The Color of a Memory (The Color of Heaven Series) Read Online Free Page A

impressively to hobble on one foot.
    “You sure you don’t need any help?” I asked.
    “I got this,” he replied.
    He served up two plates of linguine with a thick and meaty sauce that made my mouth water. Then he smothered them in fresh parmesan.
    “At least let me carry the plates out,” I said with a smile.
    A few minutes later we were seated in the sunshine, sipping red wine and enjoying the meal.
    “What time did you get home last night?” he asked.
    “It was crazy in the ER,” I explained. “I had to stay late to finish out a case, so it was nearly midnight. Then I came home to find my garbage strewn all over my lawn. Stupid raccoons must have gotten into it. I wasn’t happy about that.”
    He twirled his linguine around his fork. “What kind of bins do you have?”
    “The cheap kind,” I replied. “The lids never stay on.”
    “Remind me, before you go, to show you the ones my parents use. They’re around the side of the garage. Nothing can get into those suckers. They’re like army tanks.”
    “I’d love to see them.” I sat back in my chair and laughed. “This is quite the conversation for a second date.”
    He grinned at me. “Am I impressing you yet? Living with my parents…. Hopping on one foot…. Bragging about trash cans.”
    “You’re different, I’ll give you that.”
    We chatted about his parents’ house for a while, but he told me this wasn’t where he grew up. Before his father died they had lived in a different neighborhood.
    “When did he pass away?” I asked.
    “He died of cancer when I was nine,” Alex explained. “My mom raised my sister and me on her own after that. It took her a long time to get over losing him. She finally remarried six years ago and moved in here with Garry.”
    “What does Garry do?” I asked.
    “He owns Chesterton Construction.”
    I gulped down a mouthful of spaghetti. “Wow.”
    No wonder they could afford to live in this neighborhood. Chesterton Construction built office towers and condos, and developed sprawling subdivisions on the outskirts of the city.
    “So what do you think of Garry?” I asked. “Is he a good match for your mom?”
    “He’s great,” Alex said. “I’m glad she finally found someone, especially now that Sarah and I are grown up and moved out.”
    “Sarah’s your sister?”
    He nodded and picked up his wine. “Yeah, younger sister. She’s going to university in Boston. She’s a handful, that one.”
    “How so?”
    He set down his glass. “She was always getting into trouble in high school. Hanging out with the wrong crowd. Playing hooky.”
    “But she’s in university now, so that’s promising.”
    “Yeah, but she’s in a sorority,” he said, “having the time of her life. I just hope she doesn’t flunk out.”
    “How’s your mom handling that?”
    “It’s always been rough, but she never loses faith. She believes in Sarah, trusts that she’s smart and she’ll figure everything out eventually.”
    I sat back in my chair and breathed in the refreshing floral scents of the patio. “It must be hard being a parent, watching your kids make mistakes.” A hummingbird hovered at the feeder behind Alex’s head. I stared at it for a moment until it flew away. “I think the best parents don’t try to protect their kids too much. They let them go out into the world and learn for themselves.”
    Alex nodded. “I agree. What about your parents? Where are they?”
    I was feeling the wine now, and the warmth of the sun on my cheeks made me want to recline in a lounge chair somewhere and contemplate the universe. “They live in Stamford. My dad manages a hardware store and my mom’s a teacher.”
    “Do you see them much?”
    “Not as much as I should,” I replied. “It’s tough when I work so many weird hours. I’m always catching up on sleep.”
    “I know what you mean,” he said. “I work odd hours, too.”
    “That’s what we get for choosing careers in emergency services,” I