“I’m sorry, Mom. I want to go home to Dallas. I don’t like it here.”
“Is that what this is all about? You think you can manipulate me into moving back to Dallas?”
Chase hung his head.
“We can’t go back. There’s nothing left for us there. I couldn’t find a job, which means I have to find work here, and you’re not making it easy for us. I’ll have to use some of the money I saved to get you out of here.”
Chase’s eyes grew round. “You mean the sheriff is thinking of keeping me in here?”
“Yes. Stealing is against the law. I thought my straight-A student son would know that.”
“Mom, I didn’t hurt anybody.”
She was aghast at his attitude. “Is that how you look at it? Well, you did hurt someone. You hurt Bob, the owner of Rowdy’s. That’s how he makes his living, selling beer, and when you stole from him, it cut into his profits.”
“I just want to go home to Dallas and my old school in August. I’m a good football player and no one is going to notice me here in this small town. I won’t get recruited and I won’t get to play in the NFL. That’s been my goal my whole life and now it’s all ruined. How could you bring us here?”
She took a deep breath, trying to think of words that would get through to him. “Young guys with a record don’t get recruited, either.”
“What?”
“I told you stealing is a crime and it will go on your record if I can’t get it removed.”
“Mom, you have to do something.”
“You know, Chase, you’re seventeen years old and it’s time you started acting like it instead of a spoiled little boy.”
“If you get me out of here, I promise to do better. I just...”
“I know. You don’t like it here. But in life you don’t get everything you like. Right now, my main concern is putting food in our mouths and a roof over our heads. That’s what’s important, Chase. We have to move out of Phoenix’s house because of your disruptive behavior. And I wanted to be there for my sister.”
“They don’t like me.”
“Have you given them a chance? Instead of being moody, you could offer to help every now and then. And you could play with Jake.”
Chase frowned. “He’s a baby.”
“So? It’s called helping out and being glad someone took us in.” She got to her feet. “I have to sort this mess out.” She looked at him with his hunched shoulders and that frown etched on his face. It seemed to be permanent. “You know who else would be disappointed to see you in this cell?”
He buried his face in his hands. “Nana,” he mumbled.
“Yes, think about that.” Maribel walked to the steel bars and a deputy opened it for her. With more enthusiasm than she was feeling she went straight to the sheriff’s office. Elias was still sitting in the chair and she ignored him as best as she could.
“What do I have to do to get my son out of jail?”
The sheriff leaned back in his chair. “Miss McCray, I’m not inclined to do that.”
She curled one hand into a fist. “Why not? I didn’t see the other boys in there so you must have let them go. Why is my boy different?”
“When we caught them, your boy ran. The others didn’t.”
What! She tried not to let the shock show on her face but she feared she’d failed. She was at a loss at what to do, but she couldn’t leave her son in jail. There had to be a way.
She bit her lip. “Don’t you usually set bail?”
The sheriff leaned forward. “Usually. Ralph, the bail bondsman, is next door but he’s asleep at home at this hour and I don’t feel obligated to call him. I think a night in jail might help your son realize how serious his actions were.”
“Please.” Begging was not in her nature, but at this point she had no other choice.
“Okay.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a ledger. “I can set bail. I do that a lot, small town and all, and that keeps Ralph from trudging up here in the middle of the night.”
“Thank you.”
“A thousand dollars should guarantee that he doesn’t run and that he’ll be at the hearing on Monday. And it should cover everything they’ve stolen.”
A ball of fear wedged inside her chest. “I can’t afford that. Can’t you just release him into my custody? I’ll make sure he stays in line and I won’t let him have the car anymore.”
“Normally I would do that, but you see, I don’t know you or your son. I could release him into your care and in no time you could be out of state and the other two boys would take the fall for the crime.”
“I wouldn’t do that. My sister is here and I wouldn’t leave her, either.”
“I’m sorry, Miss McCray, but that’s the deal. Your boy has an attitude and a sarcastic mouth. He needs to learn a lesson and he needs to learn it now. That’s just my advice to you.”
He wasn’t going to relent. There was no way she could leave her son in jail. Yes, he deserved it. But she was a mother and a mother always fought for her kid, no matter what. Which meant she would have to do something now she’d sworn she would never do.
There was a saying about paying the piper. She had never quite understood what that meant, but suddenly she did. She would now have to pay for everything that had happened in the last seventeen years and she would have to pay with her pride.
She sucked air into her tight chest and turned to Elias. “Can I see you outside for a minute?” Without waiting for an answer, she walked confidently toward the receptionist’s desk. Behind her she could hear:
“Was she talking to me?” Elias asked.
“I think she was,” the sheriff replied.
She paused long enough to make sure Elias was following her. She went through the door and the warm June breeze kissed the heat of her cheeks. A faint hum of traffic from the interstate broke the early morning silence. Fading moonlight and the ancient streetlights provided illumination. She walked toward one of the old live oak trees that shaded the courthouse, and sat on the bench beneath it.
Words rolled around in her head again and she desperately searched for the right ones to start the conversation. It wouldn’t be easy, but nothing in life for her had been.
Elias sat beside her and she wanted to move away. He was too close for her comfort zone. In high school, they were always looking at each other, but they both knew that’s all they could do. With their feuding families, there was no way they could ever go out on a date or even socialize. That’s just the way it was. But she had always thought he was the most handsome guy in school. Tall and lanky with an attitude that bespoke confidence, he had a daredevil approach to life that had been exciting for a young girl.
Nothing was said for a few seconds. “You wanted to talk, so talk,” he said. “But before you start, I just want you to know I’m not loaning you any money.”
“Elias, I need help, and I’ll pay you back.”
“Do you have a job?”
She forced herself not to fidget. “No, not yet, but I will soon.”
“I’m not in the habit of loaning people money, especially if they don’t have a job. And for the record, Wyatt was right. Your kid needs to learn a lesson.”
“You don’t even know my kid.”
“I think