Page 44 of Not the Bodyguard's Baby
Dallas weather wasn’t much betterthan Chicago’s in late February, and they needed to wait for the plane to be deiced, delaying the flight. DFW airport was busier than O’Hare had been in the early morning hours, and September hoped her knit hat and sunglasses were enough to keep any fans who might be traveling from recognizing her.
The loudspeaker popped a couple times before a garbled voice announced boarding for her flight. Seated in first class, September wasted no time settling into her window seat. She opened an in-flight magazine knowing that if she didn’t make eye contact with the boarding passengers, most of them would ignore her presence. The article on the top ten places to visit in Nashville brought back a flood of memories of her parents. Late-night tour buses, hotel rooms, and airplanes had all been part of her early life. She’d first sung on stage with them when she was four years old. Entertainment life was fun, but it wasn’t the life she wanted for Harmony. She’d spent almost as much time during the last decade at home as she had on the road. When she hired a new manager, she’d make it clear she only wanted to travel a couple months out of the year.
Her phone vibrated. She had several texts she’d been ignoring, wanting to answer the ones from Adam and Melanie in person. The new one had a Dallas area code. She opened it.
—Arrest warrant issued. Two counts attempted homicide. Contacted Illinois police. He will stay in jail. Have a nice flight.
September opened Adam’s texts but didn’t bother reading what he had sent that day, assuming they were inquiries to where she was and what she was doing.
—Just boarded a plane in Dallas. Will be in Chicago at 6:30-ish. Pick me up, please? Arrest warrants issued for Sven.
She closed her phone and put it in airplane mode, then went back to studying the pictures in the article.
Soon they were flying above the clouds, the sunshine pouring in through her window reflecting the hope she felt in her soul.
* * *
The desk officer at the county police department confirmed the judge was out of town on holiday and would return Tuesday morning. Sven would not be arraigned until Tuesday afternoon at the earliest.
Adam fist pumped the air. Now if September would return his call. There was a possibility she’d gone into hiding. Or, as his father pointed out, she may have gone to Dallas. If September had trusted him enough, she would have taken him too.
He resisted sending another text and tried to focus on something else, a difficult task with Harmony sleeping. Out of boredom and a desire to be distracted, he decided to go through all the boxes in his bedroom closet his mother had been begging him to clear out for years. He turned on the music on his phone to drown out the voices and thoughts in his head. It worked until one of September’s songs came on.
“Is it too late to know that I am wrong now that you are gone? Is it too late to tell my heart it’s time for a brand-new start?”
She’d debuted the song about a month after he’d returned to Chicago. But like a coward, he had told himself she must’ve written it long before he’d broken her heart.
A text came in. She would be home soon.
He replied, not knowing if she would’ve already shut off her phone.
Now to get through the next few hours.
* * *
As soon as the plane taxied toward the gate, September turned her phone on and checked to see if Adam had replied.
Nothing.
The hope that had been so bright as she flew above the clouds withered to match the winter weather on the ground. Her phone vibrated. Then vibrated again and again. She’d forgotten that sometimes there was a lag after turning her cell back on. She only looked for a text from Adam.
—I’ll be there.
With no luggage to drag behind her, September rushed through the airport and out of the secure area. Adam was leaning against a post, a half smile on his face. As she neared, he pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of red roses. When she got close enough, she jumped into his arms and held him in a hug. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before I left. I was afraid if I did, I wouldn’t have the courage to go. And I couldn’t have you hear what I needed to say.”
Adam tightened his arms, then leaned down and took her lips in a classic airport kiss exchanged by lovers separated for weeks, not hours. Only after it ended did she worry about smartphone-wielding fans. But who cared if their kiss was posted on every social media sight? She wanted the world to know they were together.
Adam kept one arm around her. “Let’s get out of here. I got a call from the police department where I left Sven. They received the warrant. And as soon as his arraignment tomorrow, they will turn Sven over to the Dallas Police Department. Apparently they did some searching and found other outstanding warrants for him, mostly disorderly conduct and all misdemeanors. However, one took place in a federal building in Washington State, so he has a felony warrant out as well.”
Adam’s arm around her felt like a shield to the news, and instead of berating herself again for allowing Sven into her life at all, she focused on the fact he would be out of it forever. When Adam opened the back door to a car-service vehicle, September threw him a questioning look.
He leaned close to her ear. “I knew we would want to talk, and this vehicle has a privacy screen between the passengers and the driver, which will come in handy because I can’t kiss you while I’m driving you home myself.”
24
Epilogue
One year later.
