Chapter 27
27
Carter
S leeping on a couch again. That was where Carter always ended up. The friend who had owed him a favor didn’t have any room for him except the couch, but that suited Carter just fine. This was just step one to figuring out how to keep Dirk from threatening his family.
And Bailey.
He could see only a couple options. He could find a way to make the money fast so he could pay the guy off, or he could go plead his case to Dirk in person again. This time he would make it clear that everyone in Copper Creek had all but disowned him. No one was going to help him, and no number of threats were going to do the trick either.
Unfortunately, the latter didn’t seem like a possibility.
The more Carter tried to come up with a plausible solution, the more it felt like he was banging his head against a brick wall.
“Hey,” a low voice muttered. Trey moved into the small kitchen clad only in a pair of pajama bottoms. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, and he went straight to the fridge.
Carter didn’t move from his position on the couch. At this point, he would have been happy if the world could swallow him whole so he didn’t have to deal with the consequences of his mistakes. He grunted and turned his eyes back to the ceiling. It was too bad he couldn’t get a legitimate loan. A bank would probably laugh him right out of the building. He knew better than to go to a loan shark; he’d be right back where he was at and paying even more.
“You doing anything next week?” Trey asked.
“You mean for Christmas?” Carter huffed. “No. My family doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
Trey grunted, the sound making it clear he understood.
“You know of anywhere that’s hiring? Pays well, too? I don’t care if it’s seasonal.”
His friend peeked at him over his shoulder, then shook his head. “I’m assuming you’re needing money fast.”
“How could you tell,” Carter said dryly.
“You know as well as I do that the only way you’re going to get a lot of money and fast is if you find a crew.”
Carter grimaced. A crew. Something illegal that could get him thrown in prison or worse. “I’m done with that sort of stuff.” He rolled into a seated position and rested his forearms on his knees. “Maybe there’s something out there where they’re offering a signing bonus, you know? Something that could make it possible for a bank to give me a loan because they can see I have an income.”
Trey snorted. “Geez, man, what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Carter shot back. Trey knew about the bookie. He knew about the money that Carter had owed before he left. But based on this conversation, it was clear Trey assumed that Carter had paid his dues. This was a new mess. Getting to his feet, Carter pulled on a T-shirt. “I’m going out. Won’t be back till late.”
“Key’s under the doormat,” Trey announced before taking the glass of milk and bag of cookies back to his room.
Carter pulled his coat tighter and brought up the collar around his neck. It felt colder in Colorado Springs today despite the wind being muted by the buildings that surrounded him.
He wandered through the city that had become so familiar to him over the last couple of years. Once upon a time, he’d been happy to be here. He’d thought he’d finally found a place where he could belong.
No longer did this city feel like home.
Carter hunched against the cold as he surveyed the various signs of Christmas in full swing. He stopped in front of a bookstore, and right front and center was the book Anya had wanted to buy. The glass was cold to his touch and condensation filled the space surrounding his fingers. That night felt like a lifetime ago.
He couldn’t help but wonder what Bailey might have told her daughter when she’d woken up after Carter had left. He didn’t think Bailey would have talked about the worst of it; the kid wouldn’t understand. But it did hurt his heart to think about her saying he was a bad man.
Carter had worked hard to try to be better. He’d stopped stealing. He’d tried to help a woman who needed it. And even after making those changes, it appeared the universe wanted to continue kicking him while he was down.
His hand dropped from the pane of glass, and he shoved it into his coat pocket. So much for being a good person. So much for forgiveness.
He scowled as he continued down the road. There was nothing else he could do at this point. Unless God saw fit to grant him a sign—a path to take in order to come out on top. But why would he? Surely the Lord was disappointed in him. Everyone in his life had only ever told him he was making mistake after mistake. It had never been clearer than the night that he stood in front of Bailey and attempted to get her to listen to him.
If he’d thought he’d hit rock bottom when he’d returned home, he’d been sorely mistaken. This was the new bottom. Anything after this would only improve his situation.
Carter lost track of time as he wandered past Santas ringing their bells and Christmas music flowing from the occasional open door of the shops. Everyone was making their last-ditch effort for profit or donations.
He stopped at a ringer and dug in his pocket for some change before tossing it into the red bucket. The older gentleman nodded his appreciation. “God bless,” he offered.
“You too,” Carter mumbled back.
By the time he started his way home, his fingers and toes were all but frozen. He still didn’t have a single plan for how he was going to pay Dirk back. If he hadn’t completely burned the bridges back home, he might have been tempted to get on his knees and explain the situation fully, this time not leaving anything out.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t a possibility. He knew better than to ask for financial assistance from his family. They were finally making something of themselves, and he was the weak link.
He shouldered into Trey’s apartment, finding his roommate surrounded by three men who were less than friendly-looking. Trey got to his feet and chuckled nervously. “Hey, Carter. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
Carter glanced at the clock on the wall. “I was gone for a couple of hours.”
Trey rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the men.
There were two scrawny ones and a guy who could have been a WWE fighter. His muscles rippled, and his eyes looked like he knew how to use them to tear a man to shreds without lifting a finger.
Carter took a step back, his hand resting on the doorknob. Dirk’s guys were scary, but not as scary as him. He cleared his throat and shot a hard look in Trey’s direction. “I’ll leave?—”
“No, we’ll go,” the tall man muttered. He nodded to the other two guys, who rose and skittered after him.
Carter stepped aside so they could make their way out. When the door was shut, Carter turned his fury once more on Trey. “What’s going on? You’re not involved in anything illegal, are you? I thought you got out of it.” That assumption was the only reason why Carter had chosen to seek out Trey rather than anyone else.
Trey shrugged with a sheepish grin. “What can I say?”
“You can say that you left that business.”
His friend hurried toward him. “Dude, this is the last time, I promise.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard that before.” He didn’t really have any right to be judging his friend for what he was involved in—not when he was dealing with his own problems. But it was what Trey said next that caught him completely off guard.
“You need money, right? Fast?”
His eyes cut to Trey, but he didn’t say anything.
“It’s one gig. A quick in and out. We got a crew, and we’ve already figured out the logistics. All we need is someone who can drive—who knows how to lose the cops if we get caught.”
Carter held up his hand. “No thanks.” He moved to get around Trey, but his friend darted in front of him.
“It’s a big payout. You wouldn’t have to worry about paying back whoever you owe. And you’d probably have extra left over.”
The temptation to give in to his friend’s request hit him harder than he was prepared for. It was like he’d gone weeks without anything to drink and now someone was offering him a few drops of water.
Was it really bad if he wasn’t the one doing the stealing? If he was just driving the car… then maybe he could rationalize it was okay just so he could keep Bailey safe and out of Dirk’s crosshairs.
He swallowed hard.
“See? I knew this would be up your alley.” Trey clapped a hand on Carter’s upper arm. Christmas was in two days. If they did this right, he could be back in Copper Creek by Christmas.
No matter how he looked at it, Carter couldn’t bring himself to turn his friend down.
“So, are you in?”