Midnight Run Read Online Free PDF Page A

start
with a warm up mile of walk-jog intervals, but then the fun will
really begin.” The woman winked at her, and Nora grinned in
response. Only another run junkie would define a midnight
half-marathon training session as fun, and Nora already felt at
home.
    Still, she’d always been shy, so she
stretched off to the side in the shadows as she listened to the
conversations of the other runners. Most of them had obviously been
coming to the group for a long time; there was an easy sense of
camaraderie as they greeted one another, laughing and joking while
stretching out hamstrings and bouncing on the balls of their feet.
Nora felt the same anticipation fluttering in her stomach that
she’d felt at her first race, even though she knew this was just a
training session, not a competition, and she closed her eyes and
inhaled through her nose to calm her nerves.
    “You new to the group?” A twangy voice near
her face asked, and Nora’s eyes popped open in surprise. I’d
know that voice anywhere.
    She was right; the Texan from the coffee shop
was standing beside her. He almost blended in with the shadows of
the park, but Nora’s eyes traced his outline, his lean body even
more apparent under his tight running leggings and dark mock
turtleneck. For a minute, Nora just grinned at him stupidly, but
finally, she found her voice. “Hi!”
    “Hi, yourself,” he said with a smile.
“Haven’t seen you before.”
    Her heart fell. Did he seriously not remember
her from Books and Brew? Nora cleared her throat, grateful that the
shadows hid her blush, and wondering if it was just too dark for
him to recognize her. “Yeah,” she said finally, “I’m new to the
group.”
    “You’ll love it.” He flashed his smile,
brilliant even in the dark. “I’ve been doing midnight runs back
home for years.”
    She bent down to tighten her laces, even
though she knew her shoes were fine, and snuck a glance at his lean
legs. God, he’s all muscle. I wonder if he’d look as good
without those running tights? “How long have you been in this
group?”
    “About two weeks; new to the city.” Unaware
of her scrutiny, he stretched one leg out and sank into a low
lunge. Involuntarily, Nora’s eyes followed his hips, and she tried
to ignore the way her stomach suddenly sprouted butterflies as she
checked him out. What in the world is wrong with me? Her
face flushed even deeper and she stood up with a jerk.
    Thankfully, she was spared from having to
make any more small talk when a whistle sounded, and the woman with
the clipboard waved her arms. “We’re all here. Let’s get
started!”
    Tex smiled down at her, and Nora belatedly
realized that she’d been so busy checking him out she’d forgotten
to ask his name. Before she could say anything, though, he moved to
the front of the clump of runners, and the whistle blew again and
everyone started to jog slowly.
    The lights of the city were visible through
the trees, and Nora was reminded of an old movie she’d seen once,
with Fred Astaire dancing a magical duet with a dark haired starlet
in Central Park. Her eyes darted to the front of the group,
instantly picking out the Texan’s tall form, and she sighed,
wondering what it would be like to feel his strong arms cradling
her during a slow dance. At first, the easy pace did nothing to
distract Nora from the fantasies her mind was spinning, but after
they finished the first loop of the park, Nora’s breath started
coming a bit harder, and she slowed her pace, dropping to the very
back of the group. The park felt different at night; Nora had
expected it to be silent and sinister, but there were a handful of
other people out besides the runners. Nora even spotted three
different police officers, each strolling through the park
unhurried and alone, and she felt a little safer. Everything looked
different, too. It was almost like walking into an old-fashioned
photograph; the bare trees glistened whitely under the street
lamps, and even in