“Lucas!”
Lying in bed, Lucas opened his eyes and stared sleepily up at Wyatt. “What?” he asked groggily.
“Zoey’s mom said we can help her paint today. Do you want to come?”
“Not really,” he replied without thinking, but Wyatt looked so disappointed, Lucas pushed the covers aside and sat up. “What time is it?”
“Six forty-five. Gram said she’d drop us off on her way to work, but we have to be ready so she won’t be late.”
Lucas groaned inwardly. “Zoey was the one cussing, Wyatt. Not us.”
“I know but she’s my girl. I have to help. Wait until you see the fence. It’s a mile long.”
Lucas had planned on going to the pool, hanging out at the rec, and diving into Harry Potter number five. Painting a fence had not been on the agenda. “Is Gram already up?”
“Yes. She’s cooking breakfast.”
Lucas could smell bacon frying now that it was pointed out. “Okay. Let me brush my teeth and get dressed. I’ll be downstairs in a minute. Is Jaz going, too?”
“I don’t know. I came to you first. I’ll ask her. Hurry up so we don’t miss our ride.”
“Okay. Okay,” Lucas said.
“Thanks, man.”
Guessing this is how brothers were supposed to support each other, he smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Downstairs, Gram and Wyatt were already at the table when Lucas entered the kitchen.
“Morning, Lucas,” she said.
“Good morning.”
“You’re going to help Zoey?”
“I guess. Yeah.” He got a plate and added scrambled eggs, bacon, and two pieces of toast. He sat and poured himself some juice. “Is Jaz going?”
Wyatt shook his head.
Jaz came in on the heels of that. “I told Ms. Gen I’d help her and Tamar get ready for the movies tomorrow.”
Lucas wished he had a legitimate excuse to blow off paint duty but again reminded himself that he was doing this for Wyatt.
They finished breakfast and piled into the car. Nothing in Henry Adams was very far away so the ride was a short one, but Lucas was still getting used to the wide tracts of open land and how quiet it was.
Gram dropped them off at Ms. Marie’s, then she and Jaz went on their way. Zoey and Devon were already working on the fence, but paused when Lucas and Wyatt walked up. To Lucas it did look a mile long.
“Thanks for coming,” Zoey said, looking miserable. She had specks of the white paint on her face, in her hair, and on her tee and shorts.
Wyatt asked, “How long have you been out here?”
“Not long,” Devon answered. “Zoey was already here when my dad brought me.”
She added, “I’m glad my mom said you guys could start helping today. This is hard, and there’s still a bunch to do. I will never do this again.”
“Me neither,” Devon said. “I hated it when I did it.”
“Where do we get brushes and stuff?” Lucas asked.
“Ms. Marie. She’s sitting on the porch with my mom and Tamar.”
Lucas saw them.
Wyatt said, “Okay. Be right back.”
As they set out, Lucas asked, “You sure it’s okay for us to help her?”
Wyatt nodded.
“How about the other kids? Amari and Brain? Are they coming to help, too?”
He shrugged. “They’ve had to paint this fence twice since they came to live here, so I’m not sure if they want to do it again.”
“What did they do?”
“They got busted being on some adult websites. Not sure what they did the other time, but this is how Henry Adams punishes kids. Amari said, when his dad was growing up back in the day he had to paint the fence, too.”
Lucas had never heard of kids being punished this way. “Have you ever had to do it?”
“No. Not planning on it, either.”
When they reached the porch, Ms. Marie said, “Morning, boys. Are you here to help?”
They nodded. Lucas gave Tamar a quick glance. He still worried that helping Zoey wouldn’t be okay with the adults and expected her to say something to that effect. Instead, Ms. Marie handed them brushes, plastic paint trays, and some rags. “There’s plenty of water down there. Make sure you drink it so you don’t fall out in the sun.”
Lucas wondered how long Wyatt planned to stay. They were supposed to be chilling at the pool, not risking heatstroke because some dumb girl couldn’t control her mouth.
Zoey’s mom said, “Thanks for being Zoey’s friends.”
Lucas didn’t want to be a friend, he wanted to be elsewhere, but he walked with Wyatt back out to the mile-long fence and kept his grumbling to himself.
