“Y’all come have a beer.”

We followed him around to the front porch, and Buford was sitting there waiting for us. The old bastard looked at me, mirroring my disgust. It should’ve been him locked up in Sweetwater instead of my Deddy. He looked away before I did, and Peanut sat next to him. “What you know good, Deddy?”

Buford curled up a lip and spat out into the yard. “We’re almost outta beer. I probably oughta go get some.”

2.

“Y’all have a seat.”

Marshall did like he was told and took the rocking chair next to Peanut’s. He slung a leg over the arm of the chair like he belonged and looked at me funny. I kept standing, leaned back against the porch banister, and propped my elbows on it.

Marshall said, “Hey, Coy, don’t be so damn rude. Take a seat like Peanut asked.”

I ignored my brother and kept my eyes focused on the big man sitting across from me. The hard features of his face got hidden in the shadows of his baseball cap, but his smile flickered like a razor blade in the light. What actually went on in his mind was hidden by that full-toothed grin, but Peanut waved my brother off.

“Hell, Marshall,” Peanut said, “if Mack was cooped up in a freezer like Cody Eli said, he’s probably happy to stretch his legs. Let him stand if he wants to.”

“Why’d the Elis let y’all know where I was?” I asked.

The question made an Elvis Presley smirk curl Marshall’s upper lip, and Peanut pushed his hat back on the crown of his head. He said, “Caudell has a way of getting information outta people.”

“Peanut?”

He shrugged.

I crossed my arms over my chest and flinched. All the beatings I’d taken over the past couple of days were catching up to me. It hurt no matter how I stood, and moving around only made it worse. Marshall asked, “You all right, Coy?”

Peanut said, “Looks like hell, don’t he?”

I said, “I just need some sleep.”

Peanut said, “I’ll holler for Katie if you want. Have her take you up to your bedroom. Get you set up for the night.”

“That’s all right,” I said. “I need to know what you plan to do about the preacher.”

Peanut rocked back in his chair, and an unsteady silence fell over the three of us. He put his hands behind his head, locked his fingers together, and used his hands as a headrest. He took in a deep breath, and his belly expanded like a balloon. After he breathed out, he said, “Listen, Mack, the preacher’s on my priority list, but he ain’t nowhere near the top. He’s got friends who complicate things.”

“Who?”

The question made Peanut uneasy. Marshall must not have known either because he turned in his chair and watched Peanut rock. He got out of his chair and walked to the end of the porch. He took a can of long-cut out of his back pocket and popped the lip a couple of times. Peanut took a large pinch from the can, packed his bottom lip, and spat.