heavensent

Heaven Sent, a Hammer Story

By Sean Michael

Tanny looked at the front door of Margaret's house,

then sighed.

No. No, he couldn't do this. He couldn't. He shook his

head, hurried back down the sidewalk, keys in hand.
"Let's go have lunch." He couldn't go in and look at his
best friend's things, at the whole life his mentor, his
Mags, had left him. It wasn't fair. People shouldn't get
old.

"It's not going to be any easier tomorrow, baby."

Billy's hand slid along his spine, the loved voice soft
with concern.

"It might. You don't know."
"Or it might be harder every day that you put it off."

There was no judgement in Billy's voice, none at all.

"Maybe." Tanny chewed his bottom lip. "I'm scared

to go in." He kept having nightmares about Margaret --
dead and rotting and swollen, wandering through her
house. The last thing he wanted to do was go in and find
out it wasn't a nightmare at all. He didn't want to see
Margaret like that, not for real.

"Hmm." Billy frowned and considered him. "Then

let's go do this together."

Tanny shook his head. "I don't know if I can. I think I

need to go home."

"I'll come with you. Hold your hand through it." Billy

held his hand out, clearly waiting for Tanny to take it.

"What if..." What if her ghost was in there and she

hurt Billy?

"What, baby? Tell me." Billy grasped his hand and

looked into his eyes.

He looked away, down the street. "What if she's in

there? Like a monster. A horror movie."

Billy didn't laugh at him. "Baby, you know horror

movies aren't real, right?"

"I know, but..." He knew, but the dreams were

constant.

"The only way to prove that she's not in there is for

us to go in. I have your hand, baby. Nothing's going to
happen to you."

"That's not what I'm worried about." He was worried

something would happen to Billy.

Billy looked confused, eyebrows drawing together.

"Then what are you worried about?"

"You," Tanny blurted it out. "You getting hurt."
"Oh, Montana." Billy cupped his cheeks and stared

into his eyes again. "I'm not going to get hurt. Nothing
in that house can hurt me."

"We don't know that. I dreamed..." Over and over

again.

"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was a dream."
Billy's smile was soft, warm. "Then let's go in

together."

"Just to the door." Maybe.
"We have to unlock the door as well." Always

pushing.

"We don't." He shook his head. They didn't. They

were walking up the drive again, to the simple, lovely
house. There were two stories. The bedrooms were
upstairs and it had a nice backyard. He'd been here when
Margaret was alive. It didn't feel the same anymore.

"We do. You need to take this step, boy." Pushing,

pushing, pushing.

"Uh-uh. Please, I can't. Not today."
Billy wasn't listening and they kept walking, going up

the steps onto the porch and to the door. "Open it,
Montana."

"I don't want to." He didn't want to. He'd told Billy

that.

"Then I can do it." Billy held his hand out for the key.
Tanny shook his head, but handed over the key,

hands shaking violently. Billy took the key and put it in
the lock. Then his master grabbed his face in both hand

and kissed him. Hard.

He pulled back. "Please, Billy. Please. There might

be ghosts."

Billy stroked his cheeks, the touches soothing. "Even

if there are, do you believe Margaret would ever hurt
you or me?"

"Not Margaret, but what if she's angry? What if she

doesn't want to be dead? What if my sister found her?"
His sister hated him; she could turn Margaret against
him.

"Baby, stop. You can't just leave the house like this

forever. We need to clear it out and you need to decide
what to do with it."

"Can't we have it burned down?" Fire would clean it.

"What?" Billy sounded shocked at the suggestion.

"No. No we can't."

"Too bad." They pushed the door open and Tanny's

nose wrinkled at the scent of stale air.

Billy took a step over the threshold, bringing him

along. He had to follow, Billy had his hand.

His eyes felt like they were doing to bug out of his

head. The house -- always clean and simple before --
was dusty and rumpled. Wrong.

"Oh, Mags. Mags, your house."
He walked over to her chair, the ugly orange thing

the most awful, comfortable, wonderful thing ever, and
began to sob.

