Midnight Run (4 page)

She filled out her profile, keeping it short
and sweet, and set her phone down on the nightstand.
I’ll tell
Todd tomorrow
, she thought, and she fell asleep with a smile,
and this gives me an even better reason to call home on
Sunday!

That weekend, Nora laced up her shoes and
headed uptown for her first midnight run.

Although parts of the city were still lively,
their neighborhood was deathly still, and Nora breathed a sigh of
relief when she got off the mostly deserted subway car at Central
Park. Even at that hour, the park’s station was lively, and Nora
smiled at a busker with a guitar and harmonica as she climbed up
the stairs.

The website had said that the group met near
the station, and when Nora emerged into the darkness, she didn’t
have to look very hard before she spotted a small clump of people
in spandex and sneakers. A few of the runners had reflective
stripes on their pants, and one guy was even wearing a flashing red
light like the kind bikers wear strapped around his ankle. Nora
stifled a giggle at the sight as she approached the group.

A tall woman with a clipboard was chatting
with an older man, and Nora gave a little wave as she walked up.
“I’m new,” she began nervously, and clipboard woman smiled.

“Great! It’s always good to see another face.
Just need you to sign this waiver that you’re here because you want
to be, and that you won’t hold the group accountable if you injure
yourself.”

Nora skimmed the page and signed it quickly.
“Anything else?”

“Stretch out however you like; we’ll 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 the dark, Nora could see the frost covering the
ground, adding to the strange effect.

When they finally finished running two short
laps around the park, Nora’s legs were ready to give out, and she
was drenched in cold sweat.
I really should have started half
marathon training alone before joining this group;
she thought.
A few of the other runners seemed as tired as Nora, though, and the
guy who was wearing the flashing light was breathing even harder,
so Nora tried to check her self-criticism as they went through a
cool-down together. Now that she’d had a chance to catch her
breath, her thoughts kept straying to the lanky Texan stretching
out on the ground a few feet away from her. He must have felt her
eyes on him, because after a moment, he looked up and gave her a
broad smile. Nora looked away fast, feeling as if he’d caught her
doing something she shouldn’t.
Well, he did; he has a
girlfriend,
Nora reminded herself, thinking of the leggy blond
from the coffee shop.
You shouldn’t even be dreaming.

When the group was done, clipboard woman came
over to Nora. “How was your first midnight run?”

Nora grinned. “Intense! Thanks for including
me.”

“Any time. A bunch of us usually go out
after; tonight, we’re headed for Spanky’s Diner. Want to come?”

Nora paused, but she shook her head. “I
really shouldn’t. I start an opening shift on Monday, and I should
try and stock up on sleep before the weekend is over.”

Clipboard woman smiled. “No worries. But will
we see you again?”

With a furtive glance at the Texan, Nora
grinned. “Absolutely.”

The other woman stuck out her hand. “I’m
Lynne. Welcome to the group!”

***

After spending nearly two hours running around
Central Park, Nora knew she should have been ready to collapse, but
despite the unbearably early hour, she was wound up.
At least it
won’t be hard to be at work so early
, she thought to herself as
she crossed the city.
It’s too bad Todd didn’t want me to start
right now!
Although part of her had wanted to hang out with the
rest of the running group, she’d been both terrified and thrilled
at the thought of spending more time with the lanky Texan, so she’d
used the excuse of sleep to leave the group behind and do a little
thinking.

What was it about him that set her heart
racing?
I really should hate him
, Nora reminded herself; the
guy hadn’t even remembered her from the coffee shop. But despite
that, she was drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain, even to
herself.
And maybe
, she tried to justify,
he just didn’t
recognize me in the dark. It’s not like the park has the best
lighting at night.
Still, his reaction to her stung, and Nora
secretly wondered if it was just because there was nothing
memorable about her.

She was so distracted that she almost missed
her stop on the subway, and she gave herself a mental shake as she
sprinted up the deserted stairs.
There’s no reason to be
stupid
, she thought, glancing around and checking her
surroundings. After spending five years in New York, Nora’s street
smarts had sharpened, and she’d never really felt unsafe in the
city, but she knew the quickest way to break that winning streak
was to let herself get distracted in a desolate part of town.
Luckily, she made it back to her apartment without issue, and
quietly let herself in.

Carl had left a note on the coffee pot for
her, and Nora almost laughed when she saw it. “Don’t forget to keep
an eye out for a guy!” Still smiling, Nora crumpled up the note and
scribbled one in return. If only Carl knew about Tex!

Kingston had to fight the
urge to check over his shoulder during the run; the new girl
reminded him of the pretty barista he still hadn’t worked up the
nerve to really talk to.
Well, except for her hair,
he
thought, trying to match his strides to his breathing as the group
made their first loop of the park.
And the glasses
. He shook
his head. “You’re just so hung up on her 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 names!
“Seriously okay and nothing to report.”

“Then go to sleep, you loon.”

He laughed softly. “Love you, hon.”