Page 5 of Beautiful Dreamer

And that was that.

“You’re amazing. I can’t even believe that happened,” Ricky said,running a hand through his red hair as the two of them waited on the curb forher car service. He was practically leaping out of his skin next to her. “Thathigh-rise is ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s definitely a head turner,” Devyn said, more conservatively.

“They have a movie theater for the tenants. And an amazing gymthat is certainly better than the one I pay for monthly.”

Devyn grinned. “Yeah, well, there’s more where this one came from.When I sell out this one, there’ll be another waiting.” She passed him aglance. “You think you’re up for it? The McMahon listing is going to take a lotof finesse, especially if you’re used to smaller, more intimate listings. Theseguys want a lot of high-profile marketing and a lot of attention. Phone callsat three a.m. if they feel like it.”

“I understand and I’m up for it. Yes.” A pause as he gathered hisgusto. “I mean hell, yes.”

She clapped him on the arm, just as the car arrived at the curb.“That’s the spirit.”

“Beyond just McMahon, though, how do I get that first listing witha developer like Wyatt? Someone huge,” he asked as they rode back to his car,the lights of downtown Philly glimmering.

Devyn whistled low. “That’s on you. You gotta be ready to scrap.Make a hundred calls. Arrange a few hard-to-get meetings, and follow rulenumber one: schmooze your ass off.”

“Schmooze my ass off. Got it. Do you think that if you had pushed,that you could have gotten another month? I mean—”

Devyn held up one finger and gestured to her phone. Oddly enough,the incoming call came from the area code she grew up with in South Carolina,but it wasn’t a number her phone recognized. She clicked onto the call anyway.

“This is Devyn.”

“Hello, am I speaking with Devyn Winters?” a female voice asked.

“Yes.” She rubbed the back of her neck, which ached from the longday. “What can I do for you?”

“This is Marlene DuBois. I don’t know if you remember me, but I’mthe assistant principal at Bay Elementary. We met at your mother’s funeral.”

Devyn blinked several times, trying to keep up. Her sister, Jill,was a fourth-grade teacher at Bay Elementary in the their hometown. What thehell? She sat up a little straighter, her attention crisp and focused. “Yes.How are you, Marlene? Is everything okay?”

“We’re hoping so, but I’m cautiously concerned.” A pause, whileDevyn’s heart hammered away. Her sister was her best friend and pretty much theonly family she had.

“Jill didn’t come into work today, and didn’t call in either. It’sunlike her.”

Oh, God. She blinked and tried to make her brain work. “No. Um, Icompletely agree. Jill wouldn’t do that.” She checked her watch. It was gettingclose to nine at night. Why were they just now calling her? What if Jill neededher? What if she’d been taken? There was a depth of stillness present in thecar. They were stopped at a traffic light. The world had slowed down aroundher, yet her mind raced out of control, bolstered by adrenaline.

“We sent an officer to her home for a wellness check, but weweren’t able to locate her there either. Her car is gone, however.”

“Doesn’t matter. Something’s wrong,” Devyn said automatically. Hervoice didn’t sound like her own, strangled and desperate. “Trust me on this.Tell the police she wouldn’t just take off and not show up for school.” Shefelt Ricky’s eyes on her and noted that the car was still stopped at thetraffic light. She fought the urge to exit the vehicle, knowing that therewould still be nothing she could do from the side of the road. Yet thatnonsensical pull to do something,anythingoverrode all other instincts. She couldn’t stand being thisfar away.

“We think so, too, and since she has you listed as her emergencycontact, I thought it might be time to give you a call.”

“I appreciate that.” Devyn’s take-charge side emerged. She willedit forward, along with a command to speak slowly, directly. “What do we need todo?”

“We’re making some calls, and some friends of hers have started asearch,” Marlene explained. “Is there anyone else in the family she might havegone to visit?”

That was the thing. There was no family. Just the two of themsince they’d lost their mother to a short bout with cancer four and a halfyears back. “No. There’s just me, and I’m in Philadelphia, but I’ll hop on aplane as soon as possible. Tonight.” After Jill’s divorce from that idiot Ed,she was all Jill had, and vice versa. If something had happened to her sister,she was damn sure going to show up.

Her mind flooded with all the things she had on her schedule thatweek. Of all the times for something like this to happen, this was definitelyone of the least opportune. She pinched the bridge of her nose as the detailsswirled in a jumble. She’d make this work with help from her assistants andthen make sure Jill was okay. She just had to be. There was no other option.

“Let me give you my cell number so we can keep in touch,” Marlenesaid. “Elizabeth Draper, who’s a friend of Jill’s, is actually the one whosuggested I go ahead and give you a call. She’s been a great help.” The namerang a bell, but Devyn’s brain wasn’t functioning properly. All she wanted wasto hear Jill was found, safe and sound.

“Great. Thank you so much for calling, and let me know of anyupdates. I’ll keep my phone on.”

“Of course.”

They said goodbye and she clicked off the call, then pressed thephone to her chin as she mentally rearranged what she thought the nexttwenty-four hours of her life would look like. That was hard to do in the midstof swelling fear. She placed a hand on her chest as if that would somehowassuage the exponential worry.Focus.She would need to distribute appointments among her staff and reschedule theones she’d need to be there for in person. Karen could help with those. Thenthere was her personal assistant outside the office, Sheldon, who would keepthings in her condo and personal life afloat. This was really going todecelerate her momentum on a variety of projects, but that took a strong secondplace to her need to fix this, to find her sister and make the world turnagain. God. This was Jilly she was talking about. The girl who’d given Devynthe good chocolate chip cookies and kept the burnt ones for herself and who’dattended every football game, a sport she loathed, just to watch Devyn cheerwith the rest of the squad. Jill was only two years older, but her maternalside exaggerated their age difference to the point that Devyn really had lookedto her as a second parent, next to their single mother, in many ways.

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