“It is nice weather, isn’t it? Bit cooler today, but the sunshine makes up for it.”
Dalton glares at him.
Anders only grins and shrugs. “I’m the deputy, boss. It isn’t my place to give orders while the sheriff is right here and not physically inhibited from giving them himself.”
Dalton grunts and shakes his head. “Leon? Aim that fucking gun somewhere else.”
Moses lowers his bow, but Leon only tenses.
“Yeah, that’s a bad idea,” Dalton says. “You’ve now got a third gun trained on you, Leon, one held by a young man without a whole lot of experience in trigger control.”
Leon’s gaze swings left, and he gives a start, seeing Sebastian for the first time. He doesn’t lower his rifle, though, just says, “I’d appreciate it if you release my boy first, Eric.”
Dalton grunts. “Not actually how this works when you’re outgunned, but I’m gonna let you have this as a sign of good faith.”
He kicks Angus’s knife to his father’s feet and then gives the young man a shove in the same direction. Angus scrambles up and spins on Sebastian.
“You,” Angus says. “This—this is the boy I told you about.” He swings on Moses. “The one who’s been wooing your daughter.”
“Wooing?” Sebastian’s brows shoot up as he lowers the rifle. “Is that like flirting? Or more like dating?”
Angus’s face purples, and amusement dances in Sebastian’s eyes. I shoot Sebastian a warning look, but he only grins my way.
“Either way,” Sebastian says, “it’s incorrect. Felicity and I are friends. You just don’t like that because you’re the one who wants to go a-courting … and she’s not interested.” He slings the rifle over his shoulder and holds out a hand to Moses. “You’re Felicity’s dad, then? Nice to meet you. I’m Sebastian.”
Moses shakes his hand. There’s a wariness in his eyes. Veiled curiosity rather than hostility. Maybe a hint of trepidation. Felicity has mentioned Sebastian, then, and Moses isn’t quite sure what to make of the blossoming relationship. His expression reminds me of the mother grizzly’s when she’d been staring down at me.
Are you a threat to my baby?
I don’t think so, but I’m not sure, and I need to be sure.
I do not doubt for one instant that Sebastian spots and correctly analyzes Moses’s reaction. Sebastian is an alien placed on Earth, knowing he must emulate humans if he is to survive. I consider myself skilled in the interpretation of body language, but when I’m with Sebastian, I feel like I do when I watch Dalton navigate the forest—witnessing a skill level I will never reach, because for me, it will always be a matter of interest, never one of survival.
“My name is Moses,” Moses says after a moment. “This is Leon and his son, Angus, who I believe you’ve met.”
“Briefly.” Sebastian eases back with his most disarming smile. “He doesn’t come around much. Shame, really. As much as I like Rockton, it’s nice to hang out with people my own age.”
Sebastian turns to Dalton. “Did I hear something about Felicity and her grandpa?”
A smooth segue, punting the ball in the direction it needs to go. And then, with a look, Dalton lobs the serve my way. Yes, Sebastian was correct to send it to him first—as the sheriff—but Dalton recognizes that he might not be the best person for this conversation, not when he’s still seething.
“Felicity and Edwin are missing,” I say.
Sebastian’s eyes widen, and I can’t tell whether he’d already overheard that or not. “After they left Rockton?”
I nod. “Did she say anything to you?”
He shakes his head and looks over at Moses. “Felicity and I were hanging out while Edwin talked to Eric and Casey. I did make some comment about whether her grandfather was okay with the long walk. She said they stopped to rest, and that’s where they left the villagers who’d accompanied them. They planned to do the same on the walk back. I’d guess that’s where they are—resting—except that I’m also guessing you guys are the ones they were meeting.”
“We are.”
“Where were you meeting?” I ask.
They tell me, and it’s roughly three-quarters of the way from their settlement to Rockton. They’d been hunting there while they waited. Edwin had arrived in Rockton around eleven this morning. He’d left a couple of hours later. He should have reached his escort by midafternoon.
At that time, we’d been at Lynx Lake. Moses, Leon, and Angus had headed toward Rockton. They made it almost to the town with no sign of their leader. As they’d been deciding their next move, they’d heard Dalton and me talking, our voices carrying in the quiet. They’d headed out to intercept us. Moses decided he still had time to pee, stepped away to do that, setting down his bow … and found himself between the mother grizzly and her cub.
I glance at Anders. “When were you last in town?”