Deep Night Read Online Free

this morning,” Sara teased.
    “She’s probably already turned his room into a craft cave or whatever the hell they call it,” Rusty laughed. “When I moved out several years ago, I had barely loaded the last box in my SUV when they made my room a home gym.”
    Chris smiled ruefully. “I thought she’d be upset, but apparently, she and Dad are enjoying life without us around. When I left for boot camp, it was the only home I’d ever known. But when I came home, it felt weird to sleep in my old bedroom.”
    “Get over it, baby brother. It’s the circle of life…you know,
matumba matada.
”
    “It’s
hakuna matata,
and that doesn’t relate at all,” Chris corrected.
    Rusty just waved it off. “You know what I mean. Grab a box and let’s get this shit upstairs. Julie wants me to meet her at the bakery so we can pick out a wedding cake, and I’ve got to drop my buddy’s truck off at the station on the way.” Rusty stacked one box on top of another and easily lifted them.
    Chris did the same. Sara, not to be outdone, tried to take the last two boxes, but couldn’t budge them. “Jeez, what’s in here, bricks?”
    “Books,” Chris replied. “Here, take these. They’re lighter.” He handed the two boxes he was holding to her and picked up the two boxes of books without so much as a grunt.
    Even though her boxes weren’t as heavy, Sara still had to struggle with them. But she was determined to carry her share of the load. The two guys knew her well enough not to suggest that she take them one at a time.
    The building had enough age and character to be registered as a historical landmark. Originally built as the Bergstrom Hotel in 1891, it had been converted to apartments and remodeled in the late 1990s. The investors had kept the original name as well as the classic redbrick exterior with its tall, arched windows, but inside, the apartments and lofts boasted twelve-foot-high ceilings, exposed brick walls and great views of the city and the Rocky Mountains.
    There was a small courtyard in the center and, thankfully, an elevator that made the trip to Sara’s third-floor apartment easier than three flights of stairs. Two more trips and they had the new double bed frame, mattress set, Chris’s old chest of drawers and all the boxes stacked in the small bedroom.
    “Go taste your cake. I can take it from here,” Chris said.
    Rusty looked around the room. “There’s no window.”
    “That’s a good thing.” Chris shrugged it off. “It’ll make it easier to sleep during the day.”
    “Not if there’s a fire.” Rusty’s point of view was always through a firefighter’s eyes. “It’s against code.”
    “I’m sure this old place has some sort of exemption. Besides, I’m just steps away from the front door and right across the living room from the big windows. I’ll be fine.”
    “I just don’t want to have to rescue you.” Chris gave his brother a punch in the shoulder.
    “Hey, I’ve got Sara. She can drag my body out to the ledge.”
    Rusty’s eyebrows arched skeptically. “Good luck with that.”
    “I can drag you across the floor,” Sara challenged. “Lie down and let me show you.”
    Rusty laughed and backed toward the front door with his hands raised as if to defend himself. “I take it back. When we were kids, you always beat me at leg wrestling. You had an unfair advantage of being short.”
    “Excuses, excuses,” she teased.
    “Hey, tell Julie hi for us,” Chris said. “How’s she feeling?”
    “She’s doing great. She had her first sonogram, and we could see the baby’s tiny heart beating. He even gave me a little thumbs-up.”
    “So it’s a boy?” Sara asked.
    Rusty shook his head. “We don’t know yet. But realistically, there aren’t many females in my family, and the sperm determines the sex.”
    “God help us all. Another Wilson boy!” Sara pretended to be horrified at the possibility.
    “Julie and I really don’t care. It’s a miracle she got pregnant,