Page 59 of Midnight

Ash frowned. “No, we don’t, but Reddick might. Sit on this for a bit and let him do his own digging. They have the photos now. They can run their own search. It’ll give us a little more time.”

“Agreed,” Gunner said, and saved the info in his work file. “I don’t know about you, but I need a break. All of the info we’ve gathered isn’t getting us to where we need to go.”

“We skipped lunch. Wanna go to the Rose?” Asher asked.

“Yes, please! But we can’t do fun stuff without your girl. Call her. Tell her to pack her sleepover bag and we’re picking her up.”

Ash paused. “Thank you, Gunner. You like her, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “When you were dating her, she felt like asister. I was sorry for the both of you when you lost touch, and knowing she’ll be part of our family now is good.”

“I’ll call her,” Ash said.

* * *

Nora was curled up in the middle of her bed, going through a pile of old photos when her phone rang. She saw Caller ID and smiled.

“Hey, you,” she said.

“Slight change of plans if you’re amenable to it. Gunner and I are both calling a halt for the day. Pack your sleepover bag. We’re coming to get you to eat early supper with us, then home we go.”

She started smiling. “My sleepover bag. I love that. Give me a few and I’ll be ready, and I love the invitation.”

“See you in a few. Love you.”

She was still smiling when she disconnected, then rolled off the bed and went to the closet to get a duffel bag and began packing, taking care to throw in the bottle of pain pills. The stitches were beginning to draw, making it harder for her to flex her fingers.

As soon as she had her bag ready, she slipped off the old sweatshirt she was wearing and put on a pink sweater, and hurried across the room in her sock feet to get a pair of slip-on shoes. She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror and paused. Her eyes were bright. Her cheeks were flushed. She hadn’t seen herself like this in years, and it was all due to having Asher back in her life.

When she heard the knock at her door, she abandoned her reverie. The cavalry had arrived!

“It’s unlocked! Come in!” she shouted, then put on her coat, dropped her phone in the pocket, and was reaching for her purse when Asher walked into her room, laughing.

“Woman… What do you mean…it’s unlocked?” he said, and wrapped his arms around her.

She laughed. “I knew you were on the way. Stop fussing and kiss me,” so he did. Deeply. Longingly, and reluctantly let her go. “Gunner’s keeping your seat warm,” he said. “Is this the bag you’re taking?”

“Yes.”

He ran a finger down the side of her cheek. “Got your nightie?”

“Don’t make fun of my sleepwear,” she said. “Besides, you know you’re just going to take it off.”

He was still smiling as he picked up the bag and led the way out of the house. Nora paused to turn on the porch light, then locked the door and followed Ash to the truck.

Gunner winked at her as Ash helped her up into the seat, then buckled her in.

“Hey, Lefty, how’s it going?” he asked.

She held up her bandaged hand. “Still hanging on. Shifting subject matter on you guys now. How’s the investigation going?”

“All kinds of puzzle pieces, but we’re missing that corner piece. The one that makes everything else fit,” Asher said.

“We’ll get there. We just need to refuel ourselves, thus the trip to the Yellow Rose,” Gunner said.

“Well, thanks for including me in the party,” Nora said as Asher backed out of her driveway. He put the car in Drive, then reached across the seat and clasped her hand as he drove away.

* * *