“You gonna be staying around, Ben?” Tyree finally asked. “We don’t get many visitors up here. Most people here have been here all their lives. Unlike Danny here, they tend to stay in Divine till they die.”

Danny snorted at this comment.

Stone shook his head. “Just wanted to see that Danny got home okay. I’ll be heading on soon.”

“You’re welcome to stay,” Danny said. This comment made both Abby and Tyree stare uneasily at him, something Stone was quick to note.

“I doubt he’d find much to keep him here,” Abby said.

“You never know, Ma. Ben here might be looking for a little peace and quiet.”

Stone stared at Danny for a moment. Was the kid a mind reader? “Thanks, but I’ll be moving on soon.” Stone wasn’t going to stay and he didn’t like sitting next to a lawman, small-town or otherwise.

“I do appreciate what you did for Danny. And you can stay in the room upstairs tonight, if you want,” Abby said.

“You’ve done enough for me,” Stone said. “Bed and a good breakfast.”

“Ben needs some work to do,” Danny said. “Needs some cash because he got thrown off that train along with my sorry ass.”

“I’m sure I can find something for you to do, Ben,” Abby said.

“I appreciate it.”

The sheriff said, “You know, you’re welcome to stay over at the jail.”

“Behind bars?” Danny said, laughing.

“On the cot in the back,” said Tyree with slight annoyance. “Probably keep you okay for one night. Real quiet. No prisoners in lockup now.”

“Yeah, they’re all up at old Dead Rock,” said Danny. “We passed it coming up. Looks real pretty at night,” he added sarcastically.

Tyree nodded. “Put it on a mountaintop in the middle of nowhere, and for good reason. City folks don’t want supermaxes in their backyard. But they’ll dump them here. Not complaining, it brings jobs to folks, and Lord knows we need them.” He motioned to the door where two burly young men in blue uniforms walked in and sat down at a table. “There’re two of them right there. Probably be heading up to the prison after they fill their bellies.”

“If you ain’t working in the mines or the prisons, you ain’t making a living ’round here,” said Danny. “Because everything else is for shit.”

Tyree scowled at him. “Now, Danny, you know that’s not true. We got us a whole line of shops up and down that street outside that are doing real good. Folks can earn a decent living in Divine, hold their heads up and take care of each other. It’s not like that in most places.”

“I can vouch for that,” Stone said.