Sheriff Daniels and Cody climbed the six cement steps leading up to the courthouse for their long anticipated meeting with Judge Stancil. Janelle Pyle, the judge's judicial assistant, signed them in on the visitors log she kept on her desk.

"Have a seat and make yourselves comfortable," she encouraged them. "Judge Stancil will be available shortly. He's expecting you Sheriff."

She buzzed the Judge's chambers on the office intercom and informed the magistrate of the Sheriff's presence. Cody, fidgeting in his chair, seemed nervous. The size of the courtroom overwhelmed him. Or maybe it was the nature of the reason they were there that troubled him.

"Would he have to return to Palo Pinto to a stranger he did not know?" he worried to himself.

"What would happen to him if he did?" the thought occurred to him.

The longer they sat there waiting for the Judge the more antsy Cody became. He did not want to leave the Sheriff who had done so much for him. And he certainly did not want to live with someone who had been in prison for molesting boys. A far distant relative or not.

Sheriff Daniels had another little discussion with him that morning before they arrived at the courthouse . He wanted to make sure Cody understood what Rickie Wolford served all those years locked up for.

Cody knew too well what the Sheriff meant when he talked about "somebody touching him in the wrong way".

He also knew what the phrase "pleasuring themselves" indicated because Earl Anthony Schroder had left his calling card behind in the nightmares Cody frequently had from what his father did to him.

Desperately, Cody hoped Judge Stancil would make this situation all better and he would never have to go through those awful experiences ever again.

Cody looked at the clock up on the wall behind Janelle Pyle's desk. It was 9 o'clock when he and the Sheriff arrived at the courthouse. Now it was 9:02. Sitting there waiting like they were Cody felt like two hours had past.

"What's taking so long to see the Judge?" he asked the Sheriff.

"Relax, Little Man," the Sheriff calmly replied honing in on how nervous Cody appeared to be, :"when you come to a place like this it's always hurry up...and wait."

The intercom on Janelle Lyle's desk sounded. She was informed by Judge Stancil to send the Sheriff and Cody back to his chambers.

Standing up the Sheriff asked Cody, "Are you ready, Little Man?"

Cody tightly hugged the Sheriff around his waist. Sheriff Daniels hugged him back.

"Now for the moment of truth," Sheriff Daniels stated asking Cody once again, "are you ready, Little Man?"

"No," Cody simply replied telling the Sheriff, "I'm scared! What if the Judge says I have to go back to Palo Pinto? I don't want to go!"

Cody started crying.

The Sheriff wiped the tears out of Cody's eyes.

Comforting him he said, "Come on, Little Man. No negative thinking allowed here. Somehow we're going to make this right. Let's go find out what the Judge has to say. Okay?"

"No," Cody replied, meaning it was not okay, "but we have to," he reluctantly stated.