Savannah's Curse by Shelia M. Goss Page A

his connection to Savannah. He stuttered, “I’m n-not the right man for her.”
    â€œLet me be the judge of that. From what I see, you’re the only man whom I feel worthy of being with my daughter.”
    â€œBut, sir, you don’t understand. There’s no way Savannah would take me back.”
    Major looked him in the eyes. “When the time is right, Savannah will welcome you back into her life.”

    Troy hadn’t believed Major then, but now he did have some hope. Savannah wasn’t throwing things at him or cursing him out, so maybe, just maybe, he had a chance of winning Savannah’s heart again.
    â€œEarth to Troy.” Savannah tapped him on his shoulder.
    â€œSorry, my mind was a million miles away.”
    â€œWhatever. I need you to take me home.”
    â€œBefore you go home, we need to talk.”
    â€œWe can talk in the car,” Savannah responded.
    â€œGive me a few minutes and we can leave.”
    â€œWhile you’re doing that, I have one more phone call to make.” Savannah dismissed him as if he weren’t there.
    While Savannah made her phone call, Troy went to his safe and removed some items that he hoped he wouldn’t need. Just in case they ran into some trouble, he wanted to be safe and not regret anything later.
    Troy returned to the room. “Let’s go,” he said.
    Savannah followed him into the garage. He opened her door and before long they were headed to Savannah’s.
    Savannah didn’t hesitate to reach over and turn his radio to another station.
    â€œI wish you wouldn’t do that,” he said.
    â€œBad habit” was all Savannah would say.
    â€œLet’s make a deal. When we’re in your car, we’ll listen to your music. While we’re in mine, we’ll listen to what I want.”
    Savannah rolled her eyes. He could see her lips turn into a slight smile. It was just like old times. Maybe the ice was breaking. Savannah didn’t say anything; instead, she turned and looked out the window. Troy felt like he achieved a small victory. They missed rushhour traffic by an hour, so Troy made it to her house in record time.
    Before he could bring the car to a complete stop in her driveway, Savannah had opened her door. She rushed to the African American policeman’s side. Troy parked the car and jumped out to catch up with her.
    â€œI’m Officer Nash and that’s my partner, Officer Pendleton.”
    Officer Pendleton, a man who was one doughnut short of being overweight, addressed Troy. “Can we see some identification—”
    â€œI don’t think all of that’s necessary,” Savannah interrupted. “He’s a friend of mine.”
    Officer Pendleton looked at Nash for approval. “Fine. Let’s go inside for a moment.”
    Savannah didn’t need a key to get in because the front door was unlocked. She gasped when she saw everything thrown in the various rooms.
    Troy did his best to support her by not letting her from his side.
    â€œYour neighbor gave us descriptions of two guys who stopped by here yesterday morning,” Officer Nash stated.
    â€œI didn’t get a good look at them. All I can tell you is they were in a black sedan.”
    Officer Pendleton asked, “Why didn’t you call us?”
    â€œI don’t mean to be disrespectful, Officer, but the emergency alert you received was my way of communicating. I set it off before getting my butt quickly out of the house.”
    â€œI got this,” Officer Nash said to his partner. He turned to face Savannah. “Do you think you can tell us everything you remember from last night?”
    Savannah recited last night’s event, excluding the information about their exact escape.
    After the officers left, Savannah stood in the doorway and didn’t move. Troy felt compelled to reach out to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her until she got the strength to start