I suspected she’d have to dig deep.
But now, Max was taking ownership of Carson’s wrongdoing, again, and I wasn’t going to let that stand. “It’s not your fault,” I assured him, for what was likely the tenth time. “You had no way of knowing.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m so grateful for you, Max. Please don’t let this get between us.”
He kissed me back, his kiss lingering on my cheek for several seconds. When he pulled back, he gave Wyatt a long look and stepped back.
Jerry was hovering behind them, his eyes darting everywhere. He was uncomfortable, and I knew part of the reason he’d come with Max and the others was to see me.
Jerry had admitted to witnessing the murder. He’d recognized Deputy Spigot and had hidden in his room in terror until after I’d gone into the tavern with Max. Then he’d snuck out and planted the bullet casings he’d picked up at George’s murder scene, dropping them by the street to implicate Deputy Spigot. Out of guilt, he walked over to Seth to apologize to his body, only to discover my gun and key fob. Worried the sheriff’s department would try to pin the murder on me, he’d taken and hidden them, too ashamed to tell me he had them. He’d felt guilty for having watched me as I tried to save Seth, having been too afraid to do the same, though he made it clear he’d taken my gun and key fob in hopes of somehow protecting me from Bingham as well as Spigot and his accomplices.
“Hey, Jerry,” I said with a warm smile. I walked toward him and gave him a hug. He was stiff, but he loosened a tiny bit before I released him. “I’ll never be able to thank you for saving me.”
He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “I didn’t save you. I was a coward.”
“That’s not true,” I insisted. “You kept Carson from pulling that trigger. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead right now. And Marco too.”
“They said he’s gonna make a full recovery,” he whispered.
“That’s what I heard too.”
“It was teamwork,” Wyatt said, sidling up behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Carly kept him from shooting me. You kept Carson from shooting her.”
“And Wyatt kept Carson from shooting you,” I said. “He’s right. Teamwork. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
His chin slowly rose until his fearful blue eyes met mine. Confronting Carson had helped him to regain some of his pride and confidence, but it would take some time for him to recapture the rest. His guilt wasn’t helping. I vowed to help him assuage it, even if it took years.
The group said their goodbyes, then headed to Ruth’s car.
I glanced up at Wyatt, but he was staring after his brother with a sad look in his eyes.
“You okay?” I asked softly. I knew he and Max had been close when they were kids. Maybe they could find their way to each other again.
He glanced down at me and his hand squeezed my hip. “Better than okay.”
But the contentment in his eyes shuttered as he shifted his attention to something to my side.
An older man and woman were speaking to Hank, but the older gentleman’s eyes were on Wyatt.
Wyatt’s back stiffened.
The older man had an arrogant air, with a sharpness in his eyes that let me know nothing got by him. His head full of white hair might have given him the appearance of an elderly man if it were not for the fact that he was in great physical shape, with broad shoulders and a trim waist, flaunted by the cut of his expensive suit. I didn’t need an introduction to know who he and the woman with him were. Bart and Emily Drummond.
The couple moved toward us, and Wyatt reached out and pulled his mother into a hug. Bart and Wyatt might have been estranged, but Wyatt and his mother weren’t. She had kind blue eyes but also the weary look of a woman used to getting beaten down. I suspected Emily’s cancer diagnosis wasn’t the only thing keeping Wyatt in Drum. It was his overall concern for her.
“You must be Carly,” she said in a soft lilt. “I’m Emily Drummond.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, ma’am.” I took her offered hand and shook it, careful not to squeeze too tightly. She looked like she could easily break.
“Carly,” she continued, “this is Bart, Wyatt’s father.”
I turned to face him with a cooler reception. He took my hand and shook with a firm grasp, and I got the message—I’m much stronger than you, and I can and will crush you.
I refrained from offering a greeting. Anything I said would be a lie.
“So you’re the woman who seems to have captured my son’s heart and attention,” he said in an icy tone.
Wyatt’s arm dropped from my back. He stepped toward his father, just inches in front of me, but it was enough to get his message across. There was a whole lot of body language going on.
