Last Light(89)

“Matthew, did you miss the rundown with staff? What the hell?”

“Traffic, remember?” Someone turned on a bright lamp and I winced.

Last Friday, the studio was quiet and still. This morning, it was chaos. People everywhere, screens and cameras, wires, endless chatter.

“Okay, it doesn’t matter.” Pam sighed in my ear. “Remember, Gail is going to go off script; that’s how talk shows work. Breezy, casual—then bam, a really probing question. Keep it light. Laugh. You aren’t stressed. You have nothing to apologize for. Are you stressed?”

“Nothing to apologize for,” I mumbled. I dropped my index cards. They went in every direction. Hannah’s cute handwriting all over the floor. I dove after them. One of the wardrobe people continued messing with my hair. I flailed. “Enough! Get the f*ck off me!”

When I got back up, I saw Hannah.

She wore a short spring green dress and heels … and the silver owl bracelet I gave her at the cabin. My mouth dropped open. She laughed.

God, she looked so cool, so calm and lovely.

Pam was in my ear. “Matthew! What happened? Matthew!”

I covered the receiver and walked to Hannah.

“It’s Pam,” I said. “She’s going DEFCON one.”

Hannah slipped the phone from my hand. “I’m here,” she said to Pam. “Yes. I know. Yes. We have to go. Thanks, Pam. We will. I will.” She ended the call.

I raised a brow. “Please teach me that skill.”

“We have to go. We have two minutes.”

“We?”

Hannah took my shoulder and guided me through the studio. People hurried past us. The air seemed to vibrate with energy.

“Yes, I’m going on with you,” Hannah said.

“Does Gail know? Does Pam know?”

Hannah smoothed back my hair. Her face was tranquil and kind.

“They know,” she said. “It was very last-minute. Don’t worry, I’ll stick to our story about everything. Trust me.” She smiled. “I got index cards, too.”

I held Hannah’s face and focused on her eyes. The manic vibe of the studio was getting under my skin, and I couldn’t lose it here, now. I drank in Hannah’s calm.

“You forgive me?” I said. “Come home. Please come back.”

“I will, Matt.”

“Today. Say today.”

“All right, today.” She touched my cheek. “Do we have room for all my animal friends?”

I laughed and kissed her warm brow. I wanted to pick her up and spin her around.

“I have another stipulation,” she said.

“Anything.”

“Keep writing with me…”

“Of course.” I brushed my thumb over her bottom lip. “Always.”

“On in two,” a man called.

I peered around the corner at the set. White light illuminated everything: the dark wood floor, the colored panels along the back wall, and a cream-colored couch and armchair. Because of the light, I think, and because of the darkness and chaos backstage, the set looked like heaven. Gail sat forward in the armchair. Her red-brown curls shone.

The light flooded over the audience—mostly women.

“And we’re live in three—” A voice sounded through the studio. “Two—”

The canned intro for Denver Buzz played from speakers I couldn’t see. Cameras panned over the audience. The people clapped and smiled, and Gail stood and strolled across the set. She gave the crowd a confident nod.

Then the crowd quieted and she began to speak.

“Today’s guest is a very talented young man who’s created a sensation here in Denver and around the nation with his shocking disappearance and, now, his reappearance.”

My heart boomed in my ears. Hannah rose to her tiptoes and whispered in my ear. “And one more stipulation, Matt.”

“This is his first-ever television appearance,” Gail said. “He’s agreed to talk openly with me about his life, work, and recent decisions that have stunned many fans.”

I mouthed a word at Hannah. What?

“Marry me,” she said.

Her cool voice, her hot breath, transported me right out of the studio.

I stood there staring at her, holding on to her, breathless and motionless. Marry me.

Gail’s voice grew louder. She circled back toward her chair. “Please welcome Matthew Sky and Hannah Catalano.”

The crowd clapped.

Cameras swiveled on the set.

Hannah took my hand, and we walked out into that light.



To be continued …





Dear Reader,

Here we are again, at the end of a book together. This is a good place to be. I hope you enjoyed Last Light and that you’ll enjoy the final installment of the Night Owl Trilogy, After Dark.

One of the best ways to support an author is by leaving reviews, and I hope you will consider doing that for me. I read all my reviews and I appreciate the feedback.

You can connect with me online at www.mpiercefiction.com and www.facebook.com/MPierceAuthor. Be sure to join the Night Owl Facebook group, where I get to know my readers.

Thanks for your continued support.

M. Pierce





Acknowledgments