“I’ll be careful,” she said, which wasn’t exactly a promise.
He tipped back his coffee. “You make the best coffee. I don’t know why when I make it at home, it never turns out nearly as good.” He smiled. “And don’t even get me started on the coffee at the station.”
Brooke forced a polite laugh. “I can only imagine.”
Adam took a step toward her. “I know I sound obsessed as far as Tyler is concerned. And maybe I am. There was just always something about the fire that bothered me. I can’t explain it. I know the official report came back as anaccident, but...” He shrugged. “And now, with Sheila...”
“But you don’t know for certain that Tyler had anything to do with either.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But my gut tells me they both circle back to him. He’s at the heart of it. I’d hate to be right about this and have you in danger.”
Even though she wasn’t interested in Adam, she could hear the sincerity in his tone. As weirdly possessive as he’d seemed, she now wondered if he was more scared than anything. Scared that he might be right about Tyler and another person may die.
“Tyler isn’t dangerous.”
“How do you know?” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Because he told you he’s innocent? Because you want to believe him? Brooke, you were wrong about Kelsey. What if you’re wrong about him too?”
The words hit hard because they echoed her own fears. But hearing them from Adam, delivered with that mixture of concern and condescension, made her defensive instead of doubtful.
“I need to get back to work,” she said firmly.
“Brooke— ”
“Have a nice day.” She walked away before he could say anything else, not stopping until she reached the kitchen. She stood there, staring at the room. Her attention shifted to the table where she and Tyler had sat last night.
She’d had her doubts before, but after talking with Phil and getting to know Tyler better, she was positive he was innocent. And she was going to help prove it. She grabbed her phone and found the number for the auto shop, her heart pounding as she dialed.
“Morgan’s Auto Repair,” a woman’s voice answered.
“Hi, Sue? This is Brooke. Brooke Davies?”
“Oh, Brooke! Hi! How are you doing? I know things haven’t been easy.”
That was certainly an understatement, but what could she say? “I’m fine, thanks. I was wondering if I could leave a message for Tyler? Ask him to call me?”
“Don’t be silly. He’s right here. I’ll grab him. He’s due for a break anyway.”
Before Brooke could respond, Sue was already calling his name.
“Brooke?” Tyler said, slightly breathless.
Her stomach did that annoying flip again. “Hi. Sorry to bother you at work.”
“You’re not bothering me. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just—” She took a breath. “I wanted to see if you wanted to have dinner. An early dinner. I’m off at three, and I have running club at six, so maybe four? Would that work? At my place?”
The words tumbled out in a rush, and as soon as they stopped, Brooke wanted to take them back. Dinner at her place? What was she thinking? Why not suggest a restaurant, somewhere public?
“I’d like that,” Tyler said. “I’m off at three-thirty today, so four is perfect.”
“Great. Okay. Um, I’ll uh, give you my address.”
“How about I give you my number so you can text it to me?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s a good idea.”
He gave her his number before saying, “Brooke?”
