“Okay, so I know what our kids will be doing.”
He laughed. “For sure.”
When they reached Grandma’s house, they left his vehicle and headed for the front door of the house. “He won’t try to run away, will he? Should one of us go to the back of the house?”
“No. He’s lazy. He will be sleeping, or if he finally gets up, playing games. He won’t run. He never does.”
“Okay.” Grayson knocked on the door, and a white-haired woman opened it.
She was wearing jeans, a floral shirt, and an apron that read "Let the Good Times Roll." Her hair was pulled back in a bun, and she smelled like fresh apple pie. Her sharp, blue eyes softened when she saw Kendra.
“You’ve come back for my grandson, I see.” She almost sounded like she was amused by it.
“Yeah. You know it. Is he up and about or sleeping?”
“He’s up. He smelled my apple pie and came down to eat.”
“I hope he has finished it,” Kendra said.
They followed Grandma into the house.
“Aww, hell.” Marty quickly stuffed down the big piece of pie that he was eating.
“You know who I am. This is Stone, and he’s my partner now. Let’s go,” Kendra said.
Marty put on his sneakers and then went with her. She didn’t put handcuffs on him. Grayson let it be her call since she had already arrested him a number of times and knew him well enough to know how he would react to the arrest.
“Would you like a piece of pie before you leave?” Grandma asked, motioning to the pie.
Grayson was going to say no thank you, but Kendra said, “Sure, we would love it.”
Even though they had already eaten dessert, Grayson suspected it was a way for Kendra to make friends with people she dealt with on a regular basis, who helped but didn’t hinder her job when she had to pick up a fugitive. Which made sense.
“You have a reprieve for a few minutes,” Kendra said to Marty, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
“Would you like some milk to go with it?” Grandma asked.
Both Grayson and Kendra said that it would be great.
“Can I go up and play a game while you’re eating?” Marty asked.
“Nope. Just take a seat until we’re ready to go.” Kendra bit into the piece of apple pie. “Now this is delicious.”
“This is terrific. You ought to open a pie shop,” Grayson said.
Kendra smiled at Grayson.
Grandma chuckled. “When I was younger, I should have.” Then she pointed to Marty. “When you get home, you will get a job, or you’ll be out of the house.”
Good for Grandma. Marty’s parents had already stopped funding him because he didn’t want to work. It was time for him to become an independent working member of society and pay his own way.
Kendra took her plate and empty glass into the kitchen and set them next to the sink. Grayson glanced at Marty and gave him a look, telling him he'd better pick up his own plate and glass and take them in there, too.
Marty acted all cool, like he wasn’t going to be swayed to do what was right, but when Grayson rose to his full height, Marty quickly picked up his plate and glass. Grayson carried his in after that.
“Thanks,” Grandma said, smiling at Grayson. She looked like she wished he were her grandson instead.
Then they thanked her for the pie, Grayson giving Marty another of his stern looks, prompting Marty to thank Grandma as well.
