A gunshot went off in their heap and both men went still.
“Jerry!” I cried out.
The deputies rushed at the two men and rolled Carson onto his back. The handgun clattered to the pavement. The blank look in Carson’s eyes, along with the bloody hole under his chin, made it clear he was dead.
Beside me, Wyatt still had his hands raised high, but as I turned my gaze on him, he lowered his arms and scooped me into his embrace, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe.
“Whoa! Whoa!” Marco shouted at the deputies who had trained their guns at us. “Don’t shoot! They’re with me!”
Wyatt tilted my head back and looked deep into my eyes. “I thought he was gonna shoot you. I thought I was gonna lose you before we could even see where this thing between us might go.”
“I’m fine. You’re fine,” I said with a soft smile. “We’ll be okay.”
He nodded, his jaw tight, like he couldn’t quite believe it was true.
“I think we both deserve a little happiness, don’t you?” I whispered with tears in my eyes. “I’d like to find my happiness with you.”
His eyes turned glassy and he nodded. “I want to find it with you too.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
The sun shone brightly for Seth’s graveside service, warming the nearly two hundred people who had come to pay their respects.
Thankfully Hank and Wyatt had mended fences between them, as Hank really needed friends right now. And not just for moral support. He’d insisted on standing for the short service, so Wyatt and I stood at his sides, helping him to stay upright.
Wyatt made his way to the front and said a few words about Seth. How hardworking and driven he’d been. How loyal he was to friends and family. How he’d wanted to go to college to become a lawyer, not because he wanted to leave Drum, but because he wanted to return to his home and fight for justice. How Seth had inspired everyone around him to become a better person. Wyatt included.
“Seth Chalmers’ life was cut way too short,” Wyatt finished, his voice tight. “But his memory will live on.”
The minister said a prayer, and then Hank picked up a pile of dirt and threw it on the casket in the grave. Wyatt and I did the same. We stood beside Hank as the townspeople offered their condolences.
Hank made it through about fifty people before his endurance gave out, and then Wyatt helped him into his wheelchair.
After we got Hank settled, we gave Hanks some space and stepped several feet to his right. Wyatt wrapped an arm around my back and tugged me tightly to him.
I glanced up at him and smiled. My chest warmed when he smiled back.
Max, Ruth, and Tiny came through the line together, telling Hank how sorry they were for his loss. He told them he’d heard about Bitty and offered them the same.
When they reached us, Max stared at his brother for several long seconds before he turned to me. “Now that the danger’s over, I’m hopin’ you’ll stay. Drum’s not usually this excitin’.”
I smiled. “I was going to wait until tonight to tell you all, but yes. I’m staying.”
Ruth beamed and Tiny looked happy enough to burst. Seeing their reaction reassured me that I’d made the right decision. I’d lived most of my life alone, and now that I’d gotten another taste of real friendship, I wasn’t so willing to walk away. I needed people to care about—and people to care about me. Living with Rose had taught me that, and while I’d left Arkansas hoping I could return, I realized this was where I belonged—among people who had my back. And in a town lost in time, with only five security cameras. A feature Wyatt had been quick to point out.
“No CCTV,” he’d said. “No facial recognition software. Drum, Tennessee, is the last place your father would look for you, and he won’t find you if you’re completely off the grid.”
I’d already decided to stay, but that was like the cherry on top.
Max gave me a hug. “I’m glad you’re stayin’. After Carson…”
The investigation was ongoing, but the general consensus with the sheriff department was that Carson had gotten tired of taking orders from Bart Drummond. He’d been the mastermind behind the new drug trade to Drum, bringing the more deadly drugs from Atlanta, even arranging for Dwight’s job at the mortuary. He’d hoped to run Bart into bankruptcy, and eventually kill Bingham and take over his territory. I had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
It sounded like a great theory, but part of me couldn’t help wondering if Bart knew more than he’d let on.
I told Detective White about Seth’s video account and gave her the login information. She told me that she’d turn it over to the state troopers, but she suspected there wasn’t anything they could do to recall the deleted footage. Wyatt had sent her the corrupted video file we’d saved, and she said her team would try to recover it, but they weren’t hopeful.
“But I’m not lettin’ this go,” she’d said. “I know there’s more corruption in this department, and I plan to root it out.”
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.”