Having dropped Jaz off at the rec, Gemma turned in to the parking lot of the store and smiled upon remembering the annoyance on Lucas’s face when he got out of the car at Marie’s. He was obviously not down with helping Zoey handle her punishment, and Gemma understood. Back in the day Ms. Miami would’ve gotten the belt for pulling a stunt like that, but Gemma applauded him for agreeing because Wyatt asked him to.
The store hadn’t opened the doors to the public yet, so once inside, she went through the regular check-in routine and made her way to her assigned checkout lane. So far, there’d been no news on the assistant manager job. She was doing her best to be patient and hoped Gary would make the announcement soon. The rumors were that three people had applied, including Wilson “Elvis” Hughes, but she didn’t know how true they were.
She was signing in to her register when Gary Clark’s voice came over the speaker system. “Good morning, everyone. Doors are about to open. Have a great shift.”
And Gemma’s day began.
It was a slow morning, but what it lacked in traffic it made up for in small-town drama. Mrs. Beadle was escorted from the store again for yet another incident of drinking while shopping. A pair of college boys were caught with packages of steaks stuffed down their jeans. Their wide-legged walks caught the attention of Colonel Payne’s security crew, and the kids were collared before they made it to the exit. Pictures of someone’s bare behind began appearing on the shelves a few days ago, and so far, the high-tech cameras had been unable to identity the culprit, who, from the pictures, looked to be a hairy white male. A few more were found that morning nestled in the freezer amongst the bags of frozen corn and beneath bottles of fabric softener. The amused staff had taken to calling the derriere selfies butties and couldn’t wait for the person responsible to be exposed.
On Gemma’s way to lunch, she was stopped by head cashier Sybil Martin. “Mr. Clark wants to see you in his office,” she said, and without further explanation, rushed off. Sybil seemed to be in a constant rush lately, probably because Alma still hadn’t returned and Sybil was being forced to do her job. Alone.
Gemma smiled at Gary’s secretary, Myra, and knocked lightly on his closed door. When he called her in, she stepped inside. “Thanks for coming. Have a seat please.”
With butterflies in her stomach, she complied and wondered if this was about the job opening or if she was going to be blindsided by something terrible.
“First, congratulations. You’re my choice for assistant manager.”
Her jaw dropped. She wanted to jump with joy but forced herself to stay seated. “Thank you.”
“You’re an outstanding candidate and I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Gemma didn’t know what else to say other than thank you, seven hundred more times, so she sat and listened.
“And, so you’ll know, I’m going to be letting Sybil go.”
Gemma stilled.
He continued. “With Alma gone, it’s clear just how unqualified she is to be head cashier.”
Gemma agreed. With her in charge, the cashier schedule was in chaos. A few days ago, they’d been short three people and yesterday, too many people had shown up for the morning shift. She asked hesitantly, “Is Alma coming back?”
“No. She’s resigned. Apparently, there are family issues needing her attention.”
His tone made Gemma wonder if he’d seen the playback of the visit by Alma’s sister but she didn’t ask.
“In reality though, I fired her. For harassment. I saw the tape of the two of you in the break room and the one of you and her sister. It wasn’t the first time she’s tried to bulldoze her way over an employee, and she’d been warned.”
Gemma hated being petty but she was pleased she’d gotten the axe. Sybil’s fate gave her pause though, mostly because of her status as a single mom. “Everyone knows Sybil isn’t qualified to be head cashier and truthfully, she and I don’t get along, but how about she be moved back to a cashier position? She has a son. She needs her job.”
Gary studied her silently for what seemed like such a long time, she thought maybe he hadn’t wanted her opinion, but finally he nodded. “And that’s one of the reasons I chose you, Gemma.”
She was confused.
“You’re qualified on paper, but your empathy put you above the other candidates. The assistant manager deals directly with the staff. You hire. You fire. And even though Alma’s mini me has been treating you badly, you’re able to separate yourself from that and do what’s best for her as an employee.”
“I’m a single mom, too. I know how hard it can be trying to make ends meet.”
“Your first duty will be to give me some recommendations on who should replace her.”
Gemma paused. “Do I have to tell her?”
He smiled. “No. I will.”
She blew out a breath of relief. “Okay.”
“Myra has some paperwork pertaining to your new position for you to look over and sign. Your first full day on the job starts tomorrow at eight a.m., which will also be your report time from now on. Will that be a problem with the kids?”
She did some hasty thinking. “No. We’ll work it out.”
“What about your classes?”
