Read Online Midnight Run by Charity Hillis - Free Book Online Page A

spend all your time here, Nora,”
she’d urged. “That promotion won’t wait forever.”
    Nora knew she was right; she’d talked to Todd
the first day she was in Pennsylvania, and while he’d said he
understood, Nora could tell he wasn’t thrilled to have to postpone
her training. Still, Nora worried about her mom the entire train
ride back to the city, and she even skimmed the job postings she
could find online for work near her parents’ town. There wasn’t
anything that jumped out at her, not even any coffee shop or fast
food positions, and Nora resolved that at the very least, she would
make an effort to call home every day, no matter how crazy her new
schedule was. And I’ll ask Todd if I can take the time off to be
there for the surgery , she told herself.
    Carl was waiting for her in the living room,
and he’d pulled her into a tight hug before she was even halfway
through the door.
    She forced a laugh. “Nice to see you,
too.”
    He pulled back, studying her face. “She’s
fine, right?”
    Nora shrugged. “She has surgery later this
month. After that, I guess we’ll see.”
    Carl shook his head. “She’s fine,” he
insisted, “and so are you.”
    This time, her laugh was genuine, but halfway
out of her mouth, it shifted into a sob, and she buried her face
against Carl’s shoulder. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered
through her tears.
    “Nothing you can do. She’ll be fine,” he
repeated, “don’t worry.”
    Trying to get a grip on herself, Nora nodded.
“Thank you.”
    “Of course! I’m just sorry you didn’t wake me
before you left; I’d have come with you.”
    Nora looked at him in surprise. “Really?”
    Carl rolled his eyes. “I practically grew up
at your house, Nora. Of course I love your folks.”
    She’d never heard him say anything like that,
and it touched her. Afraid she might start crying again, Nora broke
off the hug and set her bag down. “They’d be happy to hear that,”
she said, kneeling down to sift through her bag so she didn’t have
to look at him.
    Carl rubbed her shoulders. “You’re family,
Nor, whether you like it or not.”
    ***
    Once she told Todd she was back, he insisted that
she begin her training the next day. “I already had you on the
schedule for split shifts all week,” he told her over the phone.
“No need to change that now, right?”
    Secretly, Nora had hoped he’d give her
another day or two off, since her emotions were still a bit of a
wreck, but she forced a smile into her voice and said, “Nope! I’ll
be there first thing tomorrow.”
    She skipped her run that night, but it didn’t
matter; she was too keyed up to sleep. When she got to Books and
Brew at four-thirty in the morning, Todd was just unlocking the
front door.
    “Welcome back!” He held the door open for
her, and then locked it again once they were both inside. “Don’t
want anyone wandering in,” he said in answer to her questioning
stare. “No one reads the posted hours.”
    Nora nodded, pushing away her worries about
her mom and trying to focus on what Todd was saying. “Has that
happened before?”
    “All the time.” Todd flicked on the light
switch near the door. “Make sure you lock up once you start opening
alone, but don’t forget to unlock the door and switch on the open
sign at five.”
    “Check.” Nora followed him into the back,
where he showed her how to count down the cash drawer before the
start of business. “That’s one of the reasons the same manager
always works open and close,” he told her. “So that he’s the only
one counting down the drawer that day.”
    Nora nodded, watching as he slid the drawer
into the register and turned the key that secured it in place. “It
must have been exhausting for you, managing without an
assistant.”
    Todd tugged on his silver mustache. “I’ve
done it before, and once you move on, I’m sure I’ll do it again.
Although,” he added with a smile, “I am looking forward to taking
some