y’all. It looks like we have a game of ring around the rosy going on.” When no one smiled or laughed, she sobered. “I guess we have a shoplifter on our hands?”
Two of the employees unlinked arms and let her into the circle with the girl, who was clutching her jacket closed to hide what she’d taken.
Deputy Meriwether looked at the girl and cleared her throat. “So you shoplifted, did you? Well, that is . . . naughty. If my mama were here, she would give you a lecture and a half on how a young lady should act. And young ladies do not take things without paying for them.” Lincoln rolled his eyes. How had the woman become a deputy? “Now I’m sure if you paid for what you stole,” she continued, “these good folks might overlook—”
“I’m not overlooking anything,” an older gentleman said. “I’m not having trailer trash thieves, like Cheyenne Daily here, think they can just waltz into my store and steal and get away with it.” Lincoln suddenly remembered the man. He was the grumpy guy who owned the pharmacy and had caught Cru shoplifting condoms when he was fifteen.
Is that what the girl was shoplifting? She looked a little young to be sexually active. But why else would she look so embarrassed? He moved over to the aisle she had been standing in and looked at the shelf she’d pulled the box from.
Shit.
It looked like he was going to have to get involved after all.
He slipped Chester’s prescription in his front shirt pocket and pulled his badge out of his jeans pocket before flashing it. “Lincoln Hayes, Texas Ranger. What’s going on here?”
All the employees dropped arms and Deputy Meriwether looked thoroughly relieved. “Thank goodness you’re here, Officer Hayes. I’m sure you’re much better at dealing with shoplifters than I am. I’ll just leave this in your capable hands and continue to make my rounds.” She started to leave, but he stepped in front of her.
“No you won’t. You’ll take this young lady to the sheriff’s office.”
“You want me to arrest her? But she’s just a kid.”
“Who committed a crime.”
“But a lot of young kids shoplift. It doesn’t make them criminals. I shoplifted lipstick one time. It turned out to be a horrible color on me. Which was punishment enough, believe me.” She looked at the girl. “Just give me what you took, honey, so we can put it back on the shelf.”
The girl glanced at the young boy who worked the soda fountain and her arms tightened as she shook her head. Which confirmed Lincoln’s theory.
He stepped up. “Are you going to give Deputy Meriwether problems? Or does she need to handcuff you?”
She lowered her gaze. “I won’t give her any problems.”
“Alright then.” He looked at the deputy. “Are you going to give me any more problems?”
Those cat-like eyes narrowed. “No.” When he lifted his eyebrows, she added a surly “sir.” She took the girl’s arm. “Come on, honey. Don’t say I didn’t try to save you.”
Lincoln turned to the crowd. “Everyone can go back to work.”
“And what about what she stole?” the owner whined.
“I’ll make sure you get reimbursed.” He followed Deputy Meriwether.
He wished he could let her take care of the situation. It was more in her wheelhouse than it was in his. But he wouldn’t trust the deputy with a traffic violation, let alone a sensitive young girl. So he hopped in his truck and followed the deputy’s SUV back to the sheriff’s office.
When he pulled into the space next to her, once again she looked relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with the young girl by herself. Which proved she had no business taking over for Sheriff Willaby. Or even being a deputy for that matter.
Cheyenne Daily looked even more scared as Deputy Meriwether opened the back door of the SUV and let her out.
“Are you going to throw me in jail?” she asked.
“That will depend.” Lincoln waited for Deputy Meriwether to unlock the door before he herded Cheyenne into the sheriff’s office. The white fluffy cat lying on the desk opened one blue eye and glared at him before closing it again. Obviously, the deputy hadn’t heeded his warning about leaving her pet at home. Something he wasn’t about to let slide, but right now he had another situation he needed to deal with.
“Sit.” He pointed to the chair as he tossed his hat at a hook by the door.
He had been tossing his hats at hooks ever