No Strings Attached (17 page)

“How about you?” she went on to ask the next boy.

“I’m looking for a pair of flip-flops for my sister,” he said, drawing her attention from the front of the store.

“What color and size?”

The kid never answered.

She heard shuffling and fumbling at the main counter. She turned around just in time to see the third boy stuff several pairs of sunglasses into the pockets of his camouflage pants.

A shoplifter
. Her heart nearly stopped.

Camo-boy stared at Sophie, a clear challenge in his eyes. He curled his lip, as if he
dared
her to call for backup. His two friends joined him at the door. They looked tough and hardened for kids so young.

Sophie wasn’t afraid, only uncertain. She could call for Dune and Jenna or she could handle the situation herself. She wasn’t a wimp. She found her voice and said, “Put the sunglasses back.”

The boy in the camouflage pants smirked, then flipped her off. “Mine.” He shot out the door after his friends.

“Not yours—” Her voice hitched. She was so stunned it took her several seconds to react.

Galvanized by indignation, Sophie took off after the boys. They would not get the better of her. This was Jenna Cates’s store. Jen was her friend. There’d be no shoplifters on her shift.

She wasn’t a runner, but she could walk fast. She caught a flash of camouflage pants several doors down. It appeared the boys had gotten cocky. They’d run a distance, then stopped and removed the price tags from their shades.

Sophie caught them outside Goody Gumdrops, Shaye’s penny candy store. She figured they were headed inside for another five-finger discount. She cornered Camo-boy at the red-and-pink lollipop swirled door. She blocked his entry. She held out her hand. “Mine,” she said, tossing his words back at him.

“Hers,”
Dune’s deep voice insisted from behind her. His shadow now stretched alongside her own. A very long shadow from a very tall man.

Her backup had arrived.

Seven

R
eflexively, Dune Cates placed his hand on Sophie’s shoulder and squeezed. “What’s the problem?” he asked, knowing full well what had gone down. He’d been watching her when she’d offered to assist the boys. He’d had a bad feeling when he recognized one of the kids. Randy Cates was a known thief.

His feet hit the pavement the moment the boy pocketed the sunglasses. Sophie was already ahead of him. She darted out the door, a woman out to right a wrong.

Randy could be difficult. He was the mayor’s son. His father was a single parent and too busy with city politics to control the boy’s behavior. The kid was raising himself. And not doing a very good job. He was always in trouble.

Juvenile detention was a revolving door for him. He had no business stealing sunglasses from relatives or anyone else for that matter. He’d do jail time as an adult if he didn’t get his act together.

The mayor faced an upcoming election in the fall. Randy was a high-profile kid, drawing bad press. People had started to question the mayor’s ability to govern a town when he couldn’t keep his own son in line.

The boy’s friends weren’t the least bit loyal. They’d split the moment Dune showed up, afraid of the consequences.

Randy’s jaw was now set, a kid of attitude and stubbornness. Dune waited for the boy to come to his senses. He didn’t want to call his father or cause a scene on the boardwalk.

He felt Sophie’s sigh beneath his palm. She looked more disappointed than mad. He’d nearly had a heart attack when she’d taken off after the boys. She thought to handle the problem alone. He was with her now. He had her back.

“Sophie, this is Randy, my second cousin,” Dune introduced them.

She stared at the boy. “Why did you take the sunglasses?” she asked.

“My friends dared me.”

“Some friends,” said Dune. “They took off and left you to hang.”

Heat scored Randy’s cheeks. He rolled his shoulders and stood tall. He was nearly Sophie’s height. The kid clutched the sunglasses so tight his knuckles turned white. Dune was certain he’d rather break them than return them.

Randy proved Dune right. He held up a pair of the West Coast Blue sunglasses, the latest hot brand sold at Three Shirts. The men’s shades were expensive. Randy’s father was conservative. He’d never give his son money to blow on such an item.

The boy had a mean streak. He twisted one plastic arm, and the frame nearly snapped. He then stuck his thumb on the inside of a dark blue lens and pushed. The lens held.

Randy was on a tear. What he couldn’t break with his hands he now chose to stomp with his foot. He threw the sunglasses down.

Dune was about to step in, when Sophie shaded her eyes and calmly said, “The sun certainly is bright. I can see why you need sunglasses.”

Randy grunted. “Duh, it’s Florida.”

