Page 7 of Love for a Lifetime

“Snow shovel, rake, leaf blower…”

A metal ladder rested against the back wall of the shed, but the space between the door and that wall was covered in various supplies and equipment.

Just another day on the job. He started stepping over and around things as he played the live-action game of Frogger through the shed.

With the ladder in hand, he had to navigate his way back through the mess.

“Officer Keller?” Jennifer shouted.

“On my way!” He pushed the ladder out of the doorway where Jennifer pulled it from his hands.

“Don’t scare me like that, Keller,” Jennifer said in a low voice.

“It’ll take more than a pile of junk to keep me down,” he said. It wasn’t unheard of for officers to respond to a call only to find out it was a trap. It hadn’t happened in Blackwater since Dawson had been on the squad, but even tiny towns saw their fair share of twisted criminals.

Jennifer rolled her eyes and hefted the ladder under her arm before walking back to the base of the tree where the boy stood hugging the trunk a good twenty-feet off the ground.

Jennifer set one end of the ladder on the ground beside the tree. Dawson extended it up the side of the trunk and locked it into place.

“You climb. I’ll hold,” Jennifer said.

Dawson started up the ladder and called out to the boy. “Hey. I’m Officer Keller. What’s your name?”

The boy looked from Dawson to his mom–his nostrils flaring as his breathing quickened.

“It’s okay, baby. He’s here to help!” his mom called.

“Braxton,” the boy said as he squatted down on the branch.

“Well, Braxton, this is one story I bet your mom won’t forget about any time soon.”

The boy tucked his chin, and his shoulders rose to cover his cheeks. “She’s gonna be so mad.”

Dawson kept climbing, and the pine needles started to prick his hands and face. “Yeah, but I think she’ll just be glad to have you on solid ground again. Just apologize and remind her how cute you are. I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

Braxton’s small hands clung to the bark as he shifted in his crouch on the branch. “I don’t think that’ll work this time.”

Dawson stopped when he was face-to-face with Braxton. His blond hair had little brown specks in it from the pinecones, and the tear tracks running down his face had dirt smudged in them.

Dawson propped his shoulder on the tree and his other hand on the top of the ladder. “Let me tell you a secret. Mamas don’t give up on their kids, even if they’re big boys who climb out of windows and get stuck in trees.”

Braxton wiped the back of his arm over his face. “Okay.”

“But your mom would probably be a lot happier if you didn’t go tree hopping again.”

Braxton nodded vigorously. “Yes, sir.”

“You ever been on a ladder?” Dawson asked.

Braxton peeked down before jerking his head back and clinging to the tree. “No.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything. Let me show you how to do this.” Dawson wrapped a hand around the far side of the branch and opened his other arm. “Put your feet right here, and I’ll stay right behind you. When I step down, you step down. We’ll do it together.”

Braxton nodded but didn’t release his hold on the tree trunk.

“You’re gonna have to trust me, Braxton. I’ll hold onto you, and my friend, Officer Freeman, is down there holding the ladder steady. We can do this.”

Dawson reached his hand out, but Braxton didn’t take it.

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