9. Rowdy

9

ROWDY

“How the hell did you get busted at a big box store for shoplifting ?” I asked Jaxon. “These have a no-chase policy, dude. All you had to do was run.”

“Off-duty cop,” Jaxon muttered, cutting a look at the officer in question.

I eyeballed the guy with massive shoulders and skinny legs. He was wearing civilian clothes, but anyone could tell from his silver buzz cut he was law enforcement.

I held up my hands. “How much did the shoes cost?”

“More than I can afford,” Sadie said, her eyes red with tears.

She was wearing her maid’s uniform and had called me after she’d been pulled away from a job to grab her son. Sadie had begged the store manager not to press charges, told him he was only thirteen, but the manager hadn’t initially believed her. She’d had to race home in her rust bucket death trap of a vehicle, grab Jaxon’s birth certificate, and then race back to the store.

“Those shoes cost almost two hundred bucks,” the cop said, standing with his arms crossed over his chest. “Even if he is only thirteen, he’s going to juvie.”

Jaxon scowled, a bold move despite the officer being off duty. “If y’all would let me work, then I would buy the tennis shoes.”

This was not the first time I’d heard that complaint from Jaxon. He knew his mom was in a bad way financially, but in the state of Texas, you couldn’t work until you were fourteen.

He did what he could to get odd jobs around his trailer park, but the most successful side hustle in his neighborhood was weed, and that was a nonstarter. What little he brought in with mowing lawns and walking dogs made hardly any difference at all.

“Why would you steal tennis shoes?”

He looked down, and I followed his line of sight.

Ah, man.

His toes were pushing through the toe box, his dirty socks clearly visible.

Sadie’s cheeks went red. “I’m sorry, son. I didn’t realize it was that bad. We’ll get you some new shoes with my next paycheck,” she said, but I suspected she wouldn’t be able to afford them even then.

“I still have to go to school,” he pointed out, rather reasonably. “The kids have already been making fun of me because I’m the huge kid who’s too poor to buy new shoes.”

I immediately thought of Stevie, also thirteen, who lived in a completely different reality. She’d wanted a pony and her dad moved her out to the country so that she could be the cowgirl she always wanted to be, and had more pairs of nice cowboy boots than most professional cowboys.

I reached back for my wallet. “If I pay for the shoes, are we square?” I asked the manager. “His mom provided you proof that he’s only thirteen. Aside from the extenuating circumstances, I’m here and am happy to buy the shoes.”

“Rowdy. Those are way too expensive,” Sadie said, squeezing her fingers. “It’d take a year for me to pay you back.”

“You don’t have to pay me back, Sadie.”

The manager ran his hand over his mouth. The off-duty cop clearly wanted to take Jaxon in, but the manager’s humanity won out. “I could get in trouble for this, but given his age, I think we can give him a pass. Just this once,” he said, sending a severe look to Jaxon.

Jaxon lowered his head. “Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“Thank you.”

The manager walked me over to an open cashier, and I checked out, putting the shoes on a card that I’d just paid off. It wasn’t lost on me that two years ago, before Emery had hired me to manage his property, I wouldn’t have ever been able to do this for someone.

Despite the general shittiness of this day, that reality check sorted my attitude.

I handed the bag to Jaxon. “Had to get the expensive ones, didn’t you?”

“Figured if I was going to steal shoes, I should go for the good ones.” He shrugged. “Maybe then the kids would stop teasing me.”

“I’m sorry about that, bud. But you and I are about to have a serious conversation about what is and is not appropriate.”

“Including the overlooked detail that places like this have a no-chase policy?” he asked, popping his brows.

Sadie cuffed the back of his head, then turned and hugged me, hard. “Thank you so much. He’s a good kid, I promise. We’re just going through a rough patch right now.”

“Sadie, I know he’s a good kid. We’ve been hanging out for over a year. I mean, I’m not the richest guy in the world, but I’ll help where I can. It doesn’t have to be this bad. He doesn’t have to be nearly walking out of his shoes before someone will help. I promise.”

“Thanks, Rowdy. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“Well, thankfully, you don’t have to find out.”

“Can we go home now?” Jaxon said, as the off-duty cop continued to mean mug him.

“Yes, but no screen time for a month,” Sadie said.

Jaxon started to grumble, and I raised a brow at him.

“Fine. Thanks for buying me the shoes, Rowdy,” he said in an over-the-top monotone.

I watched as they walked away and thanked the manager again. Since the off-duty officer had stuck around to glare at them while they took off, I decided to give him a piece of my mind.

Putting my finger in his face, I said, “There are a bunch of different ways you could’ve handled that, especially once you knew how young he is. There are plenty in law enforcement who try to mentor the kids making bad decisions, but no. You chose to be a dick. Do better.”

I walked away just as Sadie’s ancient Subaru Justy—which Jaxon barely fit into—sputtered before finally starting. I didn’t know what I was gonna do, but they needed more help than they were getting, and doing nothing was not an option.