“You have good taste,” she noted. “West Coast Blue is a popular style.”

“My brand,” from Randy.

“You should save your allowance and buy a pair.”

“Allowance? Get real.” He spat on the boardwalk, within an inch of Sophie’s foot. “My dad took away my spending money with my last B&E. He calls it discipline.”

Breaking and entering. Dune rubbed the back of his neck. The kid had a rap sheet.

“Perhaps you could get a job,” she suggested.

“Who’s going to hire me?” Randy asked. “I’m twelve. Shop owners see me coming and close their doors.”

“Doors shut because you shoplift,” Sophie reminded him.

Randy blinked. “I’ve got a rep to uphold.”

“I think you’re better than your rep.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not.”

“You’ve nothing to prove to your friends, but do you want adults to see you as a punk?” she asked.

Randy didn’t have an immediate answer. He kicked the sunglasses between his feet like a soccer ball. Scratches showed on the lenses.

Sophie was surprisingly formidable. She didn’t give an inch. Dune sensed she wouldn’t give up until Randy paid restitution on the shades. She cleared her throat and kept her voice low. “It takes a man to own up to his mistakes.”

“A man, huh?” Expectancy flashed in his eyes, soon replaced by cocky smugness. Dune could tell the boy had a chip on his shoulder and was mad at the world.

“Come back to the T-shirt shop, return the sunglasses, and apologize to Jenna,” Sophie said.

“Don’t sweat me,” Randy sneered. “I’m not sorry.”

“You should be,” she said. “Jen doesn’t steal from you and you shouldn’t steal from her.”

“She has more than me.”

“She’s earned everything she has.”

“Big whoop.” The kid had a smart mouth. He had no respect for adults or authority and even less for himself.

Dune listened and let it play out. Sophie was smart and sensitive and seemed to have a purpose. She wasn’t put off by Randy’s attitude. The kid would piss off the police.

“Square things with Jen and I’ll speak to her on your behalf,” she said, keeping her voice even. “I’ll see if you can work with me.”

She had his full attention now. Randy exhaled in a rush. “Work for money?”

“I’ll pay you—”

He scooped up the sunglasses and read the price sticker. “One hundred sixty an hour?”

“Get real,” Dune muttered.

Sophie shook her head. “I hired Violet’s nephew Chuck last week. He works outside in the heat and earns ten bucks an hour. You’ll be inside in the air conditioning. Eight bucks fits the job.”

“Nine,” Randy countered.

“Eight to start, with the possibility of a raise.” She held firm.

Randy looked so shocked it was almost comical. Dune would never forget his face. The boy’s surprise wore off quickly as he mentally calculated how many hours he’d have to work to pay off the shades. “Twenty hours,” he said. “You won’t cut me short, will you?”

The boy was afraid Sophie would take back her offer. Dune knew she would not. She would keep her word.

“I’ll support you as long as you show up on time and don’t screw me over,” she said.

Screw her over?
Dune almost smiled. She’d laid down the law, along with a solid groundwork for Randy to achieve a goal, however small. The boy needed to uphold his end, too.

“What time tomorrow morning?” he asked.

“You start today,” Sophie informed him. “Dune will give your father a call. You’re underage. We need his approval.”

“My dad doesn’t give a rat’s ass what I do.”

Dune pulled out his cell phone and had a quick chat with the mayor. “We’re good to go,” he told Sophie.

Dune knew the shop owners would be pleased to hear Randy Cates was off the boardwalk for the rest of the afternoon. Word would spread rapidly. Randy and his friends were sly and sticky-fingered. Inventory disappeared in the blink of an eye. Complaints brought the cops.

The Detention Center wasn’t always the answer. Sophie apparently saw more in the kid than most of his relatives. It was a wait-and-see situation. Dune hoped she wouldn’t get burned.

He accompanied Sophie and Randy back to the T-shirt shop. Once inside, Sophie met the boy’s hard gaze with one of her own. “I have one final rule,” she told him. “You empty your pockets every afternoon before you leave the store.”

Randy dug in his heels, scowling and stubborn. “You got trust issues?”

“You have three pairs of stolen sunglasses in your pockets as we speak,” she reminded him.

He rolled his shoulders, as if to shake a monkey off his back. He emptied his pockets, then set the shades down on the front counter. “Happy now?” he asked Sophie.

