“He will, but again, it’s my project. I’m not trying to rock the boat, just giving us a stronger foothold moving forward. Having you at the helm is the perfect choice. Gil will see that.”
Jake still didn’t look convinced.
“Jake, you’ve got connections all over town. Even better, everyone likes and respects you. You can talk to businesses, organize sponsorships and supplies to get the building in shape. But there would have to be some rules for any of the kids who want to come to the center.”
“What kind of rules?” Simon’s eyes went wider, if that was possible.
“Well, being a member of the youth facility is going to be a privilege,” Luke explained. “It means staying on the straight and narrow.”
“And what if they haven’t in the past?” Jake asked.
“We’ll look at their history and determine if they’re capable of adjusting their behavior. I ran a similar program in Chicago. We’ll start with a sign-up sheet and go from there. In the meantime, Simon, would you like to be our first recruit?”
“Me?”
He said it in exactly the same way his grandfather had moments ago. “You’ve been behaving yourself lately. And it’s not as if you’re going to give your mom any more grief between now and then. Right?”
“I could use a helper,” Jake added. “Official assistant. It would mean a lot of work, though. And you couldn’t hang out here as much. You’d be with me or Sheriff Luke.”
“What about Charlie?” Simon shifted his feet under his butt and began to bounce in the vinyl seat. “Can she help, too?”
“If she wants and her mom says it’s okay.”
“There’s one catch, though.” Luke took another bite of his breakfast. “You’d have to be a junior deputy.”
“You mean like a real crime fighter?” Simon’s mouth dropped open. “Do you mean it?”
“I do. You’re a smart kid, Simon. I need smart people working with and for me. But this is conditional. Only if your mom says it’s okay.”
“She will! I know she will!”
“She will what?” Holly sidled up to their table. “What’s all this jabbering going on? Somebody win the World Series?”
“Mom.” Simon rolled his eyes. “That’s not until October. Sheriff Luke wants me to be a junior deputy.”
“Does he?” Holly angled a look at Luke that had him refocusing on his half-full plate. He needed an extra stomach. “And what will that entail?”
“To be determined,” Jake said before Luke could swallow. “We have to clear up the mystery of the station saboteur before we can move forward with anything else.”
“Whoever it turns out to be, it’s too bad they won’t be able to participate in any of the youth center’s programs,” Luke added.
“They won’t?” Simon’s face fell.
“I can’t let someone destructive interact with you and the other kids. It would defeat the purpose. It’s too bad, too. I was hoping we could get things going with a camping trip up at Milkweed Lake.”
“I love camping!” Simon announced.
“How do you know? You’ve never been,” Holly pointed out.
“Then, I would love to try camping. Please, Mom. Can I be a junior deputy and help Grandpa with the group?”
“I don’t see why not.” She ruffled Simon’s hair. Luke would have had to have been blind not to see a rush of relief slip over Holly’s face. “See what being good brings you? You get to do things like this.” She leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “Thank you for being such a good boy these past couple of weeks.”
“Why don’t the three of us head over to the community center now and take a look at what you have to work with,” Luke suggested.
“Can we, Grandpa?” Simon pleaded.
Jake gave Luke a long, considering look, the frown on his face fading to interest as he nodded. “Why not? Can’t hurt to see.”
“Great.” Luke glanced at the clock. He’d still have time to run his other errands before he needed to be at the station.
And put the rest of his plan into action.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“WELL, THERE’S SOMETHING I didn’t think I’d ever see.” Holly watched her father and son head out the diner door with Luke a little while later. They couldn’t have captured Simon’s attention any better than if they’d tied him to his stool.
“You worried?” Paige popped up behind her as they stared out the blinds.
“No.” Holly shook her head. “For the first time in a long time, I’m not.” And what a joy that was. She pushed open the door. “Hey, Twyla.”