journey to find her.

But oh, how I hoped this would end with a happily ever after.

9

Evening gave way to night.

I trusted Sharon and the info she had located on my behalf, but there had to be more to the story. Deep down, I knew my grandmother couldn’t be bad. At least that’s what I told myself over and over again as I soaked in that clawfoot tub filled past the brim with bubbles.

Eventually, I gave up on relaxing in the bath and tiptoed into the bedroom to try to catch a nap. Cat and dog were both still curled together and snoozing softly, which meant I might actually stand a chance of grabbing some shut-eye. Heavens knew I needed it after the terrible sleep I’d gotten the night before.

I slid off my diamond engagement ring and placed it on the nightstand beside my phone, then pulled the quilt to my chin and shut my eyes. It didn’t take long at all for me to nod off.

I awoke later when Charles returned via the sliding glass door. The room now lay in complete darkness other than the faint glow from his cell phone.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered as he made his way over to the bed and began to grope for the lamp. “We forgot to jam up the door like we said, and I was having trouble with the lock and key again. Go back to sleep.”

“It’s okay. I’m up now,” I mumbled, helping him with the lamp. Our hands collided, and something went skittering to the hardwood floor below.

“Oops,” I said.

Charles dove to the floor so I didn’t have to.

I glanced at the empty nightstand just as he popped up with my phone in hand.

“Can you grab my ring, too?” I asked, accepting the cell phone from him.

He returned to his hands and knees and searched under both beds.“Ang, I don’t see it down here.”

“But it’s gotta be there. I took it off before my nap and put it right by my cell phone,” I argued, getting out of bed to help.

We searched for a good five minutes but both came up short. So I decided to ask the cat for help—a decision I did not take lightly, but this was my engagement ring, after all.

“Octo-Cat, have you seen my ring?” I said, right after I picked up Paisley and removed any evidence of their shared nap. He’d never tell me a thing if he discovered what I’d let happen. He had a huge soft spot for the tiny rescue dog, but rarely was it enough to overcome the selfishness that came standard issue with his being an upper-middle-class cat.

“I’ve seen it,” he answered around a yawn. “Nothing special, if you ask me, but then again, neither is UpChuck.”

I pulled the pillow out from under him, and he rolled onto the mattress.

“Give that back,” he moaned.