Chapter One

"Good morning! What can I get for you this morning?" said a cheerful voice.

Artus Gehn lifted his gaze from the laminated menu in his hands and focused on the girl in front of him. She smiled broadly at him, her green eyes sparkling with good cheer. Gehn was momentarily speechless; it had been a long time since anyone had smiled at him like that. "Um… I'm not quite ready to order," he managed after a moment.

She nodded. "Okay. Would you like something to drink while you think about it? Coffee? Soda? Water?"

"Yeah, coffee will be fine. Black, please."

The girl nodded again causing her nut brown ponytail to bob up and down, "Sure thing."

Gehn watched as she moved to the coffee pot and poured him a mug of the steaming liquid. She set it on the bar in front of him and flashed her smile at him once again. "Is this your first time to Vangon? When did you arrive?"

"Yes. Just last night." Gehn replied amazed at how easily she had accepted him; most people kept their distance and Gehn couldn't really blame them. With his scarred, haggard appearance and black eyes, he was a frightening sight.

"So where are you from?" she asked leaning forward on the counter and placing her chin in her hand, gazing into his face with earnest curiosity.

Before Gehn had a chance to answer her, a voice called out from the doorway, "Hey, Kate!"

The girl looked up and she straightened, her smile spreading across her face once more. "Hey!" she called back.

Gehn turned around on his stool to look. A young man of around twenty-four years stood in the doorway of the eatery, a boy of around nine standing directly in front of him. The young man's gaze shifted from Kate to Gehn and his smiled vanished to be replaced by a cool, distrustful stare. Kate didn't notice. She hurried around the counter and bent to hug the little boy. She straightened and turned to the young man, whose gaze flicked back to her, his smile back in place. She gave him a brief hug and motioned around, "Would you like to have a seat, sir?"

The man nodded and moved off to the right, away from the bar. Kate followed, holding hands with the young boy. They sat at a booth and Kate pulled a pad of paper and a pen out of her apron pocket. "What can I get for you, Chad?" she asked the young man.

"I'll have one of those omelets and a coffee." Chad replied.

Kate nodded, scribbling it down and turned to the boy, "And what about you, Timmy?"

"Bacon and eggs," came the prompt reply.

"And… coffee?" asked Kate innocently.

The boy made a face. "Eew, no! Orange juice."

Kate wrote it down. "I'll get those for you right away."

She turned and headed back to the kitchen behind the counter. After calling out their orders to the cook, she took them their drinks. As she walked back to the kitchen, Artus Gehn was amused to note that the young man's eyes followed her all the way. His eyes met Gehn and he frowned slightly before looking across the table at his brother.

Gehn turned in his seat as Kate returned to him. "Excuse me, are you ready to order now?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid I'm still not there. What do you recommend?" Gehn replied.

"If you like pancakes, I'd recommend the first special. They're really good and they come with your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham."

"I'll think about it."

The cook called from the kitchen and Kate went in and retrieved two plates, one with a steaming omelet and one with bacon and eggs. She paused as she passed him. "Well when you decided just come get me, okay? I'll be over there with those two." She nodded toward the table with Chad and Tim.

Gehn nodded his understanding and watched as she made the rounds around the tables with diners, checking on their progress, before heading over to Chad's table. She carefully placed the plates in front of their owner and slid onto the seat next to Tim, smoothing down her black miniskirt. Gehn turned back to his menu.

Over at the table, Timmy was already digging into his meal with gusto. Kate smiled at him and turned to Chad. "So, how are you?"

Chad carefully replaced his coffee mug before replying. "I'm good. How about you? Did you do well on your finals?"

Kate laughed, "Well enough, I'm sure. It's not like I'll know for sure until the professors grade them all. The teachers at Pine University are really good at delaying our grades. How's life at Pendence Tech?"

"Pretty boring, actually."

"Surely there's more happening there then around here."

Chad nodded, acknowledging this then said looking at his food, "But you're not there, Kate."

Kate gazed at him, evenly for a moment before replying. "Thank you," she said softly.

Just then, Timmy who had finished his food, burped. The moment was broken and Kate giggled. "Excuse me," Timmy said enthusiastically. He turned in his chair to face Kate. "Hey Kate, want to come to our house tomorrow? We just got a new movie I want to show you."

Kate smiled warmly at him. "Of course. I'll come by after work okay?" She dropped a light kiss on his forehead.

Timmy blushed. He pulled up his legs and kneeling on the seat he grabbed Kate's hand and said earnestly, "Kate, will you marry me?"

"Timmy!" hissed Chad irritably, but Kate just laughed. Just then a couple walked in from the street.

Standing up, Kate gently disengaged her hand from Timmy's. "I'll get back to you on that, okay?" she said, smiling and pulling out her notepad. "I have to get back to work."

She backed up a step and turned around, running squarely into Artus Gehn who was standing behind her. Kate gasped in surprise, dropping the notepad and taking a hurried step back. In an instant, Timmy was between them, his arms stretched out protectively in front of Kate. "Stay away," he shouted, glaring at Gehn.

Kate collected herself and gently put a hand on Timmy's shoulder. "It's fine, Timmy. I'm okay. I was just surprised, that's all."

Slowly Timmy lowered his arms and returned to his seat. Across the table, Chad was halfway out of his seat and glaring at Gehn. Chad sat, but he didn't stop glaring.

Kate picked up her notepad and turned to Gehn. "Yes?"

Gehn hid a smile, keeping his face bland. "I just came to tell you I was ready to order." He turned and walked back to his barstool.

Kate took a deep breath. Pulling a smile onto her face she walked over to the couple that had just walked in and invited them to sit. That done, she returned to the counter and smiled at Gehn. "What did you finally decide on?"

"I think I'll try that pancake special you told me about," Gehn said easily. He looked over at where Chad was still glaring at him. "I seem to have disturbed your bodyguards," he added.

Kate grimaced, "I'm sorry about that. Timmy's a good kid, really."

Gehn didn't reply and so after a moment Kate turned and gave his order to the cook before checking on the new couple. A few minutes later Gehn's food was done and Kate brought it over. Leaning against the counter again, she watched as he cut his first bite. He ate it. "Good?" she asked.

"Very," he replied.

She smiled and held out her hand, "I'm Kate Silver. What's your name?"

Gehn gripped her hand in his, it was warm and soft. "Artus Gehn. Nice to meet you."