“I heard you come back,” she said. “Doctor Booker told me.”

“So you’re working for Doc. Aint it funny how people git to know each other.” I turned and put my hand on the shoulder of Antoine Jones, who stood just behind me. “You know Antoine? He’s my shadow for today. Isom’s taking real good care of me while I’m in town. Let’s the three of us go git a sandwich and have a little talk.”

Carrie and I sat in the back booth of the Black Diamond Grill and ordered bacon and tomato sandwiches. Antoine sat across the aisle and kept his eye on the door.

“I heard your husband’s doing my job for me,” I said.

She nodded proudly. “They’s over a hundred men that meets every day over their dinner pails in the Felco mine,” she said. “They fill up the main haulage way just to hear Albion Freeman.”

“Aint it something he could do that just by preaching.”

“Hit aint just preaching,” she said. “He’s preaching God delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt. He’s preaching the first shall be last and the last first. You know he goes to folks’ houses and speaks the Word? They study the Bible then, too. And they study the United Mineworkers.”

“I wonder,” I said. “I wonder does he do it for the love of God or the love of Carrie Bishop?”

She turned all hard. “You got no right to talk about love. You told me oncet you couldnt love nobody. Dont make fun of them that do.”

I traced my finger along the wooden tabletop where people had carved their initials with penknives. “I reckon you’re right,” I said with exaggerated politeness. “I didnt bring you to lunch to talk about silliness anyhow. I come to talk business. I’m going to have my hands full organizing Winco and Davidson. Isom and Doc and C.J. are going to work on the Jenkinjones miners for me. Hit would be a powerful help if I could trust Felco to Albion. And that’s where you come in. You’re in Annadel every day. You can carry messages.”

She nodded, wrapped her hands around her coffee cup.

“We got to talk about some things first,” she said.

“What?”

“I love my husband. But I love you too.”

I always thought honesty in a woman was overrated. “So?”

“So, I just wanted you to know it. And to know that hit wont change nothing. I wouldnt never hurt my husband.”

“Fine with me,” I said. “Why’d you bother to tell me that?”

“Hit’s a hard time you’re facing. I thought it might be a comfort.”