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They were lying in bed, floating on the afterglow of making love, but too wired to sleep. Her head was on Sonny’s chest, and she had her hand cupped over the butterfly tattoo, as if trying to keep it from flying away.

“Did you call Charlie about the wedding date?” she asked.

“Yes, he’s all excited. Said he was going to bring Auntie. It made me happy. She’s seventy and doesn’t go far from home these days. But it will ease her heart to see us, and where we live.”

“I have an idea,” Maggie said. “Tomorrow, before Max Andros comes to get the paintings on Monday, I want you to help me pick out two sunset paintings to keep back, and one with Pearl in the diner. I’ve been painting for more than four years straight. There are so many others it won’t matter if I keep back some, and I want those for the people we love. Then your Auntie and your brother will see the same sky you see every night, and they will know where you are. And Pearl will always have me in the diner, even after I’m not working there anymore.”

Sonny stilled. “That is the most thoughtful, loving thing you can give them. It’s perfect. Yes, I’ll go with you.”

She snuggled a little closer to him. “This makes me happy.”

He pulled the sheet up over her shoulders. “You make me happy. Good night, love.”

“Night, Sonny. Love you.”

***

The next morning after chores and breakfast, they headed into town to her old house. She was relieved to know there was going to be a place for her paintings now, instead of stacked against a wall in a spare room. She still had to bring the easel and her paints and brushes home, along with a few unpainted canvases, and was going to put them in the vault and out of the way until the studio was built. And, until then, she was going to keep working at the Rose. There was no need to quit only to go home and do nothing, but she was excited for what was yet to come.

Sonny pulled up at the house and then they went inside.

“It’s a little stuffy in here,” Maggie said. “I think I’ll turn the air conditioning up as if I was still here, so it will be comfortable for them when they come to get the canvases.”

“It will take a while,” Sonny said. “He has to photograph and tag every piece, so he can catalog your work before he leaves with it.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. Maybe I better call Pearl and have her keep Darla and Cheryl on full schedule for Monday and Tuesday, so we can do the paintings and then the marriage license.”

Sonny nodded. “Good idea. In the meantime, let’s go look at some sunsets.”

“I want you to pick Charlie and Auntie’s paintings for me. I’ll find the one with Pearl. There are several, but I know which one I want. I might save a sunset for her, too. Lord knows she put up with me dawdling on the porch at the Rose every evening, watching it happen.”

“Sure thing, darlin’. Point me in the right direction and I’ll get at it.”

“All of the sunsets are on the west wall. You know…sun sets in the west.”

He grinned. “Of course,” then headed for the west wall, while Maggie moved to another section of the room for paintings of the Rose.

After much searching and debating, Maggie finally chose the one with Pearl at the register, the three old cowboys in the corner of the room, a couple having an argument, a lovesick couple holding hands while they tried to eat, and a table full of cowboys with their heads bowed, saying grace before their meal. She carried it over to where Sonny was at.

“Hey honey, what do you think about giving this one to Pearl?”

He turned around, stared, and then took a deep breath. “I know you can do this, but I don’t understand how. Andros said something about Wyeth, but this has the heart of Norman Rockwell stuff, only yours comes to life. They look so real. Not caricatures of people, but living, breathing ones.”

“I think that’s why he said Wyeth,” Maggie said. “There’s a Wyeth painting called Christina’s World . It’s haunting. There’s a really moving story behind the painting, and it’s of a person who actually lived it.”

Sonny smiled. “You may teach me something besides horses and rodeo yet,” then picked up the two sunset paintings he’d chosen. One was shades of purple and pink, with a rim of gold just above the horizon, and the other was all shades of yellow and orange, with one burst of white just as the sun disappeared.

“Perfect,” Maggie said, then dug through the others until she found one that was shades of orange and yellow. “I want to get my easel and paints before we leave. I thought I could store them in the vault until the studio is built. Would that be okay?”

He nodded. “A perfect place to keep them safe until they have a place of their own. I’ll carry the paintings to the truck. You start gathering your stuff and I’ll come back for that.”

She handed him her paintings, and then turned to look for a box as he headed for the truck. She soon had the easel folded up, the brushes and paints boxed, the bag of frames she had yet to use, and the blank canvases in a stack.

She locked the door behind them as Sonny carried the last load to the truck and then headed home.

Sonny carried her art supplies and the paintings she’d kept down to the vault, while Maggie went to separate laundry and started washing a load. Days off weren’t for lounging. They were for getting the things done that you didn’t have time for on the job.

Sonny came looking for her. “If you don’t need me for a while, I’m going to take the truck and some fencing, and drive the fence line to check for sags or breaks.”

“No, I’m good,” she said. “Just keep the phone in your pocket. A thousand acres is a big place to get lost in. I don’t want to have to look in every prairie dog hole to find you.”

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. Call if you need me.”

“I will. Just take care of your pretty self. Love you.”

“Love you more,” Sonny said, and left her reeling from the goodbye kiss.