“The term ends in about two weeks, and we only meet two evenings a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“Then we’ll work your training around that. There will be some night shift involvement too, so you can learn what goes on around here when we’re closed. Stocking, maintenance, that sort of thing.”
Her head was spinning. Amari, Preston, and Leah were part of the night stocking crew and she knew they’d help her get acclimated.
They spent a few more minutes discussing the ins and outs, and then Gary walked her into what would be her office. She looked around the space and fought back her tears. It was small with a window that overlooked the open field behind the parking lot, but she didn’t care about the size or that it once belonged to Alma. It was hers now. A year ago, when she first moved back to Kansas without a job or a place to live, she never imagined ending up here. And as if having read her mind, Gary said, “You’ve earned it, Gemma. You’ve worked hard.”
Emotion clogging her throat, she whispered, “Thanks for your faith in me.”
“You made it easy. Now, go home, tell the kids. Have a celebratory burger at the Dog then be back here in the morning. Eight o’clock sharp.”
Determined not to let the tears escape in front of him, she nodded. After he exited, she looked around the space again and a few tears did escape. Dashing them away, she took in the desk with its computer on top and the chair pushed in close. She eyed the coat rack and the small bare bookcase against the wall. This is mine! Mine! Walking to the window, she looked out and there below in the parking lot was her old gray Taurus. She still hadn’t heard anything from the sheriff, but presently didn’t care. The car now belonged to the new assistant manager, which meant she’d have a dedicated parking spot, and she laughed at the crazy change in her status. Gemma Dahl, former pregnant teenager and town pariah was now somebody, and it felt amazing.
She didn’t know if Gary had made the announcement over the speaker system or what, but by the time she finished up the paperwork with Myra and went back downstairs to grab her purse from her locker, seemingly everyone knew about her promotion. Her co-workers applauded and shouted congrats as she made her way through the store, causing the customers to stare on curiously. She got a thumbs-up from Otto Newsome in the meat department, and a series of exaggerated bows from smiling butcher Candy Stevens, whose purple hair was now highlighted with strands of emerald green. She ran into Edith in the locker room and Edith hugged her tight. “Congratulations, Gem.”
“Thanks, and thanks for being such a good friend. We’re going to need a new head cashier. Do you want the job?”
The older woman shot her a look. “Like I told you before, I’m smarter than that.”
Gemma laughed. “If you think of someone less smart, let me know and I’ll add them to my list.” She already had one candidate in mind.
“Will do.”
Feeling like a million bucks, Gemma left the store and was on her way to her car when she heard someone call her name. Turning back, she saw Sybil approaching. Bracing herself because who knew what the woman had to say, Gemma waited for her to close the distance.
“What can I do for you, Sybil?”
“Mr. Clark told me how you went to bat for me so I wouldn’t get fired.”
Gemma thought he hadn’t wasted time.
“Well, I don’t need your help!” she snapped. “I just quit and so did Wilson. He’s been offered a full-time Elvis job and we’re getting married and moving to Vegas.” That said, she turned and stalked back to the store.
Gemma sighed, chuckled, and drove away to pick up her kids.
They were ecstatic at her news.
Jaz asked, “Does that mean you get to boss people around?”
“No.” Gemma laughed as they ate their carryout order of burgers and fries from the Dog in her kitchen. It was Thursday, so she had class in a few hours. A real celebratory dinner would have to wait until the weekend.
Professor LeForge had announced at their last class meeting that there’d be a test tonight, so although Gemma had studied, her promotion had her mind elsewhere. Forcing herself to focus, she answered the questions on accounting practices to the best of her ability and when she was done handed him her test paper. He smiled. She didn’t. Some of the students were still working so she quietly gathered up her things and tiptoed out to head home. The other classes in the building were still in session, so as she made her way down the quiet hallway, she was stopped by someone calling her name for the second time that day. She turned to Professor LeForge.
“I was wondering if we could get together?” he asked.
“For?” she asked coolly and waited for his response.
He appeared uncomfortable. “Maybe have a coffee or something?”
She kept her voice bland. “Is your wife coming with you?”
He chuckled softly and looked away for a moment. “You’re a very impressive woman, Ms. Dahl.”
“And you’re a very married man, Professor. I’ll assume my choosing not to have coffee won’t impact my grade.”
“It won’t.”
“Have a good evening.” She resumed her walk to the door.
