“That is really cool, Dad,” Sara said. “So, Cat. Do you want to come over for dinner sometime?”

Noah blinked and cleared his throat.

Cat looked up at him and grinned diabolically knowing the last place Noah would want her is front and center in his dining room. “I would love to.”

“Oh, my God? Really? Because we have a lot of people staying with us who were displaced by the storm, and we do these really big meals every night, and it’s fun. Like having a really big family!”

“You opened your home to your neighbors?” Cat asked Noah, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Sara answered for him. “We have eight guests now—we call them guests so they don’t feel bad that they can’t stay in their own houses. We had twelve, but some of them went to stay with family. April and her mom and dad are staying with us, so you’ll get to hang out with them if you come see me. We tried to get Mrs. Pringle to stay with us after Dad rescued her. But she’s in a wheelchair, and she can’t get around the house ‘cause of all the stairs.”

Noah was watching Cat’s face and saw when the look of genuine surprise crossed it. “Mrs. Pringle?” Cat asked. “Wheelchair and cookies, right?”

“That’s her,” Sara grinned.

Cat looked up at Noah again, her expression unreadable.

“Unbelievable,” she murmured, shaking her head.

Noah was about to ask her what she found to be so unbelievable when Sara launched into a recitation of everything she knew about Cat.

“You’re two whole minutes younger than your brother, right?” Sara asked.

Cat, back to being amused, nodded.

“I wish I had a brother or a sister,” Sara sighed. “But Mom and Dad had to get divorced, so that sucked.”

Noah swiped a hand over his face, knocking his glasses askew. If he didn’t get Sara back to school in the next four seconds, she’d spill all the family secrets and embarrassments to his potential enemy.

“Well that’s the nice thing about friends. You can be just as close to them as you can a brother or sister,” Cat said wisely. “I bet you and April are practically sisters.”

Sara brightened. “We really are! So, when are you coming over? Tonight? Not today 'cause I have to go back to school. But tonight’s good.”

Cat laughed. “Well, what’s for dinner?”

Sara whirled around. “Dad? Can we have pizza or something? Oh, wait. Cat likes kale salads and black bean soup,” she recited. “Can we find that—”

Noah pressed a hand over his daughter’s motor mouth. “Honey, I think we’d better check with the rest of our guests to make sure they’re okay with more company because I have a feeling Cat would like to bring a camera crew with her.”

Cat was nodding. “I really, really would. Like a lot.”