Full Circle Read Online Free Page A

stepped up for me, but I'm stepping up and doing what's best for Alex. I found him sleeping in one of the old sheds out back. He was cold, hungry and defiant. He slept in the shed because his mother was hooking to feed her habits. Not all her clients were satisfied with what they paid for—some of them thought an eleven-year-old kid was fair game."
    "Jesus," Jack said with feeling. "Was he hurt?"
    "He says not, but he admits it was close sometimes. He found places to hide, places to run, too. I intervened about eight months ago, pulled some strings and got my foster parent credentials fast-forwarded because of my background and clearances on record. I had to take a bunch of classes for foster parenting, CPR and first-aid refresher courses. Social Services placed him in a group home for a couple of months, while I was trying to get all the paperwork squared away. It was bad where they put him, and he ran away and came back here, twice. I was able to bring him home with me when the Judge and social workers agreed it was better for him to be with me until the courts and the psychologists decide if his mother is sincerely trying to rehab herself. He doesn't want to go back to her, but the system tries every venue to keep the child with the natural parents. They don't seem to get the idea that some adults can't keep themselves afloat, let alone be responsible for a kid.
    "The hoops these people jump through to quote/unquote 'help' people who couldn't give a damn about their kids amazes me. Meanwhile, the kid is left dangling out in limbo with no security, no commitment and no hope. The system is a typical bureaucratic mess, run by regulation autocrats that think one rule applies universally to all. It sucks big time, but I have to work within their rules." Josie made an exaggerated motion with her hands. "Please, this is my personal soapbox topic. I need a change of subject!"
    Jack chuckled. "How long have you been back in Rawlings?"
    "A little over a year," Josie said, taking a deep breath.
    "Are you bored?"
    She laughed. "I haven't had time to be bored. I came back and started clearing out this place while I was deciding what to do with it. For a while there, I thought I was going to have to bring in a Haz-Mat company to get it cleaned out. Two months after I got here, Sheriff Bowles had a massive heart attack and died. It was awful; no one suspected he had heart problems.
    "The town has three deputies. Two of them are young and inexperienced, and the third one doesn't want the job of sheriff. The mayor and town council asked me to takeover as sheriff temporarily. I took the job because they were a little desperate at the time, but I'm only the acting sheriff. The town council is supposed to be looking for someone qualified to replace me. Since it's been almost ten months, I don't think they've been looking real hard, but I keep refusing to take the full job title."
    "It's not exactly a fit for an ex-CIA undercover field agent," Jack said.
    Josie lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of a job does my training make me a match for, exactly?"
    "Good question, but I have my sources, so I ran a search on you—ex-police officer, ex-CIA agent, three commendations, and two citations in eight years. You were on a fast track to promotion."
    "I was on a fast track to die young," Josie said matter-of-factly.
    "So you had an epiphany or something and bailed?"
    "Yeah, I did," Josie admitted with a hint of a smile. "It was a big 'ta da' moment in my life so far and it was life changing."
    "So tell me," Jack said. "I'm sure a lot has happened in the last twenty years."
    "You want my life story?" Josie laughed.
    "Yeah, at least the highlights. You went from town hellion to town sheriff. I want to know how," Jack admitted. "I was invested in your life for a lot of years. I'd like to take a little credit for keeping you on the straight and narrow at least for a short time."
    Josie nodded, picked up her coffee cup and pointed him to the family room where