Billy's hands landed on his shoulders, digging in. The

support was even better than the massage.

"This was her chair. Her house." Why did she have to

die?

"I know, baby."
"I loved her, so much. She was good to me." It wasn't

fair.

"It's hard to lose someone so close."
"It is." He sniffled, leaned back so Billy's arms

wrapped around him. "She has two floors. The
bedrooms are upstairs, the kitchen's down here."

"So how do you want to do this?"
"I don't know." Where was he supposed to begin? "I

don't like how it's dead and still. Can we... let's open the
windows?"

"Sure." Billy dropped a kiss on top of his head and

went to the windows in the living room, working one
open, then a second.

It helped immediately, and he opened another, stilling

as he heard something upstairs. "Did you hear that?"

"You mean the sound of you opening the window?"
He shook his head, listening hard. "No. Something's

upstairs."

"I'll check." Billy headed for the stairwell, his

footsteps ringing out.

"No. No!" He raced after Billy, the stairs. No way he

was letting Billy get hurt.

Billy was three quarters of the way up and he turned

around, frowning. "Montana?"

"What if you get hurt? I'll go. Let it be me." He

pushed up the stairs. "I'm here, Mags, if it's you. I'm
taking care of things, I promise." Please don't hate me.

A rattle came from one of the rooms, he thought it

was the bathroom, and then a weird little cry. He
stopped, frowned. "Who's up here?" Would a ghost be
able to make so much noise?

Billy was right behind him, hand on his arm, stopping

him. "Yeah, it's not your imagination, I heard it, too.
And I don't think it's a ghost." Billy headed for the
bathroom.

"No. I don't either." He followed, still worried Billy

might get hurt.

The black, tiny, fuzzy puppy that came out before

they got there was scared, whining, in a total panic.

"Oh, my god." Billy stopped and chuckled softly.

"Oh, Montana, look at that face."

"Puppy. Oh, poor baby. How did you get in here? Oh,

god." He bent down and held his hands open, the tiny
baby running to him. It was furry and warm, wriggling
and trembling against him.

"He likes you." Billy bent next to him, one hand on

his shoulder.

"He's a puppy. He's scared and probably starving."

Tanny scooped the puppy up and the trembling stopped
as he held it close. "We need to get him to a vet, get him
help, and then come find out where he got in."

"We do." Billy smiled at him. "I think Margaret is

telling you things are okay and she wants you to be
happy."

"I hope so. I hope so." He muttered to the puppy with

words that he knew from his gram, telling the wee thing
that it would be okay. That it was safe.

Billy was smiling at him and the pup. "Vet first,

baby?"

"Mmmhmm. Yes. I need to make sure the pup's okay,

then we'll come back." He was already heading down

the stairs with his little bundle, frowning. "Do you know
where a vet is?"

"There's a vet who's a member at the club, I think. I

can call Oliver. He'll know." Master Oliver knew
everybody.

"Okay. Okay, thank you. Oh, pup... how did you get

in here?" The dog was in his arms, sleeping now,
panting softly. "Please don't die, okay? Just hold on."
That would be awful, if they didn't make it to the vet in
time.

By the time they got out to the car, Billy had hung up

his cell. "There's an Andy Ballard on Santa Ana Street.
Oliver said we should be able to just walk in without an
appointment. They don't turn animals away."

"Okay. Okay, good. I'll hold him. Her. It. The

puppy." He was pretty sure she was a little girl, not a

boy. He looked. Yep. Girl puppy.

"It'll be all right, Montana. He had the energy to run

to you, he'll make it as far as the vet's."

"Uh-huh. Sweet baby, so scared." He petted the

matted fur, humming under his breath. She was tiny and
lovely. He just hoped she wasn't too sick.

Billy inputted an address into the GPS and started up

the car. "It's only about five minutes away."

"Oh, good. Look how little you are. Sweet baby. I bet

you were so scared..." All alone, no food, no one to love

on her.

"It's a good thing we went in today after all."
"Yeah. Yeah, you didn't see any others, did you?"

Oh, god, what if there was a whole litter stuck
somewhere in Margaret's house.

