Page 102 of Midnight

“Yes, and for the time being, with a home health nurse on-site. My brothers have already gone home and I’m flying home this afternoon. I have to get home before bad weather sets in, or my chopper will wind up spending the winter at the Amarillo airport.”

The man behind Asher overheard, and curiosity got the better of him. “You have a helicopter?” he asked.

“Yep,” Asher said, and headed out the door with the meds.

But instead of calling Pearl, he made a knee-jerk decision and stopped at the Rose to tell her goodbye.

Cheryl was at a nearby table when he walked in.

“Hey, Cheryl, is Pearl in the kitchen?”

“Where else?” Cheryl said.

“Would I get in trouble if I popped my head in to say goodbye?”

Cheryl winked. “You’d be in more trouble if you didn’t.”

Asher gave her a thumbs-up and walked through the dining room and into the kitchen.

The surprise on Pearl’s face was obvious. “Everything okay?”

“It’s all good, honey,” Asher said. “I just brought Dad home. There’s a home health nurse on-site with him for a while. His name is Benny Armstrong. I’m dropping off some meds for Dad and then I’m going home.”

Pearl wiped her hands and hugged him tight. “Don’t you worry about Jacob. There’s a whole town full of people whowill have his back. All he has to do is ask and it will be done. Take care of you. We’ll take care of your dad.”

Asher kissed her on the cheek, got a swat on his backside for his trouble and laughed all the way out the door. He drove back to the house long enough to hand the meds to Benny, and then he was gone.

* * *

Three hours later, he was at the hangar in Austin, transferring his bags into his car, and finally heading to his house in rush-hour traffic. The perfect way to be welcomed home.

Walking into his residence was a relief and a letdown. He began by turning up the thermostat, hanging up his coat and Stetson, and leaving his bags in his bedroom to deal with later. After kicking off his boots, he walked sock-footed into the kitchen, got a cold beer out of his fridge, then sent texts to his dad and brothers, letting them know he was back in Austin, and a separate one to Nora.

I’m home, darlin’. Wish you were here.

Love, Ash

When Nora got the text, she sent a two-word reply.

Me, too.

He went to sleep that night with his alarm set for work the next day. He didn’t know what his next assignment would be, but he was going to miss working it with his brothers.

* * *

Asher’s drive to work was hectic as usual, but as he waswalking into the building, he felt the pull of the badge and what it stood for—for the power it gave him to sort through the lies people told, and find a truth that either sets someone free or puts them behind bars where they belong.

He rode the elevator up, walked into the Office of Special Investigation, only to find all the people he worked with gathered, and applauding him as he entered.

He paused. “I take it you missed me?”

They laughed as his boss, Steven Watts, stepped forward. “Come on, Kingston… Big kudos from the FBI? Solved a twenty-one-year-old cold case for them? Caught the perps who tried to kill your father? Way to go!”

“I didn’t do it by myself, and you know it. With one brother working homicide for the Dallas PD, and the other owning a construction company threatening to bury the perps in cement for free, they drop at our feet.”

The room erupted in laughter.

“Joking aside,” Watts said, “we hope your father is okay.”