Kindred Fate

Chapter Three

The morning dragged on as the locals seemed to fill the diner in shifts. The five in the morning early birds were done with their breakfast by seven, then came the ones who worked locally who emptied out by nine and then the late sleepers who were mostly the older and younger age groups who had nothing else to do on a cold winter morning than to sit around in a warm establishment that also served hot tea and coffee for free. They were around and I would leave them there after my shift ended at twelve. The conversations were always the same- the weather, their kids and grandkids, their school holiday jobs how much they hated their bosses and my least favorite topic, the new people in town.

I was still the small town gossip as people wondered where I came from and who I was and how amazingly strange it was that no one had gotten the low down on me yet. A family who had moved in the same time I had were already a topic exhausted as the town had all their information, down to their last born child's date of birth.

Not to insult them or anything, but Google searches on people wasn't a tool they had been completely acquainted to. They preferred the old fashion way of getting information- the town gossips.

I looked at the large clock on the wall, anxiously waiting for the big hand to hit twelve. I wanted to go back to my room, back to my babies and hopefully a very alive twelve-year-old. I hadn't heard anything on the baby monitor but to reference Ash, we had no idea what we'd brought into the world.

"Could I have a cup of coffee, and a burger?"

I turned, surprised by the smooth voice. I was completely unaware someone had sat down at the counter right in front of me. I smiled, taking out my pen and order pad, "Coffee yes, but we don't start serving lunch until one."

The guy stared at me with his smiling blue eyes, which were the first thing I noticed. They stood out against his dark complexion and his cream lips. I thought him crazy wearing just a long sleeved shirt, but then again, he had thick muscles all over his upper body—and I was sure the bottom matched—they could be keeping him warm. They certainly warmed up the girls in the diner.

His lips parted in a sweet smile and I fought the urge to tell him to turn around for the phone camera one of the teenage girls on the table across from him held up. He turned to look at the huge clock on his left, "It's only one hour away."

"One hour of preparations," I answered, hoping the guy wouldn't be difficult. "The cook isn't going to be too happy if I start demanding for lunch an hour early, besides, I don't serve the lunch hour."

He turned back to me and gave a low laugh. "You are really in a hurry to leave, aren't you? Are you late for something?"

I tightened my smile to keep it in place, "I don't want to rush you or anything, but my shift ends in five minutes."

He looked at me with an arched brow, "Am I holding you up because I could always wait for another waitress to take my order, someone who doesn't have a place to be?"

I wish! I was getting impatient with him and he was beginning to annoy me a tad bit, "Bad luck, I'm all you've got."

He laughed again, this time deeper his eyes echoing his amusement, "You are not from around here are you?"

"Your order?" I prompted, handing him the breakfast menu.

He took it from me, gazing at me for a few moments longer before he perused it. After what felt like a century to me, he handed me back the menu, "What are your specials for the day?"

"It's Wednesday morning," I said impatiently, irritated by his game. Everyone in this town new the specials by heart, and the menu!

"Am I supposed to know what that means?" he gave me a questioning look, his smile still dominant on his face.

"I'll just get you the special," I turned around and walked into the kitchen in a huff. I plated the bacon, sausages, toast and sunny side up eggs, which I found very humorous considering the weather. I poured a cup of coffee into a huge mug and walked back out, my complimentary service smile on. "Your coffee and the Wednesday special, is that all?"

Before he could answer me, Judy, the chief town gossip, sat beside him, a huge smile on her face. "Hi stranger, where are you from?" She asked the guy who hadn't even turned to acknowledge her presence.

I felt my guard go up when she called him a stranger. My heart pounded hard as I thought of the worst possible scenario. But every stranger surely couldn't be Baku's men. He could be visiting a relative, or he could be passing through or he could be a tourist here for some local scenery.

What was there in this town to attract tourists?

"Hi, I'm Ben my cousin Phoebe used to live here." He answered confidently, greeting the lady with an impatient smile. I held back a smile. Someone else who liked his privacy.

I waited for her to say something that would back up his story; I would take anything at that point. Her smile dropped, and then she placed a comforting hand on his arm, "I'm so sorry about your cousin. It's being a while since her family moved out of town after what happened, six and a half years to be exact?"

"Yes," Ben answered turning away from her. He picked up his cup of coffee and sipped at it as he looked at me under his eyelashes.

I turned to her, waiting for some more information as I stood there uncomfortably under his gaze. "What happened to your cousin, if you don't mind my asking?" I baited her, knowing very well Ben wouldn't answer it. So far he'd kept his answers short and vague.

She turned to me, her eyes lit up in exhilaration. This woman got high on spilling other people's secrets. "She fell in love with a stranger, who'd only been in town for a month. She ran away with him when her parents forbad her to see him because he was very much older than she was. She left school and her family just to be with that man and then a few months later we got news that they had died in a car crush," she exploded rushing through the details quickly before she finally stopped to take a breath, "It was a very sad story."

I turned away to hide my annoyance, catching the fake concern in her voice. This woman was a piece of work!

"Have a nice day," Ben said dismissing her back to her four-one-one followers. "How long do you think it will take before the whole town knows I'm here?"

I turned back to him, wishing I hadn't been so abrupt with him. I felt sad for him having lost his cousin, but I wasn't sad for her. If she was truly in love, if their love was anything like Ash's and mine, the few months she had, she was very happy. She died happy.

"I give it two hours before they come knocking on your door."

"Is that how long it took with you?"

I kept silent, unwilling to answer his question. Yeah, sure he wasn't one of Baku's men but what's to say he was even Phoebe's cousin?

"I could tell you weren't from here when you didn't offer to play twenty questions with me," he continued when I didn't answer him. He took a bite of his toast then spoke again, "You're shift is over."

He took his plate and mug and walked to the far corner of the diner where he sat alone, his back to me. I stared at him one last time before I left the diner, still curious about him.

I pulled my ringing phone out of my pocket as I ascended the narrow stair way and the caller ID made me feel like I was going to chock on my emotions. I hadn't bothered to answer my phone since I left Florida. I felt so guilty and I didn't know exactly what to say to Ash. I was sure he was hurt and very furious with me but he of all people should be able to understand why I did this. I rejected the call and put the phone back in my pocket. I couldn't handle hearing his voice, I just couldn't.