“Terrible business about my man Carson,” Bart said, pressing his lips together and shaking his head. “Terrible business. We’ve offered the sheriff’s department our full cooperation to suss this out, but I can assure you that Drummond Properties had nothin’ to do with this messy business. In fact, I plan on offerin’ money to Hank and all the other families affected by Carson’s actions.”
Wyatt’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer to his father, lowering his voice. “You’re tellin’ me you had no idea what your right-hand man was doin’ in your town?”
A muscle in the corner of Bart’s left eye began to twitch. “That’s right.”
Wyatt smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You must really be slippin’, old man.”
“Wyatt,” his mother admonished quietly.
Wyatt’s gaze softened as he glanced in her direction, but his eyes were hard as iron when he addressed his father. “I don’t buy it for a second, and neither do the state troopers. So I’d lay low if I were you.”
“Layin’ low has never been my strong suit,” Bart said, smoothing his silk tie.
“Then I can only hope it will be your downfall,” Wyatt said.
Bart gave him one last look, then marched off toward the cars, leaving Emily to follow.
I wrapped my hand around Wyatt’s arm as we watched them walk away.
“You sure you want to stay here?” I asked.
He lowered his gaze, searching my face. “You changed your mind?”
“He won’t make it easy for us.”
“Live and let live, Carly,” he said.
I didn’t believe him for a second. “We’ll take care of your father first,” I said quietly. “Then we’ll take care of mine.”
He stared deep into my eyes. “Deal.”
I stole a glance at Bart Drummond, who stood at the crest of the hill, looking down at us.
A grin twisted his lips as our eyes locked, and in that moment, I wondered if I should have left town after all.
But it was a fleeting thought, quickly dismissed. Bart Drummond was a formidable man, but I was done backing down from powerful men.
I was just getting started.
Her Scream in the Silence
Carly Moore #2
Coming March 10, 2020
(Preorder not available on Amazon)
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Also by Denise Grover Swank
Rose And Neely Kate reading order:
Family Jewels
Trailer Trash
For the Birds
Hell in a Handbasket
In High Cotton
Up Shute Creek
Come Rain or Shine
Dirty Money
When the Bough Breaks
* * *
Rose Gardner Investigations
Family Jewels
For the Birds
Hell in a Handbasket
Up Shute Creek
Come Rain or Shine
>
When the Bough Breaks (April 21, 2020)
* * *
Neely Kate Mystery
Trailer Trash
In High Cotton
Dirty Money
* * *
Carly Moore
A Cry in the Dark
Her Scream in the Silence (March 10, 2020)
One Foot in the Grave (June 2020)
* * *
Magnolia Steele Mystery
Center Stage
Act Two
Call Back
Curtain Call
* * *
Darling Investigations
(Humorous mystery romance)
Deadly Summer
Blazing Summer
* * *
Rose Gardner Mysteries
Novellas are bonus material
TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES
TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS
THIRTY AND A HALF EXCUSES
FALLING TO PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-ONE AND A HALF REGRETS
THIRTY-TWO AND A HALF COMPLICATIONS
PICKING UP THE PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-THREE AND A HALF SHENANIGANS
ROSE AND HELENA SAVE CHRISTMAS (novella)
RIPPLE OF SECRETS (novella)
THIRTY-FOUR AND A HALF PREDICAMENTS
THIRTY-FIVE AND A HALF CONSPIRACIES
THIRTY-SIX AND A HALF MOTIVES
SINS OF THE FATHER (novella)
The Wedding Pact
(Humorous contemporary romance)
THE SUBSTITUTE
THE PLAYER
THE GAMBLER
THE VALENTINE (short story)
* * *
Bachelor Brotherhood
Spinoff of The Wedding Pact series
ONLY YOU
UNTIL YOU
ALWAYS YOU
* * *
Young adult contemporary romance
ONE PARIS SUMMER
Off the Subject Series
(New adult contemporary romance)
AFTER MATH
REDESIGNED
BUSINESS AS USUAL
About the Author
Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomad, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.
* * *
For urban fantasy: dgswank.com
For mystery and romance: denisegroverswank.com
A Cry in the Dark Page 34