“Not big on talkin’, I see.” The man lowered himself a bit and scratched the back of his head, which was overgrown with chocolate-brown hair. “I saw what you did a minute ago. And I know those other kids were wolves. I know you’re something, but I have no clue what.”
Something that shouldn’t exist, Kid thought.
“Where’s your family, son? Or your home?”
Kid just shook his head.
The man raised an eyebrow, trying to hide the surprise in the corners of his expression. “There must be somewhere you call home.”
No answer was as good as any answer. But that just seemed to make the man above him more perturbed, and he let out a long sigh as he looked around the dank alley.
He adjusted his Stetson, then reached into his back pocket and produced a hefty hunk of vacuum-packed jerky. The smell was delicious, and Kid sucked in his cheeks to keep from showing that his mouth was watering.
“You hungry, boy?” He offered the jerky, but Kid just backed away a step. Don’t trust strangers. Don’t trust adults. Don’t trust anyone.
Yet there was something about him that made Kid feel like he could maybe break those rules.
He’d been alone for so long. Surviving on scraps and running from his “family.”
The man gave Kid a sidelong glance, then opened the jerky and ripped a piece off for himself. Then he offered the rest to Kid.
Not poisoned. Good enough.
Starving, he grabbed the remaining jerky and scarfed it down, not bothering to enjoy it since he still had his guard up. But the strength was welcome, needed even. And the stranger’s calm patience helped keep Kid at ease.
“Name’s Harrison. What’s yours?” Harrison brought a hand forward for Kid to shake, but he didn’t take it. “You’re a cautious one, aren’t you?” he said with amusement as Kid gulped down the rest of the jerky.
His immediate need for sustenance satisfied, Kid continued to appraise Harrison. That unique scent, one that bespoke power and experience far beyond the age this man seemed to be, wafted in the air like some sort of magic.
Maybe he was one of those fabled dragons Kid had heard about a million times growing up. After all, he’d been forced to study all types of shifters.
But in his travels, he’d never actually met one.
For some reason, something inside Kid told him to follow this Harrison person.
“I guess you’re just here by yourself, then. Can’t believe anyone would abandon you like that.” Harrison frowned at that, then tried to smile again as he looked down. “Pretty badass of you, taking on three bigger kids at once. That kind of grit is hard to come by these days.”
Kid suppressed any emotion from showing. Grit was about all he had right now.
“If you’re willing, you can come join me. I own a spread a long way from here. It ain’t fancy and it ain’t easy living, but it’s honest work. And there’s room for your animal to roam if you want it,” Harrison said earnestly.
Kid wanted to say yes. To nod emphatically. After all, if Harrison was bad, he’d just run away again like before.
But something deep inside Kid told him he’d finally found someone he didn’t need to run from. Someone he could trust, even though all his experience told him such trust was foolishness.
Harrison waited a moment, but Kid couldn’t find the words to say. His throat felt dry, tongue locked up from years of disuse.
“I’ll respect what you want, then,” Harrison said with a sigh, and he stood to go.
Kid couldn’t let him just walk away. If there was a fate, and if it wasn’t cruel a hundred percent of the time, maybe there was a future that didn’t involve living on the streets, hidden from sight.
Kid’s hand shot out, grabbing the back of Harrison’s shirt. His arm was trembling, body shaking from fear, excitement, and everything in between.
Harrison’s surprised smile as he looked down at the tiny boy was full of warmth.
“Well, all right, then. That settles that,” he said, turning around and facing Kid again. “You’re coming with me.”
Kid let out a pent-up breath.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Being a cowboy is hard living. But I promise that as long as you’re with me, you’ll have a safe place to stay and a full belly each night. But first, you’re going to need a name I can call you by.”
Kid frowned. He’d never been in the place to choose his own name before. Did people do that?
Harrison grinned as Kid’s confusion seemed to show. Then he thought for a moment and snapped his fingers. “How about Dallas? It’s as fine a city as any other in this big state. And it’s where I found you.”
For the first time perhaps in his whole life, Kid nodded eagerly.
Dallas.
Your name is Dallas from now on, he told himself.
Harrison surprised him further by taking off the black Stetson he wore and placing it on top of Dallas’s head with a chuckle. The huge hat came over his eyes, and Dallas had to adjust it to just look past the wide black brim.
“That’s yours now. Gonna need it where we’re going,” Harrison said as he started to turn for the exit to the alley. “Just have a couple more things to conclude here. Then I’ll take us back.”
Dallas followed closely behind Harrison, walking quickly to keep up with the big man’s strides. He looked up with a curious glance, and Harrison looked down at him from over his shoulder.
“Where?” Dallas asked, the sound more like a croak than a question, his mouth unfamiliar with trying to use words like this.
“To your new home,” he said with a proud smile. “Dragonclaw Ranch.”
1
Dallas threw the last bale of hay into the barn with an easy flick of his wrist, then took his hat off to wipe the perspiration from his brow.
The days were getting hotter. Summer was in
