“I’ll follow him in.” Cole reached for his phone as it buzzed. He glanced at the screen. Seth. He looked at Aftyn. “Excuse me.”
“Of course,” she said quietly. She sounded wrung out.
“Hey, Seth.”
“Just seeing if you want to grab dinner tonight. Me and Ethan, the diner, six o’clock.”
“Yeah, I’m in. Haven’t even eaten lunch yet.”
“Get on that, big brother.” Seth hung up.
Cole pocketed his phone and looked at her. “Have you eaten today?”
“No. But I need to hold onto what cash I have.”
“You have to eat. Go to the Clifton Diner, ask for Connie, and tell her it’s on me.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Sure, you can.”
“How am I supposed to pay you back?”
“We’ll figure that out later. Right now, you need a meal.”
“I hope Chuck leaves my car unlocked,” she murmured. “I need somewhere to sleep.”
Cole stared at her. “You are not sleeping in your car.”
“Before you even say it, I’m not letting you pay for a motel room either.”
“I have a spare bedroom.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know you.”
Cole smiled. “You got in my truck.”
“I didn’t have a choice—” She stopped when he raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I know. But no. You’ve done enough.”
“Aftyn—”
“I’ll figure something out.”
He sighed. “Alright.”
He followed Chuck through town. As they passed the diner he pointed. “That’s the place. Tell Connie it’s on me.”
“It’s adorable.” She looked around as they drove. “Have you lived here your whole life?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He pulled into the garage lot behind Chuck and parked.
“What a charming town.”
