“What did you have in mind?”
Tom stayed silent, sorting through options. “Summer is about to launch a large mural project for the town. She’s going to need a couple of strong helpers to carry paint, clean up, be at her beck and call no matter what.”
Georgia glanced at each boy. “Like a job with no pay. Acceptable. What else?”
“Whatever Clem and Garrett Slade want. I’ll ask them both, and we can finalize it after Christmas. At the very least, they can assist Clem and Garrett in putting away their Christmas decorations.”
“Done. Anything else?”
“They both take CPR and First Aid at the fire department. You should have been able to assess Mia earlier and take her to the hospital. Lack of oxygen was turning her lips blue.”
Jake hung his head. Daniel straightened in his chair. “We can do all those things. Can’t we, Jake?”
“Yes.” Jake straightened. “I’m sorry. We did the wrong thing.”
Daniel added his reasoning. “Nobody listens to us. Especially not my family,” he added in a quiet mumble.
“Is that why you were recording the argument?”
“Yeah. Only Mia didn’t think the video was the way to handle it. It’s when we changed our idea and moved Santa around with the little signs.”
Tom sighed. Sucked to be their age. “Wrong thing, right reasons. We’ve all been there, but consequences don’t change. Agreed?”
Both boys nodded.
Bret straightened from the wall. “Is it all right if I take these two to the hospital to check on Mia?”
Tom crossed his arms and leaned on the table. “All right with me. I’ll write it up. You both have to sign it, and Georgia, too. It has to go through the chief to the judge, and he has to agree. Understood?”
“Yes.” Georgia rose and zipped her coat.
“You can hold on calling Dan’s grandfather. I’ll get him home.” Bret signaled to both boys. The four left, leaving Tom rubbing his temple.
Carmen bit her lip to temper her grin. “We’re gonna have to talk about Mia, aren’t we?”
“Yeah.” There were times he wished he never had faith in anyone. But that wouldn’t be true to who he was.
Carmen studied her nails. “She did prod me to get current in forensics, so there is that.”
“Me, too.”
“And she wasn’t wrong in her assessments of the scene, but she knew more than she told us.”
Tom vehemently shook his head. “Don’t quote anything about not guilty, omissions, and the law. Just no.”
Carmen grinned. “Am I writing the report or are you?”
“Me. I’m the one who made the deal and have to explain it to the chief.”
“Works for me, boss.”
Tom leaned back in his chair, wishing for his sweats, his recliner, and a cup of hot chocolate with Summer right next to him. “Last year, it was an abandoned baby, and we were in this room questioning his brother for dropping him with no regard. That guy went to jail.”
“Fun times.” Carmen smiled and bounced out the door like a burglary call had sounded.
He rose, shoved the chair under the table, and switched the lights off.
Jake and Mia. Would being a couple help those two stabilize or be one more drama for the books? Love’s path was always crooked in this town. But he’d keep the faith. He’d been smitten with Summer since high school, and that turned out for them in the best way possible.
