Her eyes flew wide. “That’s Wyatt Drummond?”
“You don’t know him?” Given how large the Drummonds loomed over Drum, I’d figured everyone in the area would know him by sight.
“I’ve heard of him, but I’ve never seen him. My husband takes our car to Greeneville for maintenance and such.”
Which meant she likely had a newer car.
She still looked uncomfortable. “I don’t want to step on any toes.”
“No toes or any other appendages have been stepped on,” I said with a laugh. “Wyatt’s not very happy with me today, and I suspect he was taking it out on you. I’m sorry you were made to feel uncomfortable. I’ll make sure it’s handled.”
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble,” she said with a frown.
“Don’t you worry about that,” I assured her. “How about you get out Eric’s work, and I’ll help you both figure out how to do the problems?”
Relief washed over her face, and we spent the next fifteen minutes working through a few problems together until Annette and her son felt comfortable trying some on their own.
I left them to get started and headed over to the bar to check in with Max. As I slid behind it, Wyatt shot me a deadly glare.
“Where the hell have you been for the last hour and a half?”
“You have no right to ask me that,” I said in a short tone. “We’re not together anymore, and even if we were, you wouldn’t have the right to dictate my comings and goings. The fact is, I didn’t ask you to follow me. I didn’t want you anywhere near me.”
Fury filled his eyes. “I’m tryin’ to keep you safe, Carly. Maybe if you weren’t acting like a child, you would put aside your hurt feelin’s and see that.”
My mouth dropped open, but I decided not to blast him, however much I wanted to stab him with my words. I inhaled deep, refocusing my energy. “What did you say to that mother seating in the booth in the corner?”
He darted a glance in that direction, and a sheepish look washed over his face. “Let’s just say you weren’t my favorite person when she asked to speak to you.”
Max stepped over, eyeing us like we were a pair of skittish horses. “Is havin’ you two in the same place gonna be a problem?”
Wyatt grunted “no” as I said “yes.”
Max 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
