Page 82 of Midnight

“I hope you left a little leeway, just in case,” Gunner said.

“We have leeway, not carte blanche,” Asher said. “I’m going to contact Bill Eldridge now. He and his brother can keep the same schedule. It’s the location that will be changed. They know what the Brandts look like, and what they’re driving, because I shared Dylan’s pictures.”

“Should I call Dad and let him know why his guard is disappearing?” Gunner asked.

“He’ll want to know why,” Dylan said.

“Maybe… Maybe not. I think he’ll trust us without question, but if he does, just tell him the guards are still on the job, and hopefully it’ll be over within the next couple of days. Just give me time to contact the security company, then you can call him.”

“Then if I’m not needed for the moment, I’m going to catch up on email, and call Angie.”

“Anything wrong?” Asher asked.

“No. I miss her. I just want to hear the sound of her voice. I’ll know if she’s not okay,” Dylan said, and left the living room.

Gunner stood.

Asher was on the phone.

Dylan was on the phone.

So he went into the bar, and began eyeing the layout, making mental notes as to where they should hide if the Brandts came in the front door again. And then he went back into the house, and eyeing the same setup, were they to come into the house first, instead.

* * *

Nora watched the whole press conference.

In her opinion, it was an open invitation to the Brandts, but only time would tell if it worked. It all hinged on the possibility they would see it, then decide if they wanted to chance another search, and there was no guarantee any of that would happen. It was all a gamble.

But since Asher warned her to stay out of it for her own safety, she let go of what she couldn’t control. She had a house to sell, and Patty Thomas just pulled up into her driveway.

She turned off the television, and as she was getting up to let Patty in, shifted to her work persona—all smiles and courtesy without revealing an iota of what she was thinking.

She opened the door as Patty and a stocky man with a baby face and a receding hairline came up the steps.

“Good morning,” Nora said, and stepped aside to let them enter, then closed the door to the cold.

Patty was all smiles. “Morning, Nora. This is my husband Lee Thomas, who does the photography for my listings. Lee, this is Nora Borden.”

“A pleasure,” Lee said. “Patty speaks of you highly, and my sympathies on your recent loss.”

“Thank you,” Nora said. “There’s a coat closet in the hall. We’ll get your coats hung up, so they won’t be in the way for the photos you want to take. Why don’t you two walkthe rooms on your own, tweak whatever you want for your pictures, and if there are things you need to ask, I’m here.”

“Perfect,” Patty said. “We’ll start in the bedrooms and work our way back through the rest of the house.”

Nora nodded. “If you have a copy of your contract, I can be reading it while you’re doing your sweep,” she said.

Patty hesitated, then realized Nora wasn’t going to be someone who needed explanations about the verbiage.

“Of course,” she said, pulled a contract out of her briefcase and handed it over.

“Thanks,” Nora said, and sat down in a chair by the fireplace, turned on the floor lamp beside the chair, and began to read as Lee and Patty left the room.

She could hear them talking, then soon tuned out the words. She already knew where the flaws were in this house. Hearing them bandied about would have made it feel like a moral judgment, rather than the simple fact that what was here was out of style. This house was where she began her life. Where she grew to adulthood. And when she was honest with herself, the same one she abandoned for a big wide world she’d never seen.

It was the same thing she and Asher had done to each other. Abandoning first love without intention, then letting go instead of trying to keep it alive. She was losing this house but getting Asher back in return, and well aware it was the better deal.

She read all the way through the contract twice, then set it aside. It was a standard contract, without any hidden clauses or fees. She heard Lee and Patty coming out of her parents’ room, coming up the hall and into the kitchen and utility area, then heard the back door open and close, and was glad she’d fixed that loose windowpane.