Peanut leaned back in his chair, and Marshall said, “I don’t see how it’s your goddamn problem, Coy.”

Peanut asked Marshall, “She’s the one that called the preacher on y’all?”

Marshall said, “Gave us up like prom pussy.”

“So let her stink the place up,” Peanut said.

Marshall said, “That’s what I told him.”

“I can’t do that.”

Buford and Caudell were on the way back with a cooler full of beer, and the discussion was over.

“Where’s mama?” I asked.

“She’s done asleep,” Marshall said. “I had to medicate her when she found out where you was. She got Deddy’s rifle and was fixing to shoot the preacher, God, and everybody unless they let you go. You’ll see her in the morning.”

“I’m gone go ahead and get some sleep then. I’m ’bout dead on my feet.”

“You ain’t even gone have one beer with me?” Peanut asked.

“Not tonight.”

“Tomorrow then.”

3.

The smell of bacon frying teased me from my dreams. Sunshine lit the room just enough for me to see Marshall wasn’t in his bed. I didn’t know if he’d ever come to it. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I died to the world. I kicked the blankets to the foot of the bed and rolled out of it. My pants hung over a bedpost, and I put them on. I needed to find a shirt to wear, but all I found were kids’ clothes in the drawers I checked. Hopefully, Katie didn’t mind me walking around half-naked until I got some other clothes.

I followed the smell of bacon. The whole house was quiet except for the grease popping, and Peanut turned when I walked in the room. He wore the same clothes from the night before and still had his baseball cap on. His country mile grin stretched across his face.

“What you know good, Mack?”

“Morning, Peanut,” I said.

“Thought you might be hungry. I cooked us up some bacon and eggs and got some biscuits in the oven. Hope you don’t mind they ain’t homemade. Katie’s the one who gets into all that.”

“Smells good.”

I took a seat at the kitchen table and watched Peanut flip bacon. He did it quickly—and then walked over to the refrigerator. He opened the door, grabbed two beers, and brought me one over. He sat it down in front of me, and I looked at it and then up at him. His ball cap didn’t hide his features like it did the night before. It looked like there was some excitement there, like a little kid running out to recess.

“I told you last night you’d drink a beer with me.”

“What time is it?”

“Beer o’clock.”

“Katie don’t mind?”