“Thank you, Dr. Freeman.”

As I hung up, I realized that I needed to get a blood pressure cuff, which meant I had to head back to town. I’d need to leave Marco alone for a little while in order to properly take care of him.

I went back inside to check on him. His breathing was steady, but he still looked pale. I kneeled next to the sofa and lightly pinched his wrist to check his pulse with my fingertips. It seemed strong enough at first touch, but I held on tight, counting the beats to be sure.

He stirred slightly and murmured, “Are you sure you’re not a nurse?”

There was no way I was telling him that I’d cared for a dying woman before fumbling my way to Drum. It didn’t fit with my Carly Moore cover, and besides, it wasn’t liable to reassure him. “Shh, I’m trying to count your heartbeats.”

He lay still for a few moments, and although I didn’t have a watch with a second hand to count off the seconds, I could tell his heartbeat was steady and strong. “I talked to your doctor, and he says to monitor your blood pressure. You don’t have a blood pressure cuff, do you?”

He opened his eyes wider to give me an incredulous look. “Why would I have a blood pressure cuff?”

“I had to ask.” I started to get up, then squatted back down. “You’re not going to chastise me for calling your doctor?”

“I’ve learned that you do what you want, and you did it because you care about me.” He took a breath. “You want to go get a blood pressure cuff, don’t you?”

“But I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I was alone when I came home from the hospital,” he said. “Go get the blood pressure cuff if it makes you feel better. I’ll be okay.”

I hadn’t even thought to check if he’d had any help after his release. Now I felt terrible.

“What’s got you upset?” he asked with a frown.

“Don’t you have any family around?”

He took a moment before he said, “None worth speakin’ of, but I’m fine. I’ve got Max. I’ve got friends. I’m good. Someone would have stayed if I’d asked, but I didn’t. All of that’s to say if I was okay then, I’m totally fine now. Now go get some money out of my wallet and pick up that blood pressure cuff. I’m gonna go back to sleep.”

“I don’t have a car.”

“Take mine. The keys are in my pocket.”

I headed to his room and grabbed his keys and his cell phone, which I’d retrieved from his jeans before throwing them in the washer. I left his wallet. I didn’t feel right taking his money. Besides, I figured Hank could use a blood pressure cuff, so I’d keep it for him.

There was a floor-length mirror in the bedroom, and I caught a glimpse of my reflection. With my jeans in the washing machine, I was wearing jogger pants that barely fit, paired with a sweater that definitely didn’t match. I considered running by Hank’s for a change of clothes or putting on my Max’s Tavern T-shirt, but right now I felt I had no right to wear it. So I searched Marco’s drawers until I found a well-worn University of Tennessee long-sleeved T-shirt. It was too big for me, and I had to roll up the sleeves, but the ensemble looked better than what I’d had on before. Besides, I was running to the Dollar General in Drum. I could have worn a gunnysack and been fine.

I set Marco’s cell phone and the cordless landline receiver on the coffee table next to the sofa and made sure his crutches were within reach in case he needed to get up. Before I headed out the door, I refilled his glass of water and set it down next to the phone.

There were only a few keys on his key fob, and I was lucky enough to pick the one that locked the front door on the first try. I got in the Explorer and headed back into Drum.

Dollar General was packed on a Saturday afternoon. I searched the shelves in the small health section for a blood pressure cuff, but when I couldn’t find one, I tracked down an employee.

“We don’t carry nothin’ like that, hon,” she said, clearly frazzled. “Yer gonna have to head down to Ewing.”

Ewing. That would be an hour-and-a-half round trip. “Do you have a pay phone?”

“Outside.”

Pay phones were a whole new world to me. I considered running over to the tavern to use the phone there, but I figured Max and I needed as much space from each other as possible. So I dug a quarter out of my wallet, inserted it into the slot, then called Ginger.

“Hello?” she asked, sounding leery.

“Ginger, it’s Carly. Did you mean it when you offered to help with Marco?”

“Sure,” she said, but I heard the hesitation in her voice.

“You don’t have to do anything, but I need to head to Ewing to pick up something at Walgreens. I’m going to call him as soon as I get cell phone coverage there, but if I can’t reach him, can I call you and have Junior or someone go check on him?” I’d briefly considered calling Max, but I wasn’t sure he’d talk to me, and for all I knew, he was sleeping off his hangover. Or drinking again. Wyatt was out. He’d been far too jealous that morning.

She gasped. “Oh, my word. Is Marco okay?”

“The doctor thinks he just overdid it, but I can’t help worrying about him.”

“Of course. I’ll be here. Just call, and I’ll have Junior run up there to check.”

“Thanks.”

I drove Marco’s Explorer to Ewing, wondering if I should have made a quick trip to Hank’s to pick up his car. It didn’t feel right driving Marco’s vehicle and using his gas, but I reminded myself that I was making the trip for him. Nevertheless, I wondered what people would think if they saw me driving his SUV, especially since I was wearing a baggy outfit that obviously belonged to a man. Did I care? Did it matter?

When I pulled into the Walgreens parking lot, I dug my phone out of my purse and checked my cell service. Two bars. Drum had absolutely no coverage, but I’d discovered that Ewing had spotty areas, and I’d lucked out. I called Marco, and it took him several rings to answer.

“Hello?” He sounded groggy, like he’d just woken up.

“Hey, Marco,” I said. “I had to go to Ewing to get the monitor, but since I’m going to be gone longer than I expected, I wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine,” he said, sounding grumpy. “I was sleeping.”

“How’s your pain? Better? Worse?”

“I’m fine, Carly. Stop worryin’.”

That was asking for the impossible. “This shouldn’t take too long. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Don’t hurry on my account,” he said. “I’ll probably sleep a little while longer, then heat up my meatloaf for dinner.”

“If you have any problems before I get back, you can call Ginger. She said she would send Junior to come check on you.”

“Junior? Why in the hell would you send Junior out to check on me? I’m fine.”

I was beginning to think I’d overreacted, but Marco wasn’t the best patient. I suspected he was grumpy because he was in pain.

“Of course you are,” I said. “But call her anyway if you have any problems. Okay?”

“If I have any problems, I’ll call one of my friends,” he snapped. “I’ll see you when you get back.” Then he hung up.