Page 26 of Big Daddy Sheriff

He winked at Alyssa.

Poor girl. He could see that she was terrified. And after all she’d been through, he couldn’t blame her one bit.

He hoped this was no big deal. More than likely, it was completely unrelated to anything going on in Little Rock.

With that in mind, he grabbed his Stetson from the peg on the wall, squared it atop his head, and set out to see about the strangers.

Sometimes, being a marshal wasn’t boring… even in a sleepy little town like Big Cedar.

The man didn’t notice Quinn approaching.

He was behind the shop, trying to peer in the back window, but the glass was too frosted over by years of dust and grime. He was growling angry curses and for a moment, Quinn thought the man was going to punch the glass, trying to shatter the window.

“Can I help you?” Quinn said.

The man spun around, seeming more annoyed that someone had crept up on him than he was afraid. But when he saw the morning sun glimmering off the star pinned to Quinn’s chest, he eased his posture a bit. Quinn still had a bad feeling about this guy, though. He wasn’t sure if what he’d told the girls—about these strangers not being dangerous—was accurate.

The gun riding on his hip gave him a bit of comfort.

He didn’t want to shoot anyone. He could hold his own with his fists, if it came to it. But hopefully neither shooting nor fighting would be necessary.

“Hey, sheriff,” the man said.

His accent revealed he wasn’t from too far out of town, even though he wasn’t a local.

“Marshal,” Quinn said.

“Huh?”

“I’m the marshal of Big Cedar. Not the county sheriff. What brings you by today?”

Quinn let his hand hover near the butt of his pistol. He felt a little like a lawman in the old westerns his dad and grandpa loved to watch. He was keeping about eight feet between himand the stranger. Just in case he needed to draw, he’d have plenty of room to work with.

“We, uh, need a little work done on our car.”

“Seems to be running fine.” Quinn jerked his head to indicate the front of the building. “Saw it idling out front.”

“Just an oil change. It’s long overdue.”

Quinn knew that was a lie. He let his hand go even lower, his pinky tapping the cold steel of the gun.

“Well, looks like Clyde isn’t here. If it’s just an oil change you need, you should be able to make it to the next town. There are a few bigger ones around here with more options. Broken Bow isn’t terribly far. They could get you fixed up down there.” He let a heavy moment of silence tick by before he said, “Where you boys headed?”

“Just passing through,” the man said.

“Visiting anyone in town?”

“No,” the stranger answered, shaking his head.

“Well, you’re welcome in Big Cedar. So long as you obey the laws. Sneaking around closed businesses and looking through the windows violates a statute or two.” He grinned. “I won’t cite you. This time. But please respect the sign on the door. If it says CLOSED, then move on.”

The guy bobbed his head. “Yeah. Sure. Sorry. Was just curious when they’d open.”

“Maybe not for a while. Probably best if you head out and get that oil changed somewhere else.”

Quinn stood as still as a statue. He wasn’t about to walk away first and leave his back exposed to this fella. The more time he spent in the guy’s presence, the more he didn’t trust him. Belinda and the others had been right.

This guy and his friend were up to no good.

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