1 Chapter 1: Welcome to Harsen

Grayson Carter opens his car door, stepping onto a dirt paved parking lot in Harsen, Wyoming. He glances over the sign to the building again toward the bright red lettering clearly spelling out "Moonlight Roadhouse". He takes a moment to sit in the dry early autumn air, draining the last dregs of his coffee before straightening his back and waltzing through the front doors. The bar is lively, but has a distinct familial feeling, as groups of people talk and laugh amongst themselves.

Grayson's no sooner than a step in when he collides with a waiter, who had been stepping backwards, meticulously balancing a tray of food. He expects a crash, a tumbling of glass as it hits the floor, but no crash comes. Instead, the recoil of having a solid force push him off path causes Grayson to lose his footing. Before he can react he feels a strong hand grip his upper arm, righting his balance. He turns his head to look at the man, mouth already open in an apology.

The man is tall and well shaven with honey brown skin and brown hair. He's almost painfully handsome, wearing an embroidered apron that highlights his muscular physique. His eyes, a deep dark brown, lock onto Graysons, and immediately, Grayson’s words are lost. The man looks him over briefly.

"Careful."

His hand releases Grayson's arm and he turns abruptly to walk off. Grayson's eyebrows furrow, but he continues his course and heads directly to the bar counter where a young olive skinned woman is wrestling with a cocktail shaker.

"Look, John, you're just going to have to cope with stirred. I don't know what to tell you; you saw what happened last time." She sets a martini glass down with a thud in front of a chuckling man and turns to face Grayson. "Welcome in, what can I do for ya?"

"It's more a question of what I can do for you, really," Grayson muses.

She shoots him a warning look, one dark eyebrow raised, waiting for him to continue.

"You’re Amelia Williams, right?"

"Yeah, that's me, the owner of the fine establishment you see before you."

"I'm Grayson, Grayson Carter. I'm-"

"Here for an interview. Sh*t." She mutters the last part under her breath. "Come with me." She looks across the room and hollers, "Jude! I'm stepping to the back." The man looks back at her in a wild panic. His eyes flicker to Grayson and back to Amelia. "It’ll be fine, just… only serve food until I’m back." Jude nods and Grayson watches him from his peripherals until they walk through the door to the back.

Amelia leads them back to a shoe box for an office, filled with large filing cabinets and loose papers on her tiny desk. She sits down as if she hasn't rested in years, though admittedly it doesn't seem like an exaggeration. She has dark circles under her hazel eyes and her long curly brown hair is thrown up in a messy ponytail. She shuffles around some paperwork, and clears her throat.

"Excuse the mess, it's been… an interesting few months." She beckons him to the chair opposite her, "So, you have some experience in bartending it looks?"

"Yes, back in my early 20s I-"

"Are you looking for full or part time?"

"Full."

"Are you a murderer?"

"Not to my knowledge."

Her eyes light up, "When can you start?"

Grayson blinks. "I can start today."

Amelia laughs and leans back in her chair. "You're too good to believe. Normally, I'd be suspicious of that. But today, I'll just say thank you." She offers a hand out. "Welcome to the team Grayson."

Bartending was easy enough for Grayson, even if it had been close to a decade since he'd been behind a bar. It wasn't exactly a college bar; ten middle aged men ordered a beer every fifteen minutes. Jude seemed to dart in and out of the kitchen with the same frequency, popping his head out to serve a plate and then run back in. 'Not a waiter, then. A cook, maybe?' Grayson notes to himself. He certainly couldn't see Amelia in front of a stove, but he couldn't help but wonder what kind of employee would go this far for their boss.

They close down the bar around midnight, and just as Grayson suspected, it looks like the three of them were the only employees to be found. He finishes up sweeping as Jude leaves the kitchen, bag in hand. 'Well, no time like the present,' he thinks, lifting his hand up in a wave.

"Hey, we didn't really get introduced back there. I'm Grayson Carter. It looks like I'm the new bartender."

"Oh, right. I'm uh, Jude Williams. Am's my little sister. I don't actually work here, though. Her cook called in sick, so I filled in."

"Gotcha. Is that… a common occurrence?" Grayson gives Jude a quick once over; he looks tired and a bit closed off. The matching dark hair was the only feature Grayson could discern between Jude and Amelia, but the exhausted older brother tone was unmistakable.

Jude rubs the back of his neck and shrugs. "It's not uncommon, that's for sure. I'm just glad she has another real employee now."

"I’m pretty excited about it myself. It's nice to meet you, Jude."

Jude's shoulders drop a little. "Yeah, for sure." He reaches out a hand.

Grayson takes it. Jude's grip is far too tight, but he doesn't let go.

"I hope to see you around, sometime. I'm new to town, still living out of a motel."

"The Den Motel, right?" Jude's face contorts, lip curling slightly.

"The very same!" Grayson laughs. "I'm pretty sure my neighbors are just rats that have been mutated by chemicals in the pool."

Jude chuckles and finally drops Grayson's hand. "I’d believe it, it’s not exactly the nicest part of town. Am might have told you I'm in real estate... So once you're settled in, I can probably help you find something better than that."

Grayson blinks. "Right. Settling in makes sense, I guess it hasn’t quite hit me yet that I live here now."

Jude looks deeply into Grayson’s eyes, as if searching for something. "It’s a good place to live, Harsen. It isn’t exactly the most exciting place on Earth, but you’ll never find another place exactly like it. It isn’t something to take for granted."

Grayson’s eyes flit down to the ground, "I’ve lived in a lot of places, can’t say I’ve ever had that strong of a feeling about any of them. It must be nice, that loyalty."

"It’s the only thing I know. Staying in one place means you’re pretty good at spotting the ones who run."

Grayson opens his mouth but is cut off before he can decide how to respond.

"Hey, come grab your stuff so we can get out of here!" Amelia yells from the back, hand poised on the light switch. "Good job today, Gray. You really saved our a*ses." Amelia claps Grayson on the shoulder as she finishes locking up the doors. "Jude, you can head off now, I'll have our new employee here walk me to my car."

Jude's face falls for a split second as he looks between the other two. "Sure thing. Also, there is no ‘our.’ I don't work for you, remember?" He turns around and begins walking to his car.

"You love me, remember?" She laughs, calling after him. He doesn't turn around, but throws a hand up to wave her off.

Grayson smiles. "That seems nice. The fact that your brother would do that for you."

Amelia shrugs. "It's pretty normal. He knows I'd do the same thing for him."

"Right… Of course." Grayson forces a smile. "Goodnight, Amelia. I’ll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow, Carter." Amelia waves and pulls off, her car and Jude’s heading in the same direction.

Grayson drops the smile, and walks to his car, stretching his arms out. He was happy with the speed of his progression, but he couldn’t deny he was surprised to be dropped into the mix immediately. He could count on three fingers the amount of sleep he had the night before, but wasn’t exactly in the position to turn down any income. He pictures Jude’s face, so protective over a town, of all things, and feels a real smile tugging at his cheeks. The people here were certainly more interesting than he had expected. Grayson feels a pull in the pit of his stomach, wondering when they would cross paths again.