Officer Rainey’s broad shoulders filled out his uniform as he smiled proudly and approached the hot chocolate stand.After strapping his duty belt around his waist every morning, he always hoped his wallet would be the only item he would need to reach for.Of course this personal item wasn’t part of the heavy belt but tucked just below in the pocket of the black pants he wore.
“Levi, Laney, what do we have here?”He parked his patrol car in the neighboring lot after cruising by and spotting the kids standing behind the table waving at him.Before he could get out though, their excited voices chimed through the radio on his shoulder.
“A hot chocolate stand,” Laney answered matter-of-factly.
“Well you know police officers have to stay hydrated too, so I will take a cup.”
“One cup of hot chocolate coming right up,” Levi announced.
“How much do I owe you?”Rainey asked while glancing at the wallet in his hand.
“We are taking donations,” Laney explained.
Since the debacle this morning, the kids changed their pitch and were pretty sure they raised more money this way.
Rainey dropped a wrinkled five-dollar bill into the jar, nearly filled to the brim.“It looks like you two have been busy today.”
“We have made six gallons of hot chocolate,” Levi shared, his face glowing like a lightbulb.
“Wow, that’s amazing.I’m so proud of you both.”
“When we saw you, we hoped you weren’t coming to shut us down,” Laney mentioned.
“What?Why on earth would I do that?”
“Earlier that Georgia lady said she would call the police if we didn’t shut down.Then Mr.Kevin and Mr.Sam showed up, and Mom and Georgia came outside, and they let us stay open for now,” Laney explained.
Rainey wondered how the adult version of the story might sound, but the perspective the kids offered made him empathetic toward their cause.However, in his line of duty, he learned to control his emotions, especially before drawing conclusions.On a side note he was also curious to know who Mr.Kevin was.
“Maybe I need to arrest Ms.Georgia,” Rainey declared in a teasing manner before taking a sip from the cup.
Laney and Levi chuckled erratically.
“Yeah do that,” Levi agreed.
The three of them chatted a bit longer while Rainey sipped on the beverage before deciding to step into the candy shop to collect the full scoop.“I am going to run in and talk to your mom and Mrs.Madelyn really quick,” he mentioned.“Sell some more hot chocolate while I’m inside.”
When Cavin’s driver dropped him off at the curb in front of the rental house, Cavin handed him cash, grabbed his bag, and then walked to the trunk to collect his new golf clubs.All the while he heard what sounded like a loud vacuum but couldn’t quite figure out the origin of the noise although it sounded close.
Cavin tapped the trunk’s lid and then waved to the driver letting the man know he retrieved everything.The guy drove off, and when Cavin rounded the rear of the sunken SUV on the driver’s side, the source of the noise became apparent.Cavin immediately set everything in his hands down, and the man kneeling near the vehicle’s front tire looked up.Upon recognizing the person’s face, Cavin drew the nine iron from his bag ready to defend himself.
“What are you doing here?”Cavin bellowed attempting to speak above the roar of the air compressor.
The man reached down, flipped a switch, and the tank shut off.“What are you doing here?”he reciprocated.
“I am staying here,” Cavin explained while nodding toward the house letting the golf club dangle next to his leg.“But you already knew that because you followed me and Georgia here last night and flattened my tires.”
Keaton shot him a perplexed look.“Yeah I flattened all your tires last night, woke up feeling guilty, and came back to put air in them for you,” he replied sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
Although Cavin’s thoughts in the moment ran more on adrenaline than logic, he had to admit that the narrative did sound pretty weird.However, what if that was simply the story this guy told because he got caught?What if he came back to do further damage to the tires or maybe even something more extreme?
“How do I know you are not back to steal my tires?”Cavin quizzed.
Keaton glanced at the air compressor, the tires, and then Cavin.“In broad daylight?”he quizzed, raising the second eyebrow.
“It happens in Atlanta all the time,” Cavin pointed out.
Keaton chuckled.“We’re not in Atlanta, boss.This is Beaufort, North Carolina.You can’t get away with stuff like that here.”
