Her Scream in the Silence (Carly Moore #2) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,57
with less undertones. It looked like a home dye job. I swallowed my disappointment. I didn’t have the time or money to pay someone to professionally dye it. I’d have to suck it up. It was only hair.
I was getting dressed in my room when I heard an engine outside. A quick glance at my phone read 8:46, which meant Marco was early. I still hadn’t changed Hank’s compression bandage and massaged his stump. I hurriedly stuffed my work shirt, a thermal tee, and a pair of athletic shoes into a bag, then headed out to the living room. I was hoping I still had a job.
To my surprise, Wyatt was standing next to the sofa, holding a box of donuts.
His gaze shifted to me and the longing in his eyes made my knees weak. “Carly, I said some things last night that were totally out of line.”
My gaze dropped to the box of donuts. I’d mentioned in passing a week ago that I’d kill for a box of donuts, and here he was with some.
“You were right,” he said, contrition covering his face. “It’s not fair to tell you absolutely nothing about my past when you’ve been so upfront with me about yours.” He took a step forward. “I don’t want to lose you, Carly. You’re too important to me.”
“But you also said I’d never be happy with how little you can tell me.” I glanced around. “Is Hank still outside? I need to change his compression bandage.”
“He’s watchin’ the birds. Which means we have time to discuss this now.” His gaze landed on my bag and his body went rigid. “Where are you goin’?”
“This is for work tonight.” I sighed. “If I still have a job.”
“Why wouldn’t you? Did Lula come back?”
I made a face. Me and my big mouth.
The oven timer went off, so I dropped the bag on the sofa as I walked past him into the kitchen. “I made something for Hank’s lunch and dinner. Also, there’s still some vegetable lasagna from the other night if he’d rather have something else.”
“Where are you goin’? Why do you think you might be out of a job?”
I grabbed the potholders and opened the oven door. “Max and I got into an argument.”
“Over what?” he asked, sounding incredulous.
Pushing out a breath, I said, “It’s not important. I’m probably overreacting.”
“Did he tell you that you were fired?”
“No, but we were cleaning up the bar, and he told me in no uncertain terms to drop what I was doin’ and leave.”
He set the box of donuts down on the table and rubbed his jaw. “What were you arguin’ about?”
“Max thinks I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“You mean askin’ him to walk Greta to her car?”
“Among other things,” I said, setting the cookie sheet on the stove top. “I need to leave before this cools down. If you’re sticking around, can you portion it out into these containers?” I asked, pointing to four plastic bowls with lids that I’d already set out on the counter. “There’s enough for you too.”
“Yeah,” he said with a frown. “Of course. But where are you goin’ that has you in such a hurry?”
“Carly!” Hank called out from the front porch. “Your date’s here.”
Well, crap.
Wyatt’s brow practically shot up to his hairline. “Your what?”
“It’s not a date, Wyatt.”
His entire body stiffened. “Who’s here to pick you up?”
There was no easy way to tell him this. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid. “Marco.”
His jaw tensed. “Marco.”
“Like I said, it’s not a date.”
“Well, whatever it is, you’re takin’ your work clothes, so you’re clearly plannin’ on spendin’ all day with him.”
Crap. I hadn’t thought this through. If Marco dropped me off at the tavern, I wouldn’t have a way home. I could ask Ruth, but she’d probably get off early since she was going in at noon, and asking Max for a ride probably wasn’t a good idea.
“Can you give me a ride home tonight?”
His eyes narrowed. “So you are spendin’ the entire day with him?”
“Yeah,” I said, starting to get pissed. “I am. Lula’s missin’ and he’s helpin’ me look for her.”
“Yeah,” he said in disgust, “I bet he is.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“We all know that if Lula took off, she’s nowhere around here. He’s playin’ you, Carly.”
I put my hand on my hip. “Excuse me?”
“He’s pandering to you so he can spend time with you.”
I released a short laugh. “Are you seriously suggesting Marco is makin’ up a reason to spend