LITMIR.BIZ

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alone with Mom. It’ll be a long while before I’d be able to go to school. Assuming I could even afford it, which I can’t.”

      His heart hurt for her. All her dreams had been put on hold, her entire life shattered, because some murderous SOB had taken her sister’s life a decade ago.

      His dad had paid, too. Paid for something he hadn’t done. So help him, the police had better catch the right person this time.

      “I really need the help,” he reiterated. “I can’t be with him twenty-four hours a day.” He was telling the truth. If Hailey wouldn’t do it—and he prayed she would—he’d have to hire a stranger.

      “What about hospice?” Hailey asked. “I thought they came out periodically and relieved you.”

      “Two or three times a week. That’s not nearly enough.”

      She wanted to say no, he could tell. But he knew how badly she needed money. “I’m willing to pay fifteen dollars an hour.” He threw that out there, hoping it would help her make up her mind.

      Her sigh told him how much it cost her not to say yes. She tilted her head, considering, which sent a quick flare of hope through him.

      “What are the hours? Because I have to take the kids to school in the morning, and pick them up after.”

      “We can work around that.” He thought for a second. “Nine to two? That’s five hours a day. Would that be good for you?”

      Still considering, she frowned. He could see her doing the math in her head. “That’s seventy-five dollars a day.” Shock rang in her voice. “And if I worked five days a week, that’d be three-hundred seventy-five a week. How could you afford that?”

      “If it makes my father’s life easier, it’s worth it.” He meant his words. “And I make much more than that doing my work. But I should warn you, if you’re considering doing it, that it won’t be easy. My father is already very sick. Right now, his pain level is manageable. I’m not sure how long that will be the case.”

      Clearly torn, she swallowed hard. “I can’t do any heavy lifting. You’d have to help me with that.”

      “I would, of course.”

      Again she went silent. He knew that kind of money would go a long way toward putting food on her table. And possibly more.

      “Maybe Eli could finally join Little League,” he said. “That extra money might enable you to pay for that.”

      “No.” Mouth set in a grim line, her chin came up. “Don’t you bring him into this. I don’t want him getting his hopes up. If I let him do Little League, Tara will want to be a cheerleader. And Tom’s been wanting to join the band and play trumpet. It wouldn’t be fair to give to one and not the others. So, no, the extra money will go to pay the bills and buy groceries.”

      Stunned, he nodded, well aware he couldn’t let her see how badly he wanted to offer to pay for them all to do those things. “Sorry. I didn’t think.”

      Her shrug was meant to make him feel better. “You’ve never had three kids. I think you learn this kind of stuff through experience.”

      It obviously escaped her that she didn’t actually have three kids either. But he supposed in her mind, it was sort of the same thing. She also took care of her mother. Now he was asking her to add one more person.

      Still, it was better than scrambling around town looking for odd jobs and part-time work, he thought.

      “I’m going to have to refuse. I just don’t think it would work.”

      Shocked, he swallowed hard, trying like hell not to let his disappointment show on his face. He hadn’t expected an outright refusal. “Do you mind telling me why?”

      Her sideways look told him she thought he shouldn’t have to ask. “Because it’s your father. Because of what he did.”

      Her words brought a wave of pain so intense he had to briefly close his eyes. “I could swear to you on a stack of bibles that he’s innocent, and you still wouldn’t believe him, would you?”

      “I...I don’t know.” She hesitated. Once, she would have offered an instant confirmation. “But as long as I don’t know for sure, I don’t think I can be around him.”

      Damn. “He’s dying, Hailey.” His voice broke. “He’s dying and I love him. That ought to be enough.” He wanted it to be. Oh, how he wanted it to be.

      “I don’t know that I can care for the man who killed my sister.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

      “He didn’t.” Though he knew his defense would fall on deaf ears, he had to give it a shot. “There was no real evidence. He had an indifferent attorney, and the police just wanted to close the case.”

      “Maybe so, but unless reopening the case shows me otherwise, I have no proof he didn’t do it.” She came closer, her earnest expression breaking his heart. “I’m sorry, Mac. If I think of anyone who could do the job, I’ll have them call you.”

      He shouldn’t have been so shattered, but he was. And even so, as she turned and walked back the way she’d come, he struggled with the urge to call her back, to ask her to take the weekend and think it over.

      Had the rift between them grown so deep that there would never be a way to bridge it?

      Once she’d gone out of sight, he climbed into his truck and started the engine. He still needed help. He’d wanted it to be her, but if she wouldn’t do it, he’d have to find somebody else.

      And figure out another way to get Hailey to give him a chance.

      * * *

      All the way back up her long, winding drive, Hailey berated herself. She didn’t have the luxury of turning down work, especially work that paid so much. And this was Mac, who’d once been her everything, asking for her help.

      Yet Gus... She considered Mac’s words. What if the truth she’d believed for ten years wasn’t really factual? What if Mac was right, and Gus hadn’t committed the awful murder? Was there any sliver of reality in what Mac said, or had this just been a desperate attempt of a man to reconcile his love for his father with the possibility that Gus might be a monster?

      She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure she’d ever know.

      As she rounded the last corner and the house came into sight, her heart sank. June sat in the driver’s seat of their one car, vainly trying to start the engine. Instead of a motor coming to life, every time she turned the key there was a clicking sound.

      “Hey.” June looked up as Hailey approached. “It’s Friday night and I’m ready to party. But the car won’t start. We either need a new battery or the alternator is gone.”

      Hailey winced. She’d just bought groceries and paid the electric bill. She had maybe five dollars left to her name, at least until she found some other work. Maybe she could pick up a shift waitressing in the café. Sometimes Jed Rogers would take pity on her and let her fill in when one of his waitresses called in sick.

      Except without a car, how would she get into town to work?

      She eyed her mother. “I don’t suppose you have money to get that fixed?”

      June started shaking her head before Hailey had even finished speaking. “My check doesn’t come until next week,” she drawled, not sounding the least bit concerned. “I don’t have a dime.”

      Except somehow, from somewhere, she managed to come up with enough cash to buy a bottle or two. Hailey had searched numerous times, trying to find out where her mom hid her stash of cash, but so far the location eluded her.

      “I don’t either.” Throat tight, Hailey refused to cry. This was the last straw. “I guess we’re going to have to do without a car until we can come up with some money.” Except she knew they

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