Page 48 of The Irish Rogue

“Hold on,” he said, then pulled over to the side of the road and texted Matteo. He got the tail number from his friend, then relayed it to Kennedi. “Is the tail number X-five-one-three?”

There was silence for a moment, then she said, “Yes. It is.”

“Good. Get on that plane with Declan and then I can explain more. The pilot is going to take off immediately.”

“I’m parking now,” she said.

There was another silence and he could hear doors slamming and more of Declan’s cries of frustration. Sean could picture the little man’s arms and legs waving in the air, frantic to get out of his car seat. Sean remembered the time that he’d had to do that after leaving the playground one afternoon. He hadn’t packed enough formula and Declan had been furious.

“Are you Kennedi Samson?” someone asked. There wasn’t any security at a local airport. The private planes flew in and out without any issues or need to x-ray one’s luggage.

“Yes,” came Kennedi’s wary response. “Who are you?”

Sean recognized Matteo’s pilot’s voice. He spoke to her through the phone. “Get on the plane, love. It’s safe.”

There were a few strange sounds, then the sounds of the plane taking off again. He wasn’t sure what the people in the local airport were thinking, probably that a baby was being kidnapped if Declan’s screaming was any indication.

“Okay, I’m in a seat and we’re fine,” she told him.

“Tell me when you’re airborne.”

There was another long silence, then a few minutes later, she said, “We’re in the air.” There was a long sigh, then she said, “Okay, now explain what’s going on.”

Sean leaned his head back against the leather headrest of his driver’s seat, closing his eyes as he said a silent prayer. “Sean!” Kennedi snapped.

“Sorry, honey. I just…needed a moment.”

“What’s going on?”

He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “The red dress wasn’t from me, honey. The day before I left, I went to the sheriff’s office and told him about seeing several flashes of red. It started a year ago when I was down there last time. But this time, I saw a woman running across the yard of my rental house. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but I reported it to Mick.”

“What’s wrong with a woman in red?”

“She wasn’t just running across the yard. At the time, she’d been caught and taken back.”

“Why didn’t you stop that person from taking her then?” she gasped out.

“Because she didn’t seem to be in distress. In fact, it almost appeared to be some sort of romantic romp through the moonlight.”

“Huh?”

He groaned, running a hand over his hair. “I know. But I was exhausted, I’d just learned that I was a father, it was nearly midnight, and it was dark. The only light was the moonlight. So I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at the time.”

“Okay. I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just…a little frazzled.”

“That’s understandable. But I’m relieved that you’re safe.”

“Me too,” she replied back. Declan’s cries seemed to die out abruptly.

“What’s going on? Is he okay?”

“I’m feeding him,” she replied back quickly, reassuring him. “He’s fine, just really grumpy. I don’t have any diapers for him either. I didn’t think to grab his diaper bag.”

“That’s fine. At least both of you are safely away.” He thought quickly. “Okay, so tell me this. Where’s the red dress that arrived?”

“It’s on my bed.”

“Is the box it came in with it?”

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