Read On A Night Like This (Callaways #1) for Free Online Page A

immediately reminded of how hungry she was. Setting politeness aside, she dug into her meal and had finished half the plate before Emma set a glass of red wine in front of her and joined her at the table.
    "I guess you were hungry after all," Emma said.
    "I'd forgotten what a good cook your mom is. It's been a while since I had a home- cooked meal."
    Emma sipped her wine. "That's true. One of the benefits of moving back to the old homestead. Although, that benefit is often outweighed by a lack of privacy."
    "So give me the rundown on your brothers and sisters," Sara said, as she took another bite. "Who's doing what?"
    "Well, Burke was just promoted to chief, one of the youngest in the city, and he works out of a firehouse in the Russian Hill neighborhood. Aiden has been smokejumping for the forest service the past three years. He's based up in Redding, about four hours north of here. Nicole is a teacher at a private high school, but she only works part-time since her son, Brandon, was diagnosed with autism two years ago."
    "Her son?" Sara asked in surprise.
    "Yes, Brandon is five years old now. Around age three he started withdrawing, not making eye contact, losing his verbal skills. Nicole has become a warrior mom through it all. She works nonstop with Brandon and has investigated every therapy known to man. Unfortunately, Brandon still hasn't shown much improvement."
    "I'm so sorry," Sara said. "That must be incredibly difficult."
    "It is. And it's so unfair, because if anyone was meant to be a mother, it was Nicole. That's all she ever really wanted to be."
    "How is Ryan handling the situation?"
    "I'm not sure. I haven't seen either of them much lately."
    "So what's going on with Drew?" she asked, moving down the Callaway line-up.
    "Drew flies helicopters for the Coast Guard."
    "Ah, another hero type," she said with a laugh.
    "It's the Callaway way," Emma replied, grinning back at her. "Until you get to Sean. He's a musician, plays in a band, and waits tables on the side. My father continues to be horrified by his choices. Sean lets everything roll right off of him. He has a studio apartment off the Great Highway, and when he's not working he's usually on a surf board."
    "Sounds like a nice life. And the twins?" Sara asked. "I think they were about thirteen when I last saw them." The twins were the biological children of both Jack and Lynda Callaway, making their family truly yours, mine and ours.
    "They're twenty-three now. Shayla turned out to be a genius. She finished high school at sixteen and started college when she was seventeen. She's now in her third year of medical school. She wants to do Emergency Medicine. Colton is a paramedic and just got hired as a firefighter. Colton is more like Aiden than Burke, basically a smart ass. I'm not sure how well he's going to do with all the rules. Frankly, I'm not even sure if firefighting is what Colton really wants to do, but with Drew going into the Coast Guard and Sean playing guitar and drums, Colton got some pressure to go into the family business."
    Sara knew about family pressure. Actually, it wasn't so much pressure as it was expectation. Her dad had never told her to be a lawyer, but even without the words she'd felt compelled to follow in his footsteps.
    "How long are you going to be in town?" Emma asked. "Please say you're coming back for good."
    "Sorry. I came for the weekend, hoping to celebrate my dad's sixty-fifth birthday. So far my trip is going really badly. I had planned on leaving Sunday, but now I think I should probably stay for a few days and get the cleanup started. My father will be off his feet for several weeks." She sighed. "I really messed things up."
    "You? How is this your fault?" Emma asked, arching one eyebrow in confusion. "Wasn't your dad cooking?"
    "Yes, but he didn't know I was going to surprise him for his birthday, and he was distracted as well as angry."
    "Why?"
    "Because he doesn't want me here."
    "That's crazy. He's your dad. Although,