"No, I think he was on his own." Billy's hand landed

on his knee, squeezed gently.

"I think it's a she." He hummed again, encouraging

the pup to cuddle in.

"And what's her name?"
"Lizzie." Elizabeth had been Margaret's middle name.

It fit the tiny bundle perfectly.

"I like it." Billy pulled up into the last spot in front of

a little stand alone building with 'The Pet Vet' written

over the door. "We're here. You ready to get checked
out, Lizzie?"

"I hope she's okay." Tanny hurried in, happy to be

met by a concerned looking older lady.

"Come in. Come in. Dr. Ballard is in the back

waiting. I'm Linda." It looked like Oliver had called
ahead to let the vet's office know he and Billy and Lizzie
were coming. They followed her down the hall into a
little examination room.

Dr. Ballard was a tall guy, with white-blond hair and

a heavy mustache. "Howdy, y'all. Look at that! Where'd
you find her?"

Billy was the one who answered for him. "In the

house of an old friend who's passed on. We don't know
how long she's been there on her own, but the place has
been empty for a while."

"She looks pretty good. Hungry, her gums are pale

and she needs these mats off." Dr. Ballard grabbed a
stethoscope, listened to her heart.

"Is she going to be okay? Can I take her home?"

Please let her be okay.

Tanny got a warm, friendly smile. "Let me do some

tests, hmm? Keep her through the afternoon and make
sure everything is good."

"That sounds good. We appreciate it, Dr. Ballard."

Billy's hand landed in the small of his back, rubbing
gently, easing him. "Let's go back to the house and make
sure there's no other stowaways, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, her name is Lizzie and I want to take

her back with me, okay? She's not a stray." He had to
make sure there was no misunderstanding there.
Margaret had made sure he found her. He knew that, just
like he knew she was his responsibility now.

Dr. Ballard nodded. "Lizzie. I like it. Leave your

contact information with Linda, please, and I'll call in an
hour or so. Maybe two."

"Thanks, Doc." Billy shook the man's hand and led

Tanny back out to the front room. "I guess we need to
add buying puppy supplies to our list today."

"Yeah. Yeah, she needs a bed and a bowl and a

collar. A red one." Margaret loved red.

Billy led him over to the desk where they left their

details. "You're going to need to make a list. We'll check
back at the house first, and then go to that big pet store
that just opened."

"Yeah. Yeah." He could do that. His writing was

getting better all the time. Besides, list-making was
easier on his phone.

"Good." Billy smiled and took his hand, walking with

him back to the car and bundling him into the front
passenger seat again.

He clicked on his phone right away and started

typing. Dog food. Bowls. Bed. Collar. Leash. Brush.
Shampoo. Puppy pads. One thing led to the next, his list
growing quickly.

Billy was quiet while they manoeuvred into the flow

of traffic, then asked, "So is it hard work to toilet train a
puppy?"

"It depends on the puppy. Some learn really quick,

some don't. If you have other dogs, the older dogs help.
All dogs can learn, though." Dogs wanted to be good,
they wanted to make you happy.

"Well, she knew to go to you, so clearly she's smart."

Billy gave him a wink, then turned his attention back to
the road.

"I hope so. She's pretty and solid, despite her

littleness."

"Happier about Margaret's place now?" Billy asked

as they pulled up in front of her house again.

"Happier? I don't know. I." Was he? Maybe. "Let's go

in, check. Did you like it? The house?" It was twice the
size of Billy's place. There was a back yard that was a
lot bigger than the tiny shared patch of green in the back
of Billy's condo.

Billy answered slowly. "I'm not sure you could live in

a place where Margaret lived. But it's a nice house."

"It is." They went back up the stairs, back to the door.
Billy unlocked it again and put his hand on the door

knob. "No more puppies, boy."

"What?"
"It was a joke -- no finding any more puppies today. I

was teasing."

"No. No, I hope there isn't a huge mess in that

bathroom, either." Who knew how long she'd been stuck
in there?

"Well, I suppose if there is, you'll just have to clean

it."

