Deep Night Read Online Free Page A

so we’re pretty happy about it.”
    Chris rolled his eyes. “I still can’t believe you’re going to be a father. I would have bet you’d be the last one of all of us.”
    “Yeah, well, no one’s more surprised than me,” Rusty admitted. His expression softened. “But when it’s right, it’s right.”
    “Well, go take care of your manly duties.” Chris lifted one of the boxes of food onto the counter.
    “Yeah, I get to decide between red velvet, chocolate or vanilla,” Rusty answered. “I really don’t care. It’s free cake. Hey, you’re still coming to the wedding, aren’t you? We scheduled it on a Sunday because we’re all off that day.”
    “It’s pretty tricky with all of our shifts,” Chris agreed. That was an understatement. The middle brother, Sam, was a cop who worked the night shift on patrol. Rusty’s firefighter schedule caused him to be on twenty-four hours straight, then off for forty-eight, and Chris and Sam worked four ten-hour night shifts and three days off. “Of course we’ll be there. I still can’t believe you’re the first one of us to take the plunge.”
    Rusty smiled. “Me neither.” He opened the door.
    “Hey, man, thanks for your help.”
    “You can pay me back with some babysitting when the time comes.” He gave them a jaunty wave and left.
    “I’ll help you put your bed together,” Sara offered. “Then I’m going to crash.”
    They had gotten off shift at six this morning, and Chris had immediately gone off with Rusty to pick up his bed from the furniture store and his things from their parents’ house in Parker, which was a small town about twenty miles south of Denver.
    “How’s that pizza place on the ground floor? It sure smells good.” Chris nodded toward the large windows in the living room that were open to let in the fresh spring air, but also allowed the fragrance of baking bread and garlic to drift in with the breeze.
    “It’s great. I eat there a couple of times a week.”
    “Maybe we can catch some dinner there tonight. We’ll start on Mom’s groceries tomorrow.”
    Sara nodded, and they worked together with the same level of teamwork that they used on the ambulance to get his bed assembled and the sheets on. Together, they positioned the chest of drawers in the corner.
    “I can take it from here,” Chris told her. “Is it okay if I take a shower?”
    “You can do anything you want. You’re paying half the rent. The only place that’s off-limits is my bedroom, and I promise not to come into yours.” Sara picked up the box that was marked
Towels.
“All I ask is that when you’re entertaining…keep the noise down and tell them not to walk around naked. I see enough flesh on the job.”
    Chris chuckled. “Thanks. But what about you? What kind of noises are going to be coming out of your bedroom?”
    For a second, Sara’s blue eyes met his; then she turned away as a flush rose to her cheeks. “You’re the first man who’s been in this apartment since I moved in.”
    Chris cocked his head as he considered all the aspects of that answer. “Hey, if you’re into chicks…that’s cool.” He took the towel box from her.
    Sara’s head snapped back, but her eyes were sad, haunted. “Sometimes I wish that were true. But no, girls don’t do it for me.” She frowned and studied him suspiciously. “What have you heard?”
    “Heard?” He was a little unnerved by her directness.
    “Look, number one roommate rule…you’ve got to be honest, and we’ve got to have each other’s back.”
    “Technically, that’s two rules,” he pointed out.
    She speared him with a look that said she was not amused.
    His expression grew sober. “You know I always have your back.”
    “Then tell me what you heard about me.”
    He put the box on the bed and strode toward her, but for every step he moved forward, she moved back, so the distance between them didn’t lessen. “Why do you care?”
    Her eyes filled with tears, and she brushed them