Chapter Nineteen
Thud. Catch. Thud. Catch. Rocky squeezed the ball in his hands, but it didn’t break, so he threw it against the wall again. It just kept coming back every time. He glanced at the clock. He was sure the damn thing needed a new battery because the hands hadn’t moved in the past five minutes.
“Sheriff Rocky.” A plaintive voice sounded from the cells.
“I said no.”
“I haven’t asked anything yet.”
“Doesn’t make any difference the answer is still no.”
Rocky was not impressed with his current inmates. Toby and his brother Sheridan yelled and screamed for their mom as their father dragged them to the car where Rocky was waiting.
“Are you really sure this is necessary, Sheriff?” Sanderson was a florid-faced man who liked his drink. “Nancy doesn’t know about any of this. She’s going to tear strips off me when she gets home from work and learns what’s happened. Can’t we just have a few drinks, talk about it some more? They’re only kids…”
“This is the sixth time me or one of the deputies have been out here in two months.” Rocky was still smarting and worried about Mal’s attitude when he’d left earlier. His patience meter was set at zero and was fast moving into negative territory. “Kids do not have the right to go vandalizing someone else’s property.”
“It was a few flowers…”
“They were prized orchids that took months to grow.” Rocky knew because Molly didn’t stop talking about them as he took her home before heading to the Sanderson place just a bit down the road.
“You’ll be getting the bill for them, as well. Let’s see what your Nancy has to say about that. Enough is enough, Sanderson. If you can’t control your kids then we will. People have a right to grow flowers in this town without having them smashed.” Rocky had slammed the door and then turned the radio up in his cruiser to drown out the kids’ noise as he took them back to town.
Now he was stuck with the little cretins.
“Sheriff Rocky, I’m thirsty.”
Rocky rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “There’s a tap and paper cups in the cell.”
“I need to go to the bathroom.” Toby’s wail got louder. “I’m going to pee my pants.”
“If you can’t see the bucket right there in front of you, then you’ll sit in wet pants.”
Five more ball thump and catches and then Sheridan, the younger one said, “Sheriff Rocky, I’m scared. Can we go home now, please?”
Closing his eyes, Rocky let out a long breath. He knew what it was like to be scared – at their age, he’d been living on the streets, and that was scary. These boys have parents and a decent home. They won’t learn if they don’t have any consequences.
“Molly was probably scared when she went into her barn this morning and saw all her lovely plants smashed. Bet you didn’t think about that.”
“It was just a few plants. They got knocked over by accident.”
“Six times in the past two months was an accident? You should never have been in Molly’s barn in the first place. You had no right to be there. Those plants were Molly’s babies – they were precious to her. When you wrecked them, to her it was the same as if you’d punched a baby in the face.”
He could hear some muttering going on, and Rocky ignored it. Mal said they had to stay in a cell until morning and that’s what was going to happen.
Gods, Mal, are you all right? Mal had shut down their mind link and while Rocky could still sense his mate, he had no idea what Mal was doing. He still wasn’t sure what had actually happened when he’d got back to the office and his day had gone to hell. Instead of being pleased that Rocky was protecting his mate and babies from being yelled at, Mal had yelled at him.
He was rude about my dick, too. Rocky nudged the lump in his crotch. He wanted Mal every minute of every day, but with the babies coming…it just didn’t feel right to molest Mal in that way. No matter how much I want to.
Rocky sighed and glanced at the clock again. The hands had barely moved.
“Sheriff Rocky.”
“The answer is still no. Go to sleep. Morning will come quicker that way.”
“But Sheriff Rocky, we’re sorry. That means we can go home now, right?”
“No. Go to sleep.”
“But the bed’s hard, there’s no pillows, and I haven’t got my special blankie.”
Rocky closed his eyes and rubbed the spot between his eyes. Jumping out of his chair, he went through to the cell area. He’d put both boys in the same twin cell and yes, they made a pitiful picture, huddled together on one of the mattresses.
“Look boys. If I was you, I’d get used to these beds, the lack of pillows and not having your blankie. You’re only what? Ten and twelve years old?”
Two blond heads nodded.
“This is what happens to people who do bad things.” Rocky waved a hand indicating the cell. “You two seem determined to do bad things, so this is what you need to get used to. Think of this as a glimpse into your future as an adult. It’s not fun, is it?”
The two heads were shaking this time. “I miss my mom,” Toby said.
“That’s what life is like behind bars.” Rocky leaned against the wall opposite the bars. “No mom hugs in jail. No bedtime stories. No special hugs. No getting an extra cup of chocolate made just because your mom loves you.”
“I don’t like it.” Sheridan started to cry again. “I want to go home.”
“Yeah, well I want to go home to, and thanks to you two, I can’t.” Rocky peeled himself off the wall. “I suggest you settle down and sleep. Morning comes quicker that way. I’ll leave the light on, but that’s all you’re getting until morning.”
“It was only flowers, Sheriff Rocky. This is…this is…the punishment doesn’t fit the crime,” Toby said jutting out his chin.
“Oh, really? And what punishment would fit the crime do you think?” Rocky held up his hand, ticking items off his fingers. “You were trespassing, which is illegal. You broke into someone’s barn, also illegal. You destroyed property worth a lot of money, that wasn’t yours, so that is a crime as well. What punishment do you think would be more suitable?”
Toby and Sheridan exchanged glances, and then Toby said, “We should probably write a letter to Molly and say sorry and that we won’t do it again. It should be written in our neatest handwriting, and we should both sign it.”
“Nice to know you’re learning something at school. That probably would’ve worked the first time you committed the offenses, especially if you never stepped foot on Molly’s property again afterward.”
Rocky yawned. “But you didn’t do it then, or the next five times you broke the law. If you’d been a few years older you’d be in paranormal jail right now, and they don’t even give you a mattress. Think about that if you can’t sleep. Night, boys.”
Pulling the door between the cells and the office almost closed, but not fully, Rocky’s eyes widened when he saw Doc standing by the reception desk. “Doc, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” He felt a shaft of fear in his gut. “Is Mal all right?”
“He will be,” Doc said, his expression grim. “Can we go into your office a moment? You and I need to have a talk.”