Midnight Run (9 page)

Kingston shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he
said, not sure what else he could offer.

“Yeah. Lots of sorry going around right now,
and it doesn’t do anybody any good. What did Shelton say to
you?”

“He asked if you were getting a divorce,”
Kingston told her, and then he added, “and he said you’ve been
crying.”

He heard her swallow a sob. “Well, he’s
observant, I’ll give him that.”

Remembering his nephew’s request, Kingston
asked, “Would it help if I came home?”

“What good is that going to do? You can’t
save my marriage,” she said softly.

“No, but do you need any help with the boys?
You know I love spending time with them.”

Her voice softened. “I know. But I’ve got it
under control. Besides, Mom and Dad are here if we need anything.”
Changing the subject abruptly, she said, “and the job has
daycare.”

“You got it? Raye, that’s wonderful!”

Her voice almost sounded normal again. “I
start in two weeks. It’ll be a change, but good Lord, I’m ready for
something different.”

“I’ll take you out to celebrate the next time
I’m in town,” he offered, beaming. “I’m proud of you, sweetie.”

“Thanks, King. That means a lot.” Her voice
was thick with emotion, and Kingston tried to play it off.

“I’m sure you don’t sit around waiting for
approval from your baby brother,” he teased lightly.

She gave a weak laugh. “No, fair enough. But
still, thanks.”

“Welcome. Tell the boys they can call me any
time they want to talk, and I promise I’ll answer.”

“Any time
after
they ask permission to
use my phone,” she said, raising her voice at the end. Kingston
grinned, picturing Shelton hiding around the corner listening to
her.

After they said goodbye, Kingston stared at
the street for a few minutes, his eyes unseeing.
Divorce
, he
thought, rolling the word around in his mind.
Doesn’t Mark
realize how lucky he is?

He didn’t know what had gone wrong in his
sister’s marriage, but the very idea of Raye getting divorced shook
him more than he cared to admit. Rachel had always said she’d
fallen in love with Mark at first sight, and the couple had seemed
happy to Kingston. In fact, they had almost seemed like they had
the ideal relationship, from the outside, at least, and hopeless
romantic that he was, Kingston had always assumed that whenever he
fell in love, it would be a fairy tale kind of thing, just like his
sister.
But now it sounds like the fairy tale is ending
, he
thought grimly.
And who’s to say it was ever really there in the
first place?

Subdued, he walked back to the office, trying
to think of a way to help his nephews and his sister through the
rough transition that was headed for them.

Even though she was
dead tired, before Nora closed up the coffee shop that night, she
tossed back a double espresso, and just before midnight, she headed
down to Central Park.

Jerome waved at her when she got there, and
Lynne came over to greet her. “Is everything okay with your
family?”

Nora nodded. “My mom had a heart attack, but
she’s okay.” She hoped that if she said it enough, she’d convince
herself it was true. “She’s having surgery soon.”

Lynne gave her a quick hug. “I’m glad
everything’s okay, but man, how scary.”

Nora’s gut clenched, and she just nodded.
“Still,” she said, trying to sound chipper, “I’m glad to be
back.”

“We’re glad to have you! Just in time, too;
we’re ready to start.”

Her eyes skimmed the group, but she didn’t
see the tall frame she’d been looking for. “Are we—are we all
here?”

Lynne shrugged. “There were a couple of
maybes tonight, so I’m guessing they just aren’t coming.”

Nora’s heart sank, but she tried not to focus
on the lack of Kingston’s presence as they began to warm up. As had
started to be her habit, she was running toward the back of the
group, and it wasn’t long before her muscles were complaining from
lack of use. Slowing her pace, Nora dropped back a little farther,
still in sight of the group but no longer running beside anyone.
I really shouldn’t have let so many days go by without a
run
, she thought, concentrating on her breathing.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Nora
automatically moved over to the right side of the trail to let
whoever it was jog by, but no one passed her. Glancing up, she
almost tripped on her sneakers when she saw that Kingston had
fallen into step beside her. He caught her eye and grinned.

