Page 32 of Daybreak

* * *

Unaware that Asher had set new wheels in motion, as soon as Jacob opened the bar and customers began trickling in, Gunner went through the house and out the back door and started walking the land, looking for a site to build a home. He walked and walked, pausing often to look around as the sun moved higher in the sky and the day kept getting hotter.

Finally, he stopped and turned around to check the view. From the rise where he was standing and looking back at the bar and Crossroads in general, it was West Texas in all her beauty, and the little town that he called home.

This is it, he thought, and he began picking up rocks and stacking them up like a pylon to mark the spot. He had to wait for the lottery money to hit the bank before he did anything drastic, but he needed to get a hydrogeologist out to see if there was water anywhere beneath his feet and get an architect to draw up the blueprints.

He knew what he wanted.

A place to call home.

A woman to love and grow old with, and children to fill the rooms beneath his roof.

Money could buy the house. It would be up to him to let down his distrust of all people. He wasn’t sure he knew how to be in love, or if he’d know it was happening. But Holly had opened him up to the prospect.

He glanced at the time. It was nearly noon, and he was getting hungry. Time to go back and check on his dad, then go to the Rose to get them some food. Orders from Pearl were not to be ignored.

But instead of walking back, Gunner took off at a jog, and then finally an all-out run. For the first time in years, he wasn’t chasing after a suspect. He was running for the pure joy of it—just because he could.

* * *

The parking lot at the Yellow Rose was like a revolving door. Drivers pulling in to pick up to-go orders. Other diners leaving as new ones were arriving. Truckers traditionally pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway across from the Rose and walked over. Today there were six big rigs lined up on the other side of the highway when Gunner pulled into the parking lot and went inside. People began calling his name and waving him over to sit with them. It was the best feeling he’d had since the last time he’d been here with his brothers.

He wound up sitting at a table with two guys from his high school football team. Billy Barrett, who’d been their kicker, was now a cowboy on his granddaddy’s ranch, and Will Devlin, who’d been the star quarterback, was now a trucker. His truck was one of the six parked on the other side of the highway.

As soon as Gunner turned in his order to Cheryl, and a to-go order for his dad, they started talking, and the first thing they asked was about his marital state.

“Are you still on the most-eligible-bachelor list?” Will asked.

Gunner nodded. “Hard to have a personal relationship when your every waking hour is devoted to trying to solve murders and find killers. What about you two?”

“Lindsey and I got married the year after we graduated high school,” Billy said. “We have two kids. A boy and a girl.”

“I got married, but the wife didn’t care much for my trucker life. She took off for Vegas, and my mom and my sister are helping me take care of my two boys,” Will said. “I never saw you becoming a cop.”

“Likely comes from overcompensating for having a criminal for a mother. It wears on you, for sure, and it’s good to be home. Did either of you go to college?” Gunner asked.

“Nope. All I ever wanted was ranching. Granddad was there. I fell into working in the world I love,” Billy said.

Will shrugged. “I didn’t go, but I also won’t ever regret the mistakes I made, because my boys are all I live for.”

Gunner was listening without comment, and they were still talking about Gunner’s speed on the football field, and old times and football games won and lost, when Cheryl brought his food. After that, the conversation shifted to the most recent tragedy of Crossroads—the deaths of Helen Dillon and Lee Peters.

That’s how Gunner learned of the upcoming funeral services, and he reminded himself again to call Holly as soon as he delivered his dad’s food.

A few minutes later, Pearl came out of the kitchen with Jacob’s food.

“For your daddy, and keep your money in your wallet,” she said and gave his shoulder a quick pat. A loud bang from the kitchen put a frown on her face. “Oh, for pity’s sake,” she muttered and went stomping back to the kitchen.

Billy grinned. “Reckon we might need to say a prayer for Davey’s ass?”

Gunner laughed. “Why not?”

Will took off his cap and bowed his head. “Lord, protect Davey from Miss Pearl’s wrath.”

“Amen,” Billy said, which elicited a round of chuckles from surrounding tables. Then he glanced at the time, picked up his ticket, and left Cheryl a tip. “Gotta go. Good seeing you, Gunner,” he said and headed to the front counter to pay.

Will also got up. “I need to hustle. Got a load to get to Amarillo, and back to Silverton before dark.”