"Well, yes. Dogs make messes." He wasn't scared of

poop. He just hoped there wasn't a dead litter mate or
two or three.

"Let's go check it out."
He nodded, heading upstairs, trying not to dread it.

Margaret wouldn't have left him dead puppies, right?
When they went into the bathroom they discovered a bit
of mess, but it wasn't bad and there weren't anymore

pups in the tub or anything. He cleaned up, then started
looking everywhere, searching for other dogs, for how
Lizzie got in.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Weird.
"You should make a list of what we need to do here,

too." Billy suggested, finger running along the top of a
light switch and gathering dust. "And you have to decide
what you want to do with the place."

"We do." He stood at the door of Margaret's

bedroom, goosebumps covering him. This was a private
room...

"It's your house, though," Billy said softly.
"It's our house." They'd already discussed this.
"I don't want to dictate what you do with it, Montana.

Margaret left it to you."

He turned around and stared at Billy. "You and me,

we're like together. Forever. Always. We make

decisions. Together. You don't dictate what I do with my
money, but we have this... thing together. Like real
people."

"I know that."
"Okay, then. Stop fighting me. I'm not crazy. I'm not

asking you to deal with it. I'm asking you to help and to
be part. This is an 'us' thing. You and me."

"Okay, okay." Billy gave him a kiss. "I'm not trying

to get out of helping you; I just don't want to push you
into one thing or another." Billy held up his hands,
forestalling anything else he might have said. "It's a nice
place but I'm not sure I want to live in Margaret's
house."

"Me either." He knew that. He couldn't sleep here.

This was Margaret's house. "But I want a yard. I want a
place with a studio so I can work at home."

Billy nodded. "It'll be good, having us both working

at home. So, we should sell both places and find a house
that has everything we both want in it. A place that we
choose together."

"Okay." He leaned against Billy, sighed. "What do

we do with all this stuff, Billy?"

Billy's arm went around him, tugging him closer.

"Sell it, give it away..."

"Do we have to do it? I have money. Can't we pay

someone? Someone nice?" He truly didn't want to go
through Margaret's stuff; she'd been his mentor and it
just didn't seem right.

"I'll bet we can. I think you should make sure you

take the things you want first, though."

"Okay. I guess. It feels a little like stealing." This was

Margaret's place, these were her things.

"It's not." Billy drew him over to the couch and sat

with him. "She made a will. She wanted to leave
everything to you. So all this belongs to you now.
Anything you take will be a keepsake, to remember her

by."

"I would give it all back, if she would still be here

with us. You know that, right? Everything." Even the
studio. Everything.

"Of course you would." Billy sighed softly. "That's

not how it works, though, is it?"

"No. No, everything dies." Everyone went back to the

light. He knew that.

Billy kissed his right eyebrow. "Let's go home,

Tanny. I need you."

"Okay. Okay." He stood up, looking around again, a

little lost. "Let's go. We need to go shop."

"We'll go shop. But first I need you."
"Okay." God, look at all this shit. There was so much

and at the same time was this really all that was left of
Margaret?

Billy made a little noise and grabbed his hand,

tugging him out, closing and checking the door behind
them. He headed to the car absently, making lists in his
head. So much to do, to figure out.

He hardly noticed the drive home, and suddenly they

were there, Billy opening his door for him and hurrying
him in the door, urging him up the stairs. He really
needed to go to the store. Really.

The door had barely closed when Billy's mouth came

down on his, the passion sudden and full on. His phone

fell onto the side table with a thump, his eyes opening
wide.

"I told you I needed you."
"Uh-huh." Damn.
"Need my boy."
"I'm here." Mostly.
"I know." Billy's voice dropped into a growl. "Need

to feel you, to feel your heartbeat."

Oh. Oh. His Billy. Tanny pushed into Billy's

embrace, face lifted for another kiss. Billy gave it to

him, mouth opening his tongue pushing in. His Sir. He
kissed Billy right back, loving his man.

Billy's strong hands moved over him, tugging his

shirt out of his jeans, hot on his skin. Tanny groaned,
licked at Billy's mouth. He wasn't sure what had set his
lover off, but he was right there.

