“No. I don’t need to call the cops on you.” I was handling it. “Brett probably did.”
Kyle groans. “Come on, this is not that big of a deal.”
Scott pulls up next to my truck and gets out. “Hey, guys.” He comes to join us. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” Kyle says. “Nothing is going on! We were riding around, and this guy stopped us and started chewing us out.”
I open my mouth, but I guess that is one interpretation. I look at Scott and shrug. “Mudding.” I gesture to the area behind the kids. The tire tracks, along with the boys, coated in mud, make it clear. “And no permission to be here.”
Scott nods. “Brett called me.”
Kyle throws his hands up. “It’s not like we killed someone!”
Scott lifts a brow. I frown.
“I explained to you why this is a problem,” I tell him. I look at Scott. “I’ve got it. Community service.” Then I look at the kids. “This time.”
Kyle mutters something I can’t hear, and Colt and Haden are smart enough to just stand there looking chastised.
“Community service?” Scott asks. “Like what?”
“Park clean-up. Yard work. I don’t know. That’s not really my department.”
He nods. “Right.” He looks at the kids. “You guys can’t be riding out on just any old field.”
They nod. “Yes, sir,” Kyle replies.
“How long have you been riding?”
“Since we were little,” Colt offers. “Like six or seven years.”
“When you’re out in unfamiliar fields and pastures, it can be dangerous,” Scott goes on. “Logs, rocks, holes, pipes. Stuff you don’t know about. When you add in all the mud, it’s worse. You need to stick to your own property.”
Kyle doesn’t like that, but he nods.
I frown. “And you need to just ride, not go tearing things up when it’s all wet and muddy. For all the reasons we talked about. There are animals, birds, and plants on your property that are important too.”
“Fine,” Kyle says. “We get it.”
I look at the other boys. They nod.
“Okay, then, I think we can say you learned from today,” Scott says. “By the way, I’m really glad to see your helmets and jackets.”
Besides good quality helmets, the boys are wearing thick leather jackets that will protect their skin if they fall or ride past branches or through overgrowth.
“So we can go?” Kyle asks.
“I think so,” Scott says. “But remember everything Officer Bennett told you, okay? He knows what he’s talking about and he’s serious.”
“Okay,” Kyle says.
Scott looks at the other two boys. They both nod and mutter, “Okay,” as well.
I stare at him. “That’s it?”
“Yeah.” Scott nods. “I think that’s it.”
The boys don’t wait around to see if anyone changes their mind. They start up their four-wheelers and take off toward the road.
