Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,7

the men, glaring at both of them.

“Come on, Mags. Cyrus is good people. Just because he—”

“Stop right there, Earl. I won’t listen to you tell me how good he is. I know him a lot better than you do.” Maggie crossed her arms, daring Earl to argue.

Okay, maybe Zeke didn’t know his brother as well as he thought. Then again, he wasn’t going to let this woman’s opinion skew his own. The two men went back to sipping their coffees, and Maggie glared at Zeke. He ignored her by looking out the window at the mountains in the distance.

When the waitress brought his order, the eggs were over easy. Zeke cut into his steak, which was well done, and there were no hash browns. “This isn’t…” Zeke didn’t bother complaining. He grabbed the ketchup and squeezed a puddle onto his plate. He recognized pettiness when he saw it. Whatever happened between Maggie and Cyrus bled into the woman’s treatment of his relatives. He hoped she didn’t treat Cyrus’s parents this way. But they probably didn’t visit the diner knowing the bad blood between their son and this woman.

Two more men came in and seated themselves on the opposite side of the room. While Maggie was talking to them, the men at the counter whispered between themselves.

“She really needs to let that go. It was twenty years ago.”

“True, but she gave that man five years and expected a ring.”

“It’s not like he left her for someone else. He’s not dated since he broke things off with her.”

“If you ask me, the man’s queer. Why else would he live alone with his dogs after having a good woman looking out for him?”

The friends halted their conversation when Maggie went behind the counter to place the newcomers’ order and gather their drinks. Their water included ice, Zeke noticed. The steak, although well done, had a good flavor and the ketchup wasn’t needed. The eggs he left sitting because Zeke hated runny eggs. He thought about the men’s conversation as he ate his food. Was his brother gay? If he was, that didn’t bother Zeke, but it would make sense why he hadn’t dated since he broke up with Maggie. Or maybe Cyrus had known on some level that Maggie wasn’t his mate. Zeke would be sure to ask Cyrus about it whenever they had their talk.

Zeke didn’t bother asking for drink refills. He tossed enough cash on the table to cover the tab along with a good tip, even though Maggie didn’t deserve one. It wasn’t Zeke’s fault what happened all those years ago. When he rose, the two men nodded his way, but the waitress didn’t acknowledge him.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Maggie.” Zeke didn’t wait for a response. He strolled out of the diner vowing to never return. If his conversation with his brother was successful, Zeke wouldn’t need to find somewhere else to eat. He would dine with Cyrus in his home.

The hotel he frequented was older, yet it had been remodeled since the last time he stayed there. Zeke had expected bright oranges and yellows, but the room was painted a light gray, and the bedding was stark white, more in line with upscale hotels. The bathroom had been updated too. Zeke didn’t bother unpacking. It wasn’t like jeans and flannel got that wrinkled inside his duffel.

Zeke picked up the remote and turned on the TV for background noise. After sitting against the headboard, he scrolled through the few texts he had traded with Stella. Zeke wished he’d taken a picture of his mate. Not that her beauty wasn’t seared into his brain. He wondered at her heritage. Did she and Sheila have Egyptian blood flowing through them? He hadn’t been kidding when he told her she could pass for Nefertari. His mate was exotic, and he had been blessed when the fates chose her for him. He wondered what their children would look like. Would they take after their mother with her dark hair and eyes? Would they be blond-headed with blue eyes like Zeke? Or would they be a mixture of the two? As long as they were healthy, Zeke didn’t care who they took after. Then again, her looks weren’t what was important. It was her inner goodness that called to him. No, he didn’t know Stella, but the fates wouldn’t give him someone who didn’t have a good heart.

It was then Zeke remembered Stella already had kids. He hadn’t actually forgotten, but he’d put it out of