fool, despite what Ruth and the rest of you think.”
I turned to him in surprise. “I know you’re not a fool, Max, which is why I can’t help wondering why you let people think that you are.”
Anger flashed on his face, but it faded just as quickly. “Sometimes it’s easier to play the part of the fool, Carly Moore. No one pays much attention to you.” He motioned for the door. “Why don’t you head on out for the night? I can call in Trixie to cover for you.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. I’d rather stay. Marco’s working tonight, but I’ll be heading to his house when I get off, since Hank has some buddies coming over for poker night.”
I was actually pretty pleased when he’d told me the day before. I’d been spending more time at Marco’s than Hank’s, and I worried about him getting lonely. He’d been making more of an effort to be more sociable with the people in town, which I saw as a step in the right direction.
“You don’t say,” he said, his Southern charm sliding back on like a comfortable sweater. “Hank used to have plenty of those back in the day. High stakes games for big money.”
I narrowed my eyes. “When you say back in the day . . . ?”
“From the look on your face, you know exactly what I’m talkin’ about. Back when he was runnin’ his drug empire and had plenty of money to spare.” He hesitated. “I know Hank seems like a cranky teddy bear now, but he used to run with some ugly men, and I ain’t just talkin’ about their looks. It’s a good thing you’re headed to Marco’s.”
That raised a ton of questions. Why had Hank decided to reunite with men from his past now? “Thanks for the heads-up.”
As I was reaching for the doorknob, Max said, “Carly, I know you don’t think you can trust me, and I get it. I ain’t gonna press you to confide in me. But I can’t help thinkin’ you’re like a frog in water that’s slowly comin’ to a boil. My parents aren’t people to trifle with, so if you need help, come to me. I’ll help you. Okay?”
I turned back to face him, my hand still on the knob, my breath blown away by the sincerity in his face. “Thanks, Max.”
He nodded, his jaw tight and his eyes glassy. “You’re family.” Then he motioned to the door again. “Now go on with you. I’ll be out in a bit.”
I didn’t waste any time heading on out to the dining room, but I couldn’t help mulling over the idea that he was building himself a family because the one he’d been born into was full of secrets and lies. Yet somehow it didn’t ring entirely true. If he’d decided to turn his back on his biological family in favor of one he’d chosen, why had he let his relationship with Marco flounder? They’d had a falling-out last December, and while they’d mended fences, their relationship wasn’t what it had been.
The truth was, I wanted to trust Max, but I couldn’t. The only person I fully trusted in Drum was Marco, with Hank coming in at a close second. Now I had to figure out how to tell Marco about my confrontation with Wyatt in a way that wouldn’t end with Marco hunting him down and beating the shit out of him.
Chapter Five
As soon as I entered the dining room, Ruth made a beeline straight for me. “What was goin’ on with Wyatt?”
I made a face, not sure what to tell her.
“He’s pissed that you’re with Marco,” she said.
I was sure he wasn’t pleased with the situation. Just last week, he’d tried to convince me it was a bad idea to start a romantic relationship with Marco because he’d never go with me when I eventually left town. “He’s not happy about it.”
“Well, it doesn’t give him any right to manhandle you like that.”
I pursed my lips. “Wyatt doesn’t seem to be himself.”
“Maybe it’s Jerry’s accident,” she said, glancing over at the stool where Jerry used to sit. “It’s shook all of us up.”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat as I headed over to greet some customers walking through the door, still wearing my pink shirt.
We had a good crowd for a Monday night, and to no one’s surprise, people were already talking about my run-in with Wyatt. It was easy to blow off the first few