It was a quiet afternoon, the sky pristinely blue and the town relatively quiet. A pleasant breeze blew down the streets, seasoning the smell of hot pavement with scent of the orchards that surrounded the town. “Sheriff,” began dispatcher Sandra as Finster was striding by, her tone scolding, “I cannot believe you neglected to mention to us that your son was so handsome.”
“I can’t recall that he’s mentioned a son at all,” muttered Deputy Hemmings.
Finster paused and turned back to Sandra. “Er...what was that?”
“Your son. He stopped in looking for you, and now he’s over at the diner having some pie and waiting for you,” Sandra explained. “Such a good looking boy.”
“He takes after his mother,” Finster said shortly, his gut churning. Ricimer had said that Sheriff Ryan Dare had a son, but they were estranged. No communication for years. Finster hesitated, eyes on the closed door back to the street, the diner, and a son that wasn’t his. A chance encounter--wrong place, wrong time--had led to his assuming the identity of Ryan Dare, new sheriff of Maddox County. Finster was torn. The longer he left the situation alone, the greater the odds that something bad would happen. This was probably the end of his charade, unless he could somehow get the kid alone long enough to...Finster hesitated. What? Finster wanted to keep the life he’d made here, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to keep it any cost.
“What are you waiting for?” Sandra demanded, glaring. “He’s waiting for you.” She shooed him, her nails sparkling an ominous blood red.
As he pushed in the door, the scent of hot coffee, sugar, and fried food washed over him. His stomach rumbled, adding hunger pangs to the anxiety curdling his guts. There, that had to be him. Dark hair, in a booth with his back to the door. Finster took a breath, slow inhale, smooth exhale. Time to roll the dice and see what fate had in store for him next. He slid into the booth across from the younger man. It would have been nice to have something clever to say, but witty repartee wasn’t one of his better skills. Instead, he leaned back in the booth and regarded the other man.