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He points to me as if to verify what I said. “We need to help her. She told the woman she was exhausted, and that she needed an application. I don’t think she wants to work here, but there’s a need to work here.”
“Corbin can only pay her so much at the vet’s office. If she’s struggling to make ends meet, then we need to help her,” I add.
Both Madison and Chase nod their heads in agreement, and Madison gives Cash a small smile of apology.
“She’s not going to fall for the same thing as last time,” I tell everyone.
“What did you do last time?” Madison asks, reminding me that she and Chase haven’t been back in town for even a year yet.
“When she first came to town, we could see her struggling. Jason Brecken offered her one of his duplexes at a discounted rate,” Cash explains.
“We set up a giveaway at the grocery store, but of course it was rigged for her. She won a hundred dollars a week in free groceries for life,” I add. “But a hundred dollars doesn’t feed two people.”
“I can’t believe Marlene was that generous,” Madison says with her nose scrunched.
Madison has had a bad taste in her mouth since elementary school when Marlene followed her around the store, thinking she was going to steal some candy.
“It’s paid from a town fund,” Cash says. “But it won’t work again. The woman is too smart. She got lucky too many times.”
“What’s her story?” Chase asks.
“She was married to Hux Kennedy,” Madison says, her voice low and sad.
“Aww shit,” Chase says.
“Shoot,” Cash corrects.
“Sorry,” the former hockey player says, but his eyes are still on the woman across the bar.
We all watch as Walker comes back up to her and hands her an application. She leaves immediately after.
“I know she gets some help from the Kennedys, but they can only do so much,” I explain.
Hux Kennedy was several years younger than us in school. He might’ve been a freshman the year Madison and I graduated, but everyone in town knows his name. He’s considered one of the hometown heroes. He lost his life not long after joining the Army. Claire showed up pregnant with nowhere else to go. Hux’s parents didn’t even know he was married, much less thathe left behind a pregnant wife. The Kennedys love Larkin, their granddaughter, more than anything because she’s a part of their son, but they’ve always struggled to open their hearts up to Claire.
Noticing us all looking in that direction, Walker serves another drink before making his way in our direction.
“What’s up?” he asks. “Did the new waitress give you regular instead of diet?”
He looks at the drink Cash set down next to my first one.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” I tell him, even though I haven’t had the chance to pick it up to try it yet. “Was Claire here looking for a job?”
He shrugs. “She asked for an application, so yeah, I guess.”
“You need to talk to her.”
Walker stares at Madison like she’s grown a second head since he walked up.
“What?”
“She’s struggling,” Madison says.
“I pay a living wage,” he says defensively, drawing Chase’s attention once again.
I swear the guy is a damn bulldog when it comes to Madison.
“She shouldn’t have to take a second job to take care of her kid,” Cash mutters.
