The Lawman's Runaway Bride. Patricia Johns

off now that he was detained, and he rubbed idly at his wrists. Those cuffs had been tight.

      Chance opened the door and stepped inside.

      “Good morning,” Chance said.

      Randy was silent.

      “A little early to be drinking, isn’t it?” Chance asked.

      “You mean my age, or before noon?” Randy quipped.

      Chance wasn’t amused. Killing off brain cells at his young age was nothing to laugh at. He pulled out the chair opposite Randy and sat down.

      “Both, actually,” Chance replied.

      Randy looked away again. Chance knew Randy Ellison’s family well. His older sister, Lily, had served as temporary foster care provider for the town for a few years, and she’d also married a cop from the sensitivity training program. Randy’s mother was assistant manager at the local grocery store who worked long hours to provide for her kids. The Ellison boys had been getting more and more out of control as the years went by, and not because the town didn’t care, either.

      “You’ve got little brothers looking up to you,” Chance said.

      “So?”

      “They do what you do,” Chance replied. “You know that. Do you want them making your mistakes?”

      Silence again. Chance could tell that he wasn’t going to get anywhere this way. Randy was angry—very deeply angry—and appealing to the boy’s honor wasn’t going to suddenly fix that. Chance looked at his watch. It had been about fifteen minutes so far, and the grocery store wasn’t far from the station.

      “We’re calling your mom. She’ll be here anytime now, I’m sure.”

      Randy winced at that one, and Chance couldn’t help the smile that twitched at the corners of his lips. Iris Ellison might have her hands full with these boys, but she hadn’t given up on them yet.

      “So what do we tell her?” Chance asked.

      “What do you mean?” Randy frowned.

      “I mean, according to Officer Gillespie, you were drinking alcohol and got mouthy. You’re underage, you resisted arrest...” Chance crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Now, we can either tell her that you’ll be facing charges in the youth courts, or we can tell her that we’ve come to another arrangement.”