Harley did know that a pub was just on the outskirts. The family of an old friend of his owned the pub, and, as far as he knew at the time, his friend had gone into the family business and had no intention of ever leaving. They rented rooms over the pub, so Harley hoped to stay there and to see if his buddy was still around.
When the pub finally appeared in front of him, he smiled because, of all the things that made him feel like he’d come home, the pub was one of them. It didn’t look any different. It still had great big antlers hanging above the entrance and still had a huge parking lot for truckers and God-only-knows whatever else. He wondered if they’d turned it into an RV park too, from the size of it and with how many RVs were there. Maybe they rented by the night there too.
Harley pulled off to the side, hopped out, and stretched his legs. The rental truck was fine, but after his injury—with a really bad parachuting accident, where he got winged midflight and crash-landed—his leg was never quite the same. Neither was his hip and, of course, his left arm. Still, he was way better than his buddies. One of them had not made it through that jump, and Harley swore he wouldn’t argue or complain anymore. Yet human nature being what it was just made him do it anyway.
As he walked in through the double doors, he removed his sunglasses, stopped, and looked around. He swore to God that absolutely nothing was different in the place. Twelve years later and it looked like yesterday. He walked up to the front counter and sat down.
One of the help looked at him. “What will you have?”
“A plain burger and a beer,” he replied instantly.
“Got it.” Then he turned and walked away.
It had always been that way. Harley didn’t need to look at the menu, didn’t care to look at the menu. As long as it was still the same burger, he was good. When the barkeep returned with a draft in a tall glass, Harley smiled because that was the same too. He looked over at the bartender. “Any chance Daniel’s around?”
His eyebrow lifted. “He’s around here somewhere. He doesn’t usually come on for another hour or so.”
“Still likes night shift, does he?”
“Yeah, he does.” The guy behind the counter studied Harley carefully. “You know him?”
“Yeah, we went to school together.” Harley nodded.
“That’s been a while ago.”
“It has, indeed. But, if he’s around, tell him Harley’s here, will ya?”
“I think he’s in the back. I’ll see when I go get your burger.”
“Good enough.” Harley picked up the beer and took a long drink. It was cold and refreshing. He wiped the foam off his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled because it was an actual movement he and Daniel had worked on and had perfected when they were in high school. Not that they should have been drinking back then, but, when your buddy was part of a bar, you got away with a little more than you should have.
Of course Harley had hoped his foster family hadn’t noticed, but, knowing their direct lines into the gossip around this town, they probably had. Maybe that had further contributed to him not being desirable. Then he was somebody without connections, so he just wasn’t desirable regardless. Made him sad to think about how, as a child, he’d been so harshly judged and found wanting. But he had certainly learned his lesson here.
And he’d also learned to keep his mouth shut and to keep his head down, as needed, which was pretty much 100 percent of the time. He’d grown up to be somebody who watched what was going on around him, took action when needed, but otherwise sidestepped a lot of trouble that could have come his way.
He enjoyed his beer, looking around, feeling old memories wash through him, but—with time and distance—they were mostly good memories. When the kitchen door opened again, and a huge monster of a man stepped out, his gaze scanning the front bar, he went past Harley and then zoomed back again.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment.
And then Daniel’s face broke into a huge grin. He walked over and slapped Harley on the shoulder, who bounced to his feet and hugged the big man. “Damn, it’s good to see you.” Daniel studied Harley. “You’re almost as big as me but not quite.”
“Don’t you look fine.” Harley laughed. “Nobody’s as big as you out here, except maybe your dad and your brother.”
“Yep, they came pretty darn close, but I topped them both.”
And there was just enough smugness to his tone that it made Harley laugh again. “Well, I’m glad to see that you beat them both out, since that was your goal.”
“Yeah, that was me, he of high and lofty goals.” He gave a hearty laugh. “Damn, it’s good to see you. What the hell are you doing here?”
Just then the bartender returned with a burger. Daniel looked at it. “Just a plain burger, huh?”
“I didn’t ask for a menu. This is the one that always brought back the memories.”
“I forgot you didn’t like pickles and all the rest of that stuff on your burger.”
“Nope, I’m pure when it comes to my burgers—just meat and bun.”
“I figured by now that surely you would have gotten a little more adventurous.”
“Oh, I have,” he agreed, “but this is the one thing that brings back the memories.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” He took the stool beside him. “What the hell are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d ever come back.”
“I wasn’t planning on coming back either, but something came up, and I volunteered.” His lips kicked up in the corners. “Surprised me too.”
“Ha.” Daniel snorted. “That family of yours, if they know you’re here, they’ll run you off.”
“Why is that?” he asked, with a frown.
At that, Daniel stared at him, his eyebrow raised. “Because of your kid of course.”
Harley froze. “What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean?” Daniel asked. “Don’t … Surely you remember Jasmine?”
“Of course I remember Jasmine. Did she get pregnant?”
He stopped, looked at him. “It’s yours, isn’t it?”
“No, we never got to that stage. I wouldn’t do that to her because I loved her. I wouldn’t do that to her, what with her family. It’s one of the reasons why I left as soon as I could because I knew I couldn’t stop myself otherwise.”
“Well, somebody else wasn’t quite so willing to stop.”
Harley stared at Daniel in shock. “And everyone thought it was mine?”
“Let’s just say the timing was right.”
He slowly shook his head. “It’s not mine. That I know for sure.”
“You’re the only one who does.” Daniel continued to stare him down. “I have to tell you that you probably shouldn’t stick around town because both the townsfolk and the family’s really got it in for you. Not that there’s much family left.”
“The child’s not mine,” he repeated in all seriousness.
Daniel looked him in the eye for a long moment. “Well, I believe you, I guess, because I got no reason not to trust you, but you know they won’t believe you.”