“I like it.” I was surprised it was partially true. While I’d loved taking care of Violet, I was an extrovert. I needed to be with people, and it had been just me and Violet at Rose’s house most of the time, and Vi had done a lot of sleeping at the end. If he’d asked me the night before, my answer wouldn’t have been as enthusiastic, but people seemed to be coming around tonight. “You have no idea how much I appreciate you giving me a job.”

“We’re thrilled to have you. In fact, Ruth and I were talkin’… I know you’re only stickin’ around until your car gets fixed, but you’ve got a job as long as you want it. And if you decide to stick around longer, we’d love it even more.”

“What about Lula?”

“Well…we have no idea when she’ll come back, if she comes back, but if she does, Ruth wants to do some reevaluatin’.” It looked like it pained him to admit it.

“I have no intention of takin’ Lula’s job,” I insisted. “This job works for both of us because it fills a mutual need.”

“If you’re still workin’ for us when she comes back, we’ll figure it out then.”

I wasn’t sure what there was to figure out. There weren’t enough customers to cover three full-time waitresses, but they could probably use a part-time waitress. Maybe they could move me to that, although I suspected it would entail working the slower and lower-paying lunch shift. But if I had any luck at all, I’d be gone long before it became an issue.

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I can’t help feeling responsible for what happened.”

“You mean with Seth?”

“That too.” He paused, looking uncomfortable. “I can’t help but think…” His voice trailed off. “I almost put you in one of the units that got busted into because I know the phone doesn’t work in twenty. But I figured it would be safer and quieter at the end, and anyway, who were you likely to call?” His hand tightened around the wheel.

The thought that he’d almost put me in one of those units freaked me out, and it took a second for my brain to sort through all the what-ifs.

“Did you try to call 911?” he asked.

His question shook me out of my thoughts. “What?”

“Did you try to use the phone?”

I pressed my palm to the side of my face. “Uh…” I turned to see him intently watching me. “Yeah, but it didn’t work.”

“Did you call when you woke up? Or when you saw him?” His hands were shaking on the steering wheel.

“Max,” I said. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“But Seth isn’t. If you’d been able to call 911 when you realized something was wrong, he might still be alive.”

“No,” I said, “because by then it would have been too late.”

“You’re sure?” he asked, turning to face me with tears in his eyes. “You’re sure there wasn’t a gap in between when you woke up and when you went outside?”

“Are you asking me if I lied to the sheriff?” I asked in a near-whisper.

“No! Fuck!” he protested, turning back to face the road. His face looked anguished, anxious, and he’d starting wringing his hands over the steering wheel. “I’m asking if you need to be protected.”

“Protected from who?”

He gave a slow shake of his head, rolling his top teeth over his bottom lip. “Carly, if someone thinks you saw something, you might be in trouble. The official report says you didn’t see anything. I’m just making sure you’re sticking to that story.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Bingham’s men were in the bar tonight, and their eyes were firmly on you.” He turned to face me. “I don’t care what you saw or didn’t see. I just need to know if you told anyone.”

My chest tightened at the mention of Bingham.

“No,” I lied, certain that Hank would keep my secret.

He pushed out a sigh of relief.

“That’s why you wanted me to stay with you tonight,” I said.

“I was already nervous when they showed up, but Dwight Henderson gave me the perfect excuse.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded. “We’re a close-knit group at Max’s Tavern, and you’ve helped us out of a bind. We take care of our own, Carly.” He shot me a quick glance before facing the road. “You understand?”

Three months ago, I would have said, No, I don’t get it at all, but then again, I’d closed myself off from other people after my mother was taken from me. Something had changed in Arkansas. When my car had broken down, Rose and her friends had invited me into their lives. They’d made my problems their own. They’d helped me realize that for all the world’s evils, plenty of people were good. That family could be created out of circumstance, not just blood. “Like you and Tiny standing up to Dwight tonight.”

“We’ll always have your back, Carly.”

Tears burned my eyes. It felt good to feel like I belonged somewhere. That I meant something to someone.

“So Wyatt…?” he said slowly.

He’d already asked this question, so what was he getting at? “Wyatt’s helping Hank. I’m helping Hank. We have a common cause.”

“I get Wyatt’s interest in Seth, but why are you helping Hank?” he asked. “You know that people’s tongues are gonna be wagging.” He leaned toward me and cast me a teasing grin that did little to ease the worry lines around his eyes. “They say he’s got a fortune buried behind his house.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said. “Dwight accused me of trying to steal it.”

“It’s all a bunch of nonsense,” he said. “Some people say Hank’s father left him the fortune and Hank himself buried it back there. Others think it’s what’s left from his past career.” He shot me a knowing look.

What past career?

“And I’ve heard a few people say that his daughter, Barb,” he continued, “stole it from Bingham.”

“If everyone knows Bingham’s bad news, why do you let him into the tavern?” I asked.

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” He shot me a rueful look. “It pays to be on Bingham’s good side.”

“Literally?” I asked, thinking of what Wyatt had told me about the police.

“No!” he protested. “I don’t tolerate any kind of drugs in my place. And I don’t show up at his place peddlin’ the Drummond moonshine. We respect each other’s boundaries.”

“But the difference is he’s dealing in illegal goods, Max,” I said. “You’re on the up-and-up.” I narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you?”

“You’ve worked for me for three days,” he said, clearly offended. “Have you even gotten a whiff of anything illegal?”

“Other than you almost stabbing Dwight’s hand?” I said. “No.”

“If I’d wanted to stab his hand, I would have,” he said. “The people in this town lead miserable lives, and they drown out their misery either through alcohol or drugs. I just so happened to have a corner on the legal market, which left the illegal one to Bingham.” He took a breath. “Look, if people wanna do drugs, they’re gonna find a dealer. At least Bingham’s is homegrown and he’s not selling poison.”