The t-shirt went all the way up and over his head.

Billy flicked his nipples on the way. The rings tugged
and he groaned. Damn it. As soon as his shirt was off,
Billy's mouth closed over his right nipple, tongue
flicking the ring. He gasped, lips parting, his attention
caught.

Billy was still working on his clothes, fingers tearing

the top button of his jeans open and tugging down the
zipper.

"Billy..." Damn, hot.
"Yeah?" Billy sounded distracted, mouthing his way

over to the other nipple.

"You're hungry."
"For you." Billy bit his nipple and then brought their

mouths together again, hand fishing his cock out of his
jeans.

He wasn't sure what was going on, but Tanny went

with it, leaned into the touch. Billy's tongue swept
through his mouth again, hand stroking him roughly. He
gasped, ass cheeks clenching.

"Gonna come for me, boy. I need to taste you." The

urgency in Billy's voice got him the most.

"Billy. Make me crazy."
"Making you come now."
He chuckled, and the sound turned into a moan.
"That's it, boy. Gonna make you blow."
"Sir..." He arched, fucked Billy's hand.
"That's right. Come for me, boy."
Seed pulsed from him, drawn out by Billy's

command.

Groaning, Billy brought his hand up and began

licking it. All Tanny could do was blink a little, watch

that pink tongue flick out. "Mmm. I needed that."

"Did you?" Tanny leaned in, stayed close.
"I did." Billy offered his hand, one finger still had a

few drops of his come on it.

Tanny leaned in, sucked Billy's finger clean. Billy

shuddered and jerked against him. Mmm. He liked that
response. Tanny sucked again, head bobbing as he took
more in.

"Fuck. Tanny."
Yes. Lots. As many times as Billy wanted.
"Okay. Bedroom. Now." Billy's finger pulled out of

his mouth with a loud pop.

Tanny stepped out of his jeans, his shoes, nodding.

Billy stripped just as quickly, eyes watching him the

entire time. It was intense. They got naked before they
got to the bedroom, standing in the hallway, Billy hard
and aching, him staring.

"Told you I need you."
"Uh-huh. What did I do?" Not that he was

complaining, but he'd need to know if he wanted to do it
again.

"You talked about leaving me."
"What? I did not!"
"We were talking about death back at Margaret's

house. It made me need to know that you're alive."

"Oh. Oh, I'm not dying." He was young, healthy.
"I know, baby. In my head." Billy brought his hand

up and placed it over his master's heart. "My heart
needed it, too."

He nodded. "I hear you."

"Good. Because I'm going to fuck you through the

mattress."

"Oh." Neat.
Billy's mouth came down on his and he was pulled up

against the hot, hard muscles. He held on, trying to
comfort.

"Want you. Need to feel you around my prick."
"Uh-huh. Anything for you." Absolutely anything.
"Good. Get on the bed, boy."
Billy went to the chest and pulled out a plug before

grabbing the lube off their nightstand. Tanny crawled
onto the bed, cock beginning to fill again.

"God, you're sexy, boy."
He chuckled. Billy always thought he was sexy.
"Shh. It's true." Billy tossed the lube and the plug on

the bed and crawled up over him.

He pushed up, wanting to feel Billy all against him.

Humming, Billy lowered all his weight down and
rocked, their bodies sliding together.

"Oh, my Sir." That was lovely.
"Mmm. I love how you feel."
"Good." He needed that.
Billy brought their mouths together, lips sliding on

his like they were made for nothing else. He melted,

moaned into Billy's mouth. Billy shifted, spreading his
legs and two fingers teased his hole. The touch was
familiar and wonderful, hot and perfect.

Fingers slipping into him, Billy began to open him

up.

"I promise never to leave you. I swear I'll always be

yours."

Billy nodded. "Good." Billy's fingers pushed against

that spot inside him.

"You promise me now."
The smile Billy gave him was joyful. "I promise

never to leave you. I will always be yours."

"Okay." He kissed Billy's nose. "Can you move your

fingers again? That feels so good."

