Midnight Run

Chapter Eighteen

Kingston had more fun than he cared to admit chasing his nephews around the yard that weekend, but it wasn't as easy to get Rachel to open up as he'd hoped. He'd thought being there might make a difference, but she was still tight-lipped on Friday night when he brought up Mark after the boys had gone to bed.

The next night, he decided to try a little harder. Taking over the bedtime routine from his sister, he directed her to take a bath and have a glass of wine.

Instead of protesting like he'd expected, she'd patted his cheek and given him a half-smile. "I can't remember the last time I did something like that."

He scooped Blake up and dangled him upside down for a minute. "Go for it. I'll take care of these hoodlums."

Putting the boys to bed was harder than Kingston had expected, but he managed, and by the time they were sleeping soundly, Rachel had emerged, dressed in yoga pants and a loose T-shirt and still carrying her glass of wine. Kingston grabbed the bottle and joined her on the couch with his own glass.

"So," he began, "what's the news with you and Mark?"

She frowned and took a swallow. "We've started the paperwork process. Luckily it's a no-fault state; I'd hate to think what kind of fight would ensue trying to pin the blame on one or the other of us for this mess."

Kingston hesitated. "Is it his fault?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Who's side are you on?"

He lifted his hands quickly. "I just...I'm trying to figure out what happened. You guys always seemed so good."

She shrugged, but tears filled her eyes. "Good can go bad, I guess."

"Is there somebody else?"

"For me?" Rachel shook her head. "No. Not yet, anyway. But I'm not going to stay off the market forever...unless you think I should?"

Kingston was surprised; Rachel rarely asked his advice on anything. "I think you need to do whatever feels right."

She took another swallow of wine. "It's just so hard, you know? It's like all these years, this whole life has been a lie. And now I don't know what's real anymore."

"The boys are real. And you're real, Raye."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes, I wish it were just a dream."

"I wish I could do something."

She glanced up at him. "I appreciate you coming out here," she said slowly, her eyes searching his, "but I've gotta tell you, King, I've got a feeling you aren't just here for me."

He refilled his glass. "What do you mean?"

"Come on. You spontaneously decide to jet back to Texas for a weekend, just to see me and the boys?" She raised her eyebrow at him. "What are you running from; work or a woman?"

Kingston took a huge gulp of his wine, barely tasting it. "You know I love my job."

"Then it's a woman." Rachel was quiet for a moment. "Is she good enough for you, little brother?"

He shook his head ruefully. "Doesn't even know I exist." He paused, considering how much to share with his sister. "And then there's this other girl..."

Rachel sat up, crossing her legs underneath her as she turned to face him. "Okay. Spill. Now."

Kingston laughed. "That's what it takes to perk you up? My girl problems?"

"Hush. Maybe I can help."

He looked down at his wineglass. "The first girl, the one who doesn't know I exist, well, she's a barista."

"Coffee can be good," Rachel offered. "Easy conversation starter."

Kingston smiled. "We've had a few conversations here and there, but, well, I can't quite bring myself to ask her name. What if she thinks I'm some kind of creepy stalker customer?"

Rachel eyed him critically. "Are you being a creepy stalker customer?"

He hung his head. "Yeah," he admitted. "At least, until this week; I pretty much stopped going to the coffee shop."

"How come?"

"Because—" he stopped himself before he told her that her divorce was one of the things that was making him second guess his attraction to PB. "Just because I wanted a break, I guess," he finished lamely.

"Okay. So what about girl number two? Please tell me you at least know this one's name."

Kingston grinned despite himself. "Yeah. Her name is Nora." He paused, remembering the last run he'd been on before heading to Texas. "She's in my running group."

"Something in common," his sister quipped. "Sounds promising. What do you like about her?"

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I think I first noticed her because she reminded me of PB."

"What?"

He flushed. "I've taken to calling the coffee girl PB...you know, 'pretty barista'."

His sister burst out laughing. "You are pathetic, you know that?"

Kingston shrugged, but then he cracked a smile. "It's pretty stupid, isn't it?"

She giggled. "Yeah, but then again, it's also kind of sweet. So, Nora reminds you of the other girl, who you haven't talked to...but you've talked to Nora, I'm guessing?"

He nodded. "We chat after the runs some nights."

Rachel studied his face. "What's holding you back?"

"What, other than the fact that I can't decide which of them I'm hung up on?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yes, other than that. Why aren't you just going for one of them?"

Kingston shrugged. "I don't know how long I'll be at the New York office," he said, searching for a plausible excuse for his fear. "There's no reason to start something, right?"

Rachel shook her head and drained her wine glass. "Wrong. There's no reason to waste any time wondering," she said, her eyes serious and sad. "Even if it doesn't work out, you can't just pretend you aren't lonely."

"But is it worth it at the other end? The pain, I mean?" He asked, studying her face.

She hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded. "I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Well, I'd sure as hell trade this divorce if I could, but I can't. But when it was good, it was really good." She interlaced her fingers through Kingston's and gave a gentle squeeze. "You should go for it."

"Which one?"

"Does it matter? Just pick the girl you can't stop thinking about, and take a chance. The worst that can happen is she'll say no, and then at least you'll know, right?"

Kingston nodded, thinking about it. "Maybe I'll have a cup of coffee when I get back to New York," he said thoughtfully.

Rachel grinned. "Go get her, tiger. Just make sure you find out her name before you ask her to marry you!"