Midnight Run Read Online Free PDF Page B

that you’re imagining
things,” he muttered under his breath, struggling to draw his
attention back to the run.
    Still, his thoughts were scattered, and by
the time the group had finished for the night, Kingston was already
back to his apartment building when he realized that he hadn’t said
good night to Lynne. All the runners had made him feel welcome, but
Lynne had kind of taken him under her wing when he showed up the
first time, and he liked the older woman quite a lot. She reminded
him of his sister for some reason, and Kingston kicked himself for
being unintentionally rude to the woman that night.
    Feeling the need to make amends somehow, he
dialed his sister’s number as he kicked off his running shoes.
Thanks to the time difference, the hour back home was only
moderately awful, as opposed to the ungodly number blinking on the
clock in his kitchen. Maybe calling Raye will give me a cosmic
pass for being an ass to Lynne tonight, he thought as he
grabbed a glass of water and sat down on the barstool in the corner
of the kitchen.
    “What the hell is wrong with you?” Rachel
answered the phone with her customary bluntness, and Kingston
chuckled.
    “What did I do now, Raye?”
    He could practically hear her rolling her
eyes. “Did you even bother to check the clock before you
called?”
    “It’s only midnight there; you can’t be ready
for bed yet.”
    “Fool. It just so happens I’ve got an
interview tomorrow, and I was trying to get some sleep.”
    Feeling instantly contrite, Kingston
apologized, but she brushed him off.
    “I’m up now. So what’s going on?”
    “I just wanted to chat,” he offered,
realizing for the first time that that was a pretty lame excuse for
calling so late. “I mean…I miss y’all.”
    Rachel softened. “We miss you, too. The boys
especially.”
    Kingston had always had a soft spot for his
nephews, and he grinned. “How are they both?”
    “With their dad this week.” He could
practically hear her shrug. “So who knows.”
    “Be fair, Raye. You know he loves them.”
    “Yes,” she admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I
have to like this whole mess.”
    He wished he could reach across the miles and
give his big sister a hug. “You doing okay?”
    “Oh, I’m peachy. Nothing like a trial
separation to really liven things up.”
    Kingston sighed. “It’ll work out. However
it’s supposed to.”
    “That’s pretty crappy advice.”
    “What do you want me to say? That love’s a
fairy tale?” The line was silent for a moment, and Kingston took
another swallow of water, feeling like an ass. “Sorry, Raye.”
    “No, you’re right,” she said softly. “But
this fairy tale sure seemed like it was going to last.”
    Kingston didn’t know what to say. Rachel and
her husband had been married for seven years, long enough to have
two charming boys, buy a big house, and rescue a pair of
greyhounds, but then his sister showed up for Christmas dinner
without her husband, and all she’d said was that they were
separated. He hadn’t been able to get any more information from her
than that, despite the fact that he kept fishing. “Do you want to
talk—“
    “Are you going to ask me about the
interview?”
    Kingston shook his head. “Sure. What’s the
job?”
    “Managing editor for the Daily Sun.”
    His face broke into a wide smile. “Raye,
that’s perfect!”
    “It’s been a long time since I’ve used that
journalism degree,” she said. “I just hope I’m not too rusty.”
    “You’ll blow them away. Call me tomorrow to
let me know how it goes?”
    “You mean today, right?”
    Kingston glanced at the clock and laughed.
“Right, today.”
    “Will do. But seriously, you jerk, I really
should get some shut eye.” She paused. “Everything’s seriously okay
with you?”
    For a moment, he almost told her about the
girl at the coffee shop and her sporty doppelgänger, but he decided
against it. What is there to tell? I don’t even know either of
their