later both cans were
empty and Cade didn't feel as if he'd made much of a dent in his hunger. Someone
knocked on his door and Cade went to open it.
A guy in a hotel jacket said, "Room service," and wheeled a cart into the
room.
"I didn't order room service."
"No, sir. A woman placed the order." Holding up a ticket, the bellhop showed
it to Cade and said, "It's already paid for, sir; charged to another room, but
to be delivered here."
By this time the smell of a steak dinner had wafted up from the cart and
Cade suddenly didn't give a damn who'd sent it or why. He took the ticket and
tossed it on the cart as he reached into his pocket for a tip.
"Yeah, great, thanks," he said quickly, tipping the guy and reaching for the
cover on the oversized center platter.
When he lifted the cover, Cade found not one steak, but three, and they
weren't the usual ten-dollar restaurant servings. These were big slabs of meat
surrounded by potatoes, carrots, green beans, and more. Beside the tray lay only
one set of silverware wrapped in a hotel napkin.
Cade's cellphone rang and he went to the desk for it.
Thumbing it on, he said, "Cade."
With a chuckle, Mandi asked, "Has your dinner arrived yet?"
"Just now, but they may have screwed up downstairs. There's enough food here
for three people, but there's only one set of silverware and no plates."
Chuckling again, Mandi said, "No, they didn't screw up. I knew you'd wake up
hungry, so I sent up a fairly standard conversion meal. I need another fifteen
here before I can get loose. Save me a few bites, will you?"
"Mandi, what's a conversion and...?"
She interrupted him with, "Oops, gotta go. I'll tell you all about it later,
okay? Bye!"
Realizing she was no longer online, Cade thumbed his phone off and said,
"Yeah. Right. Bye," as he set it back on the desk. Conversion? What the hell..?
The smell of the food was almost overpowering. Cade decided he could wonder
about things as he ate and headed for the food cart. Most of the way through the
vegetables and the second of the huge steaks, he paused to set aside about a
regular meal's worth of food, then continued eating.
When nothing was left but the food he'd set aside, Cade took the knife and
fork to the sink to wash them and put them by the tray, then put the lid back on
it and went to brush his teeth and comb his hair.
The vague trembling had left him and h