Cole needed an audience.
"Who's Grandpa?" he asked.
Daniel didn't look up.
Sarah sighed.
"He's a customer."
"I can see that."
"Then why ask?"
Marcus laughed.
Cole glanced at him.
"I was just wondering."
Daniel turned a page.
Cole waited.
Nothing happened.
That seemed to bother him.
"Hey," he called.
Daniel continued reading.
Cole walked closer.
"Hey, old man."
Daniel finally looked up.
His eyes were calm.
"Can I help you?"
Cole smiled.
"Just saying hello."
"Hello."
Daniel returned to his book.
Marcus covered his mouth to hide a laugh.
Cole's expression hardened.
"You always this friendly?"
"Usually."
"What's your name?"
"Daniel."
"Daniel what?"
"Mercer."
Cole nodded slowly.
"Nice to meet you, Daniel."
Daniel nodded once.
"Likewise."
Then he went back to reading.
That should have been the end.
It wasn't.
Cole's ego had been built on a simple principle: if he entered a room, everyone noticed.
Daniel hadn't.
That was unacceptable.
Cole picked up a napkin and tossed it onto Daniel's table.
Daniel looked at it.
Then at Cole.
"Problem?"
Cole shrugged.
"Thought you might need it."
Daniel looked at the napkin.
His coffee hadn't spilled.
His food hadn't spilled.
Nothing was wrong.
He pushed the napkin toward the edge of the table.
"Thanks."
Cole stared at him.
Something about Daniel's calmness irritated him more than an insult would have.
"What do you do?" Cole asked.
"Work."
"Doing what?"
"Maintenance."
Cole laughed.
"Maintenance."
Daniel nodded.
"That's right."
"So you're a janitor?"
Daniel considered the question.
"Sometimes."
Cole smiled.
"That explains it."
Daniel said nothing.
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
"Come on, Cole," he said. "Let's eat."
But Cole wasn't finished.
He leaned against the booth.
"You ever train?"
"No."
"You should."
"Why?"
"Because you look like you need it."
Daniel smiled faintly.
"I've survived this long."
Cole laughed.
"Survived what?"
Daniel closed his book.
For the first time, he looked directly at Cole.
"Life."
Something in his voice made Marcus stop smiling.
It wasn't threatening.
It wasn't angry.
It was simply certain.
Cole didn't understand why the answer unsettled him.
So he laughed louder.
"That's funny."
Daniel stood.
He picked up his coffee.
"I'm leaving."
Cole stepped slightly into his path.
"Leaving already?"
"Yes."
"Scared?"
Daniel looked at him.
"No."
The restaurant went quiet.
Rain struck the windows.
Cole smiled.
"Then prove it."
Daniel didn't move.
Sarah came around the counter.
"Cole."
He ignored her.
Daniel looked at the younger man for several seconds.
Then he stepped aside.
"You're looking for a fight."
Cole grinned.
"Maybe."
Daniel nodded.
"Then find someone who wants one."
He walked past him.
Cole watched the older man's back disappear through the door.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Tyler whispered:
"Man, that guy wasn't scared of you."
Cole's jaw tightened.
"I know."
Outside, Daniel climbed into an old maintenance truck.
He started the engine.
The truck pulled away into the rain.
Daniel looked at the restaurant in his rearview mirror.
He had hoped those days were behind him.
He had spent twenty years building a quiet life.
A life without uniforms.
Without orders.
Without violence.
Without people asking what he had once been.
But as the Lone Star Grill disappeared behind the rain, Daniel knew something he wished he didn't.
Men like Cole Ransom rarely stopped after being ignored.
And Daniel had a feeling this one wouldn't be different.