Colby and Dex only nodded, though Colby came forward, taggedthe arm of Mal’s hoodie and said, “C’mon, Mal.Let’s get to S.I.L.”
They started to stroll off, but Mal stopped, looked back andup, mumbled a “Thanks” Jagger almost couldn’t hear, then they moved away.
Jagger watched them go and felt Dutch come up to his side.
“Okay, man, that’s an issue.There’s bullying and thenthere’s shoving a kid to the ground and kicking him.”
“The mom has to know,” Jag said, not taking his eyes fromthe retreating boys.
“The mom has to know,” Dutch agreed.
Jag was not liking this.
He explained why to Dutch.“I’ll never get to him if I ratto his mom.”
“Maybe not,” Dutch replied.
Jagger turned to him.
“Okay, probably not,” Dutch allowed.
“They can do him damage, and it’s smart not to hit him inthe face, Dutch.”
Dutch’s jaw got tight again.
“You don’t just know that kind of shit.Youlearnthat kind of shit.They’re fuckin’ twelve,” Jagger carried on.
“This is not about them, Jag.It’s about your kid.Mal.Yougottatell Archie.His mom has to know.The school has toknow.But first, you need to call Archie.Someone has to look him over.At thevery least, he’s got scrapes from takin’ that fall.The kid was wearing sneaks,not steel-toed boots, but a kick can break bones no matter what you got on yourfoot.He needs to be checked out.”
“By a doc or his mom, it isn’t cool Archie does it.”
“Exactly.”
“Fuck,” Jag muttered.
“This sucks, but it’s better than where you were half anhour ago, not knowing what was up with him.He might not like how you handleit, Jagger.But the bottom line is, you’ve found out it’s something that needsto get handled, and now it’ll be handled.”
Jag nodded.
Then he got out his phone.
Before he made the call, he asked his brother, “Youwannacheck out Archie’s shop?”
Dutch didn’t reply verbally.
But with the way he smiled, he didn’t have to.
They moved to their bikes with Jagger calling Archie.
She didn’t pick up, which didn’t bother him.She wasn’tprone to lounging on her couch all day waiting for a call from Jagger.And onhis bike, he’d probably be to the shop faster than Mal.
They backed their bikes off the sidewalk and rode side byside to the store, parking in the rear.
Since Jagger was showing more often to see to Mal,Archie’dhad a key cut for him.This meant, instead ofhaving to walk around the building, they went to the back door.
And once they were in it, Jagger had his answer as to whyArchie didn’t pick up his call.
Jag hadn’t seen Archie’s brother since Elijah was sixteen.
