“I was wonderin’ that myself,” Elwood muttered.
“Not helpin’,” Max grumped.
I glanced back and forth between them. “Maybe you two should discuss this in the back.”
“Good idea,” Ruth barked. “And Carly, when you finish taking that order, go into the back and change that shirt.” Then she spun around and marched off to Max’s office, and he slunk after her.
Once she was out of sight, Elwood said, “Ruth’s on the warpath tonight.”
There was no arguing with that, so I just made a face and finished taking his order. I was about to take his ticket to the back when Wyatt walked through the front door carrying a toolbox and several pieces of wood. He did a double take when he saw there was no one behind the bar.
“Max is in the back with Ruth,” I said.
“Actually,” he said, coming toward me, “I was hoping to have a chance to talk to you.”
Everything in me wanted to say no. Wyatt still hadn’t given up on me, even though we’d only dated for a hot minute after I got to town and I had made it very clear that we were through. Still, as long as I lived here, I couldn’t avoid him, especially since I worked for his brother and he moonlighted as a bartender from time to time. He was also good to Hank—he’d been working on his car, making it operable for the older man to use with one leg.
“Yeah,” I said, then pointed my thumb to the back. “Let me put this order in, and I can talk while I pull Elwood’s beer. Unless Max is done with Ruth by then.” I smirked. “Ruth’s in there rippin’ him a new one, so it’ll be touch and go.”
Wyatt laughed, but he looked nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t envy him right now.”
“Let’s just say he put himself in this position with his cockamamie idea.” I gestured to his supplies. “I take it you’re here to put up the shelves for his new merchandise.”
“Yeah, but in my defense, I didn’t have anything to do with it. He told me that he planned to sell a bunch of crap, and I agreed to put in some shelves.”
I nearly told him not to call it crap, but if the quality of the merchandise was anything like the shirt I was wearing, there was a good chance he was right. So I just nodded and headed on back to give Tiny the order.
Tiny moved closer to the order counter as I approached and lowered his voice. “Max is gettin’ his ass chewed good.”
His grin told me that he was loving every minute of it.
I cocked my head and gave him a knowing look. “What does he expect you to wear?”
Chuckling, he said, “He made aprons with his shit new logo. I made sure to tell Ruthie as soon as she walked in.”
“You’re a chickenshit. You stirred up Ruth so she’d take care of it for you,” I teased, but I knew he was more afraid of Ruth than he was of Max.
He shrugged. “Self-preservation. And I didn’t hear you puttin’ up a huge protest.”
He had me there.
I could hear Ruth’s muffled voice coming down the hall from the closed office. “You’d think he’d learn,” I said. “I suspect she’d be all for getting merch. She just wants to make sure it’s not tacky.”
He laughed, and I considered going back to change my shirt like Ruth had ordered, but some days I rode a fine line over which boss to obey. I didn’t want to risk pissing either of them off, so I decided to use the Wyatt distraction to my advantage.
I headed over to the bar to pull Elwood’s beer, but Wyatt had slid behind the counter and started pulling it himself.
“How’d you know what to get him?” I asked suspiciously.
He snorted. “I asked him.”
He finished, then walked around the counter and set the mug on Elwood’s table.
When he came back behind the bar, I said, “I’m not sharing my tips with you.”
He started to protest, probably thinking I was being surly and meant to start a fight, but then he saw my grin. Shaking his head, he grinned at me.
“Fair enough,” he said, once again rubbing the back of his neck in what appeared to be an unconscious gesture. Something was bothering him.
“What is it you want to talk about?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
He glanced around. “I’m not sure this is the best place to talk. We need more privacy.”
“Oh no,” I grunted in a low tone. “There’s hardly anyone here. We can discuss it now.”
He sucked in a breath, clearly irritated, but then leaned in close. “I’m surprised you’re still here. Are you waitin’ around for Max to find your replacement? Have you prepared Hank, or are you just plannin’ on leavin’?”
I stared at him like he’d just spoken Russian. Then horror washed over me. He knew about the Hardshaw Group. But I also realized I’d made a huge mistake in insisting we talk about it here.
I looked him dead in the eye. “Who said I was going anywhere?”
“Surely you’re not plannin’ on stayin’,” he said with a look of disbelief.
I propped a hand on my hip. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Carly,” he said in a hushed voice, but there was plenty of anger behind it. “What the hell do you think you’re doin’?”
“Why are you suddenly so eager to see me go?”
His eyes flew wide. “Are you serious?” He leaned in close, his face inches from mine, so close I could smell the combination of engine grease and the hand soap he used in the garage. “Your life is in danger, Carly, but if you’re too stupid to care about yourself, then at least think about the safety of the people around you.”
Was he talking about Hank?
My anger rose up, hot and fierce. “You have no right,” I whisper-shouted, balling my hands at my sides. “You mind your own damned business, Wyatt Drummond.”
I rued the day I’d spilled my guts to him. Sure, he’d figured out a good portion of my story due to my poor acting abilities when we’d heard a radio broadcast of my father discussing my disappearance, but I could have denied it. I could have played dumb. Instead, he’d gotten me to trust him and convinced me to tell him every last detail.
“Are you workin’ with your father?” I asked in a deadly calm voice.
Surprise washed over his face. Then all emotion evaporated. “You don’t know what you’re dealin’ with Carly.”
“Oh,” I said, staring up at him, realizing his nonanswer was probably all I was going to get. “You fucking hypocrite,” I whispered angrily, fighting the urge to shout. “As you are well aware, I know exactly what I’m dealing with, and even if I decided to grab my purse and leave town right this very minute, your father threatened Hank’s life if I do. Or do you really not care?” He didn’t answer, and my fury grew. “If you don’t want to help me protect Hank, then so be it, but don’t expect me to give a single shit about what you think or say.”
I started to walk away before I did something any more stupid than what I’d already done, like insist on having this conversation in public, but in my defense, I hadn’t imagined he’d be so careless.
He reached out and roughly grabbed my arm, his fingers digging deep into my flesh as I tried to pull away. He leaned into my face, fury in his eyes. “You need to go, Carly. The sooner the better.”