Free Local Hero by Nora Roberts Page B

before kneeling down to hug Taz. “Bye, Taz. See ya.” The dog rumbled a goodbye as he rubbed his snout into Radley’s shoulder. “Bye, Mitch.” He went to the door, then hesitated. “I guess I’ll see you Monday.”
    â€œSure. Hey, maybe I’ll just walk up with you. Give your mom a full report.”
    â€œOkay!” Radley brightened instantly. “You left your keys in the kitchen. I’ll get them.” Mitch watched the tornado pass, then swirl back. “I got an A in spelling. When I tell Mom, she’ll be in a real good mood. We’ll probably get sodas.”
    â€œSounds like a good deal to me,” Mitch said, and let himself be dragged along.
    ***
    Hester heard Radley’s key in the lock and set down the ice pack. Leaning closer, she checked her face in the bathroom mirror, saw a bruise was already forming, and swore. She’d hoped to be able to tell Radley about the mishap, gloss over it and make it a joke before any battle scars showed. Hester downed two aspirin and prayed the headache would pass.
    â€œMom! Hey, Mom!”
    â€œRight here, Radley.” She winced at her own raised voice, then put on a smile as she walked out to greet him. The smile faded when she saw her son had brought company.
    â€œMitch came up to report,” Radley began as he shrugged out of his backpack.
    â€œWhat the hell happened to you?” Mitch crossed over to her in two strides. He had her face in his hands and fury in his eyes. “Are you all right?”
    â€œOf course I am.” She shot him a quick warning look, then turned to Radley. “I’m fine.”
    Radley stared up at her, his eyes widening, then his bottom lip trembling as he saw the black-and-blue mark under her eye. “Did you fall down?”
    She wanted to lie and say yes, but she’d never lied to him. “Not exactly.” She forced a smile, annoyed to have a witness to her explanation. “It seems that there was a man at the subway station who wanted my purse. I wanted it, too.”
    â€œYou were mugged?” Mitch wasn’t sure whether to swear at her or gather her close and check for injuries. Hester’s long, withering look didn’t give him the chance to do either.
    â€œSort of.” She moved her shoulders to show Radley it was of little consequence. “It wasn’t all that exciting, I’m afraid. The subway was crowded. Someone saw what was going on and called security, so the man changed his mind about my purse and ran away.”
    Radley looked closer. He’d seen a black eye before. Joey Phelps had had a really neat one once. But he’d never seen one on his mother. “Did he hit you?”
    â€œNot really. That part was sort of an accident.” An accident that hurt like the devil. “We were having this tug-of-war over my purse, and his elbow shot up. I didn’t duck quick enough, that’s all.”
    â€œStupid,” Mitch muttered loud enough to be heard.
    â€œDid you hit him?”
    â€œOf course not,” Hester answered, and thought longingly of her ice pack. “Go put your things away now, Radley.”
    â€œBut I want to know about—”
    â€œNow,” his mother interrupted in a tone she used rarely but to great effect.
    â€œYes, ma’am,” Radley mumbled, and lugged the backpack off the couch.
    Hester waited until he’d turned the corner into his room. “I want you to know I don’t appreciate your interference.”
    â€œYou haven’t begun to see interference. What the hell’s wrong with you? You know better than to fight with a mugger over a purse. What if he’d had a knife?” Even the thought of it had his reliable imagination working overtime.
    â€œHe didn’t have a knife.” Hester felt her knees begin to tremble. The damnedest thing was that the reaction had chosen the most inopportune moment to set in. “And he doesn’t