Stealing Bradford

He nodded. “For starters, both you girls should be wearing helmets.”

“Really?” Taylor blinked in surprise. “Well, I’m from out of state, so I don’t know all your laws yet.”

“License and vehicle registration, please?”

Taylor slapped her jeans’ back pocket and made an alarmed face that looked so phony that DJ almost laughed. “Oh, man,” she exclaimed, “I was so excited about taking my friend for a spin…I must’ve left my license at home. We live at the Carter House, and if you want I could go get it and—”

“Tell you what.” He pulled out what looked like a ticket book. “You give me your name and address and I’m going to write you up a warning this time. But if you ever get stopped again—without a helmet, license, and registration—you will be getting a big citation and a nice little fine. You understand?”

“Oh, you’re so kind,” she said with a big smile. “You know, I always heard bad things about policemen back where I used to live, but I think Crescent Cove must have the most helpful ones in the country. It’s really refreshing.”

He smiled now. “Just don’t let me down, little lady.”

She shook her head. “No, I definitely won’t.” Then she gave him her name and information. DJ was relieved that she didn’t try to lie to him about that. She’d seen that in a movie before, and it seemed a dumb idea.

“Now, I want you to drive your scooter nice and slow back to your house. Don’t go over ten miles an hour, you hear?” Then he pointed at DJ. “And I’m going to have to ask you to walk home.”

DJ frowned. “Walk?”

“That’s right. Do you realize that I could be writing you up a ticket too?”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah…it’s your responsibility to have a helmet if you’re riding behind someone.” He tapped her on the forehead now. “And it’s your head, young lady, you might want to watch out for it.”

“All right,” she said, nodding. “I got ya.”

“Good.”

“Sorry,” said Taylor as she swung a long leg over the Vespa and turned it on.

“See ya,” called DJ as Taylor slowly pulled away, even using her turn signal as she slowed for the corner. The policeman nodded as if he was impressed.

Then DJ started walking home—for the second time today. As if she hadn’t had enough exercise! And, if she thought she’d been hungry earlier today, now she was running on fumes. Not only that, but at this rate, she would probably be late for dinner, and she didn’t even have her cell phone to call her grandmother. And she could’ve gotten a bite in town—something full of carbs and fats—but she didn’t even have her bag. If DJ didn’t know better, she’d think that Taylor had planned this whole thing. Maybe she had. Maybe this was just a big setup. Taylor probably had connections with the local cops and had orchestrated that they would arrive just as—then DJ jumped as the sound of a beeping horn startled her back into reality.

“Hey, DJ,” called Conner from the driver’s seat of a red pickup on the other side of the street. “Need a lift?”

She frowned as she considered this. She really wanted a ride—would love a ride—with anyone but Conner Alberts.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“Please,” he begged. “I really want to talk to you, DJ.”

She looked at his old Chevy pickup and, despite herself, smiled. It was actually a really cute rig in a funky old-fashioned way, and she’d thought it was sweet that Conner and his dad had been working to restore it. Also, her feet were seriously tired now.

“Okay,” she said with an air of reluctance. “Just this once.” Then she checked for cars, dashed across the street, and hopped in. “The only reason I agreed to this is because I’m starving and if I’d walked home I’d be late for dinner.”

“You’re starving?” he said hopefully.

“Yeah, I sort of missed lunch.”

“Let me take you to dinner, DJ.”

She considered this. All she’d have to look forward to at Carter House would be healthy, nutritious, low-carb, low-cal, low-fat, low-taste kinds of foods. Still, having dinner with Conner…after what he’d said to her?

“Come on,” he urged. “Please, DJ, that’s the least I can do, okay?”

DJ could tell that her stomach was going to win this one. “Okay, but I’m really starving, Conner. And I don’t have my bag, so it has to be your treat.”

“No problem.”

“But I might need something like a T-bone steak,” she warned.

“You can have steak and lobster if you like.”

She laughed. “And I don’t have my cell phone either. I’ll need to call my grandmother.”

He handed her his. “No excuses.”

So she called, and thankfully it was Inez who answered. “Please, inform Mrs. Carter that I won’t be home for dinner,” she said politely.

“Will do,” said Inez, like she was in a hurry. “But as soon as you get in, you better go see your grandmother, Desiree. She’s been looking for you.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, you better talk to her as soon as you get home.”

“Great,” said DJ in a slightly dejected tone. “Thanks, Inez.” Then she closed the phone and handed it back to Conner.

“Trouble on the home front?”

“Maybe…” She sighed and tried to think of what she’d done wrong today. Or at least what she’d done wrong that her grandmother was aware of.