Kindred Spirit - Noah Harris Page 0,13

been an entirely different matter.

Hopping out of the truck, he slammed the door behind him and headed for the diner entrance. It was just late enough that the dinner crowd had already eaten and gone home, while the late-night diners had yet to file in. As he stepped inside, he was met with the familiar smell of grease and the lingering smell of smoke, even if the owner tried to say he didn’t smoke inside.

Sitting at a far table was Jacob. He’d changed his shirt but still wore the same pants and black tennis shoes he’d had on in the motel room. As Levi approached, he wondered if the man had a shirt in his wardrobe that actually fit him or if they all hugged his thick arms and shoulders like that. Jacob looked up as he approached, eyes darting around the room and then back to Levi before smiling crookedly.

“Almost on time,” Jacob said by way of a greeting.

“Kind of a long drive out to my place. Didn’t realize it would take so long out at the James’,” he explained, then realized Jacob wouldn’t have any idea what he was talking about. “They’re a couple just outside of town, getting on in years. Their kids moved somewhere down in Texas a while back and don’t come back much. Their porch is desperately needing to be replaced.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice of you.”

“Eh, it’s not like I’m not getting paid to do it.”

Albeit, a much smaller amount than someone else might have charged. Mrs. James, whose mind had somehow grown sharper as her body had withered with age, had point-blank refused to let him do the job without some sort of recompense. He had finally managed to bring her down to about half the going rate, but only if he’d accept the occasional casserole and pie. Levi wasn’t going to argue with free food, especially if it was made by Mrs. James, whose ham and cheese casserole was legendary in Gilcreek.

One of the three waitresses who worked in the diner came over, setting a glass of water in front of each of them. Diedra wasn’t nearly as nosy and pushy as her younger sister Laura, but Levi could see her curiosity spark as she took their drink orders. There was no way to convey to her not to pass this little meeting with Jacob on to Laura either, not without the other man seeing his look.

“So, heard you were in town to do a bit of...searching,” Levi said, trying to find something to talk about before the silence grew.

Jacob cleared his throat, sounding like he was trying to suppress a laugh. “Yeah, I guess you could call it trying to find my muse.”

“Your muse, huh?”

“I know, it sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud.”

“Well, at least you’re honest.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes. “Did you ask me out here just to make fun of me?”

No, he’d asked him out because it had seemed like a really good idea at the time. Jacob was good looking and seemed to have a decent sense of humor, which had been enough. Levi wasn’t sure if that was a sign his standards were no longer as perilously high as they had been several years before, or if he was just that damned lonely.

“To be fair to me, you’re the one who brought it up,” Levi pointed out.

Jacob sighed, looking uncomfortable as he fiddled with his water glass. “I’m sure you noticed the canvas in the corner. I do...objects, landscapes, buildings, stuff like that. After a while, you start to see the same stuff over and over again, and you run out of inspiration. So I figured hey, why not drop myself into the middle of nowhere and see how that works out for me.”

“I’m going to guess from the empty canvas I saw, it hasn’t gone that well,” Levi said.

Jacob snorted. “I’ve been a little too caught up in just...not doing anything, as weird as that sounds. People here have been nice, not always as friendly as you and Laura, but nice. And it’s quiet, peaceful, everything the city isn’t.”

Levi nodded. “I get it. I lived in LA before, so I understand wanting to get away from it all. All that life and energy sounds fantastic, but once you’re living in it, it stops being so great.”

Something flickered across Jacob’s gaze but was gone in the next moment when Deidra appeared. She was all professional smiles and a warm voice as she took their order. Levi