More Than Friends (Kingsley #4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

way to the balcony railing, he was able to look down into the faces of his brothers. "What the hell, you guys?" Bracing his forearms against the edge of the railing, he arched his eyebrows and watched Drew and Evan squint up at him.
     
    "We tried to call," Evan shrugged. "You didn't answer. But –"
     
    "Dad needs us," Drew broke in, exchanging a look with Evan. Michael’s stomach twisted as he realized the Drew was still wearing his police uniform. “It’s mom."
     
    "What? Mom? Hang on, I'm coming down." Turning back, Michael closed the balcony doors and stumbled through the bedroom, bending to scoop a shirt from the floor. He sniffed it, dropped it with a grimace, and snatched another from the open closet beside his bedroom door. Snagging a hopefully clean pair of jeans from the top of the dresser drawer, he clamped the shirt between his teeth and jerked the jeans on as he hopped clumsily down the hallway. His stomach clenched as his mind replayed Drew's last words.
     
    "Dad needs us. It's mom."
     
    What could have happened? His mother was in good health as far as he knew, still remarkably stout for a woman of her age. Had she had a fall? A heart attack? Was she okay?
     
    He was still pulling his shirt on when he stepped away from the staircase and moved to unlock the front door. His keys were there, hanging on the hook where he always left them, another small scrap of paper folded and propped atop the hook. Snatching the paper from where it rested, he stuffed it into his pocket, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he glimpsed the curvy handwriting inside. Another note from Sherry. Glancing around, he made sure there weren't any more notes laying out – then he took a deep breath and opened the door. "Okay, what's up with mom?"
     
    "She was in a wreck this morning, dude," Evan said. He waited for Michael to step back from the door, and then walked into the house.
     
    Drew followed, arching his eyebrows slightly at Michael as he passed. His badge caught the sunlight as he turned to walk through the doorway. "You okay?"
     
    "I'm fine," Michael answered, realizing even as he said the words that they were far from true. His hangover had been forgotten; physically, he did feel fine. But the hangover had only given way as panic had set in. Eva was the cornerstone of the Kingsley family. She was the one who planned the family dinners they still had once a week, the one who raised Michael and his siblings while their father had been working. She had been the one who most supported his starting his own business in favor of chasing a career. And she was the one person in the world who knew how much his divorce still hurt. "Is she okay? She made it, right? I mean, she didn't – did she?" He couldn't even bring himself to ask the question. But if his father had sent his brothers to find him, this couldn't be good; and it was plain that Drew still hadn’t been home after patrolling all night. This was clearly more than just a fender bender.
     
    Sighing, Drew shook his head, adjusting the various pouches of gear on his belt as he dropped onto the edge of Michael's couch. "Look, man, relax. She's really okay for the most part. She broke her leg somehow, and when the air bag came out of the steering wheel, it broke her wrist. She’s got a little cut on her cheek. The car’s pretty wrecked though, Michael; they had to cut her out of it. I think she’s pretty lucky, and lucky that it seems have just been her."
     
    “Just her? There wasn’t anyone else involved?” Drew shook his head and Michael sank down on the coffee table, stunned. "How'd it happen?"
     
    "We don't know yet," Drew answered. “All I know so far is that there weren’t any other cars involved. She hit the guardrail exiting an overpass. But she was coming off the highway, so she was going pretty fast.”
     
    "She doesn't seem to remember how it happened," Evan put in. "But she was on the phone with me before she left ... she was at a dress