Chuckling, Billy did, pushing them into his gland

again.

"Uhn." Right there. Oh, fuck yeah. Right there.
Billy kept pushing in, making his whole body just

sing. He went with it, loving every sensation, every zing
and throb and ache. A third finger worked its way in,
Billy pressing kiss after kiss after kiss into him.

"Need. Need you." His cock was aching, heavy

between his legs.

"Soon. I want you so bad, boy."
Then Billy should fuck him, right? Now? He pushed

toward Billy.

"Impatient boy." Billy kissed him again, fingers

sliding from him.

"Uh-huh." Billy knew that about him.
Smiling, Billy pushed against his hole, cock hard and

hot and very good. He pushed back, took Billy in deep
with a moan.

"Oh, fuck, yes." Groaning, Billy kept sinking into

Tanny until he was all the way in.

"Yours. I feel you. Yours." Billy belonged in him.
"Mmm." It was all Billy said out loud, but his eyes

told Tanny everything he wanted to know.

They stopped jabbering and focused on fucking, in

and out, moving hard.

Billy shifted and suddenly everything inside him lit

up. He gasped, jerked, his toes curling. Billy grunted
and stayed right there, banging into him. Tanny gritted
his teeth, riding it, pushing hard. Billy's hand wrapped
around his prick, tugged on him.

Oh, fuck. Yes. Yes, please. Damn.
"Want to feel you come on my cock, baby." Billy's

words were breathless, needy.

"Billy!"
"You heard me, boy. Come on my cock."
"Yes. Fuck. Fuck, yes. Yes!" He bucked hard, spunk

spraying from him.

Yes!" Billy's cry echoed his and heat filled him, Billy

jerking against him.

Billy was buried deep, filling him, making his eyes

roll. Moaning softly, Billy rested their foreheads

together. Their harsh breaths mingled and Billy's eyes
stared into his.

"Love." The single word said everything he wanted

to.

Billy smiled and nodded, pressing a kiss on him.

"Forever."

***

They went back to Margaret's place after making

love, shutting the windows and checking the doors and
making a list of what needed doing. After that, they hit

the pet store and spent about five million dollars.

Billy enjoyed every second of it, watching Tanny as

his boy considered each and every purchase very
seriously. Had he known Tanny was so... invested in
dogs, he would have found a puppy for Tanny earlier. It
was fascinating, really. And quite stunning.

He helped Tanny carry everything to the car. "Ready

to go get your pup?"

"Uh-huh. If she's okay."
"The doc would have called if she wasn't." They

climbed into the car to drive to the vet's. Billy figured he

they were going to be regular visitors -- at least once a
year at any rate.

"Maybe. Maybe she's really sick." Tanny chuckled.

"Although Margaret left her for me."

"We won't know 'til we're there. So let's not borrow

trouble." He thought the puppy was going to be just fine;
it had hardly been on death's door when it had bounced
into Tanny's arms.

"I don't have to borrow it. I have lots."
Laughing, he put his hand on Tanny's knee. "You do

more than okay for yourself."

"I have you. That's what I need."
He could totally agree with that. "Yes."
Tanny smiled at him. "I love you, Billy."
"Good. Because I love you, too." He pulled up into a

spot near the vet's. "Now let's go rescue your pup."

"Lizzie. She'll be fine." Tanny hopped out of the car,

eager. God, his boy was excited. Awake. Interested.

Billy didn't linger, but he did hang back enough to

watch his boy's ass.

Tanny was bouncing, that eagerness right up front,

and the receptionist smiled as they walked in. "Oh,
you're here. Your little girl's older than you thought.
She's two years old, fully grown, just teacup sized."

"That wee thing is fully grown?" Billy chuckled.

Tanny was going to look adorable with that tiny dog
following him around.

"It doesn't matter how old she is. Is she healthy?"
The tall vet came out. "She's a champ. Really.

Heartworm negative. Just a little dehydrated. She's been
fixed, but not microchipped."

