The River Ranch

Noon

The day didn't feel like it would ever end, Arlo sat in Ava's chair to look out of the window of the courthouse from the top floor. Her desk was too cluttered to touch anything so he leaned over to put his nose close to the window pane to see the street below. There was nothing happening in town. Not one person jaywalking or parking in the wrong places, he leaned back in the chair and sighed. 

"Mary? What time is it?" He asked the dispatcher. 

"Almost noon, Sheriff." She replied. 

Noon?! Good God this day would never end. This was the worst thing about being sheriff for Arlo was the boring days. He liked being out in the field or the field of the ranch and staying active. But, he was a kind man and his deputies were more bored than he had been and he traded the daily tasks with them. 

The phone rang and he quickly picked it up on the first sound of it. "County Jail, this is the Sheriff, Arlo." He greeted the caller. 

"Um. Oh. Just the person I was looking for. I am Faith Buckham, the principal of elementary school. I am calling about Kayden in kindergarten, he is - he needs to go home and he doesn't want his momma. He was shouting and screaming for the Sheriff. His Uncle Arlo?" She rushed it out so fast that Arlo barely caught it all. 

"What's going on? Is he alright?" He asked standing up but couldn't go far on the landline phone. 

"Yes, yeah he is fine. He's not hurt or anything. He.. Can you come down here? He has given his poor teacher such a hard time and I think she is stressed to the max." 

Arlo could hear there was more to the story that she wasn't telling him but he would find out at the school. He let her know he was on his way,  he hung up the phone, and rushed out without a word to Mary - who watched him run out of the office and could hear his boots stomping down the old wooden stairs to the front door. 

At the school, Arlo hoped and prayed that his nephew hadn't used his power of healing at school. Kayden knew better and knew the consequences of it. Most importantly how it would make his momma feel about it. 

He went to the principal's office and she told him that Kayden was still in class with Mrs. Nelson. After brief directions to get to her class, Arlo found it about five minutes later and stood outside the door. He could hear his romping five year old nephew screaming at the top of his lungs and Arlo flung the door open to see what the heck was going on. 

Dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt with a brown jacket reading Sheriff on the sleeve and across the back, jeans and cowboy boots and the black Stetson upon his head he scanned the room. 

Kayden held his cowboy hat in his hands and jerked away from who Arlo assumed was the teacher. 

"Hey Boy." He deepened his voice and brought it down low to get his attention. His eyes landed on the teacher and he tipped his hat. His regular tone had returned. "Ma'am." 

He looked back at Kayden and noticed he had settled down with wide eyes staring at him as if he were silently pleading with Arlo to take him out of class. 

Arlo looked back at Mrs Nelson. "I'm Arlo. His Uncle. What is going on?" He asked the woman who looked defeated and wild with frustration. Her eyes were narrowed and furrowed brows beneath crow black shoulder length hair. She wore a yellow shirt with the name of the school across the front and a pair of black leggings. She looked like she was ready for a jog and after dealing with one of Kayden's tantrums, Arlo wouldn't blame her if she had taken off running out of the room and into the next county. 

Kayden busted away from her grasp and clung on to Arlo's legs. Arlo patted the boy's shoulder and bent down and picked him up. Kayden immediately laid against his shoulder and hung onto his neck like his small life depended on Arlo to survive. Arlo rubbed his nephews back with concern as he eyed the teacher. He was suspicious that something had happened to make Kayden act this way.