Page 30 of The Deputy and the Single Mom

“Jack is my neighbor, and he was kind enough to bring us this morning when my car wouldn’t start,” Maggie said.

“What’s wrong with it?” Calhoun asked.

“It’s old,” Maggie said.

Calhoun laughed and patted her back. “I’ll send my mechanic to take a look. He’s someone you can trust.”

“I can’t afford much right now.” Maggie stared intently over Calhoun’s shoulder.

Jack followed Maggie’s gaze. She fixated on Lexi, standing with a shaggy haired boy he recognized all too well. Anton Whitman was the son of Tim Whitman and on a first name basis with law enforcement.

Anton had become quite fond of vandalizing the fence downtown with his spray painted “art.” So far, he’d accumulated thousands of dollars of personal property damage, which his father had paid. Naturally, he had to keep up appearances, but in all likelihood, Jack would bet Tim made Anton pay dearly for his indiscretions behind closed doors.

Normally Jack didn’t have much sympathy for teens like Anton, but having personally become acquainted with his father had given him a new found compassion for the kid.

For Maggie’s sake, he kept one eye trained on Anton as both kids approached.

“Mom, can we give Anton a ride home?” Lexi walked up to Maggie.

“That depends.” She looked at Jack, a question in her eyes. “Is that OK?”

“It’s fine.” He glanced at Anton, who wouldn’t meet his eyes. Typical. Out of his uniform or in it, he was a non-person to some kids.

Calhoun slapped Anton on the back. “Good to see you here, son.”

He didn’t ask after the family, which made Jack wonder how Anton had made it here this morning. It was a long hike from his palatial home to town, and he didn’t know too many kids who would do it to sit through a sermon, bungee-jumping pastor or not. Unless. Yeah, it had to be Lexi.

They said their good-byes and proceeded to his truck. He unlocked the doors and glanced at Maggie, who turned to him. “You’re sure this is OK?”

Although it didn’t bother him, he couldn’t say the same about Maggie. She wore a similar expression to the one she had when she’d wrung her hands and begged him to agree to speak to Lexi.

“It’s fine.”

He opened the passenger door for Maggie and waited for her to climb in. The truck wasn’t exactly equipped for petite women like her, and he had to resist the urge to help her. Better to keep his hands to himself.

“You’ll have to tell Mr. Butler how to get there, Anton,” Maggie said once they were all seated in his truck.

“I know the way,” Jack said.

“Oh.”

Maggie sounded as though she’d connected the dots, a good thing because he wouldn’t lie for Anton. On the other hand, neither did he need to ruin everything for the kid who, after all,had made it to church. Surely, that had to be progress for him.Take it easy, Butler.

Jack drove them slightly out of town to the gated community he’d nicknamed la-la land for street names like La Mar, La Honda, and La Pala. This was where the privileged of Harte’s Peak lived.

As they entered Sierra Estates, Lexi made a tiny gasp. “This is where my grandma and grandpa live.”

Anton directed him to drop him off at the curb. No surprise. He leaped out of the truck without a backward glance or so much as a thank you.

“Mom, can we stop and visit Grandma and Grandpa?”

He glanced at Lexi through the rearview mirror as she jumped up and down on the seat. He did a double take because she suddenly sounded like she was seven.

“This isn’t a good time. I’m sure Mr. Butler has things to do, and he’s our ride,” Maggie said.

“Sorry.”

While all he had ahead of him tonight was a swing shift, neither did he want to visit anyone’s grandparents. Besides, he got the distinct impression Maggie didn’t want to stop by either, with or without him.

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