Outside, she sat behind the wheel of her car for a moment, and wondered how many women would’ve agreed to his offer knowing he was married. Probably many considering how gorgeous he was, but she’d turned him down and had no regrets. She had to admit he had balls, though.
In the days that followed, Zoey and company finished painting Marie’s fence, much to Lucas’s relief, and she swore never to put herself in that position again. Devon and Wyatt planned to hold her to that by letting her know she’d be on her own the next time. Rocky and Jack skipped the rec’s Friday night movie to have their own movie night at his place. They watched a remastered version of Akira Kurosawa’s award-winning 1954 Japanese film, Seven Samurai, upon which the modern-day film The Magnificent Seven was based. They ate popcorn, drank wine and had a great time. Once the movie ended, they stepped out onto the deck to view the heavens through Henry, the name Jack had given his powerful new telescope. Because the happy couple was counting down the days to their nuptials, they spent time with Sheila finalizing things like guests lists and details, and a lot more time on the phone with Jack’s mom, Stella, who was determined to make changes in the plans wherever she could. After Eula’s memorial, Thad and the cubs returned to Oklahoma. Out of respect for the pact he’d made with his sister, he didn’t lay a hand on Olivia. However, Deputy Davida Ransom laid two speeding tickets on Tamar two days in a row, which sent the officer’s stock plummeting further in the eyes of the furious town matriarch, but Ransom didn’t appear to care. Will Dalton and his children held the area’s second memorial, this one for his wife, Vicky, and seemingly everyone in the county came to her memorial to pay their respects.
Bernadine spent the morning looking over the town’s map for the perfect location for her new restaurant. She thought the best place might be on the end of the town where the Power Plant was so as to put as much distance between it and the Dog as possible. She was about to hit up Lily on the intercom to get her opinion when Lily walked into her office.
“Just got an e-mail from the computer place out in LA. They were able to break the password and get into the files.”
“Hallelujah!”
“They want to know what you want done with the data?”
“Can they send it here, so we can review it?”
“I asked the young man on the phone and he said that wouldn’t be a problem. None of the files are damaged as far as they can tell.”
“Good, have them e-mail it to us or send a thumb drive or whatever works best.”
“Will do.”
They sent the files as an attachment and Lily downloaded it to her computer. Two hours later, after going over the numbers, twice, she came into Bernadine’s office. Bernadine took one look at her face and said, “Should I pour myself a drink first?”
“Maybe.”
Bernadine drew in a calming breath.
“There’s roughly one hundred and twenty thousand missing. And it was withdrawn in big chunks. The first was for seventy-five grand and another for forty-five.”
She thought she might be sick, but said, “Maybe he was helping somebody in need, maybe—I don’t know, Lil.” Without him to personally explain there was no way to know the truth.
“This doesn’t look good, Bernadine,” Lily said softly.
“I know, but as dumb as it may make me sound, I can’t believe he’d do something so underhanded. He said he’d be back to give Rocky away at her wedding.”
“And if he doesn’t show?”
“Then I’ll have to overlook the fact that he’s the man I love and turn this over to law enforcement.”
“Lord,” Lily whispered.
“I know, but I don’t have much choice.”
“I know. Okay, let me go and tell Trent.”
“I’ll call Rocky and then Tamar.”
After Lily departed, Bernadine did her best to set aside the mountain of unanswered questions and picked up the phone.
After getting Bernadine’s call, Tamar decided it was time to stop pussyfooting around and get some answers. Like Bernadine, she didn’t want to believe her son was a coldhearted thief, so she drove out to Clay and Bing’s farm. Rocky had already questioned Clay and gotten nothing, but he and Mal had been friends since they were little. If anyone knew where he was, Clayton Dobbs was that person.
When she walked up, shotgun in hand, he was out in the pens filling the feed troughs for his hogs.
“Where’s my son?”
Clay froze.
“If you lie to me, so help me Clayton, I will take this shotgun and put it right between your eyes. Where’s Mal?”
“Oklahoma. Oil fields.”
“Why?”
“He—he’s trying to make back the money he borrowed.”
“Borrowed?” she shouted.
Clay wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Why’d he borrow it in the first place?”
“It’s hard to explain, but a man has his pride, Tamar. When he and Bernadine got back from Key West last Christmas, he told me, having to stand aside while she paid for everything hurt—you know—made him feel less than himself.”
