This week, my new story, The Sheriff continues. Last week we saw Sheriff Roy Landry, at the wedding reception for Marshall and Lee, once the grooms have made their escape, and this week we'll see a little of what makes Dustin tick. Don't forget to see what the other Briefers are up to! Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Damn, that man’s cold.
Dustin watched Roy walk away, feeling as if he’d just been
dismissed. Why the attitude? He scowled. What had Lee and Marshall told the
sheriff about him? Okay, maybe the relationship between the three of them had
gotten a little… tricky. Didn’t mean he deserved to be dissed by one of their
friends.
He’d have to ask Marshall about that next time he saw him.
Couldn’t just come out and blurt out what he wanted to know. That never got you
anywhere. Well, not with Marshall, anyway. And talking to Lee was out of the
question. Lee didn’t particularly like Dustin, and Dustin knew it, although it
wasn’t as bad as it had been when Dustin was hitting on Marshall. But things
were better between him and Marshall now, so maybe he’d be willing to tell him
the truth. If he could get him alone, that would be even better, although he
wouldn’t push it.
Marshall was a good-looking guy, and maybe Denver had
crushed on him a little. And maybe he’d come on a little strong, trying to get
with him. Hell, shit happened. Couldn’t blame a guy for trying. Besides, Lee
was old enough to be Marshall’s father, even if he was good-looking for his
age.
He took a long drink of his beer, contemplating Roy, who was
talking to someone he didn’t recognize, another wedding guest. Probably one of
the locals. Well, that hadn’t gone very smoothly at all. Dustin was really
interested in getting involved in law enforcement. He had a feeling Roy could
teach him a few things. The man was pretty built for his age, and gave off that
sort of don’t-fuck-with-me aura that Dustin admired. And Dustin really wanted
to do something with his life. Something worthwhile.
Damn, why was Tucker Falls so far away? Why couldn’t his
cousin live here in Burnham? He got the impression this was a very close-knit
community. Here they were in the middle
of Nowhere, Texas, celebrating a gay wedding—back home, that would never
happen. He yearned to be part of a community like this one. That’s one of the
reasons why he’d moved in with Denver in Tucker Falls, hoping to find his place
in the world. Someplace where people would actually be happy to see him.
But so far that wasn’t happening. The job at the computer
store was boring. None of the other employees acted as though they even
remotely liked him, although he had no idea what he might have done to piss off
any of them.
Of course, why should they be any different than his own
family? He’d been shuffled around from relative to relative as long as he could
remember. It had taken him a while to figure out that wasn’t how normal people
lived.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Dustin replied.
He glanced at his cousin, who stood beside him, beer in
hand. Denver was only about eighteen months older than Dustin, but sometimes he
acted more like he was Dustin’s guardian than his first cousin. Denver liked to
gel his wavy blond hair—so it would stay put, as he put it—and he liked to
dress in bold colors. But he was a good guy, and Dustin liked him. Denver was
about the only one in his family Dustin had anything to do with anymore, which
is why he asked could he move in with him.
Denver gave him a sharp look. Dustin felt his cheeks grow
hot under his cousin’s scrutiny. “I saw you talking to Roy. He’s a good man.”
Dustin nodded. “Seems like he is,” he said noncommittally.
“He’s best friends with Lee and Marshall, you know.”
“Yeah, I figured that,” Dustin said, wondering where this
conversation was headed.
“Plus he’s straight.”
Dustin rolled his eyes. Apparently Denver thought he would
hit on anything with a dick, didn’t he? Sounded like a warning there. An
unnecessary warning. He wasn’t interested in the sheriff in a sexual way, just
a lawman type of way.
“Good for him,” Dustin muttered just before he tipped back
his bottle and drained it. “I’m going to get some air,” he said and walked away
from his cousin before either of them said anything stupid. Especially him. He
couldn’t afford to fuck this up by having a big mouth. If things didn’t work
out with Denver, he had nowhere else to go.
to be continued
Now see what the other Briefers are up to!
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