The Lawman's Convenient Family

The boy bit down on his bottom lip and studied Adam carefully, then he lifted his chin. “We ain’t going home. And I’m not telling you where we live, either.”

Kids often ran away from good homes, but given the overall undernourished appearance and defensive nature of these two, instinct told Adam that wasn’t the case. And so did the girl’s injury.

“I figure you two have a good reason for being out here.”

When he was met with tight-lipped silence, he continued his questioning, attempting to be kind and gentle as he ferreted out what he already suspected. “Did someone at your house hurt you?”

“Yeah,” the boy said indignantly. “He hurt my sister just because she peed her pants. It was an accident, and I cleaned it up. But he didn’t care. He still spanked her. And he ain’t even our dad.”

Whether one believed in spanking or not, striking a child in the face was flat-out abuse. And doing so hard enough to leave a mark was criminal.

“Who is he?” Adam asked. “Your dad? Stepdad?”

“No, he’s just a guy. The one who lived with us before our mama went away and didn’t come back. But it’s not like he takes care of us anyway.”

Adam’s gut clenched, and his thoughts took a personal turn as painful memories welled to the surface. He tamped them down the best he could, but his heart went out the poor kids, just as it always did when he came across other abused and neglected children. And he vowed to make sure that, when these two did go home, from now on, it was to a safe place, where a proper guardian would see that they had food to eat, clean clothes to wear and warm beds in which they could sleep.

“What’s the guy’s name?” Adam asked.

“Brady.”

Adam nodded, making a mental note. “And what’s your name?”

Again, the boy bit down on his lip, struggling to be strong. Holding on to his secret. Finally, he looked up and frowned. “If I tell you, are you going to promise to leave us alone and not take us back?”

“I won’t take you back. But I’m not going to leave you alone, either. It’s going to get cold—and it might rain again tonight. You’ll also be hungry by morning.”

Most law enforcement officers would turn the kids over to child protective services and then go about their way.

Sure, they might sympathize and regret the crappy environment those children had once lived in, but Adam wasn’t like the others. Seeing kids who’d been beaten and mistreated hit a little too close to home.

He knew how it felt to be scared and sent to the county receiving home, where kids waited until social services placed them in foster care. Most of the parents were kind and good, but some weren’t. So he hated the thought of turning in the brother and sister to the authorities and leaving them to the luck of the draw.

“My name is Adam,” he told them, “although my friends sometimes call me Pancho.”

The boy furrowed his brow. “Why do they call you that?”

“They were just messing with me, I guess. And the nickname stuck.”

The kid seemed to chew on that for a minute, then said, “I’m Eddie. And this is my sister, Cassie. Are you really going to help us?”

“You bet I am.” And this was one of those times he’d do it in his own way, which meant he’d have to pull a few strings.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Adam turned to see Matt heading toward them.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Adam told his buddy. “I want you to meet my new friends, Eddie and Cassie.”

Matt furrowed his brow, but didn’t comment.

“I’ve got a few calls to make,” Adam said, “but I need you to do me a favor. Would you find Jim and Donna Hoffman and bring them out here?”

“Sure. I’ll do that, but what am I supposed to tell them?”

Adam was about to say that Eddie and Cassie needed a special place to stay tonight, but he suddenly had a light bulb moment. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you bring out Santa and Mrs. Claus. They’ll know just what to do. And I think the kids will feel a lot better about going home with them.”

Matt nodded, then walked back to the Grange Hall.

Adam took a deep breath, then turned back to the kids.

“Do you really know Santa Claus?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, I do.”

Eddie chuffed. “He doesn’t like me or Cassie. He never comes to our house.”

Adam reached into the cab and placed a fatherly hand on Eddie’s small, bony shoulder. “Actually, he really does like you. It’s just that no one told him where you lived.”

The kid looked skeptical. “How do you know that?”

“Because he didn’t come to my house until I was practically grown up. And so one day, when I met him, I asked him point blank why he’d forgotten me. And that’s what he told me.”

Eddie seemed to ponder that explanation.

“Do you live far from here?” Adam asked, hoping to get an idea where he could find Brady.

The boy stiffened. “You said you wouldn’t take us back there.”

“I won’t. But I’d like to let Brady know it’s against the law for him to hit people in the face, especially when they’re smaller than he is.”

“Maybe, if we would’ve run away sooner, and you found us before our mama left, she wouldn’t have had to run away and hide from Brady, either.”

Had the mother left her kids with the abuser and run away without them? It didn’t seem likely, but Adam kept his thoughts to himself until he could investigate this case further.

And when he found Brady, they were going to have a little heart-to-heart, which would end up with Brady wearing cuffs and sitting in the back of a patrol car.

Adam sucked in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp evening air. He wanted to tell them that life was going to get a lot better for them from now on, but he knew better than to make a promise he might not be able to keep. “I know of a perfect place for you two to hang out until something better comes along.”

“What about our dog?” Eddie stroked the dirty critter’s matted hair. “He doesn’t have anyone to take care of him.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Adam studied the scrawny, timid mutt. He’d have to call animal control, although it was after hours, and the stray would probably run off before anyone arrived. “I’ll make sure he gets a bath, a bowl of food and a warm bed—just like you’ll get.”

Eddie’s eyes, while cautious, betrayed hope. “You promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Adam didn’t know exactly how he was going to fulfill that promise, but he’d figure out a way. And once he knew those kids were safe, warm and fed, he’d return to the gala. If he was lucky, he’d be able to spend a little more time with Lisa, the woman he suspected would prove to be his “perfect” match.

Zorro never returned for his mask. In fact, after the cowboy took the Hoffmans outside, they left the party and didn’t come back, either. Julie had no idea what had happened to them or where they’d gone on a Saturday night, but as she’d promised Jim, she drove out to Kidville on Monday morning.

She’d seen pictures on their website. The group home was set up like a small town in the Old West, complete with wooden sidewalks. Various buildings, such as a livery stable, a newspaper office and a hotel, appeared to be authentic in those photos, and she was looking forward to seeing it in person.