Down by the River Read Online Free

two little kids to the hospital and left me with him…and the flat.” Jim glanced over his shoulder at Conrad, who stayed close to the truck. He leaned back against it, his hands plunged into the pockets of his baggy pants. “The tire isn’t all that’s flat,” Jim said, transferring the tire into Sam’s hands.
    Sam intercepted it with a low whistle. “Looks like he drove on it a spell.”
    “He need a new one?”
    “Very likely. I can try to fix it, but I wouldn’t guarantee anything.”
    “Any chance you can just sell me a new one? I’ll cover the cost,” Jim said. He didn’t want the kid flashing any of his drug money around town. He just wanted him taken care of and out of there. “I’ll get him back to his truck.”
    “Now, don’t worry about that, son. I can take him. I imagine you have people to meet at the café. And this is my living, even if I don’t do it often enough to pay taxes.”
    Jim peered down the street. “Are there usually that many people there for breakfast?” he asked.
    Sam grinned broadly. “Not hardly.”
    The dawning came slowly. Jim was going to get a looking over. “Hmm,” he said. “Well, much as I’m excited to meet everyone, I promised June that I’d take care of this young man personally, and if I start breaking promises now, I suppose she’ll have second thoughts about me.”
    Sam’s brows drew together in question. He’d known June all her life and he seriously doubted there was any truth to what Jim said. Sam figured there was something more to it. Probably something more to this young man. “You don’t want to keep ’em waiting long,” Sam advised.
    “I’ll make it a quick trip and get right back to town,” Jim promised.
    “Whatever you say, son,” Sam said, taking possession of the tire and rolling it into the garage.
    A half hour later Jim was tightening the last lug nut on the tire at Conrad’s truck. The tire he’d just put on for the kid was the best one on the truck; Sam had sold him a retread at a good price. He straightened and stretched his back. Without a jacket in this cold, damp morning, it hadn’t taken long for Jim to stiffen up.
    Sam would have done this, and likely he could have held his own. But Jim was watching the kid the way a cop watched a suspect. He might be puny, but if he had a handgun stashed in the back of his truck,size would be irrelevant. He didn’t want Sam to be robbed or hurt—or both.
    “Thanks, man,” Conrad said. “I owe you one.”
    “You don’t owe me anything, kid. You know the way to Valley Hospital in Rockport?”
    “I haven’t decided if I’m going there yet,” he said. Then he smiled a crooked, insincere smile. His teeth were nasty.
    Jim took a breath for patience. “Wherever you go, make sure you don’t end up back here. Got that?”
    “Oh, man, I sort of like it here. People are real friendly.”
    “That could change in a heartbeat, man. ”
    Jim got in June’s truck before he said or did anything more, leaving the kid standing beside his pickup. He made a U-turn, heading back to town, and thought that maybe retirement wasn’t going to be as dull as he feared. Especially around here.
     
    John admitted mother and baby to the maternity ward and nursery. June made sure the little ones were settled in a safe play area in the social services department at the hospital while they waited for their father. The staff was on alert. If the father didn’t show up or appeared impaired in any way, the social worker was prepared to put the children in emergency foster care.
    That settled, June and John began the drive back to Grace Valley.
    “Is he here to stay? Is he going to make an honest woman out of you?”
    “You don’t waste any time, do you? Yes, it appears he’s here for good.”
    “That’s a relief. Is he going to make an honest woman out of you?”
    “Did you know I’d been thinking about having a baby, anyway? On my own? Because not only was my clock ticking, but my calendar pages