“Late start,” he said, his breath even and
unhurried.

She smiled and nodded, but she didn’t try to
talk. Her heart was beating erratically, and she was pretty sure it
wasn’t just the exertion from the run. Nora kept waiting for
Kingston to pull ahead and run with the front of the group like he
usually did, and she was surprised when he kept pace with her for
the entire run. She was acutely aware of the sound of his
breathing, and her skin prickled from his proximity, making it
nearly impossible for her to concentrate. Between the cramp that
had started in her left foot and Kingston’s warm presence, Nora had
what was probably the least focused run of her life, but by the
time it was over, she didn’t care about the wasted training
session.

Smiling up at Kingston as they started
stretching out on the grass beside each other, she decided to
figure out once and for all if he’d recognized her earlier that
day. “It’s good to see you,” she began, pulling on the top of her
foot and folding it toward her tailbone.

He nodded. “We’ve missed you these last few
days, hon.”

So maybe he hadn’t recognized her. Nora
wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. “My mom had some
health troubles, so I went home for a bit.”

“Where’s home?” He asked, sitting down on the
ground and reaching effortlessly for the soles of his shoes.

“Outside Philadelphia. And you’re from Texas,
right?” She already knew that, from the first time she’d seen him
at the coffee shop, but she wanted to test him and see if he really
hadn’t recognized her there.

“Yup,” he smiled. “born and bred with a
Stetson on my head!”

She laughed. “So what brought you to New
York? A relationship?” It had sure seemed like he was dating that
girl she’d seen him with the first time they met, but she wanted to
be sure.

“Nope. Work. I had a chance to transfer, and
I’ve always wanted to see what the fuss was all about, so I picked
Manhattan.” He paused. “And I’m glad I did, because there actually
is somebody.”

I knew it
. Nora’s heart sank, and she
pulled her arm across her chest in a stretch, grateful that the
shadows hid her expression. “Oh? Um, what’s her name?”

Kingston laughed and rubbed the back of his
neck. “Funny thing is I don’t actually know.”

“Excuse me?”

“There
is
a girl I’d like to know
better, but I haven’t found out her name yet.”

Had he had some random hookup?
Nora
didn’t think he was the type, but then again, she realized that all
she really knew about Kingston was being close to him made her
hyper aware of her entire body in a way she’d never really
experienced. “Do I even want to know?”

“It’ll probably sound stupid.” He sounded
almost embarrassed, and even though Nora really didn’t want to hear
about his mystery girl, she was also decidedly curious.

“Try me,” she finally offered, studying him
carefully in the shadows.

“Well,” he said, “there’s this little coffee
place I go to sometimes.”

He didn’t see Nora’s startled reaction, and
he kept talking.

“There’s a girl there who really sparked my
interest, but I’m not sure if I should say anything. I’ll bet she
gets hit on by all kinds of creepy customers, and I don’t want to
be another one of those guys.”

Nora’s breath came a little faster as she
asked, “What does she look like?”
God, don’t let it be Laurel.
If he’s fallen in love with Laurel, I don’t think I could stand
it.

He stooped down to tighten his shoelaces.
“You’ll probably think I’m a loon, but you sort of remind me of
her.”

Nora’s heart skipped a beat before
accelerating frantically. She tried to keep her voice neutral.
“Really?”

Kingston nodded. “’Cept she wears glasses,”
he said.

Oh my god.
A slow smile spread across
Nora’s face in the darkness.
I think he means me!
Just as
she started to open her mouth, Kingston’s next words made her
pause.

“She’s almost too pretty for words.”

He can’t possibly mean me
, she
thought, frantically sifting through the other employees at the
coffee shop, trying to remember who else wore glasses. Caity
sometimes wore a funky black horn-rimmed pair, without lenses, but
Nora wasn’t sure if he’d ever been there when Caity was working.
Unless I haven’t been there,
she realized. Finally, she
noticed Kingston staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to say
something. Nora forced herself to smile. “Well, if you want my
opinion, you should talk to her. I wouldn’t say no if you asked me
out,” she added lightly, trying to ignore the way her heart
clenched at the words.

