put his hands on his hips and pushed out a sigh. “Funnily enough, when I pictured myself becomin’ a daddy, I didn’t see myself disciplinin’ a couple of grown adults, and I sure as hell didn’t expect for one of them to be my older brother.”
Wyatt gave Max a look that should have brought him to his knees.
“I don’t have time for this nonsense,” I said. “I only came over to tell you that I’m helpin’ a little boy with his math homework.”
Max did a double take. “Say what?”
“He didn’t understand how to do it, so I showed him and his mother.” I made a face. “Actually, I helped a little girl the night before, and the mother of the little boy caught wind of it and brought her son in for dinner last night to see if I could help him. They didn’t quite get it, so I’m showing them this afternoon while we’re not busy.”
“Let me get this straight,” Max said, resting his hand on the counter. “You’re helping a kindergartner with his math homework.”
“Not a kindergartner,” I said in exasperation. “A third grader, and it’s the new math, which is totally confusing when you don’t know how to do it, but once you get it, it makes higher math easier, which is why it’s so important for the parents to understand so they can help their children.”
Max stared at me like I’d started speaking Russian. “Where did you learn how to do this new math?”
I shrugged, the neurons in my brain scrambling to come up with an acceptable answer. “I tutored in Atlanta as a side job. Retail doesn’t pay much.”
“Huh,” he said, shifting his weight and casting his gaze to the booth.
“Sounds like several of the kids don’t know how to do it,” Wyatt said, turning his head sideways to look at his brother. “Maybe you could have Carly host a tutoring session in the afternoons, after school. The kids and their parents would likely order food while they’re here, and it’s a dead time anyway. Great opportunity to give back to the community but make some money too.”
Wyatt turned to me, his expression softer, and part of me wanted to push him off his barstool. He knew I’d been a schoolteacher, and I’d confessed how much I missed teaching. Just when I was sure I hated him, he went and did something nice.
My eyes burned and I had to look away.
“You know,” Max said, sounding excited. “That’s actually a good idea.” He turned to look at me. “Can you help with other subjects besides math?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I can help with it all.”
“We could call it Max’s Homework Club,” Max said. “We could host it a couple days a week from three thirty to five, which would clear them out before the dinner crowd.”
“The families just might stay for dinner,” Wyatt suggested. “And maybe we should name it something else since Carly’s gonna be helpin’ with the homework and not you.”
Max rubbed his chin. “Yeah, maybe so.”
Annette glanced over at me with a look of panic.
“Excuse me,” I said, heading around the corner of the bar. “Duty calls.”
I spent the next ten minutes helping Eric work a few problems before they left. Some customers came in with the dinner crowd, and I kept glancing at the door, watching for Marco. I hadn’t spoken to him since I’d left my long, rambling message. I was eager to tell him about my encounter with Emily, but that would have to wait until later. The last thing I wanted was for either of the Drummond boys to overhear me.
Ruth was at the food counter when I headed back there to pick up the plates for table three. Neither of our orders were up, so I leaned against the counter and glanced toward the front.
“What are you watchin’ for?” she asked. “Or should I ask who?”
Not much got past her. “Marco.”
“I heard he was guarding the construction site.”
I nodded. “He was until they gave it the all clear. The construction guys must still be out there.”
“Max says they got a late start, so they’ll probably be out there for a while yet. Bart’s gonna push them to get a full day’s work in to make up for the lost time.”
That stood to reason, but it also meant there’d likely be a late dinner rush.
“Say, Ruth, I know you and Heather weren’t friends, but do you happen to know who went to her going-away party?”
She looked uncomfortable. “That was a