The sound of a pool cue hitting green baize screeched quietly. The two men standing at the end of the table hid a smile as the chuckling group of spectators behind the dark haired female player jumped back to avoid being hit by the generous wielding of the cue.
“She truly isn't any good at this, is she?” The deep rumbling voice was kept at a low volume, intended only for the shorter man next to him.
The younger man was dressed in the black pants and grey shirt and seemed half amused half embarrassed.
“Are you kidding? She sucks!” He chuckled. “But she is determined to learn to play, so…”
“Maybe it would work better if she just picked up the balls and threw them at the pockets?” the tall and dark haired man currently sprawled in a chair by the tables suggested with a grin.
“It probably would,” the one in the sheriff's uniform agreed. “But don't tell her that. Some guy commented on her playing and she told him that she'd shove the pool cue so far up his ass that it wouldn't even show up in x-rays. He shut up real quick after that.” More quiet chuckling spread.
“Mood swing?” the tallest of the three guessed.
“Oh yeah.” The sheriff grinned. “Every other day it'd be psychotic. But now it's hormones.” The smile stayed on his face as he watched the young woman pat her stomach fondly. She noticed his eyes on her and looked up. The smile was returned.
“Ah, young love,” the man in the chair simply sighed.
JD Dunne, sheriff of Four Corners, married to Casey Wells Dunne and father-to-be, made a face at him. “Funny, Buck.”
“You could always treat this as one of ‘Siah's lessons in patience, you know,” Buck helped. “Or humiliation. People are going to think that you taught Case. Or didn't, depends on which way you look at it.”
Josiah had been watching Casey making a ball skip over another, unintentionally, and didn't hear the start of Buck's reply. “Look at the bright side, brother JD, between the two of you; the baby is certainly not going to grow up to be a gambler.”
JD ignored both Josiah and a still chuckling Buck, and turned to the front of the bar. Casey had decided to give up on the game for a while and came around to join her husband and their friends.
“Look at that,” JD indicated the two entering through the door. “Looks like we have newcomers in town.”
“You know you sound like something out of a Stephen King novel when you do that?” his wife asked. “You might as well rub your hands together and laugh maniacally.”
“What?” JD stared back. “I'm the sheriff, remember? It's my job!”
“Yeah, yeah…” She patted his arm. “Go greet your newcomers.”
Sighing very dramatically JD moved forward, not missing the fact that Buck had gotten up also. The newcomers were a young man and a small boy. The oldest seemed to be looking for someone, while the boy seemed more interested in the pool table.
“Morning, boys.” JD approached the two. “You looking for someone?”
Immediately two sets of eyes were directed at him and JD could have sworn they both moved back at the sight of him. The small boy seemed glued to the other one's side. Before he answered the youth picked the boy up into his arms.
“Yeah, I'm looking for someone named Sanchez. They said he'd be in here.”
“That would be me.” Josiah stepped up to JD, knowing very well that his impressive size didn't just all but dwarf JD but also the two boys. “What can I do for you, son?” He was also subjected to a measuring stare.
“I'm looking for work,” the blue eyed young man answered. “The guy at the gas station said you might know if anyone's hiring.”
“I might know of something,” Josiah nodded. “Why don't you come with me and we'll see what I can come up with.” He smiled down at the small boy. “The little one can stay here if you like.” The smile faltered a little as the child tightened his grip on the older boy, hiding his face in the crock of his neck.
“He's just lost his parents,” the explanation came quietly. “We've just got each other now.”
“I see. Then we'll all go.” Josiah held out his arm. “This way, boys.”
He led them out of the bar and around the corner to a large yellow house with a wide porch in the front of it. A sign over the door proclaimed that here lay the home of ‘Four Corners History Society'. The front door gave way into a hall lined with shelfs for book and brochures, displays of antiques and other odds and ends. A double set of doors was slightly open, leading into a cosy, sunny office. The room was dominated by a massive oak desk, and green ferns trying to climb the walls that were a shade a touch lighter than they were.
Stopping in front of the desk in his office, Josiah held out his hand. “I'm Josiah Sanchez, by the way. Officially I'm the head of the History Society and the project of re-building the old church not far from here, un-officially…” he smiled. “I have my hand in most what goes on here. It's a small town.”
His hand was gripped in a strong hold. “I'm Vin Parker, and this is my cousin, Ezra Parker. We came into town just last night. Seemed like a nice place to settle for a while.”
“It is, it is,” Josiah assured him. “Please take a seat. Should I get another chair for the boy?”
Vin shook his head. “That won't be necessary.” He glanced down at the green eyed child and smiled quickly. “We're fine.”
“So,” Josiah folded his hands on top of his desk. “I mentioned the church…have you ever done any carpenting?”
The youth nodded. “Worked at a construction site for a while, and I helped a friend of mine put his house up. I know my way around a hammer.”
“Interested in trying your skill on a church?” Josiah smiled. “Most of it is gone, so we're basically starting from scratch. We have pictures of how it used to look and we
are going to re-build it just like it was. I could use a pair of extra hands that know what they are doing. Most of us don't.” He continued before Vin could answer. “The pay isn't the best, but there's a small house on the property that goes with the job. Electricity, water, etcetera are paid for by the History Society. The house isn't big, but it should be more than enough for you and the boy. What do you say?”
“I'll take it.” There was an unmistakable air of relief about the young man now. The smaller boy looked more contemplative and was studying Josiah secretly. “Thank you, Mr. Sanchez.” Vin replied. “The house and everything will be great.”
“Then I'll just need your full name, age and some ID.” The relaxed look was immediately replaced by one of slight panic.
“I… I need to get a new one, ID card I mean. Someone broke into our car when we stopped at a motel some days back. They took my wallet.”
Nodding slowly, Josiah decided not to push it. “Just your full name and age then. We'll deal with the other stuff later.”
“Okay. Name's Vincent Parker, and I'm 24.”
“You ready to go see the house and the work site right away?”
Vin nodded. “I just need to get our stuff from the motel. You mind waiting a few minutes?”
“Not at all. I'll be waiting on the porch. You just take your time.”
“Alright.” Vin got up from his chair, still holding on to his cousin. The boy had been quiet all the time, but now Josiah could tell that he was asking Vin about something as they were moving towards the door. Vin listened, then he hugged the little boy tighter and whispered a reply.
Watching the two leave, Josiah leaned back in his chair. The bright blue-grey eyes narrowed as he spotted the tall figure.
“Buck Wilmington, didn't anyone ever tell you that it's not polite to eavesdrop?”
The younger man gave his friend an apologetic look. “They did, actually. But then there have been a lot of people telling me otherwise, so…”
“I imagine so. So, Agent Wilmington, what do you think about our two new friends?”
The FBI agent eased his lanky frame into the newly vacated chair.
“There's something wrong with those boys. You don't go around looking afraid of your own shadow like that unless something happened. They're not telling you the truth, Siah.”
Josiah sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
Buck shook his head, smiling slightly. “He's no more twenty-four than I'm president. He's twenty, tops. They're runaways, Josiah.”
“But you don't know what they're running from,” Josiah argued. “As you said, they seem nervous and they're not about to trust anyone. At least this way they will have a place to stay.” He gave the federal agent a stern look. “I know what you are about to say, Buck, that I'm just a big, old softie, but I want you to stay out of this for now. And the same goes for JD. Until we find out more about them, we don't do anything.” He was relieved to see the understanding smile on Buck's face.
“Softie.”
“Very funny.”
The End
