Midnight Run

Chapter Twenty-One

Nora stayed with her dad for another week, but day by day, the shock that had been with him since the hospital began to wear off, and he almost seemed like his old self again. There wasn't a lot to do at the farmhouse, other than clean a bit; she and her dad had decided they would postpone sorting through her mother's things until the summer. Nora figured he still felt too raw to go through that, and she wasn't sure she was ready to sift through clothes and jewelry, either; sorting her mom's things and figuring what to keep and what to get rid of felt too personal, too final, and Nora was glad to wait. Finally, her dad insisted that she go back to New York, and even though she felt a pang of guilt over leaving him alone, she had to admit that she'd been missing her life.

Her dad dropped her off at the train station, and Nora clung to him a minute longer than usual. "You're sure that you're okay?" She asked, looking intently into his eyes.

He nodded. "Every day gets a little better." He paused. "I miss her, peanut, but I can't just curl up and die. Marjorie wouldn't want to think that either of us let her death get in the way of our living."

Nora nodded, wiping a tear away. "I know. Carl said the same thing at the funeral."

"That's a good friend you've got there," her dad said fondly. "I'm glad you've got somebody you can rely on."

"I just wish I didn't live so far away."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about me, kiddo. I'll keep trucking along, doing what I've always done." He winked at her. "Maybe I'll finally learn to cook."

Nora laughed. "You've got enough leftovers in the freezer to last awhile, but I think that's probably a good idea." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I love you, daddy."

"Love you too, peanut. Now, get back to work!" He gave her one last squeeze, and when Nora boarded the train, she took a seat by the window facing the platform and waved until her dad was out of sight.

Life settled into a dull rhythm after that. Nora started to get the hang of managing Books and Brew, and although Laurel was still nasty whenever they had to work together, she didn't come in late or pull any other stupid stuff, and Nora wondered idly if the other girl had put their fight on hold to allow Nora time to grieve. Secretly, she wasn't sure the grieving would ever stop; she wasn't overwhelmed with tears again like she'd been at the funeral, but sometimes Nora would look up from what she was doing at odd moments and suddenly remember that there was a hole in her heart.

She kept running, growing closer to the members of the group who'd come to her mom's funeral, but the midnight runs weren't as fun as before. Kingston had stopped showing up, and although Nora wanted to ask Lynne if she knew what had happened to him, she couldn't quite work up the nerve. Still, training for the half marathon every night and spending most of her waking hours at the coffee shop kept Nora busy, and as long as she was busy, at least it felt like she was living her life. She'd almost convinced herself that she was living, but deep down, a little voice whispered that she was just in a holding pattern.

After a month had passed, the sharp winter weather slowly started to give way to spring, and Nora signed up to run the New York Half Marathon the very last day that registration was open. A few of the other members of the midnight running group had signed up ages ago, and Nora was excited to see them that night and let them know that she was going to do it, too. She watched the clock the entire time she was at Books and Brew, counting down the hours until she could share her news with people who would understand how much it meant to her, and because she was so distracted, she didn't notice when Kingston walked in.

He cleared his throat at the counter, and Nora pulled her eyes away from the clock, a customer service smile plastered on her face. Her smile slipped when she saw the Texan, though, and her heart started to pound. She hadn't seen him since her mom's funeral, and she hadn't admitted to herself until that moment how much she missed him.