Page 35 of Midnight

Elated over her and Asher’s reconciliation, she was soon on Highway I-27 southbound, dodging the occasionaltumbleweed blowing across the highway, while keeping an eye on the weather. After she came to the Highway 86/I-27 junction and turned east on 86 toward Crossroads, she began to relax.

Less than fifteen minutes later, she was back in town. She drove straight to Belker’s Grocery and parked, sent Asher a text, and then got out and hurried inside.

* * *

The Kingston brothers were just finishing up their meal when Asher’s phone signaled a text. It was from Nora.

I’m in Crossroads. About to go into Belker’s and then home.

First love. Only love. Forever love.

Nora

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and sent a message.

Thank you for not quitting on me.

Love you more.

Ash.

Then he dropped the phone back in his pocket.

“Everything okay?” Gunner asked.

“Yeah, just Nora letting me know she got home okay.”

“What are you going to do about her?” Dylan asked.

“Live the rest of my life with her,” he said.

Gunner frowned. “What does she say about that?”

Asher reached for the check, glanced at it, then laid down his credit card.

“She gave me a second chance to do it right, and thesteaks are on me. Let’s get back to the hospital. I have a feeling Dad’s going be waking up and talking within the next twenty-four hours, and I want to be there when it happens.”

* * *

Nora spent the rest of the afternoon working through the backlog of her job, finishing up details, and one long-distance fix of a computer glitch at a high school in Peoria, Illinois. She was good at her job, and her tech skills made her indispensable to the company she worked for.

But working in her childhood home made her realize how isolated her life really was in Fort Worth.

It had happened because of a stalker, and now she lived and worked in her high-rise apartment, and referred to it the ivory tower. She rarely went out. Ordered food and groceries in. Her only times away for the last two years had been to spend time with her father at the nearby memory care facility. He had not known who she was, and wouldn’t have missed her, but she knew, and she cared, and then he died.

Coming home to Crossroads felt like a pilgrimage. She had needed this. To remind herself that she would never be a stranger here. That she was safe here. And Asher was the promise of all things better.

By the time she finally put the fires out at work, and had answered all of the emails, she was mentally and physically exhausted and still needed to eat something. But it was late, and cooking after 10:00 p.m. wasn’t happening. So, she fell back on a childhood favorite, heated a can of chicken noodle soup, and opened a sleeve of crackers and sat down at the table to eat.

The house was silent, but the ever-present west Texaswind was not. It was whistling around the corners of the house like the big bad wolf from the childhood story, huffing and puffing, trying to blow it all down. She could have turned on the TV while she ate, but she didn’t have the energy left to get up and do it.

When she finished, she took the dishes to the sink, rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher with the other dishes waiting to be washed, dropped a packet of soap into the dispenser, and started it up.

She was just about to turn around when she got a whiff of her mother’s perfume. She stilled, took a deep breath and closed her eyes, accepting the visit as the gift that was being given.

“Oh, Mama… I want to open my eyes and turn around and see you, but I know that’s not going to happen. I miss you and Daddy so much, but I’m okay. I promise. You know what’s going on. If you have any sway with the angels, tell them that Jacob Kingston’s sons need him to wake up.” Moments later, the scent faded, and Nora knew she was gone.

With feet dragging, she left the kitchen, turning out lights as she went, finally headed to bed. The thought of a long soak in a hot bath was enticing, but then her phone rang. When she saw Asher’s name pop up, she sat down on the side of her bed to answer.