Chapter 116: Chapter 116

He smiled. Not that they’d say it to his face, and not just because his family had been part of the Woody Draw community for more than a hundred years. He was a Marine—the fact he’d left the service almost fifteen years before made no difference; he’d always be a Marine—and the good people of Woody Draw respected that.

The bell above the door jingled as it opened, and Deuce gazed up. His smile broadened to a grin at the sight of the two men who entered, crossed to the counter, and hoisted themselves onto the stools in front of him.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Deuce didn’t bother asking what he could get for them, just filled two ceramic mugs with coffee brewed from beans Fox’s Grocers had been providing the diner since they’d both opened back in the 1880s.