Crashing into Fate (Maple Grove #25) - Lynn Hagen Page 0,10

just glad you’re all right.” Charles gave him a warm smile. “Things could have turned out worse. I mean a dead body is bad enough, but you know what I’m saying.”

Arlan didn’t pay attention when he felt someone sit on the other side of him. He was too busy talking with Charles to give it much notice.

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m okay.” He reached for his mug and glanced to his left, doing a double take when he saw Lewis next to him.

Was the guy stalking him now? What were the odds that he would show up in the diner? Arlan had eaten there plenty of times and would have remembered the sexy beast if he’d seen him before now.

“Morning.” God, Lewis’s voice was deep and sexy, the kind of voice that made Arlan want to beg the man to keep talking to him.

“Good morning.” Arlan quickly looked away, still unsure if Lewis was innocent in all this. The guy also intimidated him. He was tall, lean, with muscles, a banging body, and facial hair Arlan was dying to run his fingers through.

He also felt a bizarre attraction to Lewis, as if he’d known the guy forever.

Charles leaned forward, looking past Arlan and at Lewis. “I’m Charles, Arlan’s brother.”

Jeez. Arlan stopped himself from palming his face. He knew exactly what his brother was doing. Making it known that Arlan had backup if he needed it.

“Lewis Callister.” Lewis reached behind Arlan, and when Arlan looked over his shoulder, he saw the two shaking hands. “I was there when the fire started. Your brother saved the motel from burning down.”

Charles arched a brow. “You left that part out.”

“I didn’t leave anything out because I didn’t tell you about it,” Arlan corrected Charles. “You heard from town gossip and called me.”

“How exactly did you save the motel?”

Arlan didn’t like how Charles was scrutinizing him.

“I smelled the smoke.” Arlan wished he could tell Lewis to shut the hell up. The more details Charles was given, the more his brother would be convinced that Arlan needed to move back in with him.

When Charles looked away to take a sip of his coffee, Arlan gave Lewis a look that said to be quiet and mind his own business.

The sexy bastard simply smiled, gave a slow nod, and then began to talk with Kenny when the waiter approached. What was the guy’s deal? Why was Lewis bothering with him?

Charles leaned in toward Arlan. “I have a feeling you’re leaving out a lot. We’ll talk later, and you will tell me everything.”

Arlan wanted to grab his food and move to a booth. He’d come to the diner to enjoy his morning and clear his head, but his brother and Lewis were making that impossible.

“I’m going to walk back to the motel,” Arlan continued before Charles could protest. “You haven’t even gotten your food yet, and you have to put in an order for your family. I’ll be fine.”

He pulled out his wallet, but his brother held up his hand. “I got your tab.”

Arlan wasn’t going to argue. He would have, but that would mean sticking around and he was ready to get the hell out of there.

“Thanks. I’ll call you later.” Arlan got up and walked out, leaving behind his barely touched breakfast.

When he passed the windows on his way down the sidewalk, Arlan looked back into the diner and saw Lewis watching him.

* * * *

Arlan was in a sour mood after walking out of the diner, his peaceful morning gone. He hadn’t eaten all of his breakfast and was still hungry as he headed toward the road that would take him back to the motel.

In truth, Arlan didn’t want to walk the lonely road. It was deserted this time of morning, and he wasn’t even sure if the killer had seen him looking out the window.

It wasn’t as if Arlan could identify the man in a lineup, but did the killer know that? Everything had happened so fast, and Arlan couldn’t recall if the guy had looked back.

God, his life truly sucked right now, but at least he had a roof over his head and a paying job. Arlan had feared Mike would fire him after last night, but thank goodness that hadn’t been the case.

He’d just passed the town limits when headlights lit up the road. He prayed it wasn’t Charles. Arlan wasn’t in the mood to talk to his brother right now. All he wanted to do was get back to Maple Inn