Page 30 of Carter

I glanced at Rome and raised my brows at him. He could read my thoughts clear as a bell. He needed to help me out a bit. I could see his reluctance, but I wiggled those brows and motioned to Carter.

He was not impressed.

So, my stare became more pointed.

With a defeated sigh, he grunted and mumbled, “What about the suite downstairs? It’s a two bedroom and we’ve been looking for some renters. I’m sure Leah and…Carter”—scowl—“could work at the bar and pay off the rent. We could arrange a deal that could work out well for all of us.”

Harold looked a bit disgruntled by this. “Uh, I’m not sure that we’d need another pair of hands, son. I’m sure Leah would be just enough for now.”

Carter tensed beside me, and I felt helpless.

If they weren’t going to take him, I wasn’t going to stay.

My thoughts raced through me, panicked at the idea we might lose this opportunity.

“He can sing,” I suddenly said, turning to Harold. “He’s got an amazing voice, one that could bring in a crowd. It might be good for business having him around. That way he can earnsome money by bringing in more customers. With a face like his, there’ll be chicks everywhere, I’m sure of it.”

Yeah, I’d thought about this a lot on our way here, ways to give Carter some usefulness. It ultimately led to his singing because I was aware the bar was weak in the entertainment area, and with how big it was, I knew there was potential for something great.

Now Carter’s mouth dropped open. He never sang around anybody but me. I shrugged at him. What was I meant to do? He would need to suck it up.

“You can sing?” Marlena then asked, suddenly looking at him like it was her first time.

“Like an angel,” I answered for him. “He’s incredible. Honestly. If he had a band, he’d absolutely slay the crowd.”

Now Harold and Marlena were looking at one another, deliberating quietly.

I felt Carter’s foot hitting mine. I looked at him and saw the fire in his eyes. Anger brimmed out of him.

“The hell you doing?” he whisper-hissed at me after he leaned into my ear.

“Saving our asses from homelessness,” I whisper-hissed back. “And you owe me.”

He didn’t reply. He sat back in his chair and turned his scowl at Rome. Rome simply returned the look, and I didn’t really care if they were going to bite each other’s heads off, because ten minutes later Marlena and Harold had made their decision.

“We can use a band,” Harold said thoughtfully. “Our bar started off on live music. We’ve actually advertised for some through the papers, but the people that have showed up were…what word should I use, Marlena?”

“Dreadful,” Marlena said without pause. “Absolutely dreadful.”

“Dreadful is a strong word, hon.”

“It’s therightword, Harold.”

“But it’s a little harsh.”

“Truth doesn’t always taste nice,” she snapped back, bitterly.

“Well anyways,” Harold continued, ignoring her pointed glare, “the point is, we could use a band indefinitely.”

“I don’t have a band,” Carter suddenly said. It was the first words he’d spoken to them since being invited inside, and it came out sounding rude.

“That’s an easy fix,” I cut in with a reassuring smile. “We’ll find some guys.”

He stared at me severely, his lips pressing down on one another so hard they went a little white. Rome could be heard snickering across from us, and it took everything in me not to belt him. Be cool, I told myself.

“If we’re going to find some guys, I’d like it to be up to me to decide who gets in then,” Carter explained, and he did it in a way that brooked no argument. “It’ll bemyband, not anyone else’s.”

“Only because he’s good at running things,” I swiftly added, smiling brightly at the Myers while I did my best to control my own irritation. He was trying to sabotage this, but it wasn’t going to happen.

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