“So, he stole one hundred and twenty thousand dollars!”
“He wanted to invest it, and make enough money to pay back the cash he borrowed—”
“It wasn’t borrowed, Clayton! Borrowed implies he had consent.”
When his jaw tightened and he glared, she wanted to shoot him just for having the nerve to be mad that she kept correcting him. “What did he invest in?”
“I’m not sure.”
She blasted the ground less than six inches from his feet, and he jumped, cried out, then yelled, “I’m not some little child! I’m over sixty years old! Don’t you—”
She fired at his feet again. “And I’m over ninety and I have a shotgun. Don’t you dare lie to me! Where’d the money go?”
Bing came hobbling out of the house on his cane. “What the hell is going on out here!” Seeing Tamar, he stopped. “Oh. Hey, Tamar.”
“Hey, Bing. Just trying to get Clay to tell me the truth about Mal’s thievery.”
Bing glared at his seething, tight-lipped housemate. “I told those two from jump it was a dumb idea, but nobody wanted to listen to the old man with the cane. All I ask is that you leave enough of this one for me to bury. I owe him that much.” He turned to make his return to the house and called back, “They invested in a condo complex in Kansas City. Builder disappeared. Left them both holding an empty bag.”
Muttering, Tamar returned to her truck. After locking the shotgun inside the gun case in Olivia’s bed, she got in the cab and drove away.
“A condo complex?” Bernadine yelled, jumping up from her desk’s chair.
Tamar, who’d just shared Bing’s revelation, looked fit to be tied. Rocky shook her head and Trent ran his hands down his face in disbelief.
Lily asked, “Did he know which oil field he’s working in?”
“I was so angry I didn’t even think to ask,” Tamar admitted. “Had I stayed one minute longer I was going to need bail money.”
“But why did he invest the money in the first place?” Trent asked her. “Does he have gambling debts he needed to cover? What?”
“No. Pride.”
Trent’s confusion was mirrored on the face of the others in the room.
She explained, “Clay said when Mal and Bernadine went to Key West last Christmas, Mal’s pride was hurt by her paying for everything.”
Bernadine dropped back down into her chair. “Good lord.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Trent said, then had to come to his own defense in response to Tamar’s heat-filled glare. “I’m not saying it’s a valid excuse, but it’s how society has men wired. We’re the protectors and providers. We pay. I’m kind of surprised, though. He always claimed to have no problems with your money, Bernadine, and he was the one who raked Reg over the coals something fierce when he was acting out over the money Roni makes.”
Lily asked him in a cool voice, “So if I made more money than you, you’d lose your mind, too?”
He shrugged. “I say no, but in reality, maybe at some point I would. But, as I said, before I get tarred and feathered, it’s how men, especially OGs like Mal, are wired.”
“In a way, I understand,” Rocky tossed out. “But it’s still stupid.”
Trent didn’t argue. “I’m not saying it isn’t, but it is what it is.”
Bernadine had a question. “Can he make over a hundred grand in a less than a month working the oil fields?”
“Maybe, if he was younger. No way he can put in enough hours in such a short time at his age.”
Bernadine understood Trent’s explanation of why Mal had taken the money, but he’d never expressed any problem with her wealth. She supposed his pride played a part in that, too. So where did this mess leave her and their relationship? And was she supposed to be the villain for wanting to take a nice vacation so they could spend some time together? She didn’t think so.
Rocky asked, “What do you want to do, Bernadine? The wedding is ten days away. Do we call Will’s office and have Mal picked up? Do we ride to Oklahoma and drag him back?”
“A part of me wants to find him and strangle him, while the part that loves him wants to wait and see if he shows for your wedding so he and I can talk. Maybe he can pay it back. Maybe—I don’t know. I’m just so blown away by this, I’m having trouble telling up from down.” She looked to Tamar for advice.
“It’s your money and your relationship. You get to decide.”
Bernadine’s eyes met Trent’s. “Up to you. I can probably find him now that we know where he is. Might take a few days of calling sites to figure out which field he’s working though, but it’s doable.”
Bernadine turned her attention to Lily. “Your call, Bernadine.”
Although Bernadine knew her response might come back and bite her in her butt, she made the decision with her heart. “I’ll wait for the wedding. And afterwards, if I must tie him to a chair to make him talk to me, that’s what I’ll do.”