Page 47 of PenPal Hero

“You know why I’m sleepy.” Bonnie rolled her eyes. The snoozy music on the phone hadn’t helped. A few more minutes of it, and she’d have probably zonked out face first on her keyboard. “I’m meeting Mr. Blackstone at the diner, so he can put in his offer on that warehouse.” She grabbed her favorite pen.

“Why isn’t he meeting you here?” With a huff of irritation, Alice headed back to her office. “We’re only a few doors down from the diner.”

“Maybe he’s hungry.” Bonnie glanced at the clock on the wall. It was between mealtimes, so it was anyone’s guess as to why their client wanted to meet at the diner instead of their office. It was a small sacrifice to make, though, for a hefty commission. Though the warehouse needed some work, it was sitting on more than an acre of prime commercial real estate. Great access to the interstate. Plenty of road frontage. It was going to be the perfect new location for Blackstone Solar Shade. They planned to convert the front of the warehouse into a showroom and use the back of it for storing supplies and equipment.

Instead of heading to the employee parking lot behind the building, Bonnie exited through the front door and walked the short distance to the diner.

Though the sign on the silver building read Roper’s, all the locals referred to it as Lane’s diner since Lane Coben owned and operated it. She was a beloved icon of hospitality and generosity in town, known for feeding the homeless and donating food to various shelters and charities. She also happened to be the only sibling of Jude Westfield, a genius-level convicted felon who was currently serving his sentence in conjunction with serving as a consultant to the Hereford Police Department. It was a weird situation, but Sheriff Cade Malone kept the guy on a tight leash, so nobody complained about it.

Just as Bonnie reached the diner, her phone rang.

It was Mr. Blackstone again. He sounded harried, not at all like his usual calm self. “Sorry, but I’m running a few minutes late. If you’ll just…can you hold on a sec?” The phone switched over to the same elevator music from earlier.

Bonnie yawned as she entered the diner, wishing the music playing in her ear wasn’t so soft and soothing.

“Hey, honey!” Lane called from the counter. “Grab any booth you want. I’ll be right there with a fresh pot of coffee.” A cowgirl from her cut-off jean shorts to her well broken in boots, she was busy rinsing out cups and plates.

Bonnie smiled and nodded at her, pointing at the phone as she made her way to one of the booths against the wall. Mr. Blackstone was taking forever to get back to her. She was still waiting and listening to music when Lane sailed over with her pot of coffee.

Thank you, Bonnie mouthed gratefully. Water would’ve been better for hydration purposes, but coffee would keep her awake. She yawned again as Lane moved away to refill someone’s coffee at another table.

The music on the phone was seriously putting her to sleep. She reached for the handle of her mug, but it suddenly felt like too much work to lift it.

I’m just going to sit here and rest my eyelids for a sec. She leaned her head back against the vinyl cushion and closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, Lane was patting her shoulder and jostling her awake.

“Sorry to disturb you, sweetie, but you’ve been here for nearly an hour.” The edges of Lane’s eyes were wrinkled with concern. “Are you waiting for someone?”

“An hour?” Bonnie blinked at her. How was that possible? She’d just finished walking through the door. Glancing around for her cell phone, she was astonished to discover it was resting in her lap. It must have fallen off her shoulder when she’d dozed off. Her call to Mr. Blackstone was still connected, and the elevator music was still playing in the background. The timer on the call was ticking past, second by second.

Bonnie gaped at the number on the screen. Lane was correct. An entire hour had slipped past while she was resting her eyelids.

“I, um…I’m so sorry.” She reached for her briefcase, feeling inordinately sluggish. “You didn’t happen to see Mr. Blackstone come through the diner, did you? He was supposed to join me here.”

Please, please, please don’t tell me he came and went while I was asleep. She’d never live it down if Alice got wind of it.

“I haven’t seen him.” Lane shook her head, looking bemused. “It’s been just you over here. Sawing logs,” she added with a chuckle.

“I’m really sorry about that.” Bonnie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she disconnected her call to Mr. Blackstone. She shoved the phone in one of the outside pockets of her briefcase. “I must be more tired than I realized. I’ve been studying my brains out for my real estate broker’s license.”

“So I heard.” Lane’s expression lit. “Congratulations!”

“Don’t congratulate me yet. I still have to pass the exam.” Bonnie glanced guiltily at the mug of coffee in front of her that had long since grown cold. She hadn’t taken a single sip out of it. “Here.” She reached for her debit card and held it out. “For the coffee.” She had no idea what had become of Mr. Blackstone, but she’d waited long enough. She’d call him when she got back to the office.

Lane waved away the payment. “It’s on the house.”

“Lane!” Bonnie protested, feeling more guilty than ever about hogging a booth for an entire hour without paying a penny.

“I insist,” Lane said firmly. “You and Alice are two of my best customers.”

“You’re so sweet. I, um…thank you.” Bonnie would never get tired of the small-town hospitality that flavored so many of the local businesses.

“No. Thank you!” Lane gave her a quick hug before she dashed across the room to wait on someone else, hopefully a paying customer.

Unlike me.

Bonnie left a five-dollar tip on the table, knowing Lane would fuss about it the next time she saw her. Then she dragged her feet tiredly back to the realty office.

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