“To go on a date?” Max asked.
I propped a hand on my hip. “Why is everyone so determined for me to go on a date?”
“Because you’ve been alone too long,” Ruth said as she slid behind the bar and started to pull a beer from the tap. “You’ve got to stop mopin’.”
“I’m not moping!” I protested.
Max quickly turned away, his own guilt seeping in. He felt just as responsible for my breakup with Wyatt as Lula did.
“Back to the actual topic at hand,” I said, noticing that the customers at another table in my section looked like they were ready for their check. “I want a day off, which means you need to find someone to fill in for me.”
“I tried to set some up,” Max said, his back still to me, “but Ruth nixed ’em all before I could get ’em on the calendar.”
I groaned. “Ruth, we need to hire someone else. We can’t keep this up forever.”
“We’re both makin’ good tips,” she said, pulling a beer.
“Maybe so, but we’ve got no time to spend it.”
“Hey,” Max said as he glanced over at her. “Are you serving that to one of the construction guys?”
She scrunched her face in confusion. “Yeah.”
“Doesn’t he operate heavy equipment?” Max asked. “Those guys are part of the excavation crew.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s one beer.”
“The construction of the lodge needs to go off without a hitch, Ruth,” he said, turning his attention to the dining area. “Which means the construction guys can’t be drunk on the job.”
“For God’s sake, Max,” she said in disgust as she headed around the counter. “It’s one beer.”
I pinned my gaze on Max. “Why are you so concerned with what’s going on out at the construction site?”
Max refused to look me in the eye. “Because it’s good for business.”
But I could tell he was holding something back, which made me leery. Last I’d heard, Max had fallen out with his father, Bart Drummond, early last December, after discovering Lula was his half-sister. Someone had attempted to kidnap her, but she’d managed to run away—and Max had hidden her, assuming Bart was the person who wanted to hurt her. Wyatt had helped him. They hadn’t told anyone they knew where she was, let alone that she was safe. Marco and I had been searching for her, and it had nearly gotten me killed. Hence Max and Lula’s guilt over the whole Wyatt thing. But Wyatt had been keeping secrets from me long before he’d lied about Lula.
Max had made a big deal of distancing himself from his father. But now I wondered if they’d reconciled. Considering Bart Drummond knew who I was and had threatened to use it against me, I knew exactly how I felt about that.
The lunch crowd died down, and Bingham showed up at around one thirty to take Lula home to nurse her baby. He stood to the side of the doorway, scanning the tavern with his menacing gaze as though trying to figure out if anyone had intimidated or harassed his girlfriend.
Max rolled his eyes and headed to his office to catch up on paperwork, passing Lula as she walked out of the back. She ran over to Bingham, squealing with happiness, and launched herself into his arms.
His glare softened as he looked down at her, and I was amazed for the hundredth time that this deadly man, well into his forties, had such a soft spot for this twenty-year-old woman.
“See you tomorrow, Carly,” Lula said as she headed out the door.
Ruth glanced up from the table she was bussing. “Bring that baby around,” she called out cheerfully. “We need to see her. It’s been too long.”
Lula gave her a surprised look, which transformed into a wide smile. “Okay.”
I was surprised too, mostly because Ruth didn’t usually show any interest in Lula’s personal life.
As soon as the door closed behind them, I walked over to Ruth. “What was that about?”
She shrugged but didn’t look at me. “We haven’t seen her baby in weeks.”
I put a hand on my hip. “Since when do you have a thing for babies?”
She hesitated, then leaned closer and whispered, “Franklin’s makin’ noise about havin’ one.”
He’d also been saying they were going to buy a house, but so far that hadn’t happened. Whenever I asked Ruth about it, she always said they hadn’t found the right one yet and she didn’t intend to settle.
I stared at her in shock. “What? How do you feel about that?”
She shrugged again. “I’m not sure, but I’m not gettin’ any younger, you know? I guess my biological clock’s a-tickin’.”
“So you want to spend time with Lula’s baby to help you decide?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d hold Beezus and try her on for size.”
“You mean Beatrice?” I said, holding back a laugh.
She waved me off. “Beezus. Beatrice. Same difference.”
My brow lifted. “Lula and Bingham would probably beg to differ.”
A solo customer walked in, so I broke off to wait on him. After I placed the guy’s order with Tiny, Ruth and I headed behind the bar to count out the tip money from the lunch rush.
“We need to find a new waitress,” I said to her quietly. “This is gettin’ to be too much.”
She stopped counting the cash in front of her, then turned to me. “I haven’t minded, to be honest. I think part of me is afraid you’ll take off as soon as we hire someone.”
I snorted. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.” Of course, technically speaking, I could leave. Last fall, I’d only stayed in Drum because my car had broken down nearby and I’d lacked the funds to fix it. But I had a new car—well, a new used car—and I could drive away whenever I pleased. Technically. Unbeknownst to anyone except Marco, Bart Drummond had summoned me to his house to blackmail me into sticking around Drum—if I left, Bart would give information to the sheriff that would incriminate my