Kingston held out his hand to help her off
the ground, and when his strong fingers wrapped around hers, Nora’s
arm tingled with awareness. He let go too fast, though, and she
tried to mask her disappointment. “Thanks, hon,” he offered, giving
her a wide smile. “That helps a man’s confidence a bit!”

Before she could say anything else, another
one of the runners gestured to Kingston, and with a quick wave, he
left Nora standing there beside the path, feeling like her heart
had been turned into a ping-pong ball. She watched as he jogged
over to the friend who’d summoned him, and then she shook her head
with a sigh.

“You shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up,”
she whispered into the darkness. “You knew he couldn’t be talking
about you.”

Kingston was running
late; he’d stayed at the office past ten, and he’d barely managed
to grab a bite to eat before it was time to head over to the park.
For a moment, he considered skipping the run, but he was tense and
wound up, and he knew the only thing that would do him any good was
slipping on his shoes and pounding the pavement. When he got to the
park, however, he realized he was a few minutes late, and he
started jogging the usual route, hoping he’d catch up with
everybody.

He hadn’t seen either Nora or PB in a few
days, and even though he tried to tell himself to focus on just one
girl, his heart jumped into his throat when he spotted Nora’s
ponytail bobbing near the back of the group. He pulled up alongside
her and gave her a smile, and the grin that spread across her face
was a warmer welcome than he’d expected.

Although he loved running with a group, he
usually tuned out the other runners around him, letting the
collective energy help propel him along when he got tired without
stopping to notice the sounds of his running buddies. But for some
reason, Kingston was acutely aware of Nora that night. He tuned
into her without even trying, noticing that her breathing was a
little uneven. For a moment, he considered slowing his pace in case
she was trying to match his long strides, but then he realized that
would look like he was more focused on her than on the run, and he
didn’t want her to think that.

Even if it’s the truth.

As they ran, his thoughts swirled around, and
he tried to make sense of the strange double attraction he was
feeling. With PB, it had been an instant jolt; the moment she
looked up at him with those big brown eyes, apologizing for jabbing
him with her mop, he was a goner. But with Nora, his attraction had
started slower; he wasn’t even sure what color her eyes were, since
he’d only ever seen her in the darkness. But still, he felt an
undeniable pull to her every time he saw her, and running beside
her was just making that feeling stronger.
It’s probably just
because she reminds me of PB
, he told himself as they finished
the final lap of their run and started to cool down.

Still, he couldn’t deny that there was
something comfortable about her that made it easy to be himself. He
wasn’t naturally shy, but he’d never really known how to talk to
women when he was interested in them. For some reason, he didn’t
seem to have any problem with Nora.
Now if only I were brave
enough to talk to PB!

“Where’re you from, hon?” He asked Nora as
they stretched out.

“Near Philadelphia,” she told him, bending
effortlessly toward her extended foot. “What about you? Texas,
right?”

He grinned. “Born and bred with a Stetson on
my head!” The words sounded corny, and he winced, but her giggle
set him at ease again.

“You don’t look like a cowboy,” she
commented, sizing him up.

He pretended to be offended. “What, cowboys
can’t wear running tights?”

Was he imagining it, or did her gaze linger
on his legs a moment longer than necessary? Feeling an initial
stirring of desire, he shifted uncomfortably and tried to keep his
mind on stretching out his tired muscles. He was so distracted he
almost missed what she said, but then he realized she’d asked if he
had a girlfriend.

Should I tell her?
He debated for a
moment. He wasn’t always sure how to talk to women, but growing up
with Raye
had
taught him one thing; if he told Nora he was
interested in somebody else, he might as well say goodbye to the
glimmers of attraction he’d been feeling around her; no girl wanted
to be somebody’s second choice. But as charming as Nora was, he
wasn’t ready to give up on the fantasy of PB yet.

Taking he deep breath, he said, “Actually,
there is somebody.”