"Can we get that done?" Billy asked. They hadn't

even taken her home yet, but he already knew Tanny
would be devastated if they lost her.

"We'll make an appointment to, yes."
"Okay. You tell me how much and I'll pay you."

Tanny looked so serious. Billy was so proud.

"It'll be two hundred."
"We could split it," he suggested. "She'll be my dog,

too, after all."

Tanny shook his head as he handed over ten twenties

to Linda. "I got it. You tell me when the next time is and
I'll bring her."

"Next Wednesday at eight am," Linda said. "Then

you can pick her up any time after three."

"Okay." Tanny scooped the dog up, and the little

thing started wiggling madly as they made their way to
the door.

Billy laughed; that was adorable.
Tanny gave him a pleased, wondering little grin.

"Come on, chica. Let's go home and I'll show you our
house. It's not going to be ours forever, 'cause me and
Billy are going to buy one with a studio, but it's a good
place."

"It is a good place. Mostly because you're in it." He

held the door open for Tanny and his bundle.

"Thank you." Tanny was cooing and scratching,

Lizzie's tail wagging good and hard.

Billy figured he was going to have to get used to the

sight.

Tanny slipped into the car, beamed at him. "She's

okay."

"She's more than okay, boy." Thank god.
"She's beautiful." Tanny smiled at him. "Don't you

think she's stunning?"

"I think she's stunning." As if he'd be allowed to think

anything less. "She looks like she's yours."

"She is. Margaret sent her to me. To tell me

everything was okay." Tanny sounded so sure.

"Then it's a good thing we went into the house when

we did."

Tanny looked at him, nodded. "Yes. Thank you,

Billy. You were so right."

"I usually am." He winked.
"Sometimes."
He laughed. Stubborn boy.
Tanny winked at him, playful, happy. "So, did you

call a real estate lady?"

Justice wasn't a lady, but Billy had called while

Tanny was taking his time examining every purchase at

the pet store. "We should have a bunch of choices to
look over by the end of the week."

"Okay. Okay, but we have to sell the other house

first, right? And empty it? And stuff?"

"Yep. We do. I was thinking. You should take a day

or two to go through the place, take what you want and
then we could hire someone to come in and pack up and
cart everything else to charity." He knew Montana didn't
want to pack everything up.

"Okay. Whatever's best. I don't need stuff."
"You might want some stuff to remember her by,

though." Maybe not now, but later Tanny might wish
he'd kept something. It didn't have to be much, but
having some little thing that meant Margaret to Tanny
would be appreciated later. Especially the handmade
books, he'd bet those would have huge sentimental

value. He knew for a fact that Tanny's first solo effort
was displayed on a shelf in the living room.

He pulled up at home. "Let's get Lizzie home."
"Uh-huh." Tanny looked up at the condo. "Will you

be mad at me? If we sell your house?"

"I told you it would be fine. You're my home,

Montana."

"I know, but... I want to make sure."
Tanny took the dog into the little shared yard behind

the house. "This is your yard for now, Lizzie."

"Training shouldn't be a problem after all, hmm, if

she's an adult?" Billy slid his arm around Tanny's

shoulders. "And you can be sure. I don't need my condo
to be our home. This new place, it'll be entirely both of
ours."

"Ours. Our house." Tanny nodded. "Ours and

Lizzie's."

He chuckled. "Yeah. She's a part of the family now."
Tanny watched the tiny dog until she did her

business, then Tanny started up the back stairs. "Come
on, Lizzie."

Billy let Tanny go first, admiring the sweet ass. The

dog tromped up, like she knew where she was going. It
really did make him wonder if Margaret had sent her.

Tanny sure seemed to believe it. It was like a huge stress
had been lifted from his boy's shoulders.

Billy looked heavenward and murmured "thank you."

He had no reason not to keep Margaret's spirit sweet;
she had been nothing but motherly and good and
wonderful to his boy.

The clouds over the sun parted, and he smiled. They

had someone's blessing, that was for sure.

He turned his attention back to Tanny ahead of him.

They had a good life, him and his boy. And their dog. A
good life indeed.

End

Heaven Sent

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