Cold Midnight Read Online Free PDF Page A

put it behind us. It’s been ten years . I, for one, am sick of thinking about it.”
    When Quinn’s eyebrows shot up, she realized she’d overdone the vehemence, but before she could backpedal, his gaze shifted to the door beyond her shoulder. “You might want to put a lid on the stress. Here comes Dr. Jane.”
    Kylie turned to greet her sister with a sunny smile as she slid open the door. “Good morning, Jane. Did you find the coffee?”
    “You know I don’t drink coffee,” Jane said, wrinkling her perfect nose in distaste. “Aren’t you hot out here? It’s so humid.”
    Jane was already showered and dressed in a pastel yellow dress that hugged the angles of her slim frame. With her delicate stature, pearl jewelry, golden blond hair, dark brown eyes, flowery perfume and high-heeled shoes, Jane was the epitome of priss. Kylie often thought she and her sister couldn’t possibly have been more different. Kylie was all athlete, and Jane was all princess.
    Pushing herself to her feet, Kylie said, “As it turns out, I was just coming inside for a bagel.” With Jane, it was easier to give in than disagree.
    Quinn hopped up. “Me, too.”
    In the kitchen, Kylie separated a bagel and dropped the two halves into the toaster, while her sister hovered in the background and her brother topped off his coffee.
    “What are your plans for the day?” Jane asked.
    “The usual,” Kylie said. “I’ve got my class of third graders in less than an hour.” She’d started the classes shortly after she’d moved back as a way to build an eager audience for the upcoming tennis center. Plus, she loved working with kids. They still knew how to have fun, whereas college students tended to take the game way too seriously.
    “You didn’t cancel your classes today?” Jane cast an exasperated glance at Quinn. “Tell her she should cancel her classes. Better yet, you’re her boss: You can cancel them for her.”
    “Whoa, ho, ho,” Quinn protested with a big belly laugh. “I’m not Kylie’s boss.”
    “You manage the health club, so doesn’t that put you in charge of who runs the tennis classes there?”
    Kylie grinned at her squirming brother. “She’s got a point.”
    He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I plead the fifth.”
    “Quinn, come on,” Jane said. “Stop horsing around and be useful for a change.”
    “And that’s my cue to fly,” he said, and turned to address Kylie. “While you’re eating that bagel, do I have time for a shower?”
    She nodded. “Save me some hot water.”
    He brushed a quick kiss over her cheek. “Good luck,” he whispered.
    “Bailer,” she whispered back.
    He flashed her a grin before he sauntered out of the kitchen.
    At the pantry, Kylie withdrew a jar of peanut butter and a box of teabags. “Isn’t this the kind of tea you like?”
    Jane took the box and reached for the red tea kettle on the stove. “Why don’t you sit? I can make my own tea. When your bagel’s done toasting, I’ll bring it over.”
    Kylie let her hands fall to her sides. Here we go. “Jane.”
    Her sister, filling the kettle with water, glanced over her shoulder. “What?”
    “I appreciate you being here, but, really, you don’t have to take care of me.”
    Jane set the kettle on the stove and twisted on the burner, then leaned against the counter and folded her arms under her breasts. “All right. Since you’re so fine, let’s quit dancing around the issue. Are you prepared for what’s going to happen if it turns out that that bat is the one those boys used on you?”
    Kylie suppressed a sigh. Oh, to have a conversation about the weather.
    Jane was already shaking her head, as if Kylie’s silence were answer enough. “I’m serious about this. You would have never walked into a tennis match without being mentally prepared.”
    Kylie slathered peanut butter on her bagel a bit too vigorously. “This isn’t a tennis match.”
    If it were, she’d know exactly how to respond. But