“Happier still once you stop stealing.”

“Whatever.” The kid’s stomach growled. “I haven’t had lunch,” he said. “I was headed to the candy store when you stopped me.”

“Sugar is not a meal,” said Sophie. “You can have half my sandwich and a soda. Unfortunately the chips are all gone.” She glanced at Dune. “Chip run?”

“I’ll go,” he agreed, “after you’ve spoken with Jen.”

Dune made the boy wait with him while Sophie went to the storeroom. The women had a lengthy discussion. Five minutes passed, then ten. Randy shifted uneasily.

“Jen doesn’t want me,” the boy said.

“Sophie does,” Dune said. “She can be persuasive.”

Jenna didn’t look all that convinced when she later faced Randy. “I’ve been told you’re sorry,” she said.

Randy looked to Sophie. “That’s what I hear, too.”

“You have one chance. Blow it and you’re gone,” Jen said flatly. “You have the afternoon to prove yourself. It’s do or die, kid.”

Randy’s face tightened. For once, he didn’t talk back.

Dune took off on his errand. He ordered two additional PB&Js from Molly Malone’s Diner, then stopped at Crabby Abby’s for a bag of chips. He found Sophie and Randy sharing the remains of her sandwich. Jenna had finished her lunch and was unpacking boxes, a never-ending task.

Randy spotted Dune and shot off his chair so fast he jarred the table. Manners were not on his menu. He grabbed his sandwich along with the potato chips. He ripped open the bag, stuffed a handful in his mouth, then started on his sandwich. He had no concern for anyone else.

Sophie cleared her throat. “Pass the chips, please.”

Randy had tucked the bag under his arm and was slow to share. He finally set it down on the table between them. Dune noted the opening was turned away from Sophie, but she didn’t seem to mind. She took a few chips and let Randy have the rest. He crunched loudly.

“Chew with your mouth closed,” she told the boy.

He was slow to oblige. The kid was willful. He continued to chew openly and loudly before clamping his jaw shut. The remainder of the meal passed peacefully.

“Clean up and take out the garbage,” Sophie told Randy once they finished their lunch.

Randy processed her request. “I’m a janitor?” he asked.

“Custodian, salesperson, cashier, whatever, you’re building your résumé,” she explained.

Randy nodded. Once his first chore was complete, Dune watched as the kid sought out Sophie. He found her setting up a display of sand globes.

“What’s next?” Randy asked.

“You change clothes.”

The boy’s jaw set. “What wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“You’re in camouflage.” Dune joined them. “You look like you should be playing army, not working in a T-shirt shop.”

“Who’s buying? Not me.”

“You’ll get two work outfits,” said Sophie. “Keep them clean.”

“I’ve never used a washing machine.”

“Ask your dad to help you,” said Dune.

“He’s never around.”

“Neither are you,” said Dune. “If your father knows you’re at home and that you need help, I’m sure he’d be there for you.”

“Believe what you want.” He then turned toward a stack of youth T-shirts. He took his sweet time reading each slogan and logo. Still undecided, he moved to the adult racks.

“The kid’s stalling,” said Dune.

“But he’s not stealing.”

“That’s true.” Dune watched as Sophie gently shook a sand globe. Sand fluttered and the beach shifted. A tiny starfish, sea urchin, and kitten’s paw shell appeared.

“These globes are amazing,” she said.

“So are you,” Dune told her, and meant it. “You’ve got a way with kids. They like you.”

“They like earning money.” She was realistic.

“That, too,” he agreed.

He glanced around and became aware they were the only two in the store. Jenna was deep in boxes in the back and Randy was trying on clothes. Dune assisted Sophie with the sand globe display. The globes came in three sizes. He smiled as she staggered them in an attractive arrangement. She had flair.

The box was soon empty and ready to toss. They reached down at the same time. They bumped shoulders, arms, and hips. Her scent was on the air, all around him. On his skin, his clothes. An essence of vanilla, innocence, and sweet woman.

They straightened slowly. A mere fraction of an inch separated them. Their cheeks brushed. His stubble rasped her soft skin. He looked deeply into her eyes, a shadowed forest green. Her mouth was so near, he felt her breath on his chin.

Time had granted them a moment together. He went with his gut and kissed her. Her reaction was an indrawn breath followed by an involuntary sigh. She went still. He practiced great patience. Her pleasure was paramount.