Sherry slid onto the bench at the table. “What am I supposed to do? There’s not enough money for a cab, and in his condition, I can’t walk with him the two miles to the bus stop.” If only she had accepted the offer of that woman at the parking lot. Maybe she could have taken Jake to the hospital.

Sherry sighed. I should have thought about that earlier. Now was not the time to think about what could have been. She took a deep breath to steel her resolve. “If you don’t have a better idea, I’ll head over.”

“I could go,” Rita Mae said, but they both knew that it wasn’t really an option.

“No.” She patted Rita Mae’s shoulder. “I appreciate it, but I have to do it. He hates your guts as it is. I don’t want him to kick you out.” Andy was a racist and had threatened to evict Rita Mae more than once because of the color of her skin. But Rita Mae always paid on time and kept her place immaculately clean, which was the exception rather than the rule around here, so Andy let her be.

“Sherry…”

“There’s no other way.” She slipped into her coat—more to cover herself than because the warm September air required it—and opened the door before her resolve could shatter.

Her legs were shaking when she marched toward Steve’s trailer. When she made it to the front of the stairs, her steps faltered. “Do it,” she whispered. Hesitantly, she raised her fist and knocked.

“Get lost, Chloe!”

Sherry swallowed against her suddenly dry throat. “It’s not Chloe. It’s me, Sherry.”

The door was pushed open, and Sherry stumbled back to avoid getting hit by it.

Andy squinted past her, probably to make sure that his wife wasn’t hiding behind her. Then he took a deep drag of his cigarette stump and threw it somewhere behind Sherry. Smoke poured out between his yellow teeth and from his nose. “Hey, Sherry. Wanna join our little party?” He opened the door a little more.

“Shut the damn door,” Steve barked from inside. “The wind is blowing the shit off the table. Come on in, Sherry.”

“No thanks, Steve. I…” She fought the urge to shout out her frustration. “Andy, could I borrow your car? Jake is sick and—”

“In or out!” Steve yelled. “Now!”

“Fuck off and give me a sec,” Andy called over his shoulder. “It’s my trailer you’re sitting in, so shut the fuck up!”

“’s cool,” Steve grumbled. “I just thought you might wanna have another drag. And with all this wind going on in here…”

Andy clumsily stepped out and closed the door.

Sherry took another step back so she wouldn’t collide with him.

“My car? We could drive around if ya want.”

His stale breath almost made Sherry gag.