Page 105 of Midnight

“When do they move?” he asked.

She swatted him on the arm. “I can’t believe I even said that to you. You don’t have to guess. Agggh.”

He grinned. “Just tell me, baby.”

“Nora just called and said she’s giving permission to Chris and Ellen to move in now. No waiting. Patty Thomas is bringing the house keys to Pearl this afternoon. We can pick them up and give them the keys to their new home immediately.”

“That is most kind of her. She has a good heart,” he said.

“I have to call Pearl and tell her about the keys, and she can let me know when she has them. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they could spend their first night there tonight?”

“It would,” Sonny said. “And I will give him the day off tomorrow so they can move their clothes and food and get settled. That’s all they have that doesn’t belong to the house they’re living in now.”

“I can’t wait to see their faces,” Maggie said, and went off to call Pearl.

* * *

Four hours later, Maggie got the call from Pearl and made a round trip to Crossroads and back, then went to look for Sonny and found him in the stable with Chris, feeding horses.

“Sonny! I’ve got them!” she said, and dropped the keys into his outstretched hand, then stood there, looking at Chris and watching his face.

“What?” Chris said.

Sonny passed the keys to Chris. “Nora Borden called this morning. You are officially free to move in. She didn’t want you to wind up having to move house in the middle of winter.”

He had a smile a mile wide. “Oh, man! This is wonderful. Ellen is going to be so excited.”

“Then go home and pack an overnight bag,” Sonny said. “Spend the night in your new home, and you have the day off tomorrow to make the official move. Go! I’ll finish up.”

Chris took off running, and Maggie was jumping with delight.

“Times like this just make my day,” she said.

Sonny grinned. “You make my day, every day. Go get out of the cold. I’ll be in soon.”

They heard Chris’s truck start up, and then the roar as he flew up the driveway, looked at each other and laughed.

“We just made his day, too,” Sonny said. “Now get! Your nose is getting red from the cold.”

* * *

The keys to their new house were burning a hole in Chris’s pocket as he sped down the blacktop road. It was the fastest two miles he’d ever driven, and he was just as excited as he’d been when he went to tell her that Sonny was buying a house for them to rent.

When he finally reached the little house on the corner of the last block south, he took the turn without bothering to brake and slid sideways in the yard before coming to a halt. Wild rides were nothing. On a horse. In a car. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.

He killed the engine and got out running. He could smell supper cooking and heard lids banging as he burst into the house.

“Ellen! Honey!”

She came running out of the kitchen. “What now?”

He pulled the keys out of his pocket and dropped them in her hand. “The keys to our new home. Nora Borden told Sonny we should move in now, before winter sets in, and that they’ll deal with all the legal work as it goes.”

She clutched the keys to her breasts. “Now? As in whenever we want to?”

“Yes, honey. Whenever we want to.”

“